by Nicole Dykes
I should out him, but I may have a better plan. I shake my head. “No. He probably went to work already.”
The girl visibly pouts and plops herself down at the kitchen table. “Damn. I was hoping we would have more time to get to know each other this morning.”
I pretend to be sympathetic and hold back sarcasm. “I’m sure he wanted that too. Cam’s very dedicated to his job.”
She nods her head a little too fast, and it’s clear this girl doesn’t have a ton going on upstairs. “I could tell. He seems very driven.”
I glance down at Cam briefly, who looks just as dumbfounded as I am by this girl. Then I look back at her, smiling sweetly. “Where exactly did you meet, Cam?”
She brightens and goes to straight-up bubbly. “Oh, last night at the tattoo parlor. He was getting his and I was getting mine, our eyes met across the room and it was just magic! I mean, I seriously feel like I met my soul mate.” I see Cam do a face palm from out of the corner of my eye.
I think my jaw dropped a little just listening to her. Does she really believe this? My smile is fake when I say, “Some people are just lucky like that. What a great story.”
She bobs her head again. “I know, right? And then we just had an incredible night!” Her bottom lip goes out in a pout that makes her look like a toddler. “But then I woke up and he was gone.”
I give Cam a devilish grin before walking out from behind the counter island and sitting down at the table with the blond dum-dum. “Did you get a chance to get his phone number?”
She shakes her head in an answer I already knew. “No.” She looks slightly panicked. “He doesn’t have mine either.”
“Well don’t worry. I know Cam will want you to have his. Do you have your phone?”
“Yes!” She jumps up excitedly from table and bounces down the hall.
Cam pops his head up. “Van, what the hell are you doing?”
I signal for him to get back down as I hear his overnight guest’s footsteps coming back down the hall and completely ignore his question. He ducks back down just as the girl walks in and hands me her phone with a glittery hot pink cover. I would expect nothing less from Barbie.
She's slipped on a short pair of shorts and has her purse in hand. “Who are you by the way?” she finally asks as she takes a seat.
That would have been my first question if I woke up at some dude’s house, but whatever. “Oh I’m Cam’s . . .” Hmmm . . . probably don’t want to go with ex since I don’t know how crazy this chick is, “Cousin.”
I can feel Cam rolling his eyes, but hers light up. “Oh! Family! It’s nice to meet you.”
I continue with the fake smile that has been plastered on my face as I program Cam's actual phone number into her phone. “It’s nice to meet you too. I’m sure we will be seeing a lot of each other now.”
I hand her phone back to her and she squeals, “Yes. For sure! Thank you so much for giving me his phone number. I really think you’re right that he would want me to have it. I mean, we had such a deep connection.”
I really don’t want to hear about their connection. “No problem. I’m going to let you in on a little secret about Cam.” She leans in, and her large doe-eyes get even bigger as she hangs on my every word. “He wants to be chased. He craves it.”
“Really?”
I nod my head. “Yes. You know, it’s almost like he’s too good-looking so women are afraid to approach him. So poor Cam is usually the one doing the chasing. He hates it.”
She’s listening to my fictitious advice intently. “Oh, that makes total sense!”
“Right? So, call him. Text him. Don’t give up. The more he ignores you or even seems frustrated, the more he’s into you. Just keep it up, because that means it’s working.”
The girl is beaming as she stands up and then unexpectedly leans down giving me a great big bear hug, smashing her large breasts against my chest, nearly suffocating me. “Thank you so much for the advice! I have to go, but I’ll see you soon.”
I smile at her and pat her arm as she squeezes the life out of me. “Sounds great.”
She finally lets go and then heads for the front door, letting herself out. When the door closes behind her Cam finally pops up. He should probably be pissed, but instead he looks amused. “You’ve got an evil streak, Van.”
I laugh as I stand up from the table and walk into the kitchen, shrugging. “Well, what happened to keeping it respectful?”
He chuckles and crossed his arms, leaning against the counter. I take in that solid, bare chest and notice the sexy new ink spread along his ribcage. “You realize I’m going to have to change my phone number, right?”
I nod. “Yup. I’d do it soon, too. Just remember that next time, buddy. If I have to entertain your overnight guests the next morning, you’re going to have a stalker on your hands.”
He laughs as I pour a bowl of cereal and hand him the box. “I guess that’s fair. I am sorry, though. I didn’t mean for her to stay the night.”
I brush it off, sitting at the table. He pours his own bowl of cereal and joins me, still only wearing his boxer briefs that fit him a little too well. “It’s fine. So, you picked her up while you were getting a tattoo? Really?”
He smirks before taking a bite. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.”
I shake my head and point at his side, with my spoon in my hand. “I like it “
His bright smile widens. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Chris did a good job.”
We continue with small talk at the table while we eat breakfast.
See. Exes can totally be friends. It can work. No drama.
Chapter 14
Cam
By Friday I’m beat. The first week of my internship is about to come to a close when my phone rings in my pocket.
I pull it out and see Dani's name on the caller ID. Thank God. I haven’t had a chance to change my number yet, and the crazy chick I brought home at the beginning of the week has been blowing it up all week. Thanks to Van.
I smile. I gotta give it to her, she’s an evil genius. She could have been pissed and thrown a fit about me breaking the rules the first week, but that’s not really her style. No, she’s way too smart and made me pay instead.
I answer the phone as I walk out the door of Tricked, waving to Luke, and walk to my car. “What’s up, Dani?”
“Hey Cam. You busy tonight?” Her voice comes over the phone with a cool confidence.
I smile at the sound. I missed her voice and I like that she gets right to the point. I always know where we stand. No games. “Nope. Your parents home?”
“Nope. Come over around nine?” She purrs, her voice now full of arousal and need for me.
I climb into my car, my cock fully aware of what will happen later tonight. “I’ll be there. Just text me the address.”
“See ya then,” she says and quickly hangs up.
My phone dings with a message from her and I start my car and drive home. It’s been a long day and it’s already past seven when I get there. I went on a two-hour trip with Jax, out to the middle of fucking nowhere to meet with some rich-ass client and the asshole still didn’t commit to anything before we left. Jax just called it laying the groundwork and said it was a successful day.
When I unlock the front door and walk into the living room, I expect to see Van, but don’t, so I go to my room, take a shower and walk back out into the kitchen area.
I’m dressed in jeans and a fresh t-shirt and have a nice clean shave, ready to go meet Dani, when I catch of Van out in the back yard. Well, fuck.
I shake my head, smiling as I open the patio and walk outside. Van is bikini clad, lounging poolside on one of the chairs. She’s reading on her Kindle and pries her eyes away to look over at me. “When did you get home?”
God, I miss that body. She’s stretched out, long and lean, but still manages to have feminine curves in the right places. Her little purple bikini leaves little to the imagination, but it’s still cl
assy in a way only Vanessa can pull off. “Not long ago. You?”
“A little after five. Brooke always tries to leave on time on Fridays.”
I grin and gesture toward her Kindle, “Whatcha reading?”
“A mystery,” she answers simply, then looks out at the pool. “Thinking about taking a break and hopping in the pool though.”
I grin and look and the large underground pool. It’s been a long day, and I gotta admit, the water is inviting. “Oh yeah?”
She puts the Kindle down on the table next to her, “Yeah, it’s still really hot out here. I’d ask you if you want to join, but,” she gestures to me, “Looks like you were headed out.”
I grin as she stands up from the chair and I take in the sexy new view of her upright. I shrug my shoulders and pull my shirt off over my head in one quick motion. “It can wait til after a swim,” I say smirking and then undo the button of my jeans.
Vanessa’s eyes bug out of her head as she stares down at my hand, “Cam! What the hell are you doing?”
I tug the jeans down and step out of them, “What the hell is the fun of having a pool in your backyard if you can’t swim naked?” I say as I yank down my boxer briefs kicking them in a pile with my shirt and jeans.
Van raises her hand and covers her eyes, “Jesus, Cameron Alexander Brown! What the hell are you thinking?”
I chuckle at her use of my full name and walk over to where she’s standing by the pool’s edge, prying her hand from her eyes. I think she’s blushing. Fuck that’s cute. “Van, you’ve seen me naked.”
She makes a point of only looking at my eyes. “We were dating!”
“Nope. Actually, we fucked quite a bit after we dated. So, not only have you seen my cock,” I fake a gasp, “You’ve touched it.” Then I grin, “You’ve done naughty things to me when I was naked, Van.”
Her eyes are still fixated on mine. She won’t dare look down, probably a good thing, since the close contact with her only wearing a bikini and me completely naked has left me at more than half-mast. “Cam, it’s different now and you know it.”
Yeah, but I still have no idea why. “It’s just a swim, Van. Loosen up!” I say that right before jumping into the warm water, heated by the week of temperatures in the high nineties.
I come up from under the water and see Van still standing there, one hand on her hip and clearly debating with herself.
I splash water up at her. “Get your ass in the pool.”
She giggles as the water hits her bare legs. “Fine, but keep that thing to yourself,” she says as she uses the stairs to descend into the water, slowly wading in and treading water in the deep end with me, but on the opposite side.
“How was your day with Brooke?” I ask, curious because I know her first day was rough.
“Pretty much the same, but I’m slowly getting used to it.”
I nod my head listening to her. “That’s good, Van. So, you aren’t going to quit then?”
“No. You were right. I’m in this so I can make it better. No way I’m gonna wuss out.”
I smile, feeling a sense of pride for her. I meant what I said, if anyone can help fix the fucked-up system it’s Van.
“So, where were you headed?” she asks, her long arms cutting through the water as she holds herself up effortlessly.
I’m not going to hide things from her. If she just wants to be friends then that’s what we are going to be. She doesn’t need to be shielded. “Dani’s.”
She doesn’t look too surprised as she nods her head slowly, “Ah, so she finally got through her list here and is back to you?”
Damn, she’s vicious when it comes to Dani, but I guess I kind of gave her the ammunition for that one during our conversation the other night. “I guess so.”
“So, how do you think she would feel about you swimming naked with me right now?”
She has that devilish gleam in her eyes. Whether she wants to admit it or not, she likes the idea of pissing Dani off. Sorry to pop her bubble. “I really don’t think she would care.”
Van scoffs, “Cam, you’re naked with your ex-girlfriend right before you go over to have sex with her. Trust me, she would care.”
I laugh and swim a little closer to Van, who swims backward a couple of feet. “First of all, sadly, you aren’t naked with me so it doesn’t really count. Second of all, I’ve done way worse to her and trust me, that girl didn’t give a fuck.”
She looks confused and maybe a little intrigued, “What did you do to her?”
I guess it won’t hurt to be totally honest. If I don’t tell her, I’m sure someone else will. “Well the day before we graduated, when we were hooking up . . .I sort of . . ..” I pause and watch Van as she listens to me, wondering how she’s gonna handle this. “Called her the wrong name.”
She looks at me in horror. “You didn’t!”
I nod, still feeling like an asshole about it. “I did. In my defense, it was really fucking early in the morning, and I wasn’t totally awake. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
She’s thinking about it and then busts out laughing, “Wow, Cam. That is really bad.”
“I know, but my point is, she didn’t care. Van, she laughed. And then wanted to fuck again that night.” I say as I swim closer to her, almost closing the gap between us. “So, that little theory you have about her wanting more than my dick is totally off base.”
She ponders that and then shakes her head, “No. She’s hiding her feelings. There is no way she’s okay with that.”
“I’m telling ya, Van, Dani is the real deal when it comes to just fun, dirty, casual sex. You know, not everyone takes sex so seriously.”
She backs up in the water again, nearing the edge of the pool. “Oh, so I’m the weird one because I think sex is a big deal?”
I close the gap between us again. “No, not at all. I’m just saying it’s not to everyone. Some people are capable of fucking without feelings, and Dani’s one of them.”
She leans in close to my face, her expression scary serious. “I’m telling you, she’s not. Not when it comes to you.”
“You jealous, Van?” I ask, the same deadly serious tone coming out of my mouth.
She moves back until her back touches the wall of the pool, and she reaches an arm back to grip the edge with her hand. “No, not at all. I just think you are in some serious denial about her.”
I move in, she has nowhere else to go. My face nearing hers, our chests almost touching as I tread water and she hangs on, “I’m not, but I am curious as to why you care so much about it, Van.”
Why the hell can’t she just admit she’s jealous? Damn it, she drives me fucking crazy. “You’re my friend, Cam.”
“Bullshit, Van,” I say, and she flinches.
Damn. It didn’t take long before the whole “we are just friends” thing took a plunge, but I know she’s jealous. I can feel it. I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a part of me that eats that shit up.
“Cam, look at me.” I look into her eyes because I know that’s what she wants. “I’m sorry I said anything, okay? You and Dani are none of my business. If you think she just wants you for sex, then maybe you’re right.”
I fucking hate this bullshit composure thing she’s doing right now. I want to see her lose her shit. Like at that party. Fuck that was hot, and I realize now, it’s because it was real. Raw and uninhibited. I sigh, knowing this is going nowhere. “All right, Van.”
I back up, giving her space. She tries a smile, but I know it’s fake. Then she lets curiosity get the best of her and asks, “What name did you call her?”
Just friends, my ass. I smirk at her and grip the edge of the pool, pulling myself up and out as I say, casually without looking back at her, “Yours.”
With that I grab my clothes and go inside the house.
There, I’ll leave her to obsess about that shit all night.
She wants to pretend she wants strictly friendship, fine.
Chapter 15
Da
ni
Cam rolls his hard body off me, lying flat on his back and staring up at the ceiling. Fuck that was hot.
He was almost brooding tonight when he rang the doorbell at my parent’s house. As soon as he asked if anyone was home and I said no, it was on. He just tore into me like he was furious.
Part of me is dying to ask him what’s wrong. Who pissed him off, but I don’t. I’m not that chick. The one that makes him talk about his feelings.
No, I’m the one that just lets him bang his anger out.
That’s me.
The truth is, it took all the strength I had not to call him on Sunday night when I knew he had probably arrived in town.
I got back home that morning after leaving the cabin the Monroes rented and saying goodbye to my best friend in the whole world.
My mother, of course wasn’t happy to see me in the slightest. She did what she does best. She criticized my clothes, my hair, my piercings and tattoos.
“Danielle, when are you going to get your hair cut? I thought for sure you would get tired of the split ends while you were at school.” “Danielle really, are you ever going to stop defiling your body?” “I’m just worried people are going to mistake you for a prostitute when you are dressed that way, Danielle.” Her words echo in my mind.
My dad is no fucking better. He’s always working and I mean always. His phone never leaves his hand and the other one is usually filled with a drink. Can’t blame him, being married to my mother for twenty years.
Not that he doesn’t enjoy other women on the side. Yeah, we are that fucking cliché. And my mom, being the true socialite, money grubbing bitch she is, gladly turns the other cheek in exchange for various material things. Vacations, luxury cars, massive house, country club membership, jewelry, you name it.
No joke, at my fourteenth birthday party, my dad’s former secretary confronted him about screwing her and then firing her in front of everyone. The very next day, there was a brand new Mercedes waiting in the driveway for my mom. And all was fine again.
