He blinked and gave his head a little shake as he turned back to the sky. “You’ve never been in a relationship?”
“No.” I shifted, uncomfortable to the max, like I laid my soul bare.
“Nothing?”
“That’s what no means.”
Cam mouth opened and then closed. “How old are you?”
I rolled my eyes as I wiggled. “I’m nineteen.”
“And you haven’t been in a single relationship?” he asked again.
“No.” The paper was starting to crumple under my fingers. “My parents… they were strict.” Such a lie, but it sounded believable. “I mean, really strict.”
“I can tell.” Cam tapped my pen off his notepad. “So have you gone on a date or anything?”
Sighing, I cast my eyes to my paper. “I thought we were supposed to be mapping stars?”
“We are.”
“No, we’re not. All I have is a scribbly line and you have nothing.”
“That scribbly line is between the Delta and Gamma.” He leaned over, connecting two of the dots. “Here is the Theta and this is the Alpha—brightest star. See, we are halfway done.”
I frowned as I glanced up, tracing the pattern of the stars in the sky. Hell, he was getting it right. Then he leaned in again, his shoulder pressing into mine as he drew a perfect line to another dot on the map. I bit down on my lip as he continued to finish the map without looking up once or at the star map. I was acutely aware of how warm his arm felt even through the two layers of clothing. The warmth from the contact spread up my shoulder and across my chest, kicking my pulse up.
He turned his head toward me. “Now we’re done mapping stars.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. Our faces were inches apart and he was way too close. My gaze fell to his lips. They were tipped up on one side and that dimple started to appear in his left cheek. His lips started moving, but I didn’t hear a word he was saying. I wanted to move away, but I… I didn’t want to. Confusion swept through my body as I struggled not to shy away… and not to move closer. It was like being caught between two opposite magnets.
Maybe I should stop staring at his lips.
Sounded like a good plan, because staring at a guy’s lips was kind of creepy, so I forced my gaze up. Oh boy, wrong move, because now I was staring into those panty-dropping eyes as Jacob referred to them earlier when he texted. And Jacob had been right. I bet there was a legion of discarded panties in the wake of wherever Cam went. It should be illegal for a boy to have lashes as thick as his. Even in the darkness, his eyes were the shade of denim. The somewhat tolerable warmth turned into near unbearable heat as it sped through my veins.
I squirmed again, unable to remember feeling like this in a long time. At least not since the Halloween party. Maybe before. Definitely before. There was just something about Cam that sort of made me forget everything except what was happening that very moment. Sounded normal. I liked it for the most part.
“Are you listening to me?”
I blinked slowly. “Huh? Yes! Yes. Totally.”
His grin turned knowing, and I wanted to crawl under a prickly bush. “Yeah… so, you haven’t been on a date?”
“What?”
Cam chuckled softly. “You really haven’t been listening to me at all. You’ve been too busy staring at me.”
“I have not!” My entire face burned with that little fib and I hastily focused on where the couple had been. They were gone now.
He nudged my shoulder. “Yes, you were.”
I screwed up my face. “You are so beyond the acceptable level of arrogance.”
“Arrogant? I’m just stating the truth.” Cam tossed his notebook on the ground and leaned back on his elbows, eyeing me through his lowered lashes. That damn, insufferable lopsided grin was on his face. “There’s nothing wrong with staring at me. I like it.”
My mouth dropped open. How in the world was I supposed to respond to that? “I wasn’t staring at you. Not really. I sort of… dazed out. That’s how thrilling talking to you is.”
“Everything about me is thrilling,” he replied.
“About as thrilling as watching your tortoise cross a road.”
“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
“Keep calling me sweetheart and you’re going to be limping.”
Cam’s eyes widened. “Oh, listen to you.”
“Whatever.”
“We should do it.”
My mind went straight to where it shouldn’t have gone and my skin started to prickle. “Do what? Go home? I’m all about going home, like right now.”
“Go on a date.”
Obviously I missed an important part in this conversation. I closed my notebook and reached around, grabbing my bag. “I’m not sure I’m following this conversation.”
“It’s really not that complicated.” He laughed when I shot him a look. “We should go out on a date.”
My stomach dropped as I looked back at him. He looked so content, half sprawled on the ground. Was he joking? Was he high? I shoved my notebook into my bag, along with my pen. “I don’t understand.”
Cam laid back and stretched his arms above his head, causing his shirt to ride up and expose a slice of tan skin and two indents on either side of his hips… dear God. I looked away and took a huge gulp of air.
“Typically going on a date is when two people go out for the evening or sometimes during the day. Really, it can be any time of the day or night. It usually involves dinner. Sometimes a movie or a walk in the park. Though, I don’t do walks in the park. Maybe on a beach, but since there aren’t any—”
“I know what a date is,” I snapped, shoving to my feet.
He remained on the ground and he didn’t look like he was moving anytime soon. I should’ve taken my own car. “You said you didn’t understand,” he pointed out gamely. “So I’m explaining what a date means.”
Frustrated… and reluctantly amused, I crossed my arms. “That’s not the part I don’t understand and you know that.”
“I was just making sure we were on the same page.”
“We’re not.”
Cam lowered his arms, but there was sill a gap between his shirt and jeans. Was he wearing underwear? All I saw was a leather belt and jeans. Okay. I didn’t need to start thinking about that. “So now that we both know what a date entails, we should go out on one,” he said.
“Uh…”
Cam laughed as he sat up in one fluid moment. “That’s not really a response, Avery.”
“I…” A date? A date with Cameron Hamilton? Two things rose at once: unease and interest. I took a step back, putting distance between me and him and everything else. “Don’t you have a girlfriend?”
His brows shot up in surprise and he laughed. “A girlfriend? No.”
“Then who was that brunette stumbling out of your apartment Wednesday night?” I asked.
Cam’s grin spread into a wide smile. “Have you’ve been watching me, Avery?”
“No. No! What? I wasn’t watching you. I do have a life.”
He arched a brow. “Then how do you know about Stephanie?”
“That’s her name?”
“Well, yes, she has a name and no, she’s not my girlfriend.” He cocked his head to the side as he stared up at me. “And she wasn’t stumbling. Maybe shuffling.”
I rolled my eyes.
“So how did you see her if you weren’t watching me?” he asked as he crossed his ankles. “And I don’t mind the idea of you watching me. Remember, I like that.”
I forced myself to take a deep, slow breath before I walked up and kicked him in the leg. “I wasn’t watching you. I couldn’t sleep and I was staring out my living room window. I just happened to see you walking her out to her car.”
“Well, that makes sense. Not nearly as entertaining as you standing by your window hoping to catch a glimpse of me.”
All I could do was stare at him.
He winked, and damn, if he didn’t look good doing it. “Steph’s not my girlfriend by the way. We aren’t like that.”
Which meant they were most likely hooking up and there was nothing wrong with that. And maybe that was what he wanted from me with this whole date thing. Jacob would be thrilled to hear that. Mental note to self: so not telling him about this. “I’m not like that.”
“Like what?” he asked.
So he was going to make me spell it out. Of course. Why not? “I’m not like her.”
“Do you know her?”
My eyes narrowed. “I don’t just hook up with guys for fun, okay? I don’t see anything wrong with it. Totally not judging here, but that’s not me. So I’m not interested. Sorry.”
“Wait a sec. I’m confused. You’re not judging her, but you’ve made the assumption that she’s into random hook ups? That’s she’s my fuck buddy? Isn’t that kind of making a rash judgment based on assumptions?”
Damn it, he had a point. “You’re right. I don’t know if that’s what you guys are about. Maybe you’re just childhood buddies or something.”
“We’re not.” That mischievous grin was back. “We hook up every once in a while.”
I gaped at him. “I was right! Then why did you accuse me of being judgmental?”
“I was just pointing it out,” he replied, eyes twinkling like those damn stars in the sky. “And for the record, we didn’t hook up Wednesday night. Not for the lack of trying on her part, but I wasn’t feeling it.”
I remembered how the girl had looked and I wondered what red-blooded male wouldn’t have been feeling that. “Whatever. This is a stupid conversation.”
“I like this conversation.”
Shaking my head, I bent and reached for my bag, but Cam shot to his feet and grabbed it before I could get my fingers around the strap. I sighed as I held out my hand. “Give it to me.”
“I’m trying to.”
I shot him a disgusted look.
Chuckling, he stepped forward and laid the strap over my shoulder. His fingers brushed my neck, and I couldn’t stop my body from jumping at the slight touch. He stepped back and picked up the flashlight. “See? I was just being a gentleman.”
“I don’t think you’re a gentleman,” I grumbled as my fingers tightened around the strap. “But thank you.”
He swiped his notebook off the ground and we headed back to where his truck was parked, passing the now empty bench. He shone the flashlight when we hit the field, lightning our path. I guess to prove me wrong, he opened the door for me when we stopped in front of his truck. “Milady.”
“Thank you,” I said, a little more appreciative sounding than before.
Instead of closing the door, Cam leaned against the frame and placed a hand on the edge of the open door. “So, what about it?”
“What about what?”
