Page 23 of Most Valuable Player
I can’t muster a protest, so I stagger back to the fire, flopping into the grass. The other guys swarm Darius to claim the extra miscellaneous food. After mowing down tortillas, beans, and cheese, my stomach stops aching, and my nausea trickles away. Cameron returns from the mob, sniffling and empty-handed as he sinks into the grass. His team must still be irritated with him about yesterday’s game.
“Better?” he asks, analyzing my face.
“Yeah. You didn’t have to set that up. Thanks.”
He purses his lips.
“I’m not being sarcastic,” I say, laughing.
His eyes widen a fraction, like I said something strange. He turns to the fire, and his cheeks glow a tinge of pink.
“What?” I ask nervously.
“It’s nothing.” He leans on his palms in the grass, gazing into the flames. “You should stop covering your smile.”
My body goes rigid. I hadn’t even realized…Ugh.Shit.I need to be more careful. “Want the rest of my food?” I sputter out, swallowing my embarrassment. “I’m full, so—”
“Hell yes.”Cameron snags the bag and rips out a soft taco, though his face scrunches when he bites into it. “I forgot this was black bean. What, you don’t trust their meat?”
“I’m vegetarian.”
He gasps hard enough to nearly choke himself. “No shit?”
I have to catch myself before I can laugh again. “You’re not going to tell me how inconvenient that must be?” I ask skeptically. “Or demand what happened to make me like this?”
Cameron answers with a shake of his head. “Why should I? It’s not my business.”
I should’ve expected that response from the “if it’s not about me, I don’t care” guy.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. When I remember its existence, I also remember why I went dashing out of the yard earlier. The ever-present pit in my stomach triples in size, weighing down my back and chest and shoulders.
What am I doing here, really?
The rest of the night passes in a blur. I don’t remember Cameron driving me home, but he must, because suddenly I’m flopping into bed, dressed in cozy pajamas. I swipe away the messages, documenting my lack of response to the final one as a win. Though his texts do seem a little kinder than they used to be.
I stuff my face into my pillow, trying to steer my attention elsewhere. Where else could it go but to Cameron Morelli? Faintly, I canremember his grip on my shoulders. The way he strutted around with that towel clinging to his waist, fully confident in his stature. What must it be like? To look like that? Feel like that? To have the certainty that you can protect yourself?
I raise my skinny arm and peer at it through the dark. My lower lip trembles.
I want to be like that.
Chapter Seven
Cam
A blueberry muffin and coffee?Seriously?How can such a smart guy be so clueless and neglectful? Someone needs to keep snacks on hand for that little shit before he evaporates.
I’m not being sarcastic.
An invasive image of Mason tossing his head back in laughter brings my perfectly valid negative thoughts to a screeching halt. The way his fine black hair fluttered with his head. The way his eyes crunched up at the edges. Those two seconds are going to haunt me for the rest of my life. The moment my pathetic monkey brain forgot about the hostility I hold for Mason Gray, because apparently he has a glittery smile that can burn through retinas. It’s a safety hazard. No wonder he’s always covering it.
I don’t think my heart has ever stopped before. I’ve been in plenty of relationships over the past few years, but gettingbutterfliesis a concept that’s always existed outside of my understanding. So what’s different about this runt?
He’s abnormally silent on the way to his house, his eyes flitting around, present but glazed, like only half his conscience is awake. As he heads inside, my mind reels back to the moment he slammed into me inside Ravi’s house. When he landed on top of me, looking frazzled, his face flushed with embarrassment. Seeing him ruffled was sort of captivating.
But the awareness of our positions caught up to me, and suddenly, his cool, slender hands on my chest were someone else’s.
Come on, Cameron…You want to prove the rumors wrong, right…?
