“Get over here Nurse Sexy, it’s time to make a toast.”
Clearing my throat I went to the counter and picked up a shot glass.
“To new experiences, dancing our asses off, getting laid, and making every cock on campus stand at attention,” Mace announced with a raised glass, throwing back her shot. I tipped my head back and swallowed the murky yellow liquid, its bitterness burning my throat. I noticed that Dodger was glaring at her. She leveled a stare at him. I took note of it and would have to remember to ask her what that was all about later. The two of them had been hanging out a lot, and I knew Macie liked him. They’d gone out on a few dates, but apparently Dodger wouldn’t give in to Mace and sleep with her. I could tell she was getting upset about it.
I felt someone behind me, and a subtle brush of air across my ear. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Camden rumbled.
I looked over my shoulder and gave a slight nod. I didn’t think Dodger and Macie would even notice my absence. They seemed to be locked in a battle of wills at the moment. Camden put his hand on my lower back, leading me into our small laundry room. When he shut the door behind him, I suddenly felt claustrophobic. Facing him, Camden took up majority of the space. His wide shoulders and tall stance dwarfed me.
“You can’t wear that,” he said flatly.
My brows drew together. “What? Of course I can.”
“Don’t test me on this.”
“I’m not testing you, but you’re not making any sense.”
He roughly reached up and yanked on his hair. “Seriously Blue, you can’t walk into a frat house where everybody has been drinking looking like that. Every guy in there will get the wrong impression.”
“Camden, I’m not wearing anything that’s more revealing than Macie, what’s the big deal?”
He took a step into me. The warm chocolate of his eyes hard, yet pleading. “You just can’t. I’m not going to be there to make sure you stay safe.”
“I wasn’t aware that you cared so much.”
He grunted. “Don’t start. You and I both know that isn’t true.”
“Oh really? Cause I’ve been going over and over it in my mind the past two days, trying to figure out what exactly this is between us, and I can’t seem to figure it out.” I had no idea what was making me discuss our mysterious relationship now. Regardless, I let it out and the question was now hanging out there for him to answer.
“Don’t be so dense, Keegan,” he replied harshly.
I put my hand up to my chest and gasped. “Are you insulting me now?”
“No, I’m stating the facts. You know damn well what’s going on with us and yet you come walking downstairs looking like a tramp. Then you say that you are still going with Luke, even after I warned you about him. I’m starting to think you don’t know your head from your ass,” he reprimanded.
My hand came up on its accord and slapped him across the face as hard as I could. His head swung to the side, absorbing the impact. Ouch, that stung. I was sick and tired of the hatred he spewed, especially after questioning his intentions.
“You’re a self-righteous son of a bitch!” I spat. “From the day I walked in here, you’ve treated me like I was some inconsequential thing that you could speak to and treat however you wanted. You’ve degraded me with name calling, harassed me, ignored me, and pushed me. Then you all of a sudden find out that I was the poor girl living across the hall without furniture, and now I’ve become some project. It’s like you’re testing me to see if you can get me to fall for you. Well fuck you Camden. I’m not falling for you. In fact I’m jumping off this rollercoaster ride. I’m sick to death of your bullshit, and I call quits. Enjoy your evening, I have somewhere I have to be.” I tried to push past him, but he blocked me.
I saw so many emotions warring across his face. If I didn’t know any better I would say it looked like sadness, regret, pain. His hands came up to touch my face. I held my breath, knowing that if he did it, I’d melt into him. I needed my resolve to hold strong. If I gave in to him right now, he would never stop this outlandish quest he seemed to be on. There was a knock at the front door, and Camden dropped his arms. Every expression I’d seen only a second before was now wiped clean. The indifference on his handsome face was like a punch to my gut. Stepping aside, he gave me enough space to leave. I guess that was it. I somehow got the last word with him, and I honestly couldn’t feel worse about it. He’d always fought me every step of the way, and now he seemed to be giving up. I couldn’t afford to let him in right now. Camden would destroy me if I let him. Steeling myself, I squared my shoulders and lifted my head. Hoping like hell that my eyes showed exactly what I felt in that moment, I stared at him. When he tilted his head to the side I knew I needed to get out of here. When I walked past him, my side brushed against his front, and I could have sworn I heard him groan.
Macie was just opening the door for Luke while a very grumpy looking Dodger stood in the kitchen watching her. Apparently I wasn’t the only one having issues tonight. When Luke walked in it was like seeing a breath of fresh air. After several days of Camden’s intensity, it was going to be nice being around Luke’s easygoing demeanor. His tamed blond hair and aqua eyes sought me out. When he found me over by the laundry room door, his eyes grew wide, and the shocked expression was well worth the discomfort of wearing the outfit. We tried to coordinate what we wore, so he was decked out in a pair of scrubs with splatters of blood on the front and had a stethoscope hanging around his neck.
I walked toward him, wanting nothing more than to feel his embrace. He opened his arms to me, and I sank into him, breathing in his clean scent. His mouth came down to the top of my head, and he kissed my hair.
“You look stunning,” he complimented.
I tipped my head back and smiled at him. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself, Doc.”
His pointed finger tapped the tip of my nose, and he smirked. “Maybe later we can play doctor. You can be the naughty nurse and assist me with a breast exam.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “You’re terrible,” I said, slapping him on the arm.
His deep chuckling warmed my chest. I stiffened when I heard a door slam behind me. Looking over my shoulder I saw Camden standing with his hands on his hips looking furious. His eyes were trained on mine, and I felt myself sinking into Luke. Those dark brown depths looked lethal, and it made me nervous. Even Dodger and Macie paused what they were doing to look at Cam. The room was silent and nobody moved. Camden’s look was meant for me. He was angry, hurt, vulnerable, but there was something else there. He was warning me. I squinted my eyes in confusion and tilted my head to the side. It was barely perceptible but I saw it, he glanced from me to Luke. He was telling me again to be careful. I desperately wanted to know why he felt the way he did when Luke’s been nothing but a gentleman to me. Either way, I’d heed his warning. How could I not? No matter how confusing our relationship was, deep down in my gut I knew I could trust Camden. I nodded even more subtly toward him. His mouth thinned into a straight line, and he exhaled loudly. Breaking his stare, he walked over to the corner of the dining room and picked up his gym bag. Slinging it over his shoulder he moved past Luke and me to the front door.
“Where’s he going?” I heard Macie whisper to Dodger.
“He has some issues he needs to work out,” he replied.
When the front door closed we all visibly relaxed. “What was that about?” Luke asked in my ear.
I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I lied, not wanting to tell him anything.
When I turned to face him again, he looked down at me skeptically. A slow smile spread across his face, and he brought his lips down to mine. The soft tenderness of his kiss causing me to sigh. It was the briefest of pecks, but it was enough to erase the tension that Camden had caused. However, I couldn’t ignore the niggling feeling that there was still so much unsaid between Camden and me. We’d have to talk at some point. Plus I wanted to know what his issue was with Luke.