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“Take a cold shower. ”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. ”
I laughed again. “You coming back over?”
“Always,” he said, kissing me quickly.
“Okay. ” I opened my eyes, smiling. “I’ll wait for you. ”
Chapter 26
My life changed in very little ways in such a short period of time that it all added up to this monumental deal, at least to me. Cam had spent all day Sunday with me and I’d woken up this morning to a good morning text from him.
Before I even had a chance to break the news to Brit and Jacob about the status change between Cam and I, they saw it firsthand while we waited outside for Brit to finish her cigarette before heading into Whitehall on Monday.
Cam came out of nowhere, slipping up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I stiffened for a fraction of a second before forcing myself to relax. He pressed his lips to my cheek, and the shiver had nothing to do with the cold air. “Hey there. ”
The cigarette fell out of Brit’s mouth.
Jacob blinked once, then twice, and then again. “What the…?”
I gripped Cam’s forearms as he trailed his lips to my ear, blazing a path across my skin. “I think Brittany’s going to catch her shoe on fire. ”
My gaze dropped and I broke free from his hold. “Oh, my God, Brit, your shoe!”
She glanced down and gave a little shriek. Kicking the lit cigarette off her shoe, she jumped back. “I almost burned to death. And it would’ve been your fault!”
“My fault?”
“Yes. Because you didn’t tell me about this. ” She gestured wildly at a grinning Cam. “That!”
“Are you two, you know?” Jacob pointed at us. “Together? Together?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer. Cam spun me around and kissed me, right there between the two buildings. It was no friendly peck on the lips. When our tongues touched, my bag slipped off my arm and hit the frosted ground.
“Holy crap,” Jacob muttered. “I think they’re going to make babies. ”
Cheeks flaming, I pulled back. Cam looked absolutely shameless as he pressed a kiss to my forehead. Over his shoulder, I saw Steph and her friend, gaping at us. Guess she didn’t get the memo either.
“I got to catch up with the professor before class begins, so I’ve got to run,” he said, backing up. “See you after class?”
“Yes. ” My lips tingled, along with various other parts of my body. “See you then. ”
When I turned back to my friends, both of them stared at me like I just flashed them my goods. Bending down, I picked up my bag. “Okay, before both of you start yelling at me, it just happened, like yesterday and I hadn’t had the time to say anything. ”
Brit folded her arms. “You haven’t had a second to call, or I don’t know, send a text message?”
“We sort of hung out all day yesterday, went to dinner and then—”
“Did you guys have sex?” Jacob grasped my shoulders, giving me a little shake. “Oh my God, girl, details—I needed details. What is the size of his—?”
“We didn’t have sex. ” I smacked his hands away. “Geez, we just got together yesterday. Give me some time for that. ”
“I would’ve been screwing him since August,” Jacob advised.
I shot him a bland look.
They drilled me on what happened as we headed in to Whitehall and through the beginning of class. By the time I left them to wait for Cam outside, I was sure I’d smoothed over my friend fail.
I stood just outside of the awning, leaning against one of the pillars. I probably looked weird, because of the beaming smile plastered across my face, but I hadn’t really stopped smiling since yesterday morning.
My smile slipped an inch when I saw Cam coming out of the doors, Steph attached to his side. The only thing that kept me from acting like a tiger and pouncing on her was the fact that Cam didn’t look too thrilled.
Steph tossed her glossy mane of hair over one shoulder as they approached me. “Hi,” she said with I thought was a whole butt load of false cheer.
“Hey,” I replied, holding her gaze.
Cam slipped up to my side, threading his fingers through mine. “Your class let out early?”
I nodded. “Just a few minutes ago. ”
Steph was glaring daggers through our joined hands. “Are you going to be at Jase’s party next Saturday, Cam?”
There was a party? As stupid as it was, I so did not like the idea of Cam going to a party where Steph would be. Wrong. Wrong. But an ugly feeling snaked through me whenever I thought of those two hooking up in the past.
“I don’t know yet. ” Cam squeezed my hand. “Depends on if Avery wants to go. ”
Her perfect mouth dropped open, and I think I loved Cam. “If Avery wants to…? Whatever. ” She stalked off, joining the girl I’d seen her with at the Halloween party.
I looked up at Cam. “Well, she didn’t seem too happy about that. ”
He shrugged.
We started up the hill, toward Knutti. “So you guys weren’t more than just friends with benefits?”
Cam sent me a sidelong glance. “We hooked up every once in a while, but like I told you this weekend, I haven’t been with anyone since I met you. ”
“I know. It just seems like she wanted more. ”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“Geez, we really need to work on your confidence. ”
Cam chuckled as he pulled me to his side. We huddled against the wind whipping down the hill. “I can think of a few other things we can work on. ”
“Perv,” I mumbled even though my mind was right there with him.
He pressed his lips to my temple. “Guilty as charged, sweetheart. ”
Cam didn’t go to the party at Jase’s Saturday night. He hadn’t even brought it up and I wasn’t sure if I should have. I felt a little guilty about him not going, because I didn’t want to interfere with his friends, but he didn’t seemed bothered by the fact that he was missing out on an epic game of beer pong.
We went out to dinner in a nearby town and then came back to my place. If I had any doubts about the seriousness of our relationship, there were vanquished that evening.
Cam had brought Raphael over to my apartment.
Nothing got more serious than allowing a tortoise to crawl across your kitchen floor.
“He needs to get his exercise,” Cam said, sitting in front of my fridge, legs spread. “If not, he just gets fat and lazy, sitting in his shell. ”
“Poor Raphael. ” I picked him up and turned him back around, so he was heading toward Cam. “It has to be boring in the aquarium. ”
“It’s a terrarium,” Cam corrected. “And he has a rocking terrarium. Got him a new one for his birthday. ”
“You know when his birthday is?”
“Yep. July 26th. ” He paused, eyeing me. “When is your birthday?”
I crossed my ankles. “Uh, you have a while until you have to worry about that. When’s yours?”
“June 15th. When is yours, Avery?”
This was about to get awkward. “It was January 2nd. ”
Cam leaned forward, his brow raising. Several seconds passed as he stared at me. “I missed your birthday. ”
“It’s not a big deal,” I said, waving it off. “I went to the Smithsonian and then I got sick, so it’s probably a good thing you weren’t around. ”
His expression tensed. “Aw, man, that’s why you said you wanted to go there on the second. You were alone? Shit. I so feel—”
“Don’t. ” I held up my hand. “You don’t need to feel terrible. You didn’t do anything wrong. ”
Cam watched me for a few more moments, expression sheltered. Finally, he said, “Well, there’s always next year. ”
I smiled at that. Next year. Wow. Thinking that far in advance was a little scary and exciting.
After a little while, Cam scoope
d the turtle up and stood. “Be right back. ”
While Cam took his pet back to his apartment, I rushed into the bathroom and quickly brushed my teeth. I was done seconds before he came back. He pulled the wool sweater off, draping it over the back of the couch. The gray shirt that had been on underneath stretched over his broad chest and when he stretched before he sat down, the shirt rose, exposing a span of taut skin.
My heart rate kicked up as I watched him from the hallway. Cam and I kissed—a lot—and he liked to cuddle, so in a week, I’d grown use to him having his arms around me and his lips on mine, but we hadn’t done anything like we had Thanksgiving night, even though I imagined that he wanted to. So there was many nights I went to bed, thinking about him, and while I could get some relief from what was turning into a constant low simmering ache, it wasn’t enough.
He wanted me.
I wanted him.
We were together.
And I trusted him.
Biting down on my lip, I toyed with the edge of the sweater dress I wore. I’d taken off the boots and tights when we’d gotten back and now tiny bumps spread across my bare legs.
Was he waiting for me to make the first move? He seemed so… careful with me, as if he was worried that I’d run away from him. I wanted to run to him. Cam glanced over at me, brow raised. The room was dark with the exception of the glow from the TV. “You going to come over here or stare at me the rest of the evening?”
My cheeks flushed as I pushed away from the door. I could do this. I didn’t need to wait on him to make a move.
Gathering my courage, I walked over to him. He stared up at me with those extraordinary eyes as he lifted a hand. I placed mine in his, but instead of sitting beside him, I climbed into his lap, straddling him.
Cam immediately straightened, his hands flying to my hips. “Hey there, sweetheart. ”
“Hey,” I replied, heart pounding so fast there was a good chance I was going to have a heart attack.
His gaze dipped, thick lashes shielding his eyes. “Did you miss me this much? I was only gone a few minutes?”
“Maybe. ” I placed my hands on his shoulders as I lowered myself down. My grip tightened as I felt his arousal pressing against the softest part of me.
His hands traveled up my sides slowly, so slowly that I thought I would die by the time he cupped my cheeks. “What are you doing?”
I wetted my lips and his lashes lifted, revealing a deeper shade of blue. “What does it look like?”
“I can think of a few things. ” His thumbs moved over my cheeks. “All of them have me extremely interested. ”
“Interested?” My breaths were coming out fast and short. “That’s good. ”
Then, because it seemed like he was letting me take the lead on this, I brought my head down to his. Our lips brushed once, twice, and then I pressed mine to his more firmly. He followed me, our kisses becoming deeper, slower, and infinitely more as his tongue tortured mine in a way that had me shaking and wanting so very much more.
His hands slid back down in a slow, languid pace, causing my back to arch into the movement. Even though the only experience I had with this was what we’d done Thanksgiving night, it seemed like my body knew what to do. I rocked my hips and his hands tightened on my waist. A shudder worked its way down his large body, and it was both a bit frightening and a lot exhilarating.