My hand shoots out, gripping his bicep and spinning him until he’s facing me. Startled, large gray eyes stare up at me. He’s flushed.
“Answer me,” I demand.
“Who is it?’ he blurts nearly at the same time.
“Who is who?” I ask, my brows furrowing as I take in the raindrops settling on his thick lashes.
“Your girlfriend. Who is it?” There’s a slight anger in his voice, his hands falling from his pocket to tremble at his sides.
Cameron looks like an angry puppy, barely holding himself back. And it’s so amusing—this whole situation is, truly—that I can’t help but grin at him.
His eyes narrow.
“Never mind,” he mumbles, attempting to pull away from my grasp.
I hold him tighter, pulling him into my space.
“I don’t have agirlfriend, Cameron,” I tell him, watching the surprise shape his features. “I was alluding to you. To how yourun at the drop of a hat yet obey me so prettily when I get my hands on you.”
Now, Cameron flushes fully; his entire face goes pink, and his lips part. I want to kiss them, to lick into his mouth and taste the shock he’s experiencing. But I’m uncertain where Cassie could be, and he clearly has some issues with openly being attracted to a man.
“M-me?” he stutters. “You meant…”
“Yes,” I confirm.
He stares at me for a moment before he quotes, “Touching. And pining and longing and constantly daydreaming.”
Cameron says it so breathily, so awed, that I feel my heart tighten in my chest. Like he can’t believe I’d say that about him, like he isn’t worthy of it, yet he loves it all the same.
“A lotof daydreaming. Mostly about how you taste when you’re crying for me,” I admit.
“Atticus!” he screeches, quickly looking around us. But as his gaze returns to mine, he’s smiling shyly. “I thought you meant… Like…”
“I see that now,” I interject, saving him from the embarrassment of saying it aloud. “But you were wrong. I just figured you didn’t want anyone to know. About us, I mean.”
“Thank you,” he whispers. “That’s—yeah, I’m still figuring myself out.”
Cameron’s eyes slip from mine and land on my lips, watching them with want and curiosity, as if he’s making it clearexactlywhat he’s figuring out.
“I can help with that,” I offer. “I could show you exactly what it feels like to give in, to experiment.”
He nods, fast and insistent. “Yes. Okay. Sure.”
I grin once more, my cheeks aching with it. “Just tell me when. This time,youcallme. Let me show you what it feels like to surrender, sweetheart.”
“Alright,” Cameron breathes out, his arm trembling in my grasp. Then, he clears his throat, straightening his spine and shaking his head as if to clear it. “I should go. Cassie is waiting.”
“Sure,” I concede. “I’ll speak with you soon.”
Cameron nods again, slowly backing away until it’s unsafe to do so, before he turns and heads down the street.
I watch him until I can no longer see his silhouette, already counting down the days until my phone rings and his name appears.
Cameron
7
WORK WAS EXHAUSTING TODAY.On the plus side, I got to see the Mustang Uncle Danny said I could fix up, and I’m fairly certain I can do it.
