Page 73 of Crew Girl

“Perry—that’s a lot of money,” Cam said. “Seven hundred and fifty bucks.”

Teagan clocked the conflict in Cam’s voice. They all did. Grateful for the save, uncomfortable accepting it.

“So what?” Perry shrugged. They all knew he could afford it. “It’s going to a good cause.”

“Thanks, Perry,” Teagan said after he’d tapped his card.

The guys went back to their conversations, but Cam had yet to say a word. He had gone all weird again. Putting up guardrails after he’d seen firsthand that letting them down was worth it.

“That was cool, right? A team member having your back like that.”

“Do you know what the EPFA is?” Cam asked.

“No.”

“It’s the Easton Prep Financial Aid program. The one that covers my tuition. I’m the ‘good cause.’”

“Ohhh.” She got it, why Cam’s ego felt bruised. Why didn’t he see the flip side? Perry wouldn’t have offered to buy them tickets if he didn’t want them at the party. Maybe she should’ve insisted they find that burger he’d been talking about. Go to a Friendly’s.

No. The whole point was to be together with other people from school. They should do this. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t meet her eye. “It’s fine.”

It clearly wasn’t.

Why couldn’t anything be easy?

One of her dad’s sayings surfaced. “If something comes too easy, Teags, feels like child’s play? It means you’re not growing. Bumps and bruises fade. Wisdom doesn’t.”

How a man could be so right and so wrong at the same time would remain a mystery.

Teagan needed to tease Cam out of his bad mood before the after-party. The crew table had mostly been abandoned. “What do you think? Should we hit the dance floor again?”

He looked out at the teeming dance floor, but she already knew the answer.

“Or we could just sit,” she said, to make it easier. “Cam… You know, the ticket thing doesn’t have to be a big deal.”

“Not to you,” he huffed. “You told me that I needed to show people who I am, so I did the worm.” He stretched his neck, frustrated. “What else am I supposed to show them? That I can’t afford a new uniform? That I have to work shifts at the shop after school? Accept a ticket to a party that they paid for so I can have a free education?”

She had no idea what to say. Her heart ached for him.

“What about any of those things would make them want to follow me? They don’t want to know things like that, Teagan. No one does.”

“I do,” she said. She meant it, too. He’d been to her house. Seen the state it was in. Josh, too. He’d razzed her about it, but he hadn’t been cruel.

“I know,” Cam said, his frustration getting worse instead of lessening. “But I don’t want you to see all that.” He sighed. “No matter what I do… No matter how hard I row or how much I study or how many shifts I work—I’m always so far away from being the person I want to be.”

“It’s okay, Cam.” She reached out to give his arm a squeeze. “No one—”

He pulled away at her touch. What the— She was genuinely sympathetic. Scrabbling to find ways to show him the guys really didn’t care if he was rich or poor. What they cared about was knowing they could trust him. Sure, they wanted an eight seat who would lead them to victory, but they needed to know who they were rowing for. Keeping his life secret wasn’t helping his cause.

He scrubbed his hands against his scalp like he was trying to get his brain to reboot. He got up from the table. “It’s not okay, Teagan. I don’t think I can do this right now. I’m sorry. I really am. But I’ve got to go.”

She nodded on autopilot, not entirely sure what had just happened. Just sat there and watched him walk away.

JOSH

“Look at the smolder on you in this one.” Britney held up her phone, leaning toward him, their crowns nearly touching.