Chapter 48

Cami

I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable about spending the night with Xander until he was driving me home the next day.

“Why do I feel like I’m doing the walk of shame?” I asked as Xander parked in a guest spot.

“Because you refused to pack an overnight bag,” he replied.

“I brought a toothbrush,” I reminded him.

“I bring a toothbrush when I have a dentist’s appointment after band practice. That’s different from packing for a sleepover. Since you’re wearing the same clothes you had on yesterday, this qualifies as a walk of shame.”

“You’re probably right,” I told him. “This would feel different if I had a change of clothes.”

“Possibly,” he replied. “I expected you to revel in the walk of shame. You seem to get off on being a bad girl.”

I smiled. “I enjoy being a bad girl at times. Growing up, I always did my best to avoid any trouble.”

“Let me guess. You were one of those kids who thrived on praise. You liked being the smartest girl in class, the one who never got into any trouble.”

“That’s not what motivated me,” I admitted as I climbed out of the car.

“Then what was it?” Xander asked as he walked around to my side.

I hesitated because I didn’t talk about my parents. Xander already knew a little about them—more than most. It wasn’t that I was embarrassed about my childhood so much as my parents weren’t a big part of my life anymore. “My parents fought all the time when I was growing up. There was a lot of tension in the house already, so I tried to be invisible. I didn’t want to add to all of that.”

“I can see how that would be stressful. It probably led to your desire to be the perfect girlfriend. You hate conflict.”

“Exactly,” I agreed. “It’s a big part of why I became a therapist.”

“Did you have a therapist growing up?” Xander asked when we reached my front door.

I shook my head as I opened the front door. “My parents didn’t think I needed therapy. They never thought there was anything wrong with me, and I can’t say I blame them. I was a good kid who never got into any trouble.”

“No rebelling?” Xander asked. When I shook my head, he continued. “Not even behind your parents’ backs?”

“Nope,” I replied. “I had plenty of friends get caught sneaking around, and I didn’t want to deal with the drama.”

“Do you still act that way around your parents?” he asked.

“I haven’t talked to my dad since his last wedding about two years ago. My mom is kind of in her own world. We talk, but rarely about anything too serious.” I decided to leave out my mom’s warnings about dating Xander.

“That must suck,” he remarked.

I shrugged. “It only seems that way because you haven’t met my parents. I also know it probably sounds like we have a strained relationship, but we don’t. We’re just not close.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said quietly.

It was harder for people with close families to understand my situation. Xander loved his mom and sister. From what I’d read, he’d also been close to his father. It must have been devastating to lose him. “I guess we both had our hardships to deal with growing up.”

“You’re right,” he agreed. “I was lucky to have my mom and sister when my dad died, but it was still a rough time. I still miss him. Sometimes, I get a little choked up when I think that he never got to hear me sing with my band. My dad’s the reason I can play so many instruments. Every time I wanted to learn a new one, he’d work overtime to make sure we could afford lessons. He used to tell me I could do anything I wanted whenever I told him I was going to be a rock star and a firefighter.”

“A firefighter?” I’d never heard that story.

“Oh, yeah,” he replied. “I used to pretend to rescue my classmates from burning play structures. That dream changed when I burned my finger on a birthday candle and realized how much fire hurts.”

“Yes, it does.” There was a beat of awkward silence before I spoke again. “I should get to my paperwork. I’ll call you later.”

“Have a good day,” he told me before leaning in to brush his lips against mine. It was a sweet kiss that was over all too soon. “Bye, babe.”

Xander hurried out my door, and I watched as he walked down the stairs. He was incredible. A scary thought occurred to me. I was falling for Xander Marsh.