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After a shower and getting my errands done, I let Cam think he was taking me to dinner. We met at a diner, something vastly different from the café I’d met him at in the beginning. It lookedslightly run down, but clean. A waitress only glanced at us before waving a hand. “Sit where you want. I’ll get to you in a minute.”
Cam led me to a booth that looked like it was made in the mid-80s. The formica was pilling up at the corners and the top of it looked battered with burn patches. I gave Cam an unsure look when he picked up two menus positioned behind the napkin holder and salt and pepper shakers.
“This is a vast difference from our first date,” I pointed out.
“I was trying to make an impression because I wanted to get in your pants,” he said as he eyed the laminated menu. “Look how that went,” he said with a chuckle. “I figure if I take you somewhere that doesn’t have the over-the-top feel, things will go differently.” He paused, then waved the menu at me. “Besides, the food is good and cheap. I’m not trying to get in your pants, though I wouldn’t say no if you wanted to do that.”
“You’re not trying to get in my pants?” I asked doubtfully as I picked up the menu. I glanced down to see pictures of plates with options printed underneath them. A breakfast plate, a chicken melt, smothered hash browns. All of it looked greasy but delicious. “Because if you are, it’s probably not a good idea for me to eat anything.”
“Not on the agenda,” he reassured me, turning his attention to the waitress that appeared at the table. We gave her our orders. He went with a big burger plate and I tried the chicken melt. After she left the table, he pinned me with a look. “All we did before this was have sex. There wasn’t the chance to see if this was something even worth pursuing. I felt something. I wanted more.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I don’t know if I was being led around by my dick or if there were actual emotions involved, you know?”
I blinked, not bothering to hide my surprise. “I wasn’t trying to do that,” I said dumbly. “Lead you around by your dick,” I quickly clarified. “I’ll admit I wasn’t looking for a relationship. Itold you as much. But . . . ” I paused and looked down. I fidgeted with a questionably clean fork. “If you’re willing to try, if you think there’s something here worth making an effort over, I’m not going to fight it.”
Cam suddenly smiled at me. “That’s all I ask. We can go back to my place to see if Adam’s worth adding to it.”
“I haven’t talked to Darius about this,” I told him, looking down at the cracked tabletop. “Shay told me about your conversation. She admitted that if you hadn’t showed up when you did that, she would’ve called him.”
“Sorry,” he said, his brows dragging together. “I just couldn’t let Adam drag me into the same hole he’s in.”
“Don’t be,” I protested. “I’ll figure something out with Darius.”
“We will figure out something where Darius is concerned. Together,” he said, not even batting an eye as plates were set in front of us. “I think one reason we stuck together as friends is because we held one another up. All of this is the first actual fight we’ve had since graduating high school.”
“Adam said he had been with a few of Kyle’s girlfriends,” I pointed out as I munched on my fries. “How does he do that without Kyle beating him up?”
“I don’t think Kyle could take Adam in a fight,” Cam said as he pulled the toothpick out of his burger. “Pretty sure Kyle is aware of that. Plus, Adam has a tendency to bullshit. I’m not saying he didn’t fuck around with any of Kyle’s exes, but I don’t think it was as big of a deal to your brother.”
I watched as he picked up the burger and took a bite of it. I considered his words, accepting them because he would know Adam better than me. I picked at my dinner, not sure what else to say. “How do I make this worth it?”
Cam looked at me, his mouth full. He raised a hand, chewing pointedly before he grabbed his Coke and took a healthy pull from it. He cleared his throat. “What?”
“If what we’re doing this,” I said, gesturing between us, “how do I make sure it’s worth it?”
“I’ll be honest, I’ve got no idea,” he admitted, taking another sip of his Coke. “I think as long as we’re trying, that counts for something.”
“But we can still have sex, right?”
“That’s part of trying,” he said with a grin.
We finished dinner, and after a brief argument, I paid, and I let him take me home. Only instead of going to my apartment, he took me to his. He had said sex wasn’t on the agenda, but now I was questioning if he’d been telling me the truth. Especially with the smile that he kept sending my way.
It made me wish I had considered that as a possibility when I was choosing what to eat. That smile stayed on his face as he helped me out of the car. He held my hand as he led me to his door.
It made my heart rush. It was something more than the feeling he created in me when Adam was involved. Like he had magnified it and shoved it straight into my chest.
I didn’t resist as he pulled me into the living room. It was dark save for the light coming from the television. I didn’t say a word as he led me down the hall. But I couldn’t ignore Adam sprawled on the couch.
It looked like he wouldn’t ignore us, either. He sat up as soon as he spotted me. “What are you doing?” he demanded, words only slightly slurred. “Why did you bring her here?”
Cameron didn’t stop walking. He headed for his bedroom. “Because I wanted to,” he called over his shoulder. “You can either sulk in there or you can get over it and come to bed.” He didn’t wait for him, he just pushed his door open and flicked the light on. He glanced at me. “That okay?”
“Are we just sleeping?” I asked, not even bothering to undress.
“We could do more,” he said as he kicked off his sneakers and tugged the polo shirt he was wearing off, “but we should probably digest first.” He paused and peered out the door, checking for Adam. “I think he’s gonna sulk for a little while, so we’ve got time.” Cam nodded at me. “Get comfortable. You don’t have to get naked.”
I considered it. I kicked my shoes off and went to his bed. The last time I’d been here, the night before had been overwhelming. There had been something from everyone, and there had been no way for me to keep up. I opened my jeans and pushed them down my hips. It would be fine if I just slept in my underwear. I picked them up and folded them over the nightstand. If I was just sleeping, there wasn’t a reason for me to take off the rest of my clothes.
I pulled back the blanket and sat down on the bed just as Adam came into the doorway. “You’re really gonna do this?” he demanded, and it took me a second to realize he wasn’t talking to me. He glared at Cam. “What’s wrong with you?”
