In Love With My Best Friend

by Sheena Binkley

  As soon as we were between the men’s and women’s restrooms, Camille pinned me to the wall and gave me a passionate kiss. I pulled her closer to me as I glided my hands over her body, feeling the mixture of silk and skin against me and my fingers. I moved her toward the wall, lightly sucking on her neck, causing her to moan softly. My hand slid near her thighs, touching her bare skin. Once I realized where we were, I had to stop myself from going even further. I let go of Camille, giving her an apologetic look as I started to get myself together. Camille straightened her dress as she ran her hand through her hair.

  “What just happened?” I asked breathlessly.

  “I don’t know. Why did you kiss me at the table?”

  “I couldn’t help myself. Looking at you and how sexy your lips looked, I had to kiss them,” I said as I went up to her to try to kiss her again.

  Camille held out her hands to push me away. “We can’t do this here. What if someone walked back here and saw us? What if your soon-tobe brother-in-law walked back here?”

  “Maybe I wasn’t thinking about that at the time, but Camille, you can’t deny that something is definitely going on between us.”

  She sighed as she put the back of her head on the wall. “I know.”

  “Let’s go back before someone starts looking for us,” I said as I took her hand.

  As we were walking back to the table, I turned around and noticed Stacy coming out of the women’s restroom. She looked at me with a disappointed look before walking in the opposite direction.

  Damn.

  Chapter 9

  Camille

  O

  nce we were seated at the table again, our meal of steak, baked potato, and green salad was being served. Several of the guests were giving us smirks, imagining what we were doing during the time we were gone. I suddenly felt uncomfortable by the attention Trevor and I were getting and was dreading going to work tomorrow, since this would be going through the gossip mill in the morning.

  “Well, what did we miss?” Trevor said as he took a bite of his steak, not caring if anyone thought we were doing anything inappropriate just a second ago.

  “Nothing, just talking about weddings. What about you two, have you decided on taking the plunge one day?” Emily asked while eating her salad.

  I gave Trevor an uncomfortable glance as I began to eat my potato.

  “Actually, we have thought about it. I know Camille wants a small, intimate wedding outdoors, possibly in a garden. Camille will make a beautiful bride, wearing an elegant cream-colored dress. We will probably get married at sunset, because I know Camille would love to remember that moment forever.”

  Why is he doing this to me? I thought as I tried to hold back tears.

  “Wow, that is beautiful. Camille, you better hold on to this man. He’s a keeper,” Britney, my coworker from marketing, said as she touched her husband’s arm.

  “I know,” I said as I looked at Trevor.

  He smiled as he put his arm around me.

  At that moment, I didn’t care if Trevor was with Chelsea. It was good to know that he was mine for the night, and I would cherish it forever.

  Once everyone finished their meals and ate their dessert of white chocolate cheesecake, the guess decided to head over to the restaurant’s bar, Bar79. The bar usually has live entertainment on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, so this was the perfect opportunity to see how my co-workers were outside the office. With alcohol in their systems, the majority of the dinner party guests were being silly with the crazy dance moves while jamming to the sounds of old-school R&B and soft rock songs. I was pretty sure half of the guests would be calling in sick tomorrow with massive hangovers.

  Trevor and I decided to skip the dancing as we sat near the bar, wondering whether we were going to go home to our respective places or wind up together in someone’s bed. I could tell Trevor was staring at me from the corner of my eye. I turned around to give him an annoying look.

  “What?”

  “What, I can’t look at you?”

  “I’m sorry, it’s just that tonight has been crazy with a capital ‘C.’”

  “You’re telling me.” When the band started to play a song that we both were familiar with— “Love’s Holiday” from Earth, Wind & Fire—I looked at Trevor as I took his hand.

  “Dance with me.”

  He nodded as he put his hand in mine, and we went to the dance floor.

  This song meant a lot to us, mainly because it was played not only at our prom but also during our graduation night, when our friends went down to Galveston for a fun getaway.

  This song was significant to me because my parents always played it when they had their alone time. No, it wasn’t the alone time people may think, but it was when it was just them dancing, gazing at each other as if they were the only two people in the world. It showed the love they had for each other, which made me want to have that type of love with the man I would share my life with. I knew then that whoever I married, I would want to play this song with him and dance with him forever.

  Once we walked to the dance floor, we stopped near the edge and Trevor slipped his arm around my waist, while taking my right hand in his. As we started to dance, I pulled myself closer to him, leaning my head on his chest.

  “What you thinking about?” Trevor whispered.

  “Everything. I don’t know how things will be after tonight is over.”

  “I don’t know either, but we’ll figure it out together.”

  His hand started to massage my back as I breathed his cologne, wanting to feel him close to me.

  “Do you think Ron will say anything to Chelsea?”

  I could tell I hit a sore spot, as Trevor closed his eyes and breathed heavily.

  “Let’s not worry about that right now,” he said.

  “You want to get out of here? I think the party is pretty much over,” I said as I took a glimpse of my coworkers, who were either leaving or still dancing.

  “Yeah,” Trevor whispered.

  Once we said our good-byes to Vicky and the other guests, we walked toward the parking lot. I don’t know where our relationship lay, but I really hoped we could still remain friends. I didn’t know how I would be if I lost my best friend.

  When Trevor reached my house, he turned off the ignition and smiled. “I hope you had a great evening. I did.”

  I smiled at the way Trevor was looking. If I didn’t know any better, he seemed as nervous as I was at the moment. “I had a great time. Thank you for doing this for me.”

  “Anytime.”

  “Did you want to come in? I know we both have to work in the morning…”

  “I think it’s best to call it a night,” he said.

  I smiled, realizing he might be still frazzled by what happened earlier. “Sure.”

  “Camille, I really want to figure out what happened tonight, because no matter how either one of us dances around the issue, the feelings are still going to be there.”

  “I know, but I think we had enough excitement for tonight.”

  “Let me walk you to the door,” Trevor said as he got out of the car.

  I got out of the car as well and went to the front door. I unset the alarm from my wireless remote (which I found in my car), and opened the door.

  “Well, I guess it’s good night,” I said.

  I was about to go inside when Trevor grabbed the back of my hand. He leaned toward me, taking in the scent of my hair and the perfume I was wearing. Just having his body pressed against mine made me hot and sweaty all over again. He swept some hair from my left side and pushed it toward my right. He gently pressed his lips on my neck, causing me to suppress a moan.

  “What are you doing?” I asked delicately.

  “I can’t stay away if I tried.”

  I turned around and lured him into the entryway and slammed the door. He pulled me toward him, lightly touching me with his fingertips. He put his hand behind my neck and started to fervently kiss me, making me immedi
ately turn to goo.

  No words were exchanged as we moved over to the couch, almost bumping into my end table and causing my lamp to fall on the floor. Trevor turned me around and slowly unzipped my dress. He unhooked my strapless bra, making me feel completely exposed. He provided a trail of kisses down my back, giving me the most thrilling sensation imaginable.

  He spun me back toward him, giving me another kiss on the lips as I took off his suit jacket. I unbuttoned his shirt while kissing his chest in the process. A moan escaped his mouth as I moved my mouth and tongue down his chest.

  My dress was off of my body and lay crumpled on the floor as Trevor grabbed me by my waist and picked me up to face him. I wrapped my legs around him as he led me toward my bedroom, sealing kisses on each other along the way.

  I didn’t know what to think as he laid me down on the bed. Trevor and I had been friends for so long; if we did move into that phrase in our lives, what would happen to the lives we once knew before? Would we be able to joke around like we used to? Be able to share our secrets with each other? What about Chelsea? This would definitely crush her once she found out.

  Trevor lay on top of me as he kissed my neck again. He went down to my chest, ending at my breasts. As he was sliding his tongue around my left nipple, any thoughts of Chelsea were out the window.

  I’m definitely a bad friend.

  He looked up at me, automatically knowing what I was thinking.

  “Are we wrong for this?” he asked. “I don’t know. In fact, I don’t know what to think anymore.”

  Trevor lay beside me and sighed. I got closer to him as I snuggled against his chest.

  There we were, lying half naked in my bed, not knowing what else to do. We were about to cheat on his fiancée and my friend, which left a bitter taste in my mouth.

  “Can you just hold me, please?”

  “Yes,” Trevor said.

  As soon as he did, I started to cry.

  Although I wanted to be with Trevor in the worst way, I couldn’t do that to Chelsea. We went too far, and now I didn’t even know where our friendship lay.

  As if reading my mind, Trevor kissed my forehead. “Don’t worry, Cam, we’ll figure everything out. Trust me.”

  Chapter 10

  Trevor

  A

  fter getting through work the next day without any mishaps, I was glad to know the weekend had arrived. I was driving to my parents’ home, looking forward to seeing them and having a homecooked meal.

  As I was entering the driveway, I noticed Camille’s car was parked in her parents’ driveway, which only made my heart thump in my chest. We hadn’t really spoken to each other since what happened the other night. After holding her in my arms for the rest of the night, I left her house the next morning feeling very guilty. If Camille hadn’t stopped us, we would have slept together, and I would have broken my vows to Chelsea before we even made them.

  While at work yesterday, my mind kept going back to the time I first met Chelsea. It was during our junior year of college and I was going to a movie with Camille. When I went by Camille’s dorm room to pick her up, Chelsea opened the door, giving me a smile that could have lit up the entire city of Houston.

  I couldn’t take my eyes off of her as I automatically looked into her hazel eyes. Her long, reddish-brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, making her look much younger than she was. She was a vision of beauty to me, and I automatically knew I wanted to know more about her….

  “Hi, you must be Trevor. Camille has told me so much about you,” Chelsea said as she extended her hand out to me.

  “You must be Chelsea. How are things going with Cam? I know she can be pretty bossy sometimes,” I jokingly said.

  “I heard that!” Camille yelled from the bathroom.

  Chelsea laughed at the two of us as she went toward her desk. I walked into the room and stood by Camille’s bed.

  “I’m only telling the truth. Sometimes you can be pretty intimidating.”

  “Oh please! Don’t pay any attention to Trevor. He thinks every woman is intimidating when they don’t notice him. But not to worry, you pretty much have every girl on campus eating out of the palm of your hand,” Camille said as she entered the room.

  I watched as Camille walked to her dresser to pull out a sweater. At that time, I had to step back and notice the girl that I had considered my best friend since our preteens. I didn’t know if it was the way she styled her hair that day or the outfit she was wearing, but I was definitely looking at her differently.

  Chelsea noticed how I was looking at Camille. “I guess that’s why you two never dated?”

  I looked at Camille as she glanced at me. We started to laugh at Chelsea’s comment.

  “Trevor and I dating? That will never happen. We’re just friends,” Camille said while searching through her jewelry box.

  I gave a nervous chuckle as I looked from Camille to Chelsea. “Yeah, we’re just friends.”

  “Wow, I find that hard to believe that two attractive people like you never dated.”

  “I guess we never looked at each other like that. We’re like brother and sister,” Camille said.

  “Yeah, we are,” I said as I gave Camille a strange look.

  Although I didn’t know it at the time, I think that was when my feelings for Camille were slowly starting, but when she announced we were just friends, I realized that maybe I needed to see what else was out there.

  Wow, I had feelings for Camille all along, I thought as I lay my head on the headrest.

  Once Chelsea knew it was clear to flirt with me, she did it every chance she got. It eventually worked because we quickly started dating. After I told Camille about Chelsea and me, the only words she uttered were “It’s cool.”

  If she would have told me she had feelings for me, we could have been together.

  I closed my eyes to relieve some of the pressure I was starting to have in my temples when someone started tapping on my window. I looked up, startled to see my father standing by the car door. My father motioned me to get out the car, which I did.

  “I was wondering when you were going to stop by the house,” he said as he gave me a hug.

  “I’m sorry I haven’t been by sooner,” I said while hugging my dad.

  “You’re here now. Guess who else is here?” “Dad, don’t tell me it’s the Andersons.”

  “Why do you sound like that? I thought you would be glad to see them.”

  “I am, but I thought it would just be us today.”

  “Something else is going on. What is it, son?”

  Before I could say anything, we walked into the door, and my heart started thumping again. Camille was in the living room with her parents, looking even more beautiful than the last time I saw her.

  She gave me a small smile as she started to nervously put her hands in her lap.

  “Trevor, it’s great to see you,” Camille’s mom, Claire Anderson, said as she came up to me for a hug.

  As I returned the hug, I noticed that Claire and Camille could definitely pass as sisters rather than mother and daughter. The two had the same golden-caramel-colored skin and dark-brown hair, of which Claire had in a medium-length bob.

  “Likewise, Mrs. Anderson.”

  “How long have we known each other? You know you can call me Claire.”

  “OK, Claire.” I said, giving her a wide smile, which showed off my dimples.

  “Did I hear my son in here?” my mom asked as she walked into the living room. Her black hair was bouncing back and forth as she rushed over to me and gave me a hug.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “I’m so glad you’re home,” she said as she gave me a squeeze.

  “I’m glad to be home, Mom,” I said while staring at Camille.

  She continued to fidget with her hands, indicating how nervous she was around me. Camille had always been a shy girl, but she could definitely hold her own when she needed to, which made me intrigued to be around her.

  I could
tell her mom was picking up some vibes between us as she looked at her daughter and then at me.

  “Dinner is almost served. Everyone wash up and go into the dining room,” my mom said as she headed toward the breakfast nook near the dining room.

  “Do you need any help with anything, Mom?” I asked.

  “No, everything is taken care of. Now relax.”

  As I went into the kitchen to wash my hands, Camille was already there. I was reaching for the soap when she was reaching for a paper towel, which was in the same area. Our hands slightly brushed against each other, causing a spark to go through me.

  “Sorry,” Camille said softly as she hurriedly pushed her hand away and waited for me to grab the soap.

  “We can’t keep avoiding each other,” I said softly as I washed my hands.

  “I know we can’t, but what happened the other night was a mistake. Even though I would love for us to be together, you and I know we can’t be.”

  “I know, but I just keep going back to when you told me how you felt. Why didn’t you ever tell me? If you would have been honest with me, we could have given a relationship a chance.”

  “So this is my fault? Don’t put this on me, Trevor. You were the one who said we would only be friends and nothing more.”

  “When did I say that?”

  “Back in high school when Charles asked the question.”

  “You’re basing this on what I said in high school about us not having a relationship? Why didn’t you just talk to me?”

  “Because I thought your feelings were pretty clear.”

  “If I remember correctly, you said the exact same thing to me in your dorm room when I first met Chelsea. Remember, ‘we’re like brother and sister?’” I said while making air quotes.

  “Oh please, that was only because of your statement in high school.”

  I started to roll my eyes at Camille.

  “Are we really going to blame each other over why we never dated?”

  “I think we just did,” Camille said. I went up to her and put her in my arms. She tried to resist, but I wouldn’t let her. I needed to hold her, feel her close to me, just like the other night.

  I took my finger and wiped away a tear that was falling down her cheek. She looked at me, trying hard not to kiss me. Even though both of our parents were in the dining room, I didn’t care. I picked up her chin and looked directly at her. She stared into my brown eyes as I brought her lips toward mine. The events from Thursday started to flow through my mind as my lips longingly touched hers, reliving the desire we felt for each other that night.