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“I might be.”
“See you later, dear,” she says with a wave as she heads over to her car.
I make sure she gets in okay and then turn and stride up to the front door. I knock and wait for Cameron to answer the door. I can hear her moving around in there, and then we lock eyes through the glass, and she freezes.
My heart squeezes in my chest and my palms turn sweaty. I know what I’m going to say to her. I’ve been practicing the words for years since we were just kids, and I know it’s finally time to say them. It’s time for me to tell her how I feel and stop holding back.
“Hey,” she says as she opens the door. “Sorry for running out on you;, I just had to get home.”
She says that last part while staring at her feet, and I know that it’s a lie. She never could lie convincingly and I smile slightly.
“I wanted to talk to you,” I tell her, and she looks up at me with wide blue eyes.
“Can it wait? I was going to run some errands,” she says, her eyes darting to the left.
Another lie.
“No, it can’t. I’ve been waiting years to say this and can’t hold the words in any longer.”
She blinks, eyeing me warily, and I take a deep breath.
“I shouldn’t have agreed to be your fake boyfriend,” I start, and she flinches. “I love you, Cameron. I have since we were kids. It’s always been you for me, but I was scared to mess things up with you and lose you, so I held back.”
She swallows hard, watching me silently.
“I missed you like hell when you left town. I used to dream up reasons to come visit you, but with the diner, I was broke. Then you came back to town, and I thought it was my chance, but I was still scared, so I held back again. I regret that. I regret not walking up to you in high school and telling you just how much you mean to me.”
“Ford,” she whispers, her eyes wet with unshed tears.
“I love you, Cameron. I always have and I know that I always will. There’s never been anyone else. Never. I said yes to being your fake boyfriend because I couldn’t bear the thought of you asking someone else. Plus, I was hopeful that I could show you how perfect we are together.”
“You didn’t have to,” she tells me.
“I could never turn you down. You should know that by now. Every time you ask me something, I’m always going to say yes.”
“No, I mean, you didn’t have to show me how perfect we are together,” she corrects me and my breath stalls in my lungs.
“What?” I croak, and she smiles slightly.
“I’ve always been in love with you too. I wanted us to be friends, though, and then when I failed at making a go of being an artist, I guess my confidence was just shaken. I was terrified that I would try to date you and mess that up too.”
“Never,” I promise her, and she smiles.
“You can’t know that,” she argues, and I shake my head.
“I can. I’ve known you for decades and my love has never wavered. We can’t fail at being together, and you didn’t fail at being an artist. You just need to try again. We’ll figure it out.”
“You can be my muse,” she jokes softly, and I grin.
“Always.”
We share a smile, and I step closer to her.
“Say it again,” I beg her, and she licks her lips.
“I love you, Ford.”
“Thank fuck,” I whisper, my hand going to the back of her neck.
