Chapter 23
I was still in a state of shock most of Saturday, so much so that when I met with Jacob and Brit for our study date with coffee, I couldn’t even remember what the hell I had done with them and then after eating a quick dinner of mac n cheese, I realized that I left my bag in my car, along with my phone.
Too distracted and a little bit lazy, I didn’t even put shoes on as I yanked open my door and stepped out into the hallway, drawing up short when I spotted Ollie coming up the stairs with a case of beer in his hands.
“Hey!” He smiled. “What are you doing out here… in your socks?”
“Uh, I was running to my car to get my bag.” I shifted my weight. “Thirsty?”
Ollie laughed. “While I’m always thirsty, this is not for me. There’s a fight tonight and we’ve got a few people over.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Yeah…” He glanced at his door, switching the case to his other arm. “Why don’t you come over?”
My heart jumped. “Oh, I don’t know about that. Maybe another—”
“Come on, the main fight hasn’t even started yet, so you haven’t missed anything.”
I hesitated. “I don’t know…”
Ollie stuck out his lower lip, and it was so ridiculous, that I laughed. “Cam will be happy to see you.”
“Yeah, I don’t think—”
“Sounds like a plan right there,” he interrupted. “Don’t think about it. Come over. Just for a little while, okay? Maybe we can take Raphael for a walk.”
I laughed again, thinking of Ollie and the poor tortoise as I glanced back at their apartment. Why shouldn’t I stop by? It would be a normal thing to do and Ollie lived there. He could invite me. And if I was honest with myself, I wanted to see Cam.
I… I missed him.
Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Okay. Just for a little while.”
“Great!” Ollie looped his free arm through mine, and before I could change my mind, he led me down the hall.
“Wait! I don’t have shoes on.”
“Who cares?” He gave me a goofy grin as we crossed the short distance. “Shoes are overrated.”
My heart rate kicked up as Ollie nudged the door open. Immediately the sound of laughter and fighting amplified until for a moment, I was little overwhelmed. Everyone was focused on the TV. Ollie let go of my arm and set the case in the fridge. He picked up two shot glasses off the counter in the kitchen. What in the hell was I doing here?
“Jose welcomes you,” he offered me one of the tiny glasses.
My hand shook a little as I took it. The voice in my head told me no, but God damn it, I was tired of that voice. It was the same voice that had told me to tell Cam to go away. The same voice that told me to listen to my parents. The same voice that told me to let Blaine take me into that room. That voice had done nothing but fuck me over. I downed the shot and immediately my eyes watered as the liquid scorched my throat.
“Holy smokes,” I muttered, blinking rapidly.
Ollie laughed as he replaced the shot with a bottle of beer and then he grabbed my arm, pulling back into the living room. “Look who I found!” he shouted.
Several heads turned, and my fingers tightened around the neck of the beer. I didn’t see anyone except him and the moment I laid eyes on Cam, I knew this was a bad, bad idea.
It seemed like months since I last saw him.
Cam sat on the couch, baseball cap on backward. He was leaning forward, yelling at the two guys on the TV that were beating the crap out of each other. The burgundy hoodie was unzipped, revealing a white shirt underneath. Beside him on the couch was Steph.
I took a healthy drink of the beer.
She looked perfect, as usual. Hair a glossy brunette, the tight black turtleneck stretched over her breasts. She must’ve said something, because Cam finally looked over, and it was like being punched in the chest.
Surprise flickered across his striking face and then his gaze dropped to what was in my hand. His brows shot up and then our eyes locked. My heart seemed to skip a beat. To me, it seemed like everyone stopped talking and started staring, but in reality, only seconds passed and no one probably even noticed anything.
One side of his lips curved up. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I replied lamely.
He continued watching me for a few more moments and then turned back to the screen, shoulders straight and tense. He didn’t want me here. It was written all over him, and besides, Steph was beside him.
I started for the door, but somehow Ollie ended up behind me and the next thing I knew, he had me sitting in an empty recliner, facing the TV. Two shirtless guys in spandex shirts were punching each other in the face.
Hmm.
Tensed, I drank the beer faster than I probably should’ve. Steph’s husky chuckle crawled into my stomach and started clawing at my insides. Over the course of minutes, she was practically in Cam’s lap now, one hand wrapped around his bicep. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. Cam shook his head, and the most perfect pout filled out her lips. What had she said?
Someone—Ollie, maybe?—handed me another shot of Jose that warmed my stomach and washed away Steph’s claws.
“Like the socks.”
Glancing up, I saw one of Cam’s friends. I didn’t know his name or really recognize his face, but he had a nice smile. I stretched my legs out, wiggling my toes in my rainbow colored socks. “Thanks.”
He ran a hand over the close-cut brown hair and clasped the back of his neck. “So you normally watch UFC fights?”
I looked at the screen. A guy was kicked back into the cage. “This is the first time I’ve watched one of these.”
“You don’t sound like you’ll be watching one of these again.”
Opening my mouth, I was surprised to hear a giggle come out. “Yeah, I don’t know if this will be something I watch regularly.”
“Well, that’s a damn shame,” the guy said with a slight grin. “Cam orders this every month and you coming would be something else to look forward to.”
I didn’t say anything to that and turned back to the TV, running my hand over my knee. The shots and beer were making my muscles warm and my thoughts fuzzy. The guy asked if I wanted another drink and I realized my bottle was empty.
“Sure.” The smile that crossed my face felt overly wide and bright.
Returning with a cold one, he sat on the arm of my chair, and beyond him, I saw Cam look up and his eyes narrow. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I took a drink, now to the point where I could easily ignore the nasty after taste that filled my mouth. My gaze collided with Cam’s for a second and I forced myself to look away. I ended up staring up at the guy beside me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch your name.”
The guy nudged my shoulder. “I don’t think we’ve meant before. I’m Henry.”
“Avery,” I said.
He repeated my name with a smile. “Like it. It’s different.”
“Like my socks?”
Henry laughed as he glanced at the screen. “Yeah, like your socks. So you going to college, Avery?”
I nodded. “You don’t?”
“Nope. Graduated a couple of years ago. I know Cam from… well, from this thing we do.” He took a swig from his beer as I tried to figure out what that meant. He looked down at me, brows furrowed. “Are you old enough to be drinking.”
I giggled. “Nope.”
“Didn’t think so. You look pretty young.”
“I’m not that young. I just turned twenty.”
“Thank God you’re legal,” he said, shaking his head as his brows rose. “I just won’t tell anyone about the beer in your hand.”
Cocking my head to the side, I tried to figure out his age. “How old are you?”
He glanced down at me. “Old enough to know better.”
Before I could get him to elaborate on that, Cam yelled out. “Hey Henry, come here a second.”
Henry pushed off the arm of the recliner and made his way around a couple of the other guys. Steph sat back and crossed her arms as Cam motioned Henry to lean down. I had no hope of hearing what Cam had said to him, but Henry backed away and headed over to where Jase was leaning against the bare stretch of wall.
More than curious to what was going on over there, I felt the strong urge to do some investigation. I opened my mouth, because why the hell not, but Steph had a hold of Cam’s arm, and I was distracted. He was whispering to her. She jerked her hand back and shot me what could only be described as a ‘bitch’ look. Frankly, it was a fucking work of art and I was sort of jealous of that level of mastery.
I glanced over at Henry, and he looked up. He winked, and I smiled in returned, feeling sort of giddy. My skin prickled along my neck and I turned to where Cam sat. He was staring at me, and I started to smile at him, too, but then he glanced toward Henry.
Cam muttered something, and Steph shot to her feet, stalking back toward the hall bathroom, yanking the door open. Then Cam was up, coming toward me, and my giddiness was all consuming. A big, stupid smile broke out across my face. It had been so long since we talked, and I missed him, I really did.
Cam was… he was special… to me, and I wanted to go back in time, to Thanksgiving, and not have overreacted . I wanted to take back dropping astronomy and I wished I hadn’t avoided him. I wanted to not be that girl who did stupid, stupid things like that. I wanted Cam to smile at me like he used to.
He wasn’t smiling now, that’s for sure. “Come with me for a sec?”
I’d go anywhere with him.
Jumping up, I swayed as the room seemed to tilt to the side. “Whoa.”
His jaw clenched as he caught my arm. “You okay to walk?”
“Yes. Of course.” I took a step and bumped into Cam. I giggled at the doubtful look that crossed his face. “I’m okay.”
Cam shot Ollie a dark glare as he led me into the brightly lit kitchen, backing me up against the counter. He stood between me and the doorway, arms folded over his chest. “What are you doing, Avery?” he asked in a low voice.
I held up my bottle. “Drinking. What are you doing?”
His icy blue eyes narrowed. “That’s not what I’m getting at and you know that. What are you doing?”
Damn. Hello attitude. I tried to give Cam the bitch look Steph had mastered, screwing my face up until I’m sure I looked like I was having a seizure. I sighed and gave up. “I’m not doing anything, Cam.”
“You’re not?” He raised his brows. “You’re drunk.”
“Am not!”
He gave me a bland look. “A drunk’s famous last words before they fall flat on their face.”
“That has not happened… yet.”
Cam shook his head and then he grabbed my arm, pulling me back into the living room. I thought he was going to make me sit beside him or something, like I was in a time out, but he opened the front door and led me out into the chilly stairwell.
“Um…” Not what I was expecting.
“You need to go home, Avery.” He let go of my arm and pointed at my apartment door like I had no idea where I lived.
My mouth dropped open as I clenched the bottle to my chest. “Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’m fucking serious. You’re drunk and that shit is not going down in front of me.”
“What shit?” I took a step back, bewildered. “I’m sorry. Ollie invited me—”
“Yeah, and I’m going to kick his ass later.” Jaw set in a hard line, he ran his hand through his hair. “Just go home, Avery. I’ll talk to you later.”
The back of my throat burned. A thousand thoughts raced through my head as I stared at him. “You’re mad at me—”
“I’m not mad at you, Avery.”
Sure as hell didn’t seem that way. I shuffled side to side. “I don’t want to go home. There’s no one there and I…” I trailed off as the burn in my throat grew.
Cam drew in a deep breath, closing his eyes. “I’ll come over later and we’ll talk, okay? But go home. Please just go home.”