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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Cameron

I hit Submit on the last slide for phase four of the Instructional Design project, hoping our most recent idea is as strong as the others have been.

With a sigh, I lean back against the couch, closing my eyes a moment.

I’m not feeling the best today. I thought it was but a massive hangover from one too many beers mixed with Jell-O shots on Saturday night, but it’s Wednesday and I’m still feeling like shit.

I finish off my water bottle and open the syllabus, scanning over this week’s lecture points one more time just in case.

“Are we going to talk about Saturday?” Alister asks suddenly.

My fingers freeze over the track pad, eyes darting to meet his.

“What do you mean?” Okay, that was not the smartest question to lead with.

He gives me a knowing look, and I put my hands under the table, running my suddenly sweaty palms over my leggings.

“You kind of freaked out when Allana came over to say hi.” He shifts on the carpet, facing me a little more.

“I hope the words ‘understandably so’ are about to leave your mouth next?”

He nods and remains quiet for a few seconds too long. “I wanted to introduce you.”

The scoff that leaves me can’t be stopped, and I shake my head. “You wanted to introduce me to your ex-girlfriend and her family?”

“Not necessarily her, but her parents, yes.”

I gape at him. “Do you not see how fucking odd that statement alone is, not to mention the actual act of doing so?”

Alister nods again, his gaze falling to his lap briefly. “I do, but…they’re important to me.”

My eyes slide his way, and I want to ask him what that has to do with me, but that’s just me being pissy.

“Her parents were there for me when I didn’t have anyone,” he shares. “You know they didn’t even know she was pregnant until I flipped out and accused them of tricking me into coming here.”

I’m not sure I want to talk about this, but the topic isn’t as uncomfortable as it used to be.

Is that progress or something else entirely?

I swallow. “Did they trick you?”

He shakes his head. “No. They were just excited that I loved her so much I was willing to risk my football career to be with her. Once they found out she’d been lying to all of us, they offered to take out a second mortgage to cover my tuition if I wanted to try to transfer somewhere else.”

“That was nice of them.”

He smiles slightly, propping his chin on his palm. “Can I ask you something?”

Unease washes over me, and I fold my arms over my knees, shrugging a shoulder.

“Do you think you would be with Brady now if I didn’t screw things up?”

I tense, gaze narrowing. “What…what kind of question is that? I mean, how would I even answer? You and I would either still be together, or we wouldn’t, and who is to say what would have happened after? I’m not a cheater, if that’s what you mean.”

“It’s not.” He watches me closely .

Too closely.

I shoot to my feet, taking quick steps into the kitchen, and I hear him move to join me.

“I guess I’m just wondering if there has always been something between you two.” He comes around the little bar top, leaning back against the counter as I take a soda from the fridge and pop it open.

Turning away from him, I take a few small drinks.

I guess that’s a fair question when you think about it. He knows I’ve known Brady for forever. Just like him and Allana.

Of course, he has no idea what Brady and I have isn’t real.

I mean, what we are to each other is real, but we’re not.

That makes sense, right?

Suddenly, there’s a hard chest at my back and I tense.

Alister is my height, so when I look over my shoulder, I don’t have to tilt my head up to meet his eyes like I do with Brady.

“What are you doing?” I rasp.

His hands finds my hips, and I drop my gaze to my sock-covered feet. “Cameron,” he whispers, his forehead falling to the back of my head. “Am I too late?”

For what? I want to ask. Isn’t it obvious he’s too late? He thinks I’m dating Brady. Should that not answer his question?

He doesn’t know we’re fake. That all the times Brady and I have kissed, Brady felt nothing.

I mean, we felt nothing.

Fuck, I can’t think with him so close.

I spin, pressing my arms to his chest.

The door swings open and my head snaps left, eyes locking on a pair of brown ones.

Brady freezes there, an oomph sounding behind him, followed by laughter.

“Brady, what the heck,” Ari chuckles. “Move.”

He doesn’t move. His eyes move from mine to my hands. I look down too, realizing they are still plastered to Alister’s chest .

He’s still holding on to my waist.

I tear away and fly backward so fast I nearly slip, catching myself on the counter behind me.

Ari snakes around Brady then, smiling until she looks this way. Her face falls.

“Oops,” she mutters, but then her keen eyes take in the scene, narrowing as she looks between us all.

I don’t know what the fuck she sees because I can’t even figure out what I see.

“Hi,” I say lamely. “We were working on our class project.”

Brady nods, his expression smoothing out to one of impassiveness, and I decide I hate that look on him. He looks away, not acknowledging Alister at all, and walks into the space. He sets a few bags down on the counter and turns back for the door.

“I was just carrying these up,” he says, his hand on the doorknob. He takes a step, and panic flares in my gut, my stomach sucking in, but then he stops.

I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding when he looks over.

His grin is instant. “Call me when you’re ready for our date.”

My brows snap together, and he yanks his head forward, breaking eye contact as he walks out, closing the door softly behind him.

Date?

We don’t have any plans tonight…

It hits me then: He only stopped to say something to keep up the facade, because it would be weird if a boyfriend saw another man—an ex at that—in his girl’s dorm room and just left without a word.

He had to say something, or the ruse would be over.

He didn’t care that Alister was in here alone with me or that he saw me with my hands on the man’s chest.

I mean, why would he?

Better question …

Why do I feel like he should?

Ari walks into the kitchen, smiling tightly as she squeezes past Alister, who moves back to where his bag is. He starts to put his computer away, and Ari’s eyes snap my way, eyebrows lifting in question.

“Want me to go?” she whispers.

“No. We just finished,” I whisper back, my attention moving to Alister just as he steps this way.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks with an unmistakable hopefulness that makes my stomach clench with unease. “I could get you coffee, and we could walk over together?”

“No, I’ll be out already. I’ll see you in class.”

With a final nod, he slips out the door, and I groan loudly, dropping my head onto the counter.

“I can feel you staring at me,” I mumble into my arms.

“Do you have anything you want to share with me?” she says slowly. “Maybe something you need a little help working out?”

Do I?

I shake my head no.

“Are you sure, Cameron?” There’s worry in her tone, and something tells me it’s not all for me.

I stand, nodding again, and avoid her gaze as I move into my room.

I crawl into bed, hitting my pillows and flipping them over several times to try to find a comfortable position, but apparently there isn’t one.

Maybe I need a heated blanket.

Maybe you need a warm chest to sleep on.

The thought stops me cold, and I moan, throwing all the pillows onto the floor.

I tug the blanket over my head and sigh.

Yeah, okay.

Sleeping alone suddenly sucks.

And the next few days don’t get any fucking better .

I’m sicker than a fucking dog.

I frown at my word choice.

I know it’s something I’ve heard my family say a thousand times over, but what does it mean?

“Jesus, Cameron,” I groan. “You’re clearly bored to shit.”

I sigh, kicking my covers off and flipping onto my back.

I hate feeling like shit.

To make matters worse, Ari and the others followed the team bus out of town yesterday; they’re playing a team that’s only a six-hour drive up north.

It was a morning game today, but Ari, Paige, and Payton decided to stay one more night so they could take Deaton to the zoo tomorrow.

The boys should get back in later tonight sometime, though.

Picking up my phone, my finger hovers over Brady’s name, but I’m not sure why.

We haven’t talked much since Wednesday, what with me being home sick and him hitting the road Friday afternoon.

When we did, his responses were pretty basic.

I haven’t bothered him today because I didn’t wake up until a few minutes after the game started and after another few hours of in-and-out, shitty sleep, I figured he was knocked out on the bus.

On the chance that he was, I didn’t want to wake him.

It’s hard enough to sleep on that thing from what the boys have said.

I text Ari back, letting her know I’m fine and not to have too much fun without me. Just as I let it fall on my chest, it starts to ring, the dorm RA’s picture flashing on the screen.

“Hey, Cameron,” she chirps the second I answer, and I cringe at her chipper sound. Love her, but my head feels like it’s made friends with the concrete.

“Hey, Frankie. What’s up?”

“Mrs. Garrett is here to see you again. You in?”

I smile, slowly peeling myself from the bed. “Yeah, send her up, please. ”

She hangs up and I quickly go pee, pulling a robe on over my Hello Kitty sleep shirt. I lost the shorts at some point, and she doesn’t want to see that.

There’s a soft knock on my door just as I shiver my way into the living room.

I pull the door open and Granny Grace smiles at me, thrusting a bag into my hands. The contents are warm, and I sigh. “More soup?” I ask hopefully.

“Chicken noodle. The noodles are in a little baggie. Take what you think you’ll eat, put it in a smaller bowl, and add what you want to that. If you put all the noodles in now and don’t eat it, you’ll be left without a drop of broth.”