by Angela Blake
“Just because you’re older than me by like twenty-five years doesn’t mean you get to hit on my friends while I’m standing there.”
“Twenty-five years?”
Katherine turned to face Camilla. “Yeah, my parents weren’t exactly planning on having another kid twenty-five years later. This big lunkhead over here got used to being an only child, but that all changed when I came along. Now he realizes how fortunate he is to have his little sister around, and how I really am something else.”
“You’re something else alright. A pain in my ass,” he said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and began rubbing her hair.
“Hey, hey,” she muttered as she squirmed beneath his grasp. “Watch the hair.”
Jayden held up his hand in mock surrender. “Wouldn’t want to mess with the do. After all, I learned that lesson the hard way.”
“I’m so glad to see the things I taught you back then have resonated,” she said sweetly.
“How can I forget? You left me a rather obvious momento,” he commented, very dryly.
“One of my finer dares.” She winked at Camilla. “He was visiting for dinner, and I was about to go on this big date, and he messed up my hair, so I told him I’d get my revenge. He dared me to shave one eyebrow off, and so I did.”
Leroy burst out laughing. “You didn’t.”
“Oh, but she did.” An amused smile tugged on the corner of Jayden’s lips. “It was pretty late, so I decided to crash on the couch and head back into the city in the morning. Little did I know that when I woke up the next day, I’d look like I was permanently curious.”
Katherine began to chuckle at the memory. “It kind of looked like that woman whose plastic surgery went horrible wrong in the movie Just go with it.”
A snort escaped Camila’s chest. “No way. That bad?”
“Worse,” Jayden responded grimly as he gave Camilla an easy smile.
“Where’s Abigail?” Katherine stood on her tiptoes as she peeked over Jayden’s shoulder.
Jayden waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, you know, Abigail. She doesn’t waste time in getting to know the place, meeting people, and whatnot.”
Katherine tried not to look disappointed as she lowered herself. “That’s true. Well, how about you come over for dinner tomorrow night? We can make something special.”
Jayden shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’d like that.”
“Cool, so come by tomorrow at around seven and I hope you’re planning on wearing something much comfier.”
“I’ll see if I can oblige.” He deadpanned as he shook his head and laughed. “Anyway, I’ll see you later, little sis, Lee.” His eyes sought out hers. “It was lovely to meet you, Camilla.”
Camilla shivered as little tingles went up and down her body at the way her name rolled off his tongue.
He’s got a girlfriend. Snap out of it. Her head screamed as she gave him a polite smile in response. He waved goodbye and made his way out the door.
Chapter Three
Camilla zoomed in and out of traffic as she cursed under her breath wondering if she’d make it to work on time. She had woken up on time, gotten dressed and left at exactly the same time she left every day, but much to her chagrin, the street was completely backed up, and she was left drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. She hummed under her breath as she leaned back in her chair and sighed.
She began to fiddle with the radio dial until she turned to her favorite station. She tuned out the world around her and began to listen to a funny story the radio host was telling.
Once the radio host was done, she grinned as the new Coldplay some came on. She reached for the dial and turned it up and began singing out loud to the song something just like this.
She turned down the volume when her phone began beeping. She put her phone on speaker and answered. “Kat, hey, what’s up?”
“Cam, hey, Listen, I’m at work right now, but I’m going to stop by after work and pick up some things for dinner. I was thinking of making tacos and burritos.”
“A little Mexican, huh?” Camilla honked as the car in front of her refused to move.
“Yeah, Jayden is really into Mexican food, and he doesn’t get to eat authentic Mexican cuisine that often.”
Katherine was part Mexican on her mother’s side, so she always made a fuss about what was considered genuine Mexican food and what wasn’t because her abuela taught her everything she knew about food.
“You know I love your tacos and burritos, in fact, I’ll probably be salivating all day at work thanks to you.”
“Sort of like you were salivating over my brother yesterday.”
Camilla made a dismissive noise in the back of her throat as she made a U-turn. “I wasn’t salivating over your brother. I thought he was just a random guy who hit the doorbell and was you know lost or something.”
“Uh huh. Then why didn’t you just give him directions or tell him to eff off?” Katherine’s voice sounded smug.
Camilla hit the brakes as she spotted a prime parking spot. She put the car in reverse and began to maneuver into the spot. “Well, I’ll admit, I was curious.”
She switched off the car and began shoving everything into her bag.
“Curious isn’t exactly the word I’d use for it. Don’t forget he lives across the road now. But hey just remember that we’re best friends even if my brother ends up breaking your heart or something. I mean obviously I’d kick his ass, but our friendship wouldn’t change.”
Camilla opened the door, swung her bag over her shoulder and switched the phone back. She cradled it between her shoulders and ears before she clicked on the button that would shut her car.
“Kat, I really think you’re reading too much into it. Nothing even happened between your brother and I. We were just talking.”
“Talking?” Katherine snorted. “Is that what you call mentally undressing each other nowadays? Honey, I could feel the heat in that room, I was about to burst into a rendition of Nelly’s hot in here.”
Camilla rolled her eyes as she looked both ways before she checked to make sure that the traffic light was red. She hastened across the street. “Knowing you, you probably would’ve, so my question is, why didn’t you?”
“And ruin a moment like that? No, I was having way too much fun watching although at one point, I thought he was laying it on a little thick considering he’d just met you.”
Camilla shook her head as she walked up to the building where she worked. She swung the door open. “Well as fascinating as your theory is, it’s unfounded and unsubstantiated —”
Katherine interrupted her. “Don’t you talk to me in the journalist tone of yours.”
Camilla paused, confusion lacing her tone. “Journalist tone?”
“Yeah, that you have no comment, that my claims are unsubstantiated, blah blah.”
Camilla laughed. “I’m so glad you take my job so seriously, Kat.”
“I do,” she responded, “but when I’m trying to weasel a confession out of my best friend, I don’t want Camilla Queen journalist extraordinaire. I want Cam, my best friend.”
Camilla zigzagged in and out of people and made her way up the stairs. “Well, it’s a good thing you don’t want Camilla Queen journalist extraordinaire because she’s clearly a made up fictional character in your head.”
Katherine gasped. “How dare you say that? She is very real thank you very much, you’re just in denial.”
Camilla began panting as she finally reached her floor. She huffed, placed her hands on her thighs and began breathing deeply until her face no longer felt enflamed. She stood up. “If I’m in denial then you’re high.”
Katherine laughed. “Wouldn’t have it any other way. Anyway, listen, I have to go now, I’ll talk to you when you get home, bye.”
She hung up before Camilla could get a word in edgewise, and Camilla stared at her phone for a minute before she shook her head an
d headed to the office.
***
Camilla exhaled as she leaned back in her chair and began rubbing her forehead in slow circular motions. She took her glasses off, placed them on the desk and stared at her laptop as she tried to figure out how to end the article.
That was the problem with doing a piece you weren’t really passionate about, and that lead you nowhere, there was no good way to end it because you weren’t even sure how you started it.
She ran her hands through her blonde hair and decided to keep it simple and direct. She put her glasses back on, straightened her shoulders and heaved herself forward nearly making herself tilt off the chair.
“Voodoo curse on the chair,” she muttered underneath her breath as she let her fingers hover over the keyboard for a second as she gave her thoughts time to gather themselves.
A minute later, her fingers were flying across the keyboard as she stared at her screen in concentration.
“Finally,” she said as she hit the save button and leaned back in her chair with a satisfied grin.
She swiveled in her chair in a celebratory circle before she paused and checked the time. Her grin fell as she cursed and hopped up from her chair.
“Katherine is going to kill me.” She began jumping from one end of the desk to the next, shoving all her stuff into her bag as she hit the shutdown button on her computer and waited for it to power down. The second it did, she shoved it in her laptop bag, threw her purse over her shoulder and raced down the stairs.
Katherine called her as she was getting into the car. “Kat, I’m so sorry, I’m on my way, I lost track of the time when I was working on my story.”
“You mean that gutter story that turned out to be a dead end?”
Camilla revved the engine and backed out of her space. “The same one. I told my boss this morning, but he said finding nothing is something in and of itself, so he said I need to write an article about how finding nothing is evidence.”
“Of what?”
Camilla switched on her turning signal as she made a right to exit onto the highway. “That’s exactly what I said.”
Camilla could hear the sound of a cutting board. “And what did he say?”
“He said something like nothing is something, and something is nothing. It was sort of like Jaqen Ha’gar from Game of Thrones.”
Katherine choked on a sip of water, and Camilla could hear her hacking in the background. “You alright, Kat?”
Katherine’s voice came back on. “Yeah, just swell.”
Camilla did her best Ingrid voice. “You know nothing, Jon Snow.”
They both burst out laughing, and Camilla heard Leroy’s voice in the background. “Leroy says we’re both geeks for quoting Game of Thrones.”
Camilla grunted. “Like he doesn’t watch it with us.”
Camilla heard the sound of shuffling before Katherine’s voice came back on. “Hang on, Cam. I’m putting you on speaker.”
“You’re such a geek, sis.” Leroy’s voice wafted through the car’s speakers. Camilla could hear the sound of deep throaty laughter, a laugh she didn’t recognize. “Oh, Jayden is here too by the way.”
“Hey,” his voice quipped. Camilla felt herself blush and think of what he heard, and what he made of it.
“Hey,” she responded weakly.
“I only have one sentence to say to that, bro,” she veered the subject back on track.
“What’s that?”
“Valar Morghulis,” Camilla said smugly knowing that despite his teasing, Leroy was a huge Game of Thrones fan, and he’d know exactly what she was referring to.
“Oh, really? Well, just remember that I’m a Lannister, and the Lannister’s send their regards.”
“It’s on, Dracaris, Lee.”
Leroy laughed as he hung up, and Camilla pulled into the driveway a few minutes later. As she parked her car in the driveway, Camilla could smell the scent of Katherine’s cooking wafting down the driveway.
Katherine was a software engineer, so she usually worked from home unless they needed her to come down to the office which was fairly rare, and as such, she had a lot of time to cook. Luckily for Camilla because Camilla couldn’t cook to save her life.
Katherine knew how to make a variety of dishes, and Camilla loved sampling them. She walked up the path and placed her key in the lock, it clicked open, and the smell of tacos and burritos invaded her senses.
She dropped her bags on the couch near the door. “Kat, it smells amazing.”
She froze in her tracks as she saw Jayden standing next to Katherine in the kitchen. He was wearing a shirt that was rolled up to his elbows showing off his biceps, and a pair of black jeans. His brown hair stuck out on all ends of his head making him look younger than he actually was.
“You can cook?” Camilla’s voice sounded amazed even to her own ears. She had a weakness for men who could cook because it meant a guy was not only independent, but also great with his hands.
Jayden looked amused as he reached for his beer and took a sip. “Don’t sound so surprised, or my ego will be wounded.”
Camilla shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be, I just didn’t know.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know about, Jay,” Katherine said from next to him as she placed the food in the oven. “He can sing, too.”
Jayden looked uncomfortable. “You’re my little sister, your opinion is biased.”
Katherine rolled her eyes as she poked him. “Come on, you know me. If you have a horrible singing voice, I’d tell you. I mean, I have no problems telling you that sometimes you have a one track mind.”
“Thanks, Sis,” Jayden commented, very dryly.
“Daddy, uncle Lee won’t let me play with the light saber,” a little voice complained. A second later, a little girl with blonde hair and chocolate eyes walked into the room and made a beeline for Jayden.
“Aby, honey, you know how Uncle Lee feels about his toys.”
“I heard that,” Leroy called out as he emerged a while later dressed in a tutu and wearing a sparkly tiara over his jeans and shirt. “It is not a toy. It’s a collector’s item.”
Camilla stood there, the wheels spinning in her mind as she looked from father to daughter, the pieces clicking in her head. If Abigail wasn’t his girlfriend’s daughter, then where was the mother?
“Baby, I know we’re very open and honest with each other, but if dressing up like a Disney princess is some weird fantasy of yours, I think I’m going to have to draw the line,” Katherine teased as she placed a kiss on his cheek.
“But come on, I am rocking this tutu.” He struck a pose, and everyone laughed. Camilla gave Leroy a weak smile as she tried to cast her mind back and remember what Katherine said when she talked about her brother.
She mentioned him so many times, but Camilla always kind of zoned out. Especially because she did it so often. Camilla cast her mind back far enough trying to drag up a memory of Katherine talking about her brother which shouldn’t have been that hard considering she’d done it enough.
As she half listened to the conversation going on around her, she frowned as the memory finally resurfaced.
The mother had left.
“Smell something rancid?” Katherine teased as she waved her hand in front of Camilla’s face and snapped her fingers.
Camilla gave a start. “What?” She blinked as everything swam back into focus. “God, no. Your food is divine, as if you need me to keep saying that.”
Katherine pretended to brush lint off her shirt. “It can never hurt to hear that, but then why do you look like you swallowed something bitter?”
Abigail interrupted. “Daddy, who’s that pretty lady?”
She was pointing at Camilla with a big smile on her face. Camilla flushed as she bent down, so that she was at eye level with Abigail. “Hi, I’m Camilla, but you can call me, Cam, what’s your name?”
“Abigail,” she said shyly
as she gazed up at her with deep brown eyes.
“That’s a lovely name, can I call you Aby?”
Abigail nodded enthusiastically as she ran off to Leroy.
She couldn’t tell them that she was trying to remember what Katherine said, so she took her time standing back up. “I was just thinking that the sight of Leroy in a tutu will probably leave me scarred for life.”
Leroy was busy doing ballerina poses with Abigail. “You’re just jealous that you can’t rock this tutu like I can.”
“Yeah, sure, that’s what bothers me.”
Leroy spun on his heels and stopped directly in front of Camilla and began clucking. “Sexism is an ugly color on you, Sis.”
Camilla laughed. “It’s not sexism to say that it doesn’t suit you, at all.”
Leroy picked Abigail up and tucked her under his arm while she squirmed and giggled. “Is too, now I’m taking Aby, and we’re going to go play in the living room where your negative comments cannot penetrate our Disney bubble.”
He made airplane noises as he dramatically swung Abigail out of the kitchen, the sound of their laughter following in their wake.
Katherine, Jayden and Camilla all watched with identical expressions of joy on their faces.
“She seems like a really sweet kid,” Camilla offered as Jayden and Katherine resumed cooking. Jayden was dicing up mushrooms and without looking up, he said. “She really is. I’m lucky she’s so even tempered. She keeps me calm, most of the time.”
Camilla leaned her hip against the counter as she tried not to be too obvious about watching him. “I can see that.”
Katherine set the timer and poked her head inside the oven for a quick look. “Dinner should be ready in about thirty minutes. Jayden, do you mind finishing up here? Cam can give you a hand, I’m going to go see what the sparkly princess and my niece are up too.”
Jayden and Camilla laughed as Katherine grabbed her glass of wine, took a sip and made her way out to the living room.
Camilla moved into the kitchen and rolled up her sleeves. “What do you want me to help you with, Chef?”
“Can you hand me the bowl on the top right shelf?”