Drawing the Line

Chapter 22

Joel and Rylie felt it was only right that they tell Cameron together that they were seeing each other. They decided it had to be in person, so they invited him out with the intention to tell him by the end of the night.

Rylie was waiting by the entrance of the mall when Cameron tapped her shoulder.

"Sorry, did you wait long?"

She shook her head with a smile, "Don't worry, I got here not too long ago. I think I saw Joel drive by as well. He should be here soon."

Sure enough, Joel jogged up to them shortly after.

"Hey guys! Cam, is this really what you wanted to do today?"

They were at the mall yes, but off to the side, was a laser tag arena. The three of them looked up at the sign. Rylie and Joel then turned to Cameron and smirked.

"Yeah, why not? Afraid you guys will lose?"

"What?!" Rylie exclaimed.

"Oh, you're on!" shouted Joel.

They strapped on their gear and got their guns ready. They waited for the door to open, along with the other screaming children and young adults. The grinned at each other as the announcement came on and the doors swung open. They each found a hiding spot and as soon as the bell rung, they ran to find each other; shooting any glowing targets they saw along the way. Maybe because they were running around in an enclosed room with everyone breathing heavily, but by the end of it, they were all sweating profusely.

"You guys...can't beat me," Cameron shouted as he tried catching his breath.

"Don't underestimate...me," Rylie retorted as she waited for the screen to announce the top scorer.

"We'll see who...comes out on top," Joel exclaimed.

'Alienboy12 is the winner!'

"Yes! I won daddy!" They all turned their heads to where the voice was coming from and saw a twelve-year-old boy jumping up and down.

"I guess that means we all lost...?" Rylie shrugged and all of them burst out laughing.

"Hey, why don't you come to my place for dinner? I just bought some nice pork chops I could cook for us."

"That sounds great Joel! I've missed your cooking," Cameron said excitedly, "Oh but I parked a bit far..."

"That's okay Cameron, I'll ride with Joel this time," Rylie smiled.

Cameron headed to his car, parked further in the back of the parking lot. When he was out of sight, Rylie and Joel walked towards his car as well with clasped hands.

As they settled into their seats and he turned on the engine, they both let out a sigh.

"When should we bring it up?" she asked.

"Things seem to be going well. Why don't we tell him together after dinner?"

"Yeah...okay. I'm just really nervous, I hope he takes it well."

He reached out to hold her hand and patted their clasped hands with his other one.

"There's a chance he won't take it well, but I would rather be honest with him than lie to him. He deserves that much from us."

"You're right, let's do it today!"

They drove back to Joel's place and arrived before Cameron. Rylie helped him in the kitchen by prepping the ingredients and chopping them up for him to cook.

"I wish there was a faster way to cut onions so my eyes sting less," she whined as she patted her eyes with the back of her hand.

Joel looked at her technique and chuckled. She heard him and pouted playfully.