Chapter Nine
I showered off the day after spending the afternoon in the woods and blew my hair dry, letting it fan down my back in light wavy curls. After brushing a little mascara on my lashes and gloss on my lips, I was set.
It was Saturday night and Cam hadn’t forgotten about our plans as I hoped he and Isla would. But tonight the heavens opened up and the angels sent me mercy. Isla was sick and couldn’t make it. I almost thought Cameron was going to cancel, but then he said, “So, it’s just you and me. I’m coming to pick you up now.”
“Cam, we can wait for Isla. She was the one who planned this night.” Why I said it, I wasn’t quite sure. I should have taken this night like the gift it was.
“Why? I owe you a date anyway. Besides, Isla insisted we still hang out. She feels bad for ruining our plans.”
I wasn’t sure if I felt more dejected that this wasn’t Cameron’s idea or if I was more frustrated that Isla was still so perfect that she practically pushed him to keep the plans rather than flaking on me.
“Well, isn’t she a keeper.”
“I think so.” I could hear the smile in his voice and a little piece of my heart broke off.
Cam drove, which was a nice change. I hadn’t ridden in the front seat of his jeep for quite some time. Now that I thought about it, the last time I rode in his car was to the summer party at Jake Winters. After the party, I ended up needing to hitch a ride home with Lia because Cameron left with Isla.
“Do you mind?” he asked. “I really want to take her home.” I knew that look in his eyes. He wanted to do a lot more than just take her home.
I tried to keep the hurt out of my voice. “No, it’s fine. Lia will take me home.” I prayed my voice hadn’t failed me.
“You’re one in a million, Cal,” he’d said, and kissed my cheek.
Yeah, that’s what they all tell me before leaving with another girl.
“You’re still up for the Green House, right?” he asked, bringing me back to the present. I looked over at him peering at me from the driver’s side.
All he needed was one look from me.
“Of course you are. What was I thinking?” He chuckled, keeping an eye on the road.
“You weren’t.” I smirked. “That is unless you really need a hardy steak dinner tonight.”
“Nah. We’ll let tonight revolve around you.”
I punched him in the arm as he laughed.
The salad bar greeted us as soon as we walked into The Green House. After piling our plates, we reached the register and Cameron said, “Two.”
“Cam, you don’t have to pay for me.” I reached into my purse and pulled out my wallet.
“Whatever, Cal, this night’s on me. You’re not paying.”
I offered him a smile and thanked him.
The restaurant wasn’t as packed as I assumed it would be on a Saturday night. They seated us in a booth off to the side, in a quiet corner, obviously thinking we were on a romantic date. I wasn’t about to correct them.
“What bug has Isla caught?” I asked, situating myself in the seat across from him.
“A stomach bug. I’m keeping my distance until it passes.” He stuffed in a bite of his Caesar salad.
“What. You don’t want to endure the bug just to be near her?” I smirked.
He gave a look that was not amused and I laughed. “Ha-ha. No. I’ll survive a few days without her just fine.”
I smiled and popped a cherry tomato in my mouth. It felt weird sitting across from him and not having him know everything about my life. We never had to have catch-up conversations before. We always knew what was going on in each other’s lives. And here I was with the biggest, most outrageous news and I had to keep it to myself. He’d never believe me even if I could tell him.
I spent the afternoon with Declan. A faery guard. How could I ever explain that to Cameron? I learned about a kingdom that apparently I belonged in. No, I didn’t feel like I belonged. I felt left out, but not as if I was missing something. Or maybe that’s what it was. Was it possible to miss something you never knew existed in the first place?
“Callie?” his voice held concern. “Cal, you okay? What’s on your mind?”
“What?” I shook out of my daze.
“You look lost. Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah,” I said as reassuringly as I could. “Yeah, I’m great. I’m at my favorite restaurant. Eating my favorite food, hanging with my favorite person. What could be wrong?”
He tilted his head to the side, scrutinizing me, having forgotten about the plate in front of him. “I don’t know. But it’s something.”
I shrugged.
“Talk to me.” Cameron peered at me over the table. His familiar blue eyes captured me and I nearly poured out my heart. How did he do that? This part hadn’t occurred to me when I agreed to a night alone with him. Without the distraction of Isla, Cameron could observe me. What if he could see a difference? What if I was starting to look different?
“It’s just good to be here with you,” I said, munching on another bite of greens to deflect the topic. “I’ve missed this.”
He nodded, hesitantly accepting my answer. It wasn’t as if I was lying. I did miss this, the casual comfort of being near him. He was my other home.
“I’m glad we did this too. I still want for us all to get together, but we have to make our nights too. There’s so much less pressure when I’m with you, you know?” He looked down at his plate as if he finally remembered it was there. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not tired of Isla. I don’t think I’ll ever be, but—”
“I get what you mean, Cam,” I cut him off before he could ramble on and on about how perfect she was. I hoped it wasn’t too obvious. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I know you. You know me. It’s easy.”
“Yeah,” he agreed and smiled easily.
I didn’t want to be easy for him. Comfortable, yes. Happy, yes. Effortless, yes. But easy… I never wanted to be someone’s choice because it was simply easier. I’d never let myself be that to him. I needed to accept that our relationship would never be romantic. I was just his best friend, Cal. Someone it was easy to spend time with.
We didn’t speak for a few minutes, eating in a comfortable silence. After several rounds back to the salad bar, the food hit the spot, totally satisfying my Green House craving. When I looked up from my empty plate to him, he was watching me. My stomach twirled under his scrutinizing ocean eyes.
“Do I have something on my face?” I asked, wiping the corners of my lips.
“No.” He looked thoughtful, gazing at me as if I were someone different, like he’d never looked at me before. I cleared my throat and tried to keep confident eye contact, but failed a couple times and dropped my eyes back to my empty plate. He blinked and shook his head. “Did you get enough to eat?”
I grinned. “I’m stuffed. Completely content.” I leaned back in my chair, stretching out my stomach. “You?”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “The night’s still young. Do you want to do a movie or something?”
Did he really need to ask? “Sure.”
We pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater and Cameron said, “I have to pee.”
“You should probably do that in the bathroom,” I advised.
He nodded. “The parking lot might cause a little bit of a scene.”
“These people came to see a movie not a peep show.”
He chuckled. “Dangit.”
Cameron paid for the tickets without question or comment and I thanked him again.
“You do the bathroom,” I said. “I’ll get popcorn and meet you in the theater.”
“Deal.” He nodded once.
When I walked in, snacks in one hand, drink in the other, Cameron saved me a seat next to him in the back row, our usual spot.
“Light butter?” he asked.
I nodded as he held his hand out to me. He didn’t have to ask. I knew he wanted the chocolate cover
ed raisins I hadn’t shown him yet to mix in the popcorn. He knew just how I liked it.
Once the lights in the theater lowered to a dim glow an unusual tension encompassed Cameron and me. I wasn’t sure if he felt it, but I definitely did. Going to the movies had always been casual before, but now that he was with Isla it felt like we were crossing into enemy territory, a boundary that shouldn’t be passed. It wasn’t unlike him to curl his arm around me during movies in the past, but now it seemed like he didn’t know what to do with himself. The entire time he was shifting in his seat, situating and resituating the placement of his hands. He’d rest his arm on the armrest between us then shift to the other side, then cross his arms in front of his chest and sigh. After finishing the popcorn I stuck with the arms across the chest approach. It made things easier. I didn’t know why he was so anxious.
When the lights came up, he let me pass in front of him and followed me to the exit. As we walked to his jeep, he wrapped his arm across my shoulder, enfolding me close to his warm body. “Thanks for coming out with me tonight.”
“Thanks for not ditching out on me.” I smiled and nudged my head into his shoulder.
He squeezed my shoulder once and slowly trailed his fingers down my arm, tickling my stomach uncontrollably, before releasing me as we approached the jeep.
The ride to my house was silent as we drove through the still darkness, which normally wouldn’t bother me, but it wasn’t our typical comfortable silence. We had a thousand pound mammoth in the backseat peering over our shoulders as we awkwardly tried to act natural. Cameron pulled into my driveway as the digits on his clock above the stereo read 10:57 pm.
I hopped down from the passenger’s seat. “Thanks again, Cam. I had a lot of fun.”
“Me too, Cal.” The look in his eyes changed again, like he was trying to figure me out which was the last thing I needed right now. Having Cameron dissect my appearance now was dangerous. He might notice something about me before I did. But there was something more in his eyes, something that resembled longing.
“I’ll see you Monday,” he said after clearing his throat. He had to feel it too. It couldn’t just be me. There was no way he couldn’t detect the difference.
I nodded and closed the door, waving as I walked away. Once I was safely in the house, his car pulled away.
At the sight of my bed, I could instantly hear it calling my name. The exhausting day hit me. I sat at my armoire and put my curls into a messy bun on the top of my head, pulling the strands away from my face before putting on moisturizer.
After leaving Cam though it felt strange, I felt satisfied. I had my Cameron fix. I could probably let Isla take my best friend for a few more weeks before I felt neglected again. At least now I knew he still cared. He still wanted me in his life.
When I turned my face up to the mirror, taking in my appearance, my eyes bulged and I stifled a scream. I frantically turned each side of my face to the mirror, examining the foreign growth. It was really happening. It wasn’t as if I could turn back now even though I wanted to.
My ears had begun to form delicate points.