Paper House • C. York

•O N E•

JULIA's POV
I'm never late. In fact I'm always ten minutes early, exactly ten minutes early. Like my dad always said, if you're not early you're late. Which is why I started counting the minutes that mysterious date guy was late at 2:28 instead of 2:30.

You're probably thinking I'm some stuck up asshole, but I just really hate people who are late. I blame my dad. I blame him for a lot of things. Like making sure you don't eat on the couch, or checking for crumbs on every seat before you sit down, or my crippling OCD.

Not that it's a big deal, I've learned to handle it, but it used to be a huge problem in my life.

Five minutes.

Which means he's five minutes late to being early, or three minutes late. Whatever you way you want to cut it he's late. I pulled out my phone and smirked as I texted my best friend Piper.

Jewels💌💎
I told u he'd be a no show.

Pipes🥷🫀
Oh my god Jewels... let the man breathe its been six minutes

Jewels💌💎
You accounted for my early to be late time.😁

Pipes🥷🫀
Cuz I know you soooo well
Just chill he's gonna show up

Jewels💌💎
If he doesn't you owe me a latte🫶

Pipes🥷🫀
You're on🤝

Suddenly the seat across from me got pulled out, making an obnoxious scraping noise on the wooden floor. I smiled as I looked up, grateful my date wasn't too late. I set my phone in my lap, ready to text Piper if this date she set up goes horribly wrong.

"Hey I'm Ju-." I said, focusing on the person across from me. "You are not who I am supposed to be on a date with."

"You're supposed to be on a date?" The redhead chuckled, glancing up at me from his phone. I stared back at him, absolutely shocked at what is happening to me right now. I gaped at Cam as he made a point of looking around the small cafe. "I don't see anyone on a date with you."

"Why- I mean-." I paused. "What are you doing here?"

"Well a lot of my friends moved to LA for hockey, so I'm home for the summer." He smiled, looking over the menu.

"No I mean, why are you here, like in this cafe, sitting across from me?" I asked, looking him up and down.

I'd be remiss if I didn't note the change in his appearance since I last saw him. His jaw line has gotten even sharper, with a light dusting of ginger facial hair coating his cheeks and chin, running down and fading out on his neck. His hair is a lot longer, curling out under a backwards baseball cap, then feathering out over his ears. His cheeks are still covered in freckles just like I remember. I glanced down to his shoulders, wondering if he has freckles there too. His arms are much larger than I remember, straining the hem of his shirt.

"Stop checking me out." Cam spoke, not bothering to look up at me.

"Why are you here Cam." I said, brushing off his previous statement.

"You don't seem too upset about it." Cam shrugged.

"Cam I'm serious." I said. "I'm waiting for someone."

"And who ever it is they are-." He trailed off, glancing at his phone before counting. "Fourteen minutes late, unacceptable."

"I- how do you know about that." I said, glancing sideways as I desperately tried to cover my blush.