Page 9 of Camden

Granted, I didn’t know for sure what she went through, but I was damn good at reading people. I had always watched her from a distance. She would usually keep a few feet between us when we were together. Hell, she did that with everyone but Rylie and Haley.

She seemed timid.

The only time she seemed to relax even the slightest bit was when she had a few drinks at the bar.

It seemed a bit stalkerish to know when she relaxed and when she didn’t. To see her body language that well, even though I’d never physically touched her until last night when we danced. I hadn’t been sure I wanted to pursue a relationship. At least not the kind of relationship that Stephanie deserved, because Asher was right. You don’t just sleep with a girl like Stephanie and move on. You take her to meet your mother. Over the past few months, she’d taken up more and more of my thoughts.

I knew now more than ever that I wanted a relationship with Stephanie. She was the only person I was willing to try for.

If she had been through what I thought she had, it was going to take patience. I could do that. I could go slow. Convince her to trust me. Open up to me.

“You are incredible. You know that?” I repeated the compliment now that she was looking at me. I wanted her to see the sincerity in my words. How much I meant them.

She waved me off. “All I did was help out for a couple of hours.”

My brows rose at that. “Most wouldn’t be bothered.”

“Most people are assholes,” she mumbled and closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

I smirked, amused. Of course, she didn’t. “It’s true though. Most people are assholes.”

Her cheek twitched, eyes crinkled at the sides. “Would you like some coffee?”

“I’d love a cup of black coffee to go. I need to get back out there.”

Her eyes widened, rushing to grab a to-go cup. “Sorry. I should’ve made yours first. Let me grab it.” Her hand trembled as she poured the coffee. Fuck, she was going to burn herself.

“Hey, slow down. It’s okay. I’m not in that big of a hurry.” I moved to where she was standing, placing my hand lightly over hers, hoping to calm her nerves.

She bit her lower lip and nodded once. Securing the lid, she handed the cup to me. Our fingers brushed, causing that pretty blush again. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” I leaned down slowly so she could see what I was doing and gently kissed her forehead. She stiffened briefly but then sighed and relaxed into me.

Taking a step back, I smiled at her, focusing my attention on her pouty lips. One day I would know what they felt like against mine. I’d know if they were as soft and silky as they looked right now with the soft lights of the cafe reflecting off of her lip gloss.

I spun, heading toward the door before I threw my common sense out the window, put the cup down, and kissed her for real. Her sweet voice stopped me as I reached the door. “Cam?”

“Yeah?” I looked over my shoulder.

“Thank you for stepping in with that guy. I appreciate it.”

“Anytime. And Steph? I like seeing your freckles. You shouldn’t cover them.” Winking, I strode out before she responded.

CHAPTER THREE

STEPHANIE

My whole bodyheated from his words.He liked my freckles.A feature I’d always been a little self-conscious of. Normally, I fully covered them before I left my apartment. It’d become a habit. Jax hated them. He reminded me constantly of how unattractive they were. How they made me look undesirable.

Ugly.

The words stuck. I continued to cover them every day. Except, this morning, I was too tired. The Tylenol hadn’t kicked in and I had run out of my emergency stash of pre-made coffee earlier in the week. So, I slipped on some cutoffs and a t-shirt, threw my hair up in a ponytail, didn’t bother with make-up, and walked out the door and down the few blocks to Stacey’s coffee shop.

I didn’t plan on staying out for long. I woke up with a slight headache and a little regret this morning. My original plan was to curl up on my couch, read a book, and take my mind off of it. It wasn’t that I drank too much at the wedding. Of course, the wine didn’t help with the headache, but more regret that I hadn’t fully considered Cam’s offer for a date.

I figured he wasn’t truly serious about a date with me. He probably wanted to get me into bed and move on to the next girl. It’s what everyone always warned me about when it came to Camden James.

He was a player.