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“Thank you,” Mark said as I set the stuff down on the bed. “I appreciate this. All of this.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Camden said. “You would do it for me. You stay here until you are comfortable moving into your dad’s. In the meantime, you and I can hang out and we can catch up. How about we all go get something to eat at the diner?”
“Lunch sounds amazing,” Mark said. “But I’m paying. Least I can do is take you out for a meal once in a while.”
“Fair enough,” Camden said. “Carmela, you coming?”
“Sure,” I said, before my brain had time to think about it.
“All right then, let’s get going,” Camden said.
“Give me like ten minutes, if that’s okay,” Mark said. “I just want to grab a quick shower.”
A frustratingly visceral vision filled my mind of Mark, shirtless, hooking his thumbs into his jeans and peeling them off before climbing into the shower. It was enough to nearly make me squirm, and I looked away so he couldn’t see the red climbing my cheeks.
“Yeah, sounds good,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t give away my thoughts.
“Sure,” Camden said. “I’ll meet you outside?”
“Sounds good,” he said.
With that, we walked out of his room and closed the door behind us. I ducked into a bathroom in the hallway and freshened up a bit while Camden went outside. When I came out, I sat down in the couch in the living room and turned on the TV. Maybe some dumb cooking show would take my mind off the obvious. The obvious being that Mark was stupidly hot and that I hadn’t even thought of another man since the whole Trevor thing.
The show was droning on, and I was barely paying attention when the door of Camden’s room opened. For a split second, I hoped he would be coming out of there in a towel, still soaking wet, needing something I could get for him so I could let my eyes linger.
Unfortunately, he was fully dressed, looking clean and happy.
Before I could say anything, Camden came in the back door and saw us both standing somewhat awkwardly in the living room.
“You guys ready?” he asked. “I’m famished.”
“I could eat a horse,” Mark said, then paused, hanging his head. “Not literally, of course.”
“It’s fine,” Camden said. “Some of the horses I’ve trained might make better burgers than workers.”
Mark laughed, and we went out to Camden’s truck, all piling in together before he pulled out and got onto the road. Sitting next to Mark, I couldn’t help but notice the cologne he wore, the way his clothes smelled like laundry detergent, and the fact that his hands were seemingly double the size of my own. He was big and muscular and rugged for a doctor. I wondered how many of his patients had crushes on him. My guess was a lot.
The diner was relatively empty that time of the afternoon, and we got seated quickly. The food was delicious, and we started reminiscing a bit on days gone past. Back when the boys were kids and their primary concerns in life involved which girls they could ask to prom.
As we ate, Mark’s eyes would flash over to mine and linger there for a moment. I didn’t know exactly what to think about it. Did it mean something? Or was he just trying to be friendly? I didn’t know for sure, and it was driving me crazy. I wanted to blatantly flirt with him, which was absolutely ridiculous, not to mention embarrassing considering my brother was right there.
But the chemistry that had been there a year ago, when I was in such a terrible place and he was just passing through, was still there. I felt that spark, and I couldn’t stop letting my eyes roam all over him. The way his eyes twinkled when he laughed. The way his lips pursed when he spoke. The way his forearms looked when he rolled up the sleeves of his button-up shirt.
Not long after our entrées arrived, so did Graham, Ryan, and their wives. A round of hugs from the boys, both of whom were clearly delighted, were followed by hugs to me too. Mallory, Graham’s wife, was very pregnant.
“Oh man, this is awesome,” Ryan said. “The four of us together again. All we need is Vick and we’d have the whole crew.”
“Good luck with that,” Graham said. “That man barely takes time off to text us back, much less come to lunch. If he isn’t working, he’s sleeping.”
“We’ll get him out sooner or later,” Camden said. “Now that we have all four of us down here together, he’ll have to show up at some point.”
“I’m just glad to see you guys,” Mark said. “And to meet your lovely ladies again. Now that I’ll be in town for a while, I’ll finally get a chance to really know you.”
