Page 30 of Sophia & Cameron

She worked her jaw, her eyes sharpening for a moment before she gave him a gentle shove. “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said flippantly before making her escape.

13

Sophia

“Ican’t believe him!” Sophia groaned as she paced in front of her friend.

Emma laughed. “That’s funny because I thought he made some good points.”

Sophia whirled around and glowered at her friend. “What points? He hasn’t made any points.”

Her friend snickered again. “Think about it, Soph. He’s cleared up the confusion with what happened in Texas, and he’s still clearly interested. You can’t tell me you don’t like him back. Otherwise you wouldn’t be acting this way.”

“Acting what way?” Sophia muttered as she dropped into a chair on the porch. “I’m not doing anything I haven’t been doing since you’ve met me.” When Emma didn’t respond right away, Sophia glanced at her once more. The pointed look she gave her was enough for Sophia to demand, “What?”

Emma shrugged. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

Sophia bit down on her lower lip before she frowned. Was she so easy to read?

“You like him.”

Sophia scoffed.

“You really like him,” Emma sang.

“What’s not to like? He’s charming, and he’s attractive.”

“But…” Emma drawled.

There were no “buts.” Sophia and Emma both knew it. The problem wasn’t with Cameron; it was with Sophia. She swallowed hard and peeked at her. “He’s my friend.”

Emma snorted, earning a sharp look from Sophia. “You keep telling yourself that. Seriously, Sophia. The guy is so your type. He’s tall, built, and has just enough of an accent to make a girl’s legs weak. I don’t understand why you can’t just give him a chance. And don’t tell me that you’re not interested in anything serious. No one wants to be alone forever. Not even you.”

“I can’t.” The words slipped past Sophia’s lips before she realized it.

“Why?” Emma pressed. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Sophia had never said a word about her experiences to anyone. She hated the idea of pity more than anything else.

“Soph… if you don’t want to tell me, it’s okay… but maybe it would be nice to get it off your chest.”

Emma made a good point. It would be nice to have someone in her corner.

She leaned over and rested her face in her hands. “It’s not in the cards, Emma. Guys just don’t stick around.”

“Guys… or one guy specifically?”

Sophia grimaced. “Fine. One guy. He… apparently, I wasn’t enough for him. He was my first really serious boyfriend, and instead of breaking up with me, he went behind my back and dated other girls.” She could feel the pity coming from Emma,and she hated it. Her hands clenched as she lifted her gaze to her friend. “Don’t feel bad for me.”

Emma frowned. “I can feel bad for you because that’s not something anyone should experience.”

“Well, don’t pity me.”

“It’s not pity, Soph. It’s love.”

Sophia shook her head and got to her feet. “He was always a big flirt. I think it was something that brought us together. The banter we had with each other was next level. I just never thought that he’d use his prowess to chase after someone else when we were still dating.”

“I’m so sorry, Sophia.”

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