Signed, Sealed... I'm Yours

Next Time

I hadn't planned on confessing about my sleepless night to her, but somehow it slipped out. Surprisingly, she didn't press the issue further, which was a relief.

While she nibbled on a piece of bacon, I couldn't help stealing glances at her. Spending the whole day together would've been ideal, but responsibilities beckoned us both.

"You know, you should've woken me up as you promised," she remarked, her gaze fixed on her plate.

Setting my coffee mug down, I offered a small, genuine smile. When her eyes met mine, I couldn't help but admire her. "You looked so peaceful; I didn't want to disturb you."

"Next time keep your promises."

"Next time?" I smirked watching her lips part slightly before she quickly recovered to glare at me.

"I didn't mean it like that," she snapped moving past me to place the dishes in the sink.

Taking long strides toward her, I yanked her towards me and placed her gently on the countertop situating myself between her legs.

"Then what did you mean it as?" I challenged running my hands gently from her knees to settle around her waist.

Her hooded eyes remained trained on me watching my every move as I leaned in to place my lips on the crook of her neck.

"Cam..." was the response that came out in a whisper, she placed her hands on my shoulders to steady herself as her breathing came out in small pants. It never ceased to amaze me how quickly the air grew charged with tension each time there was hardly any distance between our bodies.

"You already got plans of sleeping in my bed again."

"Cam, your fa – Oh!"

Snapping my eyes open to connect with a familiar pair of eyes I didn't anticipate seeing, my blood immediately ran cold. And as if I had just touched a hot stove, I flinched away from Anita who froze at the unexpected voice.

"Mom, that key is for emergencies ONLY!" I stressed moving towards her in an attempt to block Anita.

"But it is an emergency, your father is getting on my nerves!" she frowned.

Closing my eyes, I pinched the bridge of my nose to keep my annoyance at bay only for me to stiffen at the next words to come out of my mother's mouth. "And who might you be?"

She peaked over my shoulder holding a certain gleam in her eye. I panicked at the way she pushed me aside to venture further into the kitchen towards Anita who had placed herself in the corner trying to make herself small. If she'd been closer to the exit, she'd have left the kitchen for sure but with nowhere to go she stood there watching my mother move towards her.

"I'm Emma, Cameron's mo –"

Anita's eyes found mine and there was no mistaking the cry in them for help. Clearing my throat, I stepped forward placing my hand gently around my mother's arm, "Why don't we talk about this later, I'm headed off to wo –"

"Did you just interrupt me?" she questioned throwing daggers in my direction. My eyes widened and the child in me cowered at the look she wore releasing a defeated sigh that had me letting go of her arm.

"I-I didn't mean to."

"Then be quiet," she snapped, turning around to smile gently at Anita and held her hand out. Anita stared at it for a second as I felt my heart collapse and placed her hand in it whilst saying her name.

"How did you and my son meet?"

Anita's brow rose along with the corners of her lips before she said, "He came to my place of work."

I blushed profusely and reached out once more to tug my mother gently, "Anita, was just on her way out, mom."

"Since it's obvious my son is trying to separate us, we'll talk more at Eliot's party."

I made a move to refuse but was cut off by Anita who agreed eliciting a beaming smile to emerge on my mother's face.

"Perfect," she lightly clapped her hands and after I excused myself to escort Anita out I could feel her eyes burning the back of my head.

Once we stepped outside, I ran a hand down my face as we moved quietly towards her car, "I'm really sorry about putting you in that position. The last thing I expected was for my mom to be here and then mention that party. But I'll clear this up."

"And tell her what? That we made a deal," she scoffed.

"I wouldn't say that."

As we neared her vehicle, she stopped and turned to face me, "Given what position she found us in, you telling her we're friends wouldn't work."

"Just before the event, I could always tell her, we ended things," I suggested. The last thing either of us want is for family to get involved and make things even more complicated.

She nodded her head firmly before a small smile broke out on her face causing me to cock my head to the side. "What?"

Without saying a word, she reached up to grasp my tie gently and met my gaze, "It was cute seeing how scared you got."

"I wasn't scared," I defended eliciting a giggle from her.

"I beg to differ, but as much as I would like to stand here and listen to you deny your fear of your mother, I have places to be," she stated standing on her toes to lightly peck my cheek.

Soon enough her car came to life, and I gave a small wave. Once she was out of the gate, I turned to find my mother standing by the window reminding me, I had numerous questions ready to be thrown my way.