Page 57 of What He Doesn't Know
Maybe, he’s doing this on purpose. He’d started waking me with breakfast as a surprise, as a treat for me. Maybe he realized that I’d gotten used to it, that I expected it, and he wanted to keep me on my toes.
I smiled, leaning against the cabinet as I realized it was exactly what he would do. He’d find a new way to celebrate our anniversary, a new way to make me smile and feel special — it was exactly like him to do that. Cameron was probably out shopping for something or putting together some elaborate surprise plan for when he got home. I shook my head, chewing my thumbnail with a stupid grin plastered on my face.
And maybe I was being a bit naïve, maybe I was making excuses, but in my heart, I truly believed the best. It just didn’t make sense, and I knew deep down it just wasn’t possible.
Cameron would never forget.
Once the thought was pushed from my mind, I cranked the music louder, turning the coffee pot back on to reheat as I flipped over Cameron’s note to make a plan for the day. I’d already spent Saturday cleaning the house in anticipation of us spending a day inside it, so I decided I would focus my energy on a new, elaborate recipe for dinner. Cameron would come home to the home-cooked meal of a lifetime, I’d give him his gift and he’d give me mine, and then we’d pop open the champagne I’d stuck in the refrigerator to chill over night and make love until the sun came up.
I giggled at the perfectness of it all, skipping up the stairs to get dressed.
Reese called when I was in the middle of grocery shopping a couple hours later, and we laughed at the drama that blew up during Wednesday’s Happy Hour the night after game night. It’d been nice, being friends with Reese, and a lot less tension-filled since the night before Mom’s fundraiser. After he’d opened up to me about his family, it felt like we somehow unlocked a door to our past selves. Talking was easier, conversations were lighter — we were just a boy and a girl who lived next door to each other.
I’d been helping Reese with the spring concert, and he’d been pulling me out on the nights Cameron worked late to hang out with some of our colleagues. I’d worked there for eight years and never made as many friends as I had in just one week. It was nice, actually, to have the teachers greeting me as we passed by each other in the hall. I’d always been viewed as headmaster Henderson’s pet before, but they were starting to get to know the real me, now.
Maybe, in a way, I was, too.
“So, I’m not sure I said it this week, but I had a lot of fun at game night,” Reese said as I thanked the butcher for two beautiful racks of lamb.
I was planning a decadent cherry glaze to finish them with, excitement flooding through me at the thought of Cameron coming home to one of his favorites.
“We should do it again sometime.”
“We should. I’m sorry again about Cameron, he apologized the next day and told me he had just been tired.”
“Hey, we talked about this. Remember? It’s all good. Seriously.”
I smiled, making my way to the produce department. “Okay. But anyway, I’m glad you had fun, and that you got to spend a little time with Cameron.”
“Me, too. Glad there wasn’t a Penguins game,” Reese said. “It was nice to get to know him a little more. He’s kind of quiet, but he’s smart. And very in tune with you.”
I smiled, a flash of memory from Cameron fingering me in our driveway hitting me out of nowhere. I was already wet again thinking about round two tonight, and I blushed as I passed a mother and her kids in the baking aisle.
“He really is. And, to be fair, everyone is quiet in comparison to you.”
“You calling me a loud mouth?”
“Just saying that a room is never void of conversation when you’re in it.”
I chuckled as Reese feigned offense with a dramatic gasp.
“I’ve got to keep you away from Sierra. You’re getting so sassy.”
“Speaking of Miss Maggert, I think she has the hots for you.”
Reese scoffed. “Yeah. Me and every other teacher with a penis.”
“You have a penis?”
There was a pause.
“Wow. You really are getting sassy. That’s it, no more ciders at happy hour. Water only.”
I laughed. “I’m in a good mood today, okay? Leave me alone. Also, you should ask her out.”
“No offense, Charlie, but if you think Sierra is in any way my type, then you have no idea who I am at all.”
I pulled a fresh bag of cherries from the produce section, inspecting them carefully before setting them in my basket. “Okay, I’ll bite. What’s your type then?”