With her last sentence comes a knowing smile.
“There’s nothing going on with us, you know,” I remin her. “I’m not ready.”
“Nothing going on that you realize, anyway,” she answers.
I hold up two outfits from my bag for a change of subject. She looks carefully at both, and then points to the one in my right hand. It’s a tight green v-neck sweater and tight black pants. I pull my black boots out of my bag and put them on over the pants, and my outfit is complete.
Dara appraises me.
“You look hot,” she announces.
I smile in spite of myself, and return her appraising stare. Shes wearing black tights, a striped mini-skirt with heels, and a black long-sleeved shirt that plunges low in the front and back. Killer heels. Model material, as usual.
“You’re gorgeous,” I tell her. “Brandon is going to lose his mind.”
“That’s the i-dee-yah,” she sings. “Let’s roll.”
I’ve agreed to stay with Dara tonight after the party, so we take her car to Sarah’s house.
When we arrive, I look up at the large two-story house, which is ablaze with lights in every window. Colorful Christmas lights adorn every available surface, and wreaths hang on all the windows. Sarah’s mom is a Christmas décor fanatic. The Alba house is decorated from the beginning of November until well after Christmas, and the house always has more decorations than I think are really necessary. That’s Sarah’s family, though. Always over the top.
Walking into the house, we discover that the party is in full swing. Every year, Sarah’s parents leave the premises for her party, but they don’t go far. They’ll be back later tonight to make sure their house is still in tact. But this year, I have a feeling they’ll come back to more of a wreck than usual.
There’s a wild feeling in the air, like electricity is fizzling all around us, invisible and charged. Kids are everywhere. I recognize a lot that I know from school, but some are clearly crashers from other schools. I don’t recognize every face.
Music blasts from speakers in four corners of the wide-open great room. Kids are walking by with red cups of something. Punch? Beer? I’m not sure, but anything is possible at a Sarah Alba party. It isn’t my style to drink at a party.
Dara is looking around, and then she grabs my shoulders and points back toward the sunroom in the back of the house. Soft sectional sofas surround the room, and the large windows look onto the backyard. Up-lighting in Sarah’s favorite hue, purple, highlight the huge pool outside.
Brandon and Luka are sitting on one of the sofas, their long frames folded onto the cushions with some difficulty. Dara drags me in their direction.
“Baby,” Brandon greets her as both boys stand. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him.
“You…holy shit, Dara…I don’t think we can stay here very long with you looking like that.”
“Told you,” I tell her.
Luka stares at me.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“Getting there,” I answer. It’s a lie, because I’m not.
Sarah comes sweeping into the room then, squealing when she sees Dara and me.
“You guys are here! Drinks, pronto!” she exclaims, handing us two cups of something.
I sniff mine, and wrinkle my nose.
“What is it?” I ask suspiciously.
“Does it matter?” she asks with a grin. “It’s a party!”
Luka puts his arm around me. “Cam doesn’t drink.”
I look at the crowd around me, the music pulsating through my body. Then I reach deep down into my heart, and let myself feel the crushing pain that still resides there. Maybe I don’t usually drink, but I want to do something to soothe my aching soul. Maybe actually let go and have fun, even if it’s only for one night.
I take a long swig of whatever is in the cup. It tastes tangy and delicious. Luka frowns. Dara laughs and claps her hands in delight. Sarah pats my back and moves on to another group of unsuspecting partygoers.
“Cam—“ Luka starts. I hold up my hand.
“Not tonight,” I instruct him. “Tonight I’m going to have fun. You can fuss at me tomorrow if you want.”
Then I walk away and disappear into the crowd.
Cooper
I wind my way through the thickly crowded room, my eyes flicking left and right constantly. I’m here for one reason only. When I find her, I’m not letting her go again. The party is raging almost out of control, and I wish I’d gotten here earlier. I figured it was the “arrive fashionably late” type of high school party. I was wrong. Everyone I pass looks like they’d been here awhile judging from the glassy flatness in their eyes and the slurred words falling from their lips.
Cam is nowhere to be seen, though. I find Hunter and my band mates standing around a fire pit in the backyard, drinks in hand.
“You look like you need a drink,” Hunter says.
“That’s the last thing I need,” I answer. “I need a clear head to talk to Cam.”
“Dude, she sure as shit ain’t keeping a clear head to talk to you.”
I grabb his arm. “What? You’ve seen Camryn tonight?”
“’Course I have. I’ve pretty much seen all the gorgeous girls at this party tonight. Especially the tipsy ones.”
My eyes blur with anxiety. “Be careful how you answer this, Hunter. Cam’s drinking?”
“That’s an understatement,” he answers.
I turn, stalking back toward the house. Dread gathers in the pit of my stomach. I don’t like the idea of Cam being out of control at a party like this. Bad things can happen.
“Dude! She’s gonna be fine. She’s with her dancer friends.”
I start running, because I know that if Cam isn’t hanging out with Dara then she isn’t herself. I need to find her before she does something stupid.
I walk through the house, looking into doorways as I pass them. No sign of Camryn.
I end up at the last doorway on a long hallway upstairs. I poke my head in, and my eyes land on Cam. Her back is to me, but it’s definitely her. I would know her body anywhere. She’s standing in what looks like a guest bedroom room with some guy I don’t recognize from school.
“Come on baby, give me something,” he’s saying. “You’re not a good girl.”
She wobbles on her feet.
“I am a good girl,” she slurrs. “I’m just not good enough.”
He grabs her, pulling at her top as he hauls her toward him. His hands tear at a piece of her sweater, and I react. I push the door open wider, so hard it leaves a dent in the wall behind it.
“Cam, come here,” I order. I aim a deadly gaze at the guy with her. If I don’t get her by my side right now I ‘m going to break every bone in his face and work my way down. He grabbed her, and if I hadn’t walked in he wouldn’t have stopped. Ripping him apart will be letting him off easily.
She turns and almost falls in the process. “Cooper?”
“Yes, baby,” I answer gently. “Come over here with me, please.”
The guy sneers at me. “Hey man, get your own treat for the night. This sweet piece is mine.”
That’s when his arm shoots out and grabs her arm, squeezing it too hard. She cries out, and I close the gap between us in two steps.
I grab his arm and wrench it off of her, then twist it up painfully behind his back.
“What the f-?”
My fist connects with his mouth and he doesn’t have the chance to finish the question.
Cam gasps, and I take her hand and move her away a few steps. I take her face in my hands as the guy behind me splutters angrily.
“Are you okay?” I ask her. She stumbles again, and I wrap my arm securely around her waist. She leans into me, and she feels so good there I almost forgoe about the guy in the room with us.
“What’s your problem?” he asks angrily. “I was just messing around.”
“You were messing around with the wrong girl,” I snap. “She’s mine. Get the
hell out of here. Now.”
He gives me one last glare, and then he seems to decide I’m not worth the fight. He shrugs, still holding onto his mouth. Blood runs through his fingers.
“Whatever, man,” he says. “This party’s lame, anyway.”
When he leaves the room, I turn back to Cam.
“Cam, why are you drinking? You don’t drink.”
“Cam doesn’t drink,” she mimicks. “Cam doesn’t do anything bad. Cam is always perfect. Blah, blah, blah.”
I look at her, astonished. “Who says you’re always perfect?”
She sighs heavily. “They all say it. All the time.” She waves her arm around in what was meant to be a flippant gesture, but her body follows her arm and she almost topples over.
“What did you mean when you told him you weren’t good enough?” I asked, grabbing her before she falls.
She looks at me, her liquid brown eyes big and beautiful, but sadder than I’ve ever seen them. My heart clenches at seeing her eyes that way.
“I wasn’t good enough for you,” she whispers.
I’m shocked to my core. Is that really what she thinks?
I grab her face with both hands and kiss her fiercely. She tastes like cherries and vodka, and it’s the most delicious combination I’ve ever felt. As the heat between us builds, I try to put every emotion I’m feeling into that kiss.
“Did that feel like you’re not good enough for me?” I demand when I pull away.
She shakes her head, her eyes huge now and full of wonder.
“Why did you do that?” she asks miserably. “You’re going to confuse me.”
“Cam!” I say, frustrated. “You have nothing to be confused about. Why don’t you understand how I feel about you?”
“Because you kissed Lilly,” she says simply. “That cancelled out everything.”
Her eyes glaze over, and I can tell she’s about to shut down on me.
Not this time. I’m going to make her hear me.
I pull her up to stand next to me. She’s so unsteady that I can’t let go of her. So I pick her up. I cradle her to my chest, her legs dangling over my arm.
She pushes against my chest. “Put me down, Cooper. Right now.”
With the slur evident in each word, it sounds more like, “Puh meesowd Coopa. Righnow.”
I grin. “What are you going to do about it if I don’t?”
She furrows her brow, and the effect is so cute I almost turn around to throw her back on the bed. But I need to stay focused on what she needs.
“Camryn Grimes,” I say, as I leave the room with her in my arms. “I can’t put you down. I can’t give you space. I can’t stay away from you. I can’t do any of those things, not any longer. Because I miss you, and you mean everything to me. Because I love you.”
The words hang in the air between us. God, I hope to hell she remembers them when she wakes up in the morning.
“You love me?” she asks. Can she really be that surprised?
“Of course I do,” I answer. “How could I not?”
“Why did you kiss her?” she whispers. “You ruined everything.”
“Because I’m right for him, and you’re not,” another voice answers before I can.
I tear my eyes away from Camryn’s face, and they connect with Lilly blocking our path down the hallway.
“Stop saying that,” I spit. “It’s not true.”
Camryn struggles to get out of my arms, but I hold her tight to my chest, unwilling to let her go. In any sense of the words.
Lilly spits out a harsh bark of a laugh. “Look at her. She’s a loose cannon. She comes from nothing. She can’t even handle her liquor. And, she’s black.”
Camryn tenses in my arms and opens her mouth. I silence her with a kiss to her lips. I’m going to show her that I will defend her. I’m starting to think this Lilly chick is crazy.
“Get the hell out of our way. I don’t want anything to do with you. Camryn is ten—no, a hundred—times the woman you are. What are you even talking about? She’s too good for me as it is. I don’t even know you. And I come from nothing.”
Lilly shakes her head emphatically. She eyes Cam, and then makes a decision.
“You don’t come from nothing, Cooper,” she says. “You’re practically royalty.”
“Royalty? Like I said, I don’t even know you. What are you talking about?” I’m beyond frustrated with this girl.
She opens her mouth to speak, and then another voice interrupts us as it booms annoyingly down the hall. That voice gives me a tic.
“Cam!”
Luka comes barreling down the hall. Brandon and Dara are right behind him. I almost roll my eyes, but I restrain myself. Camryn’s eyelids have been closing, but now they snap open. She tightens her grip around my neck, which surprises me. But there is no way I’m letting her go now.
I’m certainly not handing the girl I love over to another guy.
“What did you do to her?” Luka asks. I expect him to shout, but his voice is laced with flat, deadly calm.
Brandon puts his hand on Luka’s arm.
“Settle down, man,” he says. “You know Cooper wouldn’t hurt her. She drink too much?” He aims the question at me.
“Yeah,” I answer. “I found her like this, with some asshole all over her. I want to take her home.”
“No way. You’re not going anywhere with her,” Luka says, yelling now. “Give her to me.”
Camryn swats his hand away, her head leaning against my chest.
“Stop it, Luka. Don’t fight. Cooper loves me.”
She snuggles against me, and my heart lifts to a height I didn’t even think was possible.
Dara speaks up before Luka can blow a gasket.
“Do you need my car, Coop?” she asks. “It doesn’t look like she can ride the bike in this condition. I can ride with Bran and Luka.”
I nod gratefully. “Thanks, Dara.”
She tosses me her keys and eyes me seriously. “Take care of her. Her mom’s working a double shift tonight, and she’s never had a drop of alcohol. It’s gonna be rough.”
“I will,” I answer, nodding again. I stare at Luka, silently wiling him to save the scene for another time.
He steps out of the way. As I pass him, he leans down and whispers angrily in my ear. Damn, the dude is a freaking giant.
“This isn’t over,” he says.
I just keep walking, cradling Cam like the precious cargo she is.
As I exit the house heading toward Dara’s car, Lilly comes running after us.
“What about me?” she calls. “Don’t you want to know what I was going to tell you?”
I don’t even pause.
“No,” I answer, and open the car door for the girl I love.
Chapter 20
Safe and Sound
Camryn
I open my eyes, and my stomach rolls. I look up and see my bedroom ceiling, dingy white and cracked as it always is. My gut shifts again, and I lurch out of bed and run to the bathroom.
I throw up everything I have in my stomach, which isn’t much, and then I throw up some more.
As I heave into the toilet, I feel a cool cloth brush my forehead. Is my mom here? Oh no. She’ll know I’ve been drinking. She’ll make sure I’m okay, and then she’ll kill me.
Then Cooper speaks, and my head almost cracks against porcelain.
“You’re going to be okay,” he says soothingly. “This is good. You’re getting it all out. Are you done?”
I wipe my mouth with the tissues he’s holding out toward me, and groan.
“I think so,” I answer. “What are you doing here?”
“I drove you home last night. Don’t you remember?”
I search the fuzzy memories of last night’s party, and find the one where he barged into the room with me and that asshole, and I grow warm all over.
“You love me,” I say, standing up way too fast.
Cooper catches me in his arms before I topple over. H
e sighs, relieved. “Yeah. I do. I thought you’d forget.”
“I will never ever forget the moment those words came out of your mouth,” I announce. “Never.”
He flashes the crooked grin I love so much and grips my arms to help me out of the bathroom. “Are you okay?”
“My mouth is dry,” I answer. I smack my mouth, attempting to add moisture where there was none. “Did someone shove cotton balls down my throat last night?”
He leads me to the couch, where I plop down, and he moves into the kitchen to get me some water. He hands me a glass full, and I sip it while I observe him.
“So, last night…” I begin.
“You don’t drink,” he says. “So why were you wasted last night when I found you?”
I sigh. “I was just feeling so sick of it all, Cooper. You know? Sick of hurting. Sick of thinking about trying to be someone I’m not. Sick of always making the right decision. So when Sarah handed me a drink and everyone assumed I wouldn’t take it…”
“You decided to prove them wrong,” he finishes. He smiles wryly. “You keep me on my toes, Cam.”
I flop my head back on the couch and moan. “No, I don’t. You know me better than anyone. It was a big mistake, anyway. I feel disgusting today. And if you hadn’t walked in that room last night…” I shudder just thinking about what could have happened.
His face darkens as he remembers. “I hope that guy’s mouth is swollen today.”
I giggle. “It probably is. But thanks to you, I’m safe and sound.”
My eyes widen. “Shoot. Luka is going to be upset. Do you know where my phone is?”
He nods toward the bar. “Want me to get it?”
“Yes, please,” I answer.
After he retrieves it, I see that I have four texts from Luka and two from Dara. Without reading them, I text them both back.
Camryn: Doing okay today. Will call you later.
I look up at Cooper, and he’s studying me.
“What?” I ask.
“You and Luka…I mean since we haven’t been…you two aren’t, you know…”
I watch his face and the uncertainty and sheer pain there make my heart melt into a puddle of plasma.
Color Blind Page 15