Page 51 of Cross Check My Heart
“Are you sure you don’t mind dropping it off? I can always see if Paige can grab it from you when she sees you next.”
“Sam, the office is only ten minutes away. Plus, it gives me a reason to leave the condo.” Yesterday, I completed the first fulldraft of my book. I had been sending him my book in groups of ten chapters, but now that it’s finished, he has to read it all the way through. Unfortunately, his laptop crashed and now he needs to decide if he is going to send it in for repairs or get a new one.
Lucky for him, I have an extra one that’s literally just sitting in my closet still in the original box. I bought it on sale for Cam before I found out that he was cheating. If I had thought about it sooner, I would have returned it, but who knows where the receipt ended up. Besides, now I can help someone out with it.
After Dominik and I got back from our mini vacation, I fell into a groove and flew through writing the end of my book. The closest I got to taking a break from working was the night of the first game of the season. I watched the Bobcats absolutely crush the other team from the comfort of my condo and when Dominik got home, we celebrated the win all night long.
Their next game is tomorrow, and he should be finishing up practice soon. I had asked him if he had any ‘night before a game’ routines that he likes to do, and it was one that I would happily do any time he wanted to. This morning, I dumped a mix of seasoned veggies, potatoes, and chicken into the crockpot, made a batch of snickerdoodle cookies, and figured out which of my streaming services had the Star Wars movies. Nothing says let’s get you hyped up and ready for a game like watching Anakin Skywalker give in to the dark side.
SweetHeart Publishing’s offices are so close, I should have more than enough time to pop over and make it back before he gets home.
“I seriously don’t mind.” Making my way toward the bedroom, excited to finally have an excuse to change out of pajamas. “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
Not even bothering with makeup, I’m changed and out the door ten minutes later. After making sure my door is locked,I put my ID and credit card in one of the pockets. Okay so my sports bra paired with bike shorts that sit just above my belly button and stop mid-thigh really isn’t that different from pajamas. But they’re comfortable and make me feel semi-productive.
I make sure to pick one of my bags that Sam could keep to carry the laptop in. This short adventure out of my writing hole is exactly what I didn’t know I needed. The weather has been cooling down, which for Florida means that it’s in the high eighties instead of the high nineties. Being from Vermont, I thought that adjusting to the heat would be hard, but apparently, I am built for this kind of weather.
Sam and I chat for a few minutes, mostly it’s just him thanking me profusely. On my way back, as I pass boutique shops, a cute bakery called Cal’s Cafe and a second hand bookstore, I decide Paige and I need to come back to explore. My phone goes off in my pockets as I approach my street and I can’t help the deep sigh that escapes.
My mom and brothers have been blowing up my phone with texts and calls since the conversation with mom. Cam even texted me again, but I didn’t even waste time reading that one and just deleted it. However, I couldn’t bring myself to do that with the ones from my family. Instead, I sent them a group text that I would call them back when I was ready to talk with a clear head and silenced their messages. There’s no point in answering them right now. It’s only going to end with us all upsetting or hurting each other more.
I know that I’ll have to answer them soon, but there’s nothing wrong with asking for a few more days to gather my thoughts.
Seeing a text notification from Dominik is a relief.
Dominik:
Practice got out early, we were crushing it.
Me:
Heck yeah, Domino! Still on for dinner and a movie marathon?
Me:
Dang it. That isn’t the nickname either.
His next response comes through, but my name being called out stops me dead in my tracks before I can read it.
Leaning against the brick wall next to the front entrance of my building, a cocky smirk resting on his lips as he blatantly checks me out, is Cam. My heart races as I try to process the fact that he’s here. Not just in the state, but that he knows where I live. He pushes off the building and makes his way over. Even as my mind attempts to process what the hell is happening, I notice that he looks… different.
I most definitely had rose-colored glasses on when we were together because seeing him now, I have no idea what I had found appealing. In the fog of racing thoughts, I can’t help but compare him to Dominik.
Cam is taller than me by an inch or two. His black hair has filled in with a few more noticeable white hairs, making him appear much older than twenty-seven. He’s always had bits of white in his hair, but at the time I didn’t notice just how much. The facial hair he’s attempted to grow out is sprinkled with that same salt and pepper. Perhaps, if it had grown in evenly, itmightlook good, but he has always struggled to fill in spots on his cheeks and right below his chin. One of the reasons I had always suggested he stay clean shaven was so no one thought he was a creep.
He must still be going to the gym because he’s in decent shape, but that’s about it. He doesn’t fill out a shirt like Dominik does and he sure as hell wouldn’t intimidate any of the guys on theteam. I force thoughts of Dominik’s body from my mind and finally find my words as Cam stops a few paces away.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I glance around, not liking that the street is quiet. The bar on the other side of my building has the front door propped open, but there aren’t people coming and going since there’s still a couple hours left in the workday. Shaking my head, I cut him off before he can answer.
“Better question, how the fuck did you find out where I live?” He takes a small step forward, watching me closely as he shoves his hands in his front pockets. I used to think he was so cute and innocent when he looked at me this way. However, as I watch him now, all I can think is that he’s gearing up to spew out a bunch of bullshit.
“Everyone is worried about you. Your mom is freaking out that you haven’t been responding to any of us. I came to convince you to come back with me.” He reaches out, running a hand up and down my arm as he sticks out his bottom lip in an over dramatic pout.
I flinch at his touch and step back. Throughout our relationship, Cam was never a touchy, feely type of boyfriend. Very rarely did he hold my hand when we went out and I could probably count the number of times he kissed me in public on one hand. Thinking about it now, it was probably just his way of not announcing to all the single women that he was with me.
Shaking my head, I take another step back and cross my arms.
“First of all, I shouldn’t actually have to explain this but, me walking in on you balls deep in the neighbor and moving out two days later meant that I don’t want anything to do with you.” Before he can add anything, I continue and go to move around him, wanting nothing more than to head inside and end this conversation.
