Page 22 of Only in Our Dream
“Blah,” she spit the piece of cheese into a cocktail napkin. “Thanks for the warning.”
“You snatched it offourplate,” Isla teased as she arched an eyebrow at Cameron. “So that’s what you get for rambling and then stealing cheese.”
“Yeah, whyareyou rambling?” It was Vera’s turn to tease her. Cameron knew it was teasing by the playfulness in her blue eyes. “Is there somethingnewbetween you and Mel that we need to know?”
“No,” Cameron answered way too quickly. As she then proceeded to ramble more. “There’s nothingnewbetween us. Why would you even say that? I don’t know where she is or whyshe’s late. She’s not my responsibility. We’re just friends. That’s all.”
“Mhmm,” both Isla and Vera echoed in unison. Picking up a pita chip, Isla pointed it at Vera. “I told you there was something happening between them at the New Year’s party but you didn’t believe me.”
“And I didn’t until Cam told me Mel kissed her.”
“Babe, don’t bring that up. If she wants to talk about it, she can. But she also don’t have to.”
“Thank you.” Cameron nodded firmly at her friend. “I appreciate at least one of you not being nosy.”
“I wouldnever.” Vera dramatically clutched her heart, pretending offense. “Because I know my best friend Cameron would tell me if there was anything else happening between her and my other best friend, Melanie.”
It had long been assumed by more people than just Isla and Vera that there wassomethinggoing on between Cameron and Melanie. They were always together—in the hospital break room, at events around town, at dinner together. And, yes, Cameron at times thought about how nice it would be for there actually to be more between them, but there wasn’t.
Granted, before the fated kiss, they had gotten a little flirty at the New Year’s Eve party. Melanie looked stunning in her flapper dress and Cameron had visions of taking it off her. But she’d marked it up to one too many drunken thoughts. Even if she’d had more of the thoughts sober and alone than any other time.
The truth of the matter was Cameron hadn’t been able to decipher her feelings for Melanie since the party. And the confused feelings had been amplified the last few days thanks to the kiss. On one hand, everything had gone back to normal after Cameron had kissed her at the party. True, it was just a cheek kiss. But Cameron had been too nervous for it to be more,especially with Isla’s camera pointed right at them. Until the kiss the other night, Melanie had never tried to reciprocate. So for all Cameron knew, it wasn’t a mutual feeling.
Cameron felt it was mutual now, though.
“You know you’d be the first to know if anything ever happened between us that was more than that kiss.” Cameron rolled her eyes jokingly at Vera. “But I’m not ruining my friendship with Mel.”
“Did I hear my name?”
Melanie seemed to appear out of nowhere from behind Cameron. If she heard anything besides her name, her face didn’t show it. Cameron had to keep herself in line to avoid checking Melanie out from head to toe as she sat beside her. The black tee was one Cameron had seen before, as were the tight jeans. But the smile on Melanie’s face was one Cameron hadn’t seen in years. It lit up Melanie’s eyes the way they used to look; all hazel and bright and beautiful.
Cameron cleared her throat and laughed. “Just these two idiots giving me blue cheese.”
“But you hate blue cheese,” Melanie dramatically sighed as she put a hand on Cameron’s back. “I’m so sorry they did that to you, Cam.”
Across the round table, Cameron could feel Isla’s and Vera’s eyes on them. They were like four tiny lasers pointed right at Melanie’s handstillon Cameron’s shoulder. Normally, she wouldn’t have thought anything about it. But her ramblings made her even more susceptible to them noticing every little thing that happened between her and Melanie.
Even if nothingwashappening.
Cameron was on the verge of driving herself insane when someone came over to take their drink order. Isla and Vera ordered a second round of drinks for themselves as well as fried cheese sticks for the table. Melanie ordered a gin martini, andCameron decided a beer over a cocktail was the safer option. The last thing her scrambled brain needed was strong alcohol to mix with her confused feelings for Melanie.
If she were honest with herself, which she rarely was, she’d admit that yes, shedidlike Melanie as more than a friend. And she did desperately want to kiss her again. But above that, she’d never make any kind of move while Melanie was married to Rob. Being a home-wrecker wasn’t something Cameron wanted to add to her resume. As long as they were married, Cameron’s feelings for her best friend would just have to stay on the back burner.
Which was why Cameron was instantly regretful that she had a mouthful of a hot fried cheese stick when Melanie said oh so casually, “So, Rob and I are getting a divorce.”
“What?”
“What happened?”
Isla and Vera both leaned onto the table toward Melanie as Cameron fought for her life to hurriedly chew and swallow the flaming hot cheese stick. Her eyes began to water as she reached for her drink.
“Are you okay?”
Cameron wasn’t entirely sure who asked or who it was directed to as she downed nearly the entire beer.
“I’m so sorry,” she dramatically set the beer back down on the table. Using a cocktail napkin, she dabbed at the tears in her eyes. “I didn’t realize they were that hot.”
“Fresh cheese sticks straight from the fryer usually are,” Melanie laughed, placing a soft hand on Cameron’s back.
