“You obviously like him,” Mom says.
I shrug again. It doesn't matter now.
“What happened?” she asks.
“He played a joke on me, I did one back. He got upset. End of story,” I explain.
“Sounds like he needs to dislodge the stick from his ass,” Mom comments.
I snort. Would she be saying that if she knew who he was?
“No, I think we’re just too similar,” I finally say, managing a smile. “We’re both competitive, like to win arguments, and it’s been suggested we can be immature.”
“You?” she gasps, then smiles at me. “You’re a good person, Darcy. Those aren’t reasons to keep you from being with him. They’re excuses. If you like this boy, then decide if he’s worth growing up a little bit for. You know I mean that in the nicest possible way,” she adds.
“Are you telling me to put my big girl panties on?” I tease.
She nods. “Talk to him. Be straightforward about what you want, and then leave it up to him.”
Her advice makes a lot of sense, although she might not be offering it if she knew who I was talking about. That's the whole other complication with starting something with Cameron. These last two weeks is the first time we’ve really taken the time to get to know each other, but it doesn’t change the fact that after this weekend, we’ll be stepsiblings. I have no idea how Mom and Jim would react to us being together.
She drops me at home, before she heads out for drinks with a friend. I let myself inside, still thinking about what she said. She's right. I can either accept that it ends like this, or I can do something about it. They’re my two options. Being the one to make that first move might hurt, especially if he rejects me, but not seeing if we can work this out might end up hurting a lot more.Chapter SeventeenCameron“Come on, Man,” Lewis urges.
He pulls that pitiful look that he knows I hate. I scowl at him and shake my head.
“You’re just going to mope around here feeling sorry for yourself. Going out might make you feel better,” he reasons.
“Fine. Whatever.” I sigh, just to shut him up.
The only thing that’s going to fix this probably never wants to see me again.
Lewis nods. “Good.” He smiles, looking pretty proud of himself as he wheels over to the door. I open it for him. “Come over whenever you’re ready, then.”
I shut the door and then stalk down to the shower. I strip off and step under the water. The last thing I feel like doing is going out, but Lewis is probably right. I’m sure it will help take my mind off Darcy, if only for a few hours. I didn’t handle things well yesterday and I’m not sure how to fix it.
When I found out that she was really the one playing me, I lost control. All I could think was that her feelings were a lie too, that the chick I was falling in love with didn’t feel anything for me in return. That’s what got me upset and now I’m not sure what to think. I didn’t give her a chance to explain, nor did I tell her why I was acting the way I was.
I shut off because that’s the only way I know how to deal with pain.
The doorbell rings while I’m still in the shower. I sigh and quickly get out, drying myself off before throwing on my pants.
“Jesus, calm down. I’m coming,” I mutter.
I yank open the door and frown.
Darcy.
My heart lifts, but then plummets as I fight myself on how to react. She’s both the last person and the only person I want to see, and I’m struggling to deal with that. But one look at the expression on her face and I know she’s not leaving until she says what she came here to say, anyway, so I let her inside.
“What do you want?” I ask her quietly. “I was just about to go out.”
“Can you give me five minutes?” she asks, her eyes searching mine.
“Fine,” I say. I stand back to let her inside. “Would you like a drink or something?” I ask awkwardly.
“No, I just need to say something, if that’s okay?” she asks.
She sounds nervous, which makes me nervous as to what this is about.
“Okay,” I say.
She nods and takes a deep breath, looking me in the eye.
“I like you, Cam,” she begins. “All jokes aside, I'm here to tell you that I like you. You're unlike anyone I've met. You’re funny, sweet, and you look damn sexy in a dress—”
She stops and winces when I frown at her.
“Too soon?” she nods, answering her own question. “Way too soon. Anyway, my point is that none of it was a lie. Remember how you told me when you sent those messages as James, that's how you really felt? This is the same thing. Everything we spoke about, everything we did? It was real. For me, at least.”