Page 51 of Hard Rock Sin

"No, it's fine," Cameron said, a pleased look appearing on his face. "We'd love to have you."

"Any friend of Cameron's is a friend of ours," Sharon said.

And with that, the plan was set in stone.

Chapter Sixteen

Ihadn't beenable to stop worrying about dinner with Cameron's parents.

I had no idea why they'd invited me. It was obvious they hadn't talked to their son in months, or seen him in person for much longer than that. Wouldn't they want to have a private family dinner?

But there had been something about the way Sharon had kept throwing pleased, almost ecstatic glances my way. It was disconcerting.

Cameron hadn't mentioned anything to me about the dinner after his parents left. I would have thought he was upset that I'd accepted, but then I remembered he'd looked almost happy when I'd said yes.

I also remembered how odd he'd acted around them.

I replayed their conversation in my head for days.

Cameron had rushed to tell his parents who I was. To explain that I wasn't a fan.

His father had been about to say how nice it was for Cameron to be around someone other than his usual company. He had cut himself off before he could finish his sentence.

His mother had been overly friendly. Hugging me. Wanting to know more about me. Inviting me to dinner.

And the way Cameron had acted, effusive and enthusiastic. He hadn't been his normal self.

I knew I was missing something, missing some connection. But Cameron hadn't brought up his parents to me again.

All I could do was wait.

I came home from class one day to find DVDs of part two and three ofThe Terminatorpropped up on the door to my bedroom. I assumed that meant he wanted to continue our movie night. I tracked Cameron down, DVDs in hand.

He was in his gym, working out on the weight machine. I paused in the doorway. Without meaning to, I found myself drinking in the sight of his firm, toned arms, the shifting muscles in his chest, the beads of sweat that ran down his abs in rivulets.

He wasn't bulky. His physique was still lean and trim. But those well defined muscles gave him a toned look that set my heart pounding.

I didn't know how long I stood there, mesmerized, but it was long enough for Cameron to notice. He set down the weights with a loud clank.

"I'd tell you to take a picture, but I'm sure there are more than enough on the internet if you really want to ogle my body."

I started, gripping the DVDs tight in my hand.

"Sorry. I don't mean to stare. It's just… you're just…" My tongue felt glued to the roof of my mouth.

"Really hot?" Cameron smirked.

"Yeah," I said dumbly. I flushed when I realized what I'd said.

"Surely your all-girls school didn't keep youthatsheltered." Cameron grabbed a towel from a rack and wiped his face. The bright red hair was darker from sweat. "You keep on acting like you haven't seen a half-naked man before."

The flush on my cheeks burned even brighter.

Cameron noticed. "Wait. Are you serious?" A look of shock crossed his face. "Are you telling me you've never…. That you're a…"

Virgin.

It was too embarrassing to say out loud. I nodded silently instead.