Tempting Cameron

chapter Eleven


Chloe walked into her house, her heart aching at the domestic scene before her. Cameron in her kitchen, wearing the shorts from yesterday and nothing else, a carton of eggs sitting open on the counter, a bowl in front of him and a whisk in hand. “Hey, you’re back earlier than I thought.” He smiled at her.

She stood in the middle of her tiny living room, unable to move. Her entire body hurt, not from the scratches she suffered when she fell but from Cam’s deception. It felt like the worst sort of betrayal, especially when he had no idea she knew.

Wiping his hands on a dishtowel, he threw it on the counter, his strides determined as he headed toward her, the sweetest smile on his face. The kind of smile she’d always hoped would someday be directed at her and no one else.

Now it was all a lie.

His hair was damp, curling about his neck in a way that made her ache to touch him there. She loved his hair, loved his handsome face, loved everything about him. That he’d gone and done this, held some stupid argument from her, spent time with her out of a twisted sense of guilt…

“What happened to you?” He stared at her bloody and scratched knees. “Did you fall? Where’s Ali?”

Chloe swallowed hard, collapsed onto the couch behind her. “I left her back on the trail.”

“Let me get something to clean you up.” Before she could protest he was back in the kitchen, running a clean washcloth under the tap, squeezing all the water out of it until it was damp. He came back into the living room and knelt before her, her knight in shining armor as he gently tended her wounds. She hissed when he touched a particularly sore spot and he sent her a sympathetic glance. “Sorry. You really scratched yourself up. Got any Band-Aids? Antiseptic cream?”

“Cam.” Her voice was cold, devoid of any emotion, and his gaze met hers once more, his brows furrowed. “I don’t need a Band-Aid.”

He cocked his head, looking confused. “Are you okay?”

She slowly shook her head, her entire body trembling. “No. No, I’m not.”

He touched her leg, rested his warm, reassuring hand on her thigh, and she jerked away from him. “Chloe. Tell me what’s wrong.” He sounded worried.

Well, he should be.

“What happened the night of my accident? When we were at The Tree?”

Cam blinked slowly. “You know what happened.”

“I’m not talking about when we were in the bar, me flirting with you and making a fool of myself.” She closed her eyes briefly, breathing deep before she continued. “I’m talking about out in the parking lot.”

He remained silent for long, tense moments. Too long. “What did Ali tell you?” His voice was tight, his expression grim.

That he even asked devastated her. Proved that Ali was right. “She told me only what she knows, which isn’t much, since according to her, I was a babbling mess when she called me.” She kept her gaze level with his. “Tell me, Cam. Tell me what you said to me.”

A harsh sigh escaping him, he looked away from her, kept his gaze trained on the floor. “I was an a*shole.”

“Tell me.”

“I was trying to cut you off quickly so I wouldn’t keep on hurting you. That’s what I do best, you know.” He lifted his lids, his glimmering green eyes meeting hers once more. “You were so determined to get past all my barriers. You always have been. And you almost had me. But I knew then, I wasn’t good enough for you, Chloe. I’m still not.”

“Tell me. What you said.” He was talking in circles when all she wanted was cold, hard facts.

“I turned you down. You were adorable, flirting with me, asking for an adventure and I wanted to give you one. So damn bad.” He laughed but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I bailed on you, went out to the parking lot, and you followed me there. Offering me a ride because even after all that, you wanted to make sure I was safe and I’d get home okay.” He shook his head. “That pissed me off. Why couldn’t I shake you? Why couldn’t you leave me alone?”

Tears formed in her eyes, rolled down her cheeks, but she didn’t wipe them away. “Say it, Cam. I don’t want to ask again. Tell me what you said.”

The memories were there, hanging on the edge of her mind. Harsh, terrible words meant to inflict pain, which they had. The dream came back from earlier. The words he’d said to her.

It was pretty obvious, what with the way you were always there, like a little pest. Giving me those puppy dog eyes all the time. Like you’re doing right now.

“Honestly, I can’t remember exactly what I said.” He ran a hand through his hair. “You have to believe me. I never meant to hurt you. I was just being a callous a*shole that night, but you’ve…changed me. You know that, right?”

He was a liar. “Just…f*cking…say it.” She rarely cursed, and she never said that word. She was a second grade teacher. The entire town expected her to always be on her best behavior. But she couldn’t take it any more. She had to hear the truth.

No matter how much it hurt.

His eyes wide, he finally, finally blurted it out. “I called you a pest. Told you we all knew about the crush you had on me, that you’ve always been blind to my faults because you couldn’t see beyond your adoring puppy dog gaze focused only on me. Or some shit like that.” He hung his head, sounded positively gutted. “I feel cornered, I attack. That’s how I’ve always operated. And you were cornering me, Chloe. Trying so damn hard to get me to let you in.” He paused. “The minute you walked away from me, I felt awful. And then, when I was walking home along the lake road and heard your car flip, saw that it was you…”

“You felt guilty,” she finished for him.

“I did.” Didn’t even bother denying it, either. Her chest hurt with that admission, her breath came in weird, stuttering spurts.

“And you still feel guilty. It’s why you’re with me. Some sort of weird obligation you feel you have toward me. Because what happened to me you believe is all your fault.” She stood, ignored the pain radiating throughout her knees. “I don’t need your guilt, Cam.”

“I’m not with you out of guilt, Chloe. You have to know that. Right? After what happened last night…” He stood as well, tried to take her hand, but she pulled away from him.

“I don’t know anything anymore.” The tears flowed freely now and she still didn’t wipe them away. “I’m so stupid. I thought you cared about me.” Her voice hitched and she tried to fight past the sob that stuck in her throat.

“I’ve been all twisted up over you for the last two months. Spending all this time with you, talking with you, falling for you…” He thrust both hands in his hair now, pulling his forehead taut, his eyebrows raised as he watched her. “I meant to tell you. I swear.”

“What, right before you left Lone Pine Lake? You never talk about leaving anymore. I secretly believed it was because you had a reason to stay now. And that reason was me.” She shook her head, sidestepped him when he came toward her and tried to pull her into his arms. “No. Don’t touch me. I don’t need your obligation any longer, Cameron. You can take all your shitty guilt and leave.”

“Jesus, Chloe, don’t do this.” His voice ragged, he dropped his hands at his sides, and she swore she caught a hint of moisture in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what else to say.”

“I don’t want you feeling sorry for me. That’s what this entire so-called adventure has been about, right? You feeling sorry and guilty over the accident and that you were the reason I was so distracted that night.” She turned away, kept her back to him. She couldn’t stand looking at Cameron anymore.

It hurt too much.

He remained silent and she hated that. Had he given up defending himself because she was right?

“You were bored, I asked you for my stupid, lame sweet summer romance and you thought why not? I couldn’t get too attached to you, right? You could give me what I wanted, relieve some of that guilt that has been hanging so heavily on your shoulders and you’re absolved of all your sins.” She snapped her fingers. “Just like that.”

…

She made it sound so easy, so logical when it hadn’t been like that at all. Maybe at first, he’d been motivated by guilt. He’d nearly gotten her killed. Slung harmful, shitty words at her carelessly and sent her off, upset and freaking crying in that stupid sensible car that had turned out to be not so sensible after all.

Cam had wanted to do right by her after everything that happened that night, he couldn’t argue with that.

But it became so much more with Chloe. As he spent time with her, he grew to genuinely like her. And the chemistry between them…he couldn’t deny it had been off the charts from the moment he kissed her at Jane’s wedding reception.

How he wished he would’ve told her last night. Then none of this would be happening. Too late for wishes, though.

He screwed up a good thing. What else was new?

“Just like that,” he murmured. “You make it sound so simple.”

“Sometimes the truth is that simple.” She still kept her back to him, those slim shoulders trembling, and he knew she was crying. Which slayed him. He wanted to comfort her but she’d shrug him off and he couldn’t take that.

And their truth wasn’t that simple. This relationship with Chloe had never been simple and that was exactly what he loved about it most. “So this is it, then.” Only a few minutes ago, he’d felt happier than he’d ever been in his life. Relaxed after a shower, starving after a night of endless sex, he’d planned on making her a late breakfast, the only meal he was any good at cooking.

And after that, he would’ve taken her back to her bedroom and had his way with her. Then a shower—together. Then back to bed. Where they would spend the rest of the day tangled in the sheets.

Instead, she’d walked into the house looking like a zombie and rocked his world completely off its axis.

She finally turned to face him, her eyes rimmed with red, her cheeks flushed. “Isn’t this what you’ve wanted all along? To be rid of me for good? Unfortunately, it took you a couple of extra months to make that happen.”

Anger burned inside of him. Warred with frustration and sadness. That she would give up on him so easily, distrust him because of one stupid mistake…

He guessed he deserved it.

“I’ll leave, then,” he said quietly, starting toward her bedroom. He grabbed his T-shirt, pulled it on, stuffed his feet into his shoes. His wallet was still in his back pocket, his truck keys in his front along with his cell, which, thank God, was still holding a charge. He’d have to call someone to rescue him or walk back to The Tree, which he didn’t look forward to.

No way in hell would Chloe offer him a ride now. Her days worrying about his safety were over for good.

He came back out into the living room, paused at the front door, his hand resting on the handle. She sat on the couch once more, her posture straight, her gaze distant. Like she didn’t want to look at him.

And that hurt more than he cared to admit. “I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you.” He opened the door, needing to say more. Afraid she wouldn’t care anyway but he had to do it. “And even though you think I did this out of some sort of weird sense of guilt, that’s not true. I let down all my walls and let you in. I never let anyone in. You know that.”

She sniffed, turned her head away, so all he could see was her profile. “Good-bye Cam.”

He waited, hoping like hell she’d say something else, but he was greeted with nothing but cold silence. “I love you, Chloe,” he whispered, just before he shut the door.

And walked out of her life.