A deep scent of sweat and Camden approached from the other side. What on earth? Looking toward the living room, Camden was a few feet away from us and striding toward me. His jaw was set in stone, and I’d never seen him look so angry.
“Tell me everything,” he demanded.
I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND MY REACTION to seeing Camden barreling toward me. It was like I had tunnel vision, and he was all I could see. Everything else around me fell away, and I needed him. I needed to hear his voice and be in his presence. Squirming out of Dodger’s arms, I heard a quiet ‘ooof’ before my feet hit the ground. Oops, I must’ve accidentally elbowed him. I rushed the last few steps to Camden, never taking my eyes off of him. Throwing myself into his arms he caught me and a rush of air blew out of me. I inhaled deeply as I buried my nose in his neck and felt his arms come around me, holding me tightly. He must have just come back from the gym. The musk of his sweat mixed with the laundry detergent we both used permeated off of him. I felt his chest rumbling against my chest, but I blocked everything out. Everything but him. I assumed he was talking to Dodger, but I tuned it all out. I simply went still, letting the warmth of this man seep into my pores, making me feel safe. Why did I need him like this? We had fought only a few hours ago, and I had slapped him across the face. He should be pushing me away and committing me to the loony bin for how I was behaving right now. Except he wasn’t. The look of anger that he held when we walked in the door wasn’t directed at me, it was at the situation. It was meant for Dodger, demanding that he explain what happened. When I rushed to him, his brown eyes softened. In the few short beats before I hit him like a freight train, his look toward me was forgiveness.
“Hold on, Blue,” he murmured in my ear.
I nodded into the crook of his neck and squeezed my arms around him. He picked me up the same way that Dodger did and moved us through the house. I had no idea if Macie and Dodger were still here, and I didn’t really care. All that mattered to me was that, with every breath I took in, it was Camden who was surrounding me. Although I knew that Macie was going to have a load of questions to fire at me later. Not just about the party incident, but also with my whole Scarlett O’Hare I just pulled with Camden.
I felt the subtle jostling as though we were moving up the steps, and I admired the ease in which Camden carried me, as though I didn’t weigh more than a feather. He pushed through a door and walked inside, kicking it shut behind him. Thinking we were in my room, I lifted my head in anticipation that he was going to set me on my bed. But when my eyes adjusted to the dim light filtering through the windows from the street lamp, I noticed we were in Camden’s room instead. I’d never been in his room before. I’d never felt comfortable enough to step foot in here. Even before I signed my lease, I’d only given this room the briefest of glances. I stood there taking in my surroundings after he set me down, wanting nothing more than to walk around and look at every single thing that he obviously felt important enough to display. Camden had stepped away from me to get something from his dresser. When he came back, he held out his hand. He was giving me one of his t-shirts.
“Camden,” I said, my voice scratchy from crying. “My room is across the hall, I can get one of my own shirts to sleep in.”
He shook his head. “Not tonight, Blue. I want you in my clothes and lying in my bed.”
Tentatively I took the shirt from him, swallowing hard. “Could you turn around please?”
The sweet smile he gave melted my heart. It wasn’t his usual smirk or arrogant grin he showed me on a daily basis. This one was kind and compliant. “I’ll actually step out for a minute.”
He walked out, shutting the door behind him. I made quick work of getting the uncomfortable outfit off my body. I threw it on the floor, wishing I could take it downstairs and burn it in the sink or something. I made a promise to myself that I’d never be caught dead wearing something so provocative again. All I did was make a fool of myself. I didn’t belong in clothes like that. I didn’t belong in that frat house like a typical college girl groupie. And I certainly never belonged with a guy like Luke. I chastised myself for thinking that we could have had something. I hated that I made myself believe that he might actually like me. I couldn’t get my mind to wrap around the words that were playing over and over in my head. It was all just a game, a stupid competition that they had every year. But Luke was so believable. None of it made sense to me. It couldn’t have all just been a game for him. He was so tender, and his words were sincere. Or were they? Had I really been that stupid? I sat down on the edge of the bed, my arms resting by my sides, and my hair curtaining my face. My eyes were heavy from crying, and the swirling thoughts were making me dizzy. Every minute that ticked by, I felt more confused and more questions arose. The slight clicking of the door opening and closing alerted me that Camden had reentered the room. I wanted to look up at him, to give him a self-assured smile that reassured him I was okay, but I couldn’t muster one. I just sat there with my head down, wallowing in my thoughts. Camden kneeled down in front of me, and I opened my eyes. His fingers gently lifted my chin, and I noticed the washcloth in his hands.
“Let’s get some of this makeup off,” he said as he gingerly swiped the warm towel across my eyes. I probably looked like a raccoon with all the black.
I chewed on my lip, trying to keep the tears at bay while I let him clean me off. This was a side of Camden I’d never seen before. I was shocked by his compassion. He was always so hard edged, never letting anyone receive this affection from him.
“Why are you being so sweet to me?” I whispered.
He paused and regarded me. His eyes burning into mine. After a few short beats he continued what he was doing. “A girl like you should never cry unless it’s tears of happiness.”
There was no stopping it. A single tear dripped out of my eye and cascaded down my cheek. Camden reached up and brushed it away. “What did I do to be treated this way?”
I knew he understood what I was referring to. “Some guys just don’t understand what they have. And then there’s some that never deserved to have what was standing right in front of them. Luke was never worth the ground you walked on.”
I sniffled and gave a slight smile. “Thank you.”
He tossed the rag into a hamper that was in the corner. “For what?”
“For not saying ‘I told you so.’”
He shook his head. Standing up he tipped his head at me. I scooted back and lay down. His bed was so cozy. The silkiness of his sheets and the soft down of his pillows, I could burrow in this spot and not move for days. He sat down next to me and brushed an errant hair away from my forehead.
“I told you so won’t fix the wrong that was done to you, Keegan.” His eyes were so soft I had to look away.
I nodded. The delicateness of Camden’s fingers grazed down my cheek and to my neck. I closed my eyes and let the feeling sink in. He was touching me as if I were breakable. When I opened them again, he was watching me with a deep regard.
“Tell me what happened.”
Sighing loudly I attempted to detach myself from the situation. I didn’t want to cry about it anymore. Starting from the beginning I told Camden everything. I told him about meeting the three guys, and how they made me feel. I told him about Veronica and how she cornered me outside the bathroom to divulge their little secret. When I’d finally gotten to the part where I stood on the deck and eavesdropped on the conversation about it all being one big competition, I could see every vein in Camden’s neck protruding. His nostrils were flaring, and I knew he was doing whatever he could to dial in the anger he seemed to be feeling. My lip started to quiver when I told him about me finding Dodger and begging him to take me home. Camden turned and situated himself on the bed and lifted the top half of my body to drape over his. He kissed the top of my hair and whispered, “I’ll fucking kill him,” to himself.