The Bet

18) Under the Stars

  The sound of a guitar being played danced through the air and caught both of our attentions.

We both smiled at the sight of a man playing guitar on a park bench farther up the path.

Camila turned to me and glanced between my eyes and lips. "You know another experience everyone needs in their life?"

  I couldn't help but giggle at her charming question. "What?"

  "Dancing under the stars to a stranger playing guitar," she grinned wildly.

  I got goosebumps over how effortlessly romantic this magical woman seems to be.

  She grabbed my hand to lead me closer to where the music is coming from, and my heart skipped a beat.

  It skipped a few more when we finally got to the man on the park bench, where she gripped both my hands to lead me through a fun little dance.

  I threw my head back and laughed out of pure joy and amusement. I never do cute and spontaneous stuff like this. If I encountered this man in the park alone, I probably would have smiled, put a dollar in the case at his feet, and moved on with my life.

  But with Camila, I get to dance and laugh and sing along to the tune.

  I reveled in the snort she let out when we both got the words wrong to the song the man was playing.

  It was perfect.

  This feels perfect.

  Not even the fact that it is dangerous to fall for her can ruin this moment for me.

  Once we had substantially tired ourselves out dancing together, alone, and with the man playing guitar, I placed a five in his case followed by Camila's fifty.

  I breathed a laugh and shook my head, that's going to take some getting used to.

  After our fun, we walked, hand in hand, deeper into a more secluded part of the park. Of course the thought of serial killers and such crossed my mind, but I doubt any murderer would suspect their targets to be viscously effective street fighters, so we have the element of surprise on our side.

  And when it comes to Camila, Cal reassured me that if she wanted me dead, I would already be long gone, so that's comforting in an odd way, I suppose.

  Trying not to focus on unfortunate realities like that, I played with Camila's fingers in the hand I am holding. I held out our connected hands and ran my fingers along her stunning nails, specially the ones that have been filed down to be dull and smooth.

She chuckled at my particular fascination with them. "Notice something you like, Angel?"

  My cheeks heated and I bit my lip at the suggestive comment combined with that nickname. . . No one's ever called me that before. It's cute.

  Camila suddenly leaned closer to my face. "Oh, you liked that didn't you?"

  Oh god, even in the dark it's obvious how flustered she makes me. Damn.

  My cheeks heated further as I munched on the inside of my lip more aggressively. "Maybe a little," I let out in a whisper.

  Camila smiled and let out beautifully content sigh before lifting our arms for me to spin under. "You're the cutest, Angel," she used the nickname again and it made me grin.

  When I finished my spin, she pulled me in close, very close, one hand wrapped tightly around my waist and the other playing absently with my hair.

The feeling of her beautifully soft and sometimes hard frame was even more present in my mind due to the lack of light. I could only see a mere outline of her sexy figure. I had to use other senses to fill in the gaps.