And boy were we smack dab in the middle of mountaineer country. From every store front hung a WVU flag, as did the porches of the small homes. We continued through the town and out onto country roads that looked like they’d just been paved recently.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been this nervous. My stomach roiled as he slowed and hooked a right, onto what seemed like a private road crowded with tall oak trees. My mouth was completely dry as he rounded a bend and a large, stately manor came into view.
It wasn’t so much that it was a huge house. The thing was big—colonial style, white pillars in the front, and three stories, but it reminded me so much of my parents’ home. Cold and perfect on the outside and mostly likely the same on the inside.
Cam followed the driveway behind the house and I got a closer view of the manicured lawn and beautiful, rustic landscaping. I swallowed, but my throat wasn’t really working. He pulled in next to a detached garage that was probably the size of a small ranch style home. Beyond the garage, I could see a covered, in-ground pool.
He turned the engine off and faced me, a slight small on his face. “You ready?”
I wanted to scream no and then take off, running straight for the nearby woods, but that seemed like a bit of an overreaction. So I nodded and opened the door, stepping out into temps that were at least ten degrees cooler than what we’d been in. I reached for my bag, but Cam tugged it out along with his much smaller one.
“I can carry it.”
Cam grinned as glanced at the bag he’d slung over his shoulder. “I’ll carry it. Besides I think the pink and blue flower print looks amazing on me.”
In spite of my nerves, I laughed. “It’s very flattering on you.”
“Thought so.” He waited for me to join him on the other side and then we started up a slate pathway that led up to a covered patio at the back of the house. He stopped just outside the glass door, beside a wicker chaise lounge. “You look like you’re about to have a heart attack.”
I winced. “That bad?”
“Close.” He stepped closer to me and his hand moved so fast. Tucking my hair back behind my ear, he lowered his head slightly. A look crossed his face, deepening the hue of his eyes until they were the darkest shade of blue. My stomach fluttered in response. “You have no reason to be nervous, okay? I promise.”
My cheek tingled where his fingers grazed and as close as we were I thought about our kiss that wasn’t a kiss. He hadn’t done anything like that since the night of our first date, but right now, I think he wanted to. “Okay,” I whispered.
He stared at me a moment longer and then shook his head. Dropping his hand, he turned to the door and opened it. A wave of warm air that smell of apple and spice spilled out, an alluring, welcoming scent. I followed him inside, eyes wide as I took the room on the lower floor in.
It was a game room of sorts. A large pool table in the middle, a stocked bar to the right and in the back, near the stairs, was a large TV with several comfy looking chairs in front of it. My parents had something like this, but the pool table had never been used, Mom only drank from the bar when she thought no one was paying attention, and the TV in our basement had never been turned on.
But everything looked… lived in down here.
The balls weren’t racked up in the middle, but spread across the table like someone had stopped in the middle of a game. A bottle of scotch sat on the bar top, beside a glass and the chairs were worn, obviously older furniture that had been moved from downstairs. Unlike my parents who had to have new stuff in every room in the house.
“This is the man cave,” Cam said as he headed for the stairs. “Dad spends a lot of time down here. There’s the poker table he kicked my ass on.”
I looked over to the left and there was just an average card table sitting there. A small smile pulled at my lips. “I like it down here.”
“So do I,” he replied. “Mom and Dad are probably upstairs…”
Nodding, I pulled myself away from the center of the room and trailed behind him. We ended up in a living room, that like the basement, had a well lived in feel. A huge sectional couch took up most of the room, placed directly in front of another large TV. Magazines were scattered across the coffee table and potted plants instead of weird statues and paintings filled almost every corner.
“Living room,” Cam commented, going through an archway. “And this is the second living room or some room that no one sits in. Maybe it’s a sitting room? Who knows? And this is the formal dining room that we never use but have—”
“We do to use the dining room!” came a woman’s voice. “Maybe once or twice a year, when we have company.”
“And break the ‘good dishes’ out,” Cam commented dryly.