Page 25

CHAPTER 25

Charlie

I usher Cami through the front door to the small and intimate Italian restaurant we have reservations at tonight. We were able to walk to dinner, and my hand hasn’t left her lower back since we stepped out of her building. Good thing, because as we’ve gotten closer to the restaurant we’ve run into a few photographers. It’s been about a week since our first date, and with Cami posting on her social media about the two of us there has been no shortage of attention.

They don’t even need to be tipped off as to where we are anymore, they’re just constantly lurking. I have a suspicion they know the area in which I live and have a car tailing me, otherwise I’m not sure how they’d know where we are. I feel uncomfortable with them knowing exactly where Cami lives, but they haven’t photographed her building at this point so I take solace in that.

As far as I know, they still haven’t pinpointed exactly where my penthouse is, just the general location where my car usually pulls out of. I’m thankful for our back entrance to the building, which is set apart from major traffic flow and somewhat hidden. Worst case scenario, we have a safe hideaway there.

The hostess walks us to our table, which is tucked away in the far corner of the restaurant. The lights are dimmed throughout the space and candles are placed on each table, giving it an intimate feel. I pull Cami’s chair out first, allowing her to slide in, then take my seat across from her. She delicately places her napkin in her lap and smiles over at me. The candlelight dances across her face and I find myself smiling back.

“A smile from the Charlie Cade. Someone buy me a lottery ticket.”

“I smile.”

“Not randomly like that. I usually have to work pretty hard to get you to smile at me.”

“Well, maybe I’m just happy.”

Her smile grows at that, as does the blush on her cheeks. She glances down at her lap and pulls at a thread on the tablecloth. A flash from a few feet away startles us both and I notice her smile fall and her body stiffen. A manager rushes over to the table and I assume asks them not to take photos of other patrons enjoying their dinner. It irritates me. I just want Cami to be comfortable and to enjoy this dinner with her, but I guess that was the purpose of all of this.

Glancing back at her, I can tell she still feels a little uncomfortable. I reach my hand across the table and cover hers with it, giving it a little squeeze.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, totally good. Just took me by surprise is all. I should start getting used to it at this point.”

“You know we can stop at any time. This gets to be too much? Say the word and we’ll stop.”

I know that the effects of “stopping” and all that that entails would be far more complicated than just saying we’re done, but I wouldn’t dare keep doing this if I knew she was struggling. That’s the last thing I want.

“I promise, I’m okay. Let’s talk about the list.”

I groan and let go of her hand, making a big show of throwing my head back in defeat.

“I am appreciative of the list, really I am, but I don’t want to do that stuff.”

“I know, but it’ll be fun. Trust me.”

“I do. Implicitly. But more than half of the things on that list sound very far from fun to me.”

“Well, let’s tackle one of the more fun ones first. I have a plan for finding you a hobby.”

“I have hobbies, Cam.”

She raises her eyebrows at me as if to say, “ What hobbies?”

“I go to the gym.”

“And…”

“I…like to watch movies?”

“You need a hobby that isn’t a part of your job or normal daily life. Something you do with your hands to get your mind off of everything else going on around you.”

My mind is drawn to the ball of yarn and knitting needles that sit in a basket in Cami’s apartment. She started knitting about a year ago, and I’ve noticed her picking the materials up on more than one occasion when she seems particularly stressed out. It’s not a bad idea.

“Okay, so what are you suggesting?”

“Hobby day.” She brings her hands to her chest and taps her fingers together manically. It’s honestly a little unsettling, but it makes me laugh all the same. “I have a list of hobbies and a very well thought out and specific schedule for us to follow. We’re going to try a bunch on hobby day and I’m going to document the whole thing on social media. I’ve already gained like twenty thousand followers in the last week.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, one of the writers put my Instagram handle in their article and my phone almost blew up. But it’s good because now we can post and that will help things along. Actually—” She reaches into her bag and pulls her phone out, bringing it low almost to the table but not quite. “Hold my hand, let me snap a pic for my story.”

I oblige, not bothering with asking her what she’s doing. She knows her stuff and I trust her to know what will work best in this area. She snaps the picture and turns it around so I can see. It’s dark and grainy, but in an artistic sort of way. The photo feels cozy. My face isn’t in it, but you can see our hands clasped together on the table, the candlelight flickering in the center. Only the right side of my torso is showing, up to my shoulder. She’s written “Dinner with him” on it and placed a heart emoji next to the words. Something swirls in my stomach, and I do my best to ignore it.

“That’s a great photo,” I say, wiping my palms on my jeans as they’ve suddenly become sweaty. “Won’t Alana see it, though?”

“One step ahead of you. I’ve blocked her on my stories for the day. This will help with the PR for now, but I’ll wait to post you to the feed until she’s back and we’ve told her about everything.”

I nod my head in understanding and push back the feelings of nervousness where telling my sister is concerned. I’m afraid of what she’ll say, but I’m hopeful she will be supportive. I am doing this to stay close to her, after all. Amongst other things.

“So what are we doing during this hobby day?”

“Come on now, I can’t spoil the surprise.”

“Give me something,” I say.

“Fine I will tell you two things we’re going to try, but that’s all.”

“Let me guess one.”

“Go ahead,” she replies.

“Knitting.”

“Hey, how’d you know?”

“I figured we’d do something you are familiar with and I know you knit.”

She smiles shyly and glances down at her lap, a blush creeping up on her cheeks. “Yes, knitting is one of them. Do you want me to tell you another one, or do you want to guess?”

“Tell me.”

“Competitive dog grooming.” A smile creeps up her lips. She starts to giggle and I hope it’s because she’s joking, even though I think she is probably telling the truth.

“Is that a joke?”

“Nope,” she says as she shakes her head and her laughter grows. “Sorry, I’m just imagining you wrestling a poodle under a hose. It’s going to be great.”

“Cam, I don’t need to try out professional dog grooming. I can tell you right now I’m not going to enjoy that.”

“Don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it. You never know.”

“If that’s one of the ones you’ll let me in on, I’m scared to find out what else you have up your sleeve.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll be fun.”

The waiter brings our dinner and we continue to chat as we eat. Eventually, we make our way out of the restaurant and into the swarm of reporters waiting for us at the entrance. I’m not sure when all of this will die down. The attention we’ve gotten so far has already been surprising to me, but I know I need it.

Without thinking about it, I lean down and gently press my lips against her temple. She sucks in a sharp breath, looking up at me with wide eyes, but quickly remembers we’re supposed to look comfortable with public affection and replaces her shocked eyes with warm and gooey ones.

I’m not sure why I did it. I can blame it on the cameras, because that’s what I was supposed to do, but I know it was more than that. My appreciation for her has grown more and more each day as she’s taken all of this on effortlessly. She’s finding ways to help me and is allowing her life to be cracked open by strangers on the internet, and I am so grateful.

I’m realizing now, that even though spending time together isn’t new, something has changed. We haven’t been keeping up this charade for very long, but I can already tell that the sneaky kisses and easy affection is bonding the two of us in a way. It’s opening my eyes to what it might be like if this was real, and the more time I spend with her, the more I crave her presence.

I might be in trouble here.