Then You Happened

  “Fine. James is here. I have to go.”

  “Have fun.”

  ****

  “Rodeo Drive?” James asked as I climbed in the back of the limo.

  “I wish. Unfortunately, we need to go to less expensive stores and I also need hiking shoes.”

  He laughed. “Right. Sierra Adams is going hiking?”

  “I guess I am, according to Cameron.”

  “I want videos of this trip.” He smiled. “I think Old Navy would suit you.”

  “Really?” I said.

  “Yep and I know where one is and there’s a sporting goods store next to it, so you can buy your hiking shoes.” He laughed.

  “Stop laughing and let’s go.”

  He pulled up to the curb of Old Navy and got out and opened the door for me. “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Uh, letting you out.”

  “No…no…no, dear James. You are coming in with me.” I smiled.

  “Come on, Sierra. I was going to sit in that deli right over there and have a sandwich.”

  “Your sandwich can wait. I need your help.”

  “Are you that incapable of picking out your own clothes?”

  “NO! But I need your opinion. So park this baby and let’s go.”

  We walked in the store and I looked around. I picked up a pair of jean shorts they had sitting on the table.

  “Those are nice,” James said.

  I looked at the price tag and then did a double take. “Twenty dollars. That’s it. I’m sure they’ll fall apart after one wash.”

  “Try them on, Sierra. Here; look at how cute this tank top is to go with it.”

  I took it from his hands and examined it. I looked at the price tag. It was twelve dollars. I was in shock at the prices of these clothes. I usually paid about a hundred dollars for my shorts and my tops, depending on what style, usually ran about the same, if not more.

  “These prices are insane,” I said.

  I tried on four pairs of shorts, five tops, and a cute little black floral chiffon skirt. Everything fit perfect. As I was in the dressing room, James handed me a pair of short boots over the door.

  “Here, try these with that skirt. I think you’ll look adorable.”

  I tried them on and then snapped a selfie and sent it to Kirsty. She sent me back a bunch of laughing faces. I bought everything I tried on, including a pair of jeans.

  “Off to get those hiking boots.” James laughed.

  “Shut it!”

  We stepped into Dick’s Sporting Goods and James found the display of boots. The hot-looking salesman asked if he could help me. I wanted to tell him in more ways than one! He talked to me about the different boots and then suggested the pair I should try on. He brought out my size, and when I tried them on, James smiled.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. I’m just used to seeing you in heels. This is a different look for you.”

  “Yeah, well, they’ll be donated after this trip.”

  ****

  Cameron

  “Hey, Sierra. Are you ready?” I said as I lightly knocked on her bedroom door.

  “Yeah. Come on in.”

  I opened the door and gasped when she walked out from her closet in a sexy, short, black dress.

  “Well?” she asked as she spun around.

  “Wow! You look amazing.”

  The dress was strapless and fit her body like a glove. She wore her hair pinned up and she had on high-heeled silver shoes that made her legs look even sexier than they already were.

  “Thank you. You look quite handsome yourself.” She smiled.

  All I could think about was throwing her across the bed, spreading her legs, and making love to her all night. Things with her were getting out of control, as far as I was concerned. I was falling in love with her and, as much as I tried to fight it, I couldn’t. The one thing I was not looking forward to was seeing all the guys she knew at the party. I was going to have to keep my cool if they touched her because she wasn’t mine, and not because I didn’t want her to be, but because she refused to get into a relationship. I was taking her on this trip, hoping that by the time we came home, she’d be mine and I’d be hers. We could work out the details of me leaving Los Angeles later. But as long as I was here, I wanted nothing more than to be with her.

  “It’s time to go.” I smiled.

  She grabbed her clutch and I started walking towards my truck. Since James was a guest at the party, I told her that I’d drive us.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “To the truck. Why aren’t you following?”

  “We aren’t taking your truck,” she said.

  “What are we taking?”

  She smiled as she began to walk down the driveway. “This.”

  My eyes felt like they popped out of my head. “That’s a Porsche 911. Where did you get that?”

  “I rented it. It’s yours for the night.” She smiled.

  I ran to it like a kid on Christmas day and opened the door for her. I climbed in on the driver’s side and started that baby up. The revving of the engine was amazing. I was in my full glory, getting to drive around Los Angeles in this. When we arrived at Lure, I pulled up and handed the keys over to the valet. I placed my hand on the small of Sierra’s back and we walked inside. Kirsty was at the door and immediately grabbed hold her hand and led us to where the party was.

  Chapter 19

  Sierra

  I rolled over and, instantly, I felt like I was going to be sick. Cameron had his arm wrapped around me, and I picked it up and ran to the bathroom.

  “Are you okay?” he asked as he stood in the doorway in his boxers.

  “I’ll be fine as soon as soon as I quit throwing up.”

  He walked over and took hold of my hair while I vomited.

  “Thanks, but you don’t need to be in here while I’m puking my guts out.”

  “Someone has to make sure you don’t fall face first in the toilet.” He chuckled.

  “Very funny,” I said as I proceeded to throw up more.

  “Our flight leaves in four hours and we need to leave here in two. Are you going to be okay?”

  “I’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”

  I finally finished and Cameron handed me a towel. I wished I remembered last night. I didn’t even remember fucking him. I stood up and he wrapped his arms around me.

  “Come on; go lie down for a few minutes.”

  “Will you hate me if I tell you that I don’t remember us having sex last night?”

  He laughed. “I didn’t think you’d remember. You were so wasted. I had to carry you in the house. You couldn’t even walk.”

  “So, you took advantage of me while I was drunk?”

  “Umm, no. You took advantage of me. I was bringing you upstairs to bed and you grabbed me and undid my pants. I told you that we weren’t having sex because you were too drunk, but you begged. In fact, at one point, you started crying and saying things like I didn’t find you attractive.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” I pouted.

  “Trust me. There’s no need to apologize. You were one wild ride last night, Sierra Adams.”

  I smiled at him and buried my face in his chest. I was slightly embarrassed. Oh shit. I told him earlier in the day I was still on my period.

  “There was no mess, right?” I asked.

  “No. None at all.” He smiled.

  ****

  I rolled my two suitcases down the hall and stopped at the top of the stairs when my phone began to ring. I looked at it, only to see that Delia was calling. Cameron started up the steps as I answered it.

  “Hello, Mother.”

  “Hello, darling. Don’t make plans for tomorrow. Clive, Ava, and I are taking you to dinner for your birthday.”

  “Sorry. No can do. I’m actually on my way to the airport. I’m flying to North Carolina. I won’t be back until Tuesday night.”

  “Why on earth are you going to North Carolina?”

&nb
sp; This was going to be good. “Remember the escort I rented? You know, the one you met at my house? Well, it turns out that the escort service he works for is based in North Carolina and since I was so impressed with their services and their men, I thought that maybe it would be a great business opportunity to take them on as a client for Adams Advertising. My team came up with the best slogan.”

  “That’s not a good way to spend your birthday, Sierra. Especially your thirtieth.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t have waited until the day before my birthday to make plans. Goodbye, Mother. I’ll call you when I get back and we can set something up.”

  “Fine, Sierra. Enjoy your trip,” she said with an attitude.

  I hung up and, before I could grab my suitcase, Cameron already had it in his hand. “How do you come up with that shit so fast?”

  “It’s a talent, baby. A God-given talent.”

  “Is it also a God-given talent to pack two large suitcases for a three-day trip?”

  “Please. One suitcase is for clothes and the other suitcase is for all my makeup. You never know what you might be in the mood to wear, so it’s always best to be prepared.”

  He laughed as he shook his head and took my suitcases downstairs. When I reached the last step, Kirsty and James came through the door. Neither one of them would look at me and they headed straight to the kitchen.

  “STOP!” I yelled.

  They both stopped in their tracks and slowly turned around. Cameron stopped in the middle of the foyer and looked at me.

  “A simple hello would be nice. Also, why are you here, Kirsty?”

  “Oh, I just wanted to go to the airport and say goodbye to you since tomorrow is your birthday and I won’t see you,” she said with a slight nervous tone.

  “I’m calling bullshit.”

  “No, Sierra. You can’t.”

  “I can and I am. The truth is the two of you hooked up last night. Didn’t you?”

  Kirsty looked down in shame while James looked straight at me. “Yes. Yes we did hook up and it was fantastic! There, it’s out in the open now. We had sex and, to quote you, Miss Adams, ‘now get over it and move on,’” he said.

  “Well said, James. Glad it’s out in the open now. Can we please get a move on? Cameron and I have a plane to catch.”

  James smiled at me as he and Cameron grabbed the suitcases and put them in the limo.

  “That was amazing!” Kirsty smiled as she high-fived me.

  “Not awkward at all. I’m happy for you. Are you two spending the weekend together?”

  “Yeah. We’re going to lock ourselves in my apartment, watch movies, and have lots of sex.”

  I put my arm around her and gave her a squeeze.

  Cameron and I had an hour before our flight took off, so we decided to grab something to eat at California Pizza Kitchen. We ordered one pizza, half with pineapple and ham and the other with pepperoni and mushrooms. Take one guess which half was mine. As he sipped on his water, Cameron stared across the table at me.

  “How did you know?”

  “Know what?” I asked.

  “That James and Kirsty hooked up last night.”

  “Easy. She told me about it via text messages last night, which I didn’t read until this morning. So, when I got out of the shower, I called her and we put together a plan.”

  “You’re sneaky. By the way, I like your dress.” He smiled.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It looks very nice on you.”

  “Thank you. It’s one of my less expensive maxi dresses.”

  I looked at my phone. Our plane was going to start boarding any minute. “Come on; we better get to our gate.”

  We boarded the plane and Cameron smiled when he sat down in his seat and the flight attendant offered him an alcoholic beverage.

  “Welcome to first class, Mr. Cole.” I smiled.

  I pulled out my iPad and turned it on. Cameron looked over and commented. “I thought you weren’t bringing any work with you.”

  “I’m just checking a couple of emails. Relax.”

  “I’m sorry. I just want you to forget about Adams Advertising for a couple of days. I want you to have fun and just forget about the corporate world.”

  He wants. He wants. He wants. That was the problem with guys that weren’t in my corporate world. They didn’t understand that my job was pretty much 24/7. My dad built that company up from the ground and turned it into something huge. It was his life and now it was mine. I needed to keep it that way because there was no other way of life for me. Maybe at one time, there could have been, but not anymore. I looked over at him as he stared straight ahead. I closed the cover to my iPad and put it away in my bag. Why? I wasn’t sure. I just knew it was the right thing to do.

  Chapter 20

  Cameron

  We stepped off the plane and I grabbed her hand. Once we were in the airport, she looked around as if she was in a foreign country; unsure and skeptical.

  “Welcome to North Carolina, Sierra.”

  “It looks nice.” She smiled.

  “It’s the airport.” I laughed.

  She sighed because she knew she wasn’t fooling me. She was out of her comfort zone and out of her own world. But I had hoped to change all that for her during our trip.

  “How far is it to your house?”

  “About a two-hour drive. I rented a car. We need to go and pick it up.”

  “A limo?” She smiled.

  “No, babe. A regular car.”

  “Did you just call me ‘babe’?”

  “Yeah, I did. Sorry about that. It just kind of slipped out.”

  She arched her eyebrow at me, but I didn’t care. I could tell she secretly liked it. We stepped up to the desk of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car and I handed the clerk my driver’s license. She keyed in all the necessary information and handed it back to me along with the keys to a Toyota Prius. I opened the door for Sierra, and she looked at me.

  “Really? It’s so small.” She hesitated.

  “I guess it’s all they had. Get in and put on your seatbelt. You’re going to fall in love with the scenery. It’s a really beautiful drive. There’s no smog or tall buildings.”

  “I like the smog and tall buildings.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, you’ll like this scenery too. It’s very peaceful. It’s not a chaotic mess like Los Angeles is.”

  “I like the chaotic mess.” She smiled.

  “Okay. I’m done trying to convince you. You’ll just have to make your own judgments.”

  She rubbed her thumb across my cheek. “You’re so cute when you’re irritated.”

  We finally reached my parents’ house and, when we pulled up the graveled driveway, Sierra squinted her eyes and leaned closer to the windshield.

  “Your house is a log cabin?” she asked.

  I chuckled. “It’s a house made out of logs. It’s not a cabin. Pretty cool, huh?”

  “Sure,” she said hesitantly.

  I could already tell this may not have been such a good idea.

  ****

  Sierra

  The house was cute from the outside. I’d never actually seen a house made out of logs. It actually looked quite cozy. As I was taking in the surrounding area, a man and woman, who I presumed were Cameron’s dad and mom, came from the house.

  “Cameron.” She smiled with her arms out.

  “Hi, Mom.” He hugged her tight.

  “How’s it going, son?”

  “Hi, Dad.” They lightly hugged.

  “Mom, Dad, I would like you to meet my friend, Sierra Adams.”

  “Hello.” I smiled as I stuck out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too. Please call us Jerry and Luanne.”

  Good boy, introducing me as his friend. I stood there with a smile plastered on my face, waiting for the obvious question of the day. One. Two and three. Go.

  “So, how did you two meet again?” Luanne asked.

/>   And there it was.

  “We met at Starbucks and now I’m doing work for her on her house,” Cameron said.

  His dad took my suitcases and Cameron took his.

  “So, you work at Starbucks making the coffee drinks that everyone seems to be obsessed over?” Luanne asked.

  Really? Did I look like a barista chick?

  “Yes. She’s the barista at Starbucks and she can make one hell of a cup of coffee.” Cameron smiled.

  “So are the two of you having sex?” Jerry blurted out as we entered the house.

  I gasped. “Ah, no, Dad. We’re just friends. When I told her I was coming here for my birthday, she asked if she could come because she’d never been to North Carolina. Sierra’s birthday is tomorrow too.”

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Jerry said. “Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked.

  I narrowed my eyebrows and then looked at Cameron. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” I looked to the right, behind me, and then to the left. I leaned in closer to his parents and softly spoke.

  “I’m a lesbian.”

  Jerry’s and Luanne’s eyes widened. “But you’re too hot to be a lesbian,” Jerry said as he looked me up and down.

  Cameron put his hand on the small of my back and squeezed a little too tight. I took in a deep breath and tried to wiggle my way away from him.

  “Come on, Sierra. I’ll show you to your room.”

  “Aren’t we sharing a room?” I whispered as we walked up the stairs.

  “No. My mom has a strict rule. If you’re not married, then you aren’t allowed to share a room. But now that you told them you are a lesbian, I’m sure they won’t care!”

  “That’s a dumb rule. How are we supposed to have sex?”

  He laughed. “You’ll be sharing a room with Jolene and we’ll have to sneak around.”

  “You started it,” I said as we stepped into Jolene’s room.

  He set my bags on the bed across from Jolene’s. “I started it? You started it when you told your mother that I was the escort you hired!”

  Okay, so I started it. Whatever. He didn’t have to go and tell them that I was a barista.

  “Okay, fine. But a barista, Cameron?”

  He laughed, and as he stepped closer to wrap his arms around me, his sister walked through the door.