Page 61 of The Interview

“You don’t have to do this,” I tell him quietly.

“I know. But I’m here, and I’m part of this story. Everyone else has put their two-bobs’ worth in. I might as well add mine.” His eyes dance all over my face, and I know he’s trying to read my reaction. “Unless you have a problem with?—”

“Absolutely not. I love that you want to be a part of this,” I cut him off.

“I don’t, but I also don’t wanna come across as a fucking weirdo stalker.”

“Oh, shut up. They’re just poking the bear. Stop giving them a reaction.” I rest my hand on his thigh and give him another smile.

“Quiet, please!” someone calls out, and the room falls silent once more.

“So, you knew her name. Did you know who she was?” Daniel asks Cam.

“I had no idea,” Cam replies. “It was just one of those situations where your eyes meet across a room. Kids these days probably have no idea what I’m talking about because it’s all different now. There was none of this talking online first shit back then. You went out, you saw a bird you fancied, and because blokes back then had big enough bollocks, you approached the bird, asked if they’d like a drink, chatted them up, and either got to go home with them at the end of the night, or asked them out on a date. Sometimes both.”

“And what did you get?” Dan asks.

Cam laughs, and I close my eyes as I recall how rude I was to him.

“That particular night, I got fuck all. In fact, after I told her to enjoy the rest of her night, she said something like…”

“Don’t tell me what to do!” Marley interrupts Cam in a high-pitched voice, which I assume is supposed to imitate me.

Everyone standing around either laughs or claps their agreement, so I give them all a double middle-finger salute.

“Pretty much,” Cam says through a grin. “I think what she actually said was, ‘Whether I enjoy the rest of my night or not has fuck all to do with you.’”

There are more laughs, claps and whistles that ensue.

I shake my head but smile at the memory of it all. “I did thank him for the champagne. But, yeah, I was such a bitch.”

“I loved it,” Cam says with a wink.

“I remember.” I press my lips together, remembering how he pulled me against his big, hard body. How he got my libido all fired up after years of being dormant. “You called me an angry kitten.”

“Cute,” Kiki calls out.

“Dad had rizz,” George adds.

“So, that’s where it started, the whole kitten and tiger thing. It started that night?” Ash asks.

“Yep,” Cam and I reply in unison.

“Aww, that’s so cute. I love that I was there right at the start.”

“What was it about her?” Daniel asks Cam.

With his arm still stretched along the back of the sofa, Cam draws circles over my shoulder and the back of my neck. His free hand goes to his face, and his long fingers scratch at his jaw before he looks away from Daniel to meet my eyes.

“I thought she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen,” he says quietly. “It was her eyes that caught my attention first, how very blue they were, and how very sad they looked.”

I swallow the lump forming in my throat as we stare at each other.

“Did you get your date?” Dan asks.

“No, so I had to do a bit more stalking,” Cam admits. “Found out her mate, Ash”—his chin gestures in Ashley’s direction—“worked in a clothes shop on the high street. I went in there hoping to get a phone number for Georgia, and there she was, Miss Congeniality herself behind the counter. And do you know how she greeted me? A paying customer?”

I cover my face with both hands because I know what’s coming.