Page 48 of Josh’s Play

“No!” Cam’s emotions got the better of him, and he had shouted it like it was the most important exclamation in the world.

“No?”

“Wait, please. I’ll be right back.” Cam wiped himself off and wrapped himself back in the towel, shooing me away from the door before slipping out. When he returned, he had a dampened washcloth.

“For your …” He did the waving thing again. I had tucked myself in but used it to clean my hands.

“Can I use the bathroom?”

“Of course,” Cam said before opening the door a crack and making sure the coast was clear as I had done when we were in the dorm.

I slipped out of the room, my heart beating with worry that I would be caught. I could care less if anyone saw me sneak out of some guy's room, but I didn’t want to do anything, ever, that would compromise Campbell. The coast was clear as I crossed the hall to the bathroom. When I was done, I thought it best that I leave. I pulled my phone out to text Campbell before opening the door to the bathroom and heading for the stairs.

“I thought I heard the door.” He opened his eyes wide, doing that thing where I had to brush past him to enter, which he clearly wanted me to do.

“Cam?”

“Please.”

He had changed into a pair of plaid, flannel pajama bottoms and another HU Hockey shirt, this one baggy and well-worn, with bleach stains on it. He looked much readier for bed than to head back down to the party. I looked around even though I knew we were alone and nodded, brushing past him to find more clothes on the corner of the bed.

He closed and locked the door, then walked past where I stood, stupidly, to hand me shorts and a T-shirt.

Arm extended, he spoke. “These are small on me. I thought … I want to hear about your article. And I want …” I waited him out by not responding other than to remove the clothing from his hands, bringing myself closer to him. He dropped his eyes before confessing, “I want you to stay. It was so amazing sleeping in your arms the other night.”

“But, Cam?” As if to punctuate my unanswered question, a cheer arose from downstairs.

“I texted Noah. Told him I was beat and going to sleep with my earbuds in. He said he’d look out for you and let you know, so he doesn’t know you’re up here.” He retrieved his phone from the desk, where he’d stacked it on top of my little notebook. He continued to avoid eye contact with me. “I was going to text him and tell him you said goodbye while I was on my way up to shower. Unless … If that’s okay with you.”

“You want me to stay?”

His eyes held raw, open emotion. I wondered what he could see in mine.

“I want you to stay.”

I changed into the way-too-large clothes, and Campbell turned down the covers on one side of the bed before walking around to the other side, stopping at his desk for my notebook.

We climbed in, my heartbeat feeling as intense as the noise coming from downstairs. Campbell wrapped an arm around me, surrounding me in warm heat and encouraging me to draw in close before handing me my notebook. Sated and tired as my body was, I felt this odd, overwhelming surge of … something. It electrified my whole body even as I was relaxing into Campbell, a sense of peace enveloping me, enveloping us, I thought, as we curled in on each other.

He tapped the notebook. “Tell me about the article.”

We talked for hours, Campbell even getting up and bringing his laptop over so I could take notes as we chatted. Eventually, I started writing in earnest. A few minutes into it, Cam reached over and grabbed a tablet.

“I’m …”

Cam shook his head to stop me. “You’re in the zone. Don’t let me stop you. I’m going to read.” Sometime later, I looked up from my work to find Cam asleep, his head back and the tablet resting on his chest.

The noise had subsided from downstairs, and a glance at the time on the computer showed that it was almost four in the morning. Not the first time I attended classes with little to no sleep. I set an alarm on my phone, gently pulled the tablet from Cam’s sleeping grip to place it on the table, then rested my head on Cam’s shoulder. In his sleep, he wrapped his arm around me again, and again I felt this alien sensation run through my body; it pooled in my groin for sure but also found its way to my heart as I settled in for what amounted to a short nap.

When my phone blared, Cam shot up, all confused sleepiness. “What, huh?”

I snuggled in tight and sighed. “I set it for five forty-five. Figured you’re going to the gym before your first class?”

Cam growled at the thought, hugging me to him before his body stiffened. “Yes, yeah. Shit. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll get the guys out of here. I’ll text you an all clear.”

“Okay.”

“God, Josh. I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have to do this.”