Chapter 20

Katie

I heard the conversation between Dad and Cam, and I felt sorry for him. I knew how cryptic Dad could be in his conversations. Nearly always he had a further question behind the question he actually asked. He had the same sort of sneaky conversations with me, so I knew how Cam must have felt. One moment he was quizzing you and the next he was making you feel at ease, up and down, round and round. You never knew where you stood with my dad.

I had thought Cam had handled it quite well and not got overly stressed about the whole situation. If he had been a regular Navy person, I’m sure he would have nearly pissed in his pants with that sort of situation. I was just glad when Dad told me to come and play with Emmy. It saved me from cringing at the comments that he bandied about over dinner. I wouldn’t have been able to refrain from butting in and could have made the whole situation worse by saying something I shouldn’t have, or which could have given the game away between Cam and me.

Dad sat in the living room for a while why I played with Emmy, and he showed an entirely different side of himself to Cam. He made no similar comments he had done over dinner. And that was the one good thing with my dad; once he had finished, he let it go and moved on.

Dad had left us and had retired for his regular routine of being in his study for an hour or two. I was not sure what he did in there all that time. Maybe he schemed about Cam and me. But it was probably more the case of some quiet reading or work-related things.

We finally got Emmy ready, and I asked Cam if I could walk with them back to their house. I thought it would be an ideal situation to fully apologize for my dad’s gentle yet commanding behavior. It was not the easiest thing to sit through, especially the first time, and I just wanted him to know I was sorry and appreciated the fact that he came around.

Cam walked ahead and I toddled up the road with Emmy in her harness, making sure she didn’t trip and stumble. Emmy was not the fastest walker in the world, and Cam had entered the house by the time we had reached halfway between their house and my dad’s.

I looked from a distance and could already see that Cam had opened the door and entered inside. We strolled as fast as we could at Emmy’s pace, and we made it back. I picked Emmy up into my arms and carried her into the living room. I sat her down on the couch and removed her harness and jacket and placed her on the floor to play for a few minutes while I spoke to Cam.

“Cam, I should apologize for all that behavior of my dad’s; he was a bit over the top,” I said as I sat on the couch. “And he gets defensive by being offensive, if you know what I mean.”

Cam looked at me. “Your dad was very subtle, and he was very brutal in his words and his questions. It was like Chinese water torture, he dripped and dripped little snippets of information and questions which tapped, tapped on my brain. Every time he opened his mouth, I was thinking, did he know? Or did he no know about us? And my mind was turning into mush,” he explained.

“He’s just being cautious and concerned. Most of all though, he just wanted to see why I was spending so much time over at your place, that’s all,” I said calmly.

“It was his freaking idea in the first place. So if he questions it, he should be questioning himself first,” Cam replied, grabbing a glass of water. “I never want to sit through anything like that again, especially if it is not my choice.”

“You can’t blame him for wanting to know what’s going on. What father wouldn’t be curious? I’m sure you would be a hell of a lot worse than that if you were in his situation?” I asked.

“I suppose you’re right, but it is just I beg… well you know,” he said while sipping from his glass.

“You have no need to worry though. We have been cool all the way through. If he had suspected anything, he would have lost it, I’m sure,” I said, trying to reassure him.

“Yes, I know.”

“Dad will have satisfied his curiosity already from the conversation you’ve had,” I added assuringly.

“That is the problem though. Katie, I do worry. It’s not like we are boyfriend and girlfriend. I have Emmy to consider and a long career behind me. God, and hopefully, still in front of me. All of this needs to be considered. I can’t just lose everything because your dad gets pissed with me for something which is quite trivial. He can just end my career with one phone call,” Cam said.

Dad doesn’t know anything. I’m sure of it. And, I’m sure Cam could have spotted the moment Dad did think something had happened.

“I understand all that, but like I say, no one knows any different, apart from you and me, it’s not like we have been seen out holding hands or anything,” I said.

“That’s easy for you to say. You’re still young, and if you make a mistake, you’re at the age you will not be affected much. You’ll be able to put it all down as an experience,” he said.

I listened to what Cam had said, and I could see he had been bothered about the whole ordeal. And it had put a dark cloud over us. But, I knew it would blow over and he was just having a gut reaction to having a dinner with my dad and all of his probing questions.

After all, he was the fucking Admiral, and how many guys get to do that? Never mind the ones who are screwing the Admiral’s daughter without any signs of a relationship going on. What made it all the more ironic though, was it was actually Dad’s idea for me to go around to Cam's house to help out. It was like he wanted to be in control of me, and when he was, he wanted to know what was going on as well.

Geez, old people. Who want’s to be one of them.

Cam wandered around and washed Emmy before he dressed her into her night clothes and got her ready for bed. That should have been the sign for me to leave; yet I wanted to hang around for just a little while longer. I wandered around Cam's living room and looked at the old photos from his days on tour and then noticed that he had left his phone on the table.

As soon as I noticed the cell phone, my mind went back to the call he cut off during dinner. Had he seen who was calling or had he just turned it off without looking?

I could hear him in the bedroom playing with Emmy as he put her to sleep. I cautiously turned on his cell and waited for the home screen to appear. I flicked through his phone until I found the call history. I opened the folder and could see a few entries which were old and then I found the one from dinner. As clear as day, the name was there. Karry.

Fuck, he has lied? He's seeing her and just using me for a quick fuck.

I listened quietly as the noise from the bedroom subsided and Cam quietly returned to the living room.

“You never explained your so-called date in any detail,” I asked.

“Well, it was eventful, and all on Owen’s side. Debbie, his date, was okay, but her friend, well she was not my type at all,” he said as he walked to sit down.

“Do you plan on seeing her again? You know, are you gonna have a second date?” I asked.

“Not at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if I never heard from her again,” he said and sat on the couch.

“Did she have a name?” I quizzed him.

“Yes, and it was so funny. Owen called her Kally, and her name was Karry,” Cam said while resting back on the couch.

I laughed sarcastically. “Ah, I see. You never actually went into any detail about it,” I said.

“Why do you ask?” Cam asked in a confused sort of way.

I looked at him and I knew he would be angry that I had checked his phone, but I was sure I could make him realize that it was him that was at fault. It was not me who had a mysterious woman calling my phone. I wondered though if I could twist it slightly on how I presented the question to him.

“Hey Cam, did you check who that was calling you during dinner?” I asked.

“No, probably no one important. It could have been Owen just wanting to bug me about something,” he replied uninterested.

“Here you go, check your phone. Then you won’t have to worry,” I said and handed him his cell phone.

I gave it to him.

“You don’t want to regret anything.”

“I will do it later. I’m not really in the mood to be bothered with it now. I have had enough for one evening,” he replied and placed his phone on the couch.

“Okay, if I have a look, I will let you know who it was, okay?” I asked.

“Sure, why not, just let me know who it was,” he said, resting his head back and closing his eyes.

“Aha.”

“If it was Owen, don’t even bother telling me it was him calling,” he said.

“Karry it says here,” I said.

Cam sat upright and looked a little flustered. I had managed to twist it slightly so he wouldn’t know I had checked his phone.

Got you Cam, hook, line, and sinker. There is no escaping this one.

“Who is Karry?” I asked as I looked confused, on purpose.

“It is, um, no one important, that…,” he started to say.

Here was my chance to question him about his budding romance with Owen’s girlfriend.

“It's that woman from your blind date, isn’t it?” I growled.

“Um, yes, it is,” he answered looking slightly flushed.

“So, you’re seeing her?” I questioned him.

“No, it is nothing like that at all--” Cam tried to say.

I cut him off mid-sentence. “Don’t fucking lie to me. How would you get her number on your phone if there was not something planned hey? Hmm, answer me that!” I yelled angrily.

“Katie, stop!”

“Was she calling to arrange a second date?” I screamed through gritted teeth.

“Nothing is going on. Fuck. She just wanted to give me her number in case I changed my mind. Just check the phone history,” he added.

I looked at the phone history and could see it was empty apart from one call on the night when he had his meeting with her. But he could have quite easily have used the landline.

He better not be lying.

“I’m sorry Cam, I think you’re telling me lies, and I don’t like it.”

“Katie. You’re being ridiculous and a bit fucking childish, if I do say so myself,” Cam said. HeHHe stood up and walked to the kitchen.

“Well, Cam, just look at the fucking evidence, will you? You’re the one who went out, and you’re the one who had a phone call. I have done nothing like it apart from wanting to be with you,” I said irately.

“Katie, what the fuck am I going to do with you? God, you just drive me crazy sometimes,” he said.

“All with good reason Cam. All with good fucking reason,” I answered in a harsh tone.

“Just let me say something, will you?” he barked.

“Keep going. Let's see what else you have to say,” I said sarcastically.

“Well, if I did not care so much for you, I would tell you to fuck off out right now and never to come around here or have any contact with Emmy or myself,” he snarled.

I looked at him a little shocked, but I didn’t want to show it.

“And, Katie dear, I sure as hell wouldn’t sit through a fucking interrogation with your dad at dinner time, just to keep him fucking happy,” he snarled.

“Cam, I a…,” I tried to say.

“What the fuck has anything got to do with you anyway. Fuck. It’s my life. I should be able to do as I see fit. So, what if I wanted to see you? But why to bring all this shit down on me?” he said in a raised tone.

“Cam!”

“I have told you what happened, and if you and your dad can’t accept it, well you might as well just go on and go,” he said, still not raising his voice.

Fuck Katie, have you fucked it for yourself?

“Cam, I’m so sorry to have doubted you, it is…,” I attempted to say.

“Trying to get out of it now, are we?’ he answered as he cut my sentence short.

“No, I’m not trying to get out of anything. I’m just trying to say that I’m having really strong feelings toward you. God… and not just some girly crush. They’re real meaningful emotions,” I stated in a timid voice.

“So, I suppose you’re trying to say that you’re sorry for the way you have acted,” Cam asked.

“Well, yes, I’m,” I replied.

“Katie, you just blow hot or cold. I asked you to trust me, and you went in the opposite direction when I had to trust you,” Cam snarled.

I listened to everything Cam had said. I felt like a stupid kid for the way I went off the rails and blamed him for one phone number on his cell phone that he had apparently not even called.

I decided to stop things from becoming any worse and walked to the door.

I turned to Cam and watched as he stood there and watched me open the door. “Cam, I’m leaving.”

He didn’t say a word but ignored me. Yep. He was still pissed off.