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twenty-two
My “you’re-going-to-be-really-late”alarm sounds on my phone. I hop up and down to put my shoes on as I scramble to the door of my apartment. I have my keys in my mouth as I twist the knob. This TA position has been kicking my ass. I already know I’m going to get a lecture from Professor Warren, but if the man would let me fucking sleep, I wouldn’t always be scrambling around like a chicken with my head cut off.
I whip the door open and stop in my tracks. A man stands outside my door, and when I open it, he turns. “Cam,” I gasp, the keys falling from my mouth and hitting the floor.
My body vibrates, shock ricochets through me.
He swoops down to grab my keys and stands to his full height. He’s wearing a black coat over a dark blue shirt, coupled with his nice jeans.
“Is this a bad time?” he asks sheepishly.
I open my mouth to answer. The rational part of my brain is screaming yes. Yes, it’s a very bad time. I’m already late, but this is Cameron Michaels. The man’s name I’ve been crying out for weeks as I drain my vibrator’s batteries. “I’m…”
“It is,” he says. “You’re clearly going somewhere.”
“No,” I find myself saying. “No, I just regularly jump up and down in my hallway and open the door up randomly.”
He smirks, and it nearly takes my breath away. God, he’s so fucking hot. My memories of him didn’t do this man justice. I even put football on in the background while I do work now, just so I can hear him yell in my head.
After handing me my keys, he fidgets. “I came here to say a few things, but mainly, I just wanted to do this.” He steps forward, threading his hands through my hair before kissing me in one smooth motion that I don’t even see it coming. He pins me to him, his mouth searching, his tongue delving deep as he nearly brands me with the ferocity of his kiss. I melt into him, getting caught up in the wave that is Cameron Michaels.
God, this. This is what I missed.
A few seconds pass before he pulls away. “I thought so,” he mumbles to himself. He moves in, closing the door behind him like he owns the place, and I move out of the way as he walks into my apartment. He starts to pace, and when he looks up, I’m still in the hallway. “What are you doing? Get over here.”
I walk toward him slowly. He’s ran his hands through his hair until it’s sticking up adorably. I’m still trying to process the fact that he’s here. I’m… I’m shocked. That’s it. I’m in shock.
When I get to him, he reaches for my hand. “I hired a new housekeeper,” he smiles, and I almost choke. I had no idea he’d be leading off with that.
That’s what he came all this way to tell me? “That’s g—”
“I implemented an online reservation system,” he adds. “I made an appointment to get the inn painted, and I have a guy coming out next week to seal up the windows.” He squeezes my hand. “I did all these things because I could hear your voice in my head, telling me what needed to be done. I really liked hearing that voice. You made me fall in love with the inn again, Lilianne. You made me think about life differently.”
“Shit, shit,” he says, staring at me with uncertainty. “I told myself I was just going to come here, I was just going to show up to see what happened. I mean, I hadn’t even gotten the courage to knock on your door yet…” he says, his words coming out in a rush.
“You want to go back out?” I ask with a smile.
He grins, shaking his head. After a brief moment, he locks gazes with me again. “There’s something you need to understand about me. For so long, things just kept getting taken away. My career, my parents. I lost everything that was making me whole…and then you—a girl who was just supposed to be a one-night stand—looked up at me at the airport, and you changed my whole damn life.”
I suck in a breath. Goosebumps thread through me from head to toe. He steps into me, putting his arms around my shoulders, and it’s as easy as breathing. We fit together like two random puzzle pieces that aren’t even from the same set, but somehow, it just works. We just work.
“Cameron…”
He smiles at me. “You made me remember that when the game throws you an obstacle, you just find a different path. You can’t hesitate. You can’t think. The truth is, I was scared, Lilianne.”
I lift my brows, shocked to hear him say that.
“I knew I would screw it up because everything else got screwed up, but it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. That’s exactly what happened, and I’ve been hating myself ever since I dropped you off at the airport. Listen, I don’t care what we are to each other because the only thing we are to each other that matters is the fact that I want to be around you like this,” he says, gripping me. “You make me better. I’ve been losing my mind back at the inn.”
I smile at his words. My stomach twists. I have to shut my mind off because it keeps wanting to work through a problem. I’m at school. He’s in Maine. How will we make it work? But I tell my brain to take a vacation as I pull him close. “You’re damn right I make you better.”
He chuckles, sealing his lips to mine once more. He lifts me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist. “Is that a yes?” he asks.
“Did you even ask me a question?”
His whole chest vibrates with laughter. “I guess I’m asking if you like me.”
“Do I like you?” I hide my smiling face in the crook of his neck. “I don’t think any respectable woman lets a man put his dick inside her unless she at least likes him.”
