Not the Same

Chapter thirteen

I've never experienced anything like this before.

This kiss is nothing compared to any of the other kisses I've ever received. Which isn't many, but still. I don't think I'll ever forget this moment.

At first, Cameron doesn't react; I guess I kind of caught him completely off guard. But after a moment, he starts to kiss me back causing me to feel all light-headed and giddy.

Eventually, it gets to the point where we have to break the kiss because it was getting hard to breath.

Cameron and I pull away from each other, looking at each other breathlessly. He has a look on his face that I can't quite decipher.

Shaking away my thoughts, I come back to reality to see everyone around us staring at us in shock. At some point during our make out session, Hailie, Eric and Dan must have stopped walking to see if we were following them or something because the three of them are staring at us with the exact same expressions on their faces; their mouths are wide open and their eyes look huge.

To my right, I see Adam sporting a very similar look on his face, expect he also looks extremely angry.

"I...you...we," I stutter breathlessly to Cameron. "Well, bye!"

And with that, I literally run passed Cameron grab Hailie's hand and run off in the direction of our dorm.

Five minutes later, Hailie and I are collapsed on our dorm floor, trying to catch our breath.

It takes us a few minutes to get our breathing back to a steady rhythm, but once we do, Hailie looks at me for a second and then starts screaming.

"What just happened?! I'm so confused! Can you please explain to me why you were kissing Cameron?"

"I don't really know," I admit, looking down at my palms. "It sort of just happened."

"Sort of just happened?" Hailie repeats in disbelief. "You're trying to tell me that kissing Cameron Owen's sort of just happened?!"

"It seemed like the right move at the time," I tell her truthfully.

"Okay, I guess that makes sense," she reasons. "But most importantly, did you enjoy it?"

I don't even have to answer her; my blushing face tells all.

I spend the rest of the week avoiding Cameron as much as possible. I don't really know what to say to him. And I don't know if I want to know what he's thinking. Who kisses someone and then runs away from them before they can even respond?

It's Friday and I'm currently bringing my backpack, duffel bag and laundry to my car.

Adam was telling the truth when he said our parents wanted us to come home this weekend. The only good thing about going home is I don't have to pay for laundry.

Other than that, I'm dreading this trip home and am planning to hide in my room and watch Full House reruns all weekend.

I load the trunk of my car with my belongings and close the door shut. I start to walk around my car and jump when I see Cameron leaning on the front of it.

"You scared me," I told him, not fully looking him in the eyes.

"You've been avoiding me all week," he states. So I guess we're just going to jump right into it.

"No, I haven't. I've just been really busy, that's all." Yeah, busy avoiding you so we don't have to have this conversation.

"Avery, I'm not stupid. I know you've been avoiding me because you kissed me on Monday."

I freeze. My mouth becomes dry, my heart starts racing fast and I feel like I can't move.

"You don't have to explain yourself," Cameron continues. "I know it was just because of our arrangement and I have to say, I'm very impressed. I didn't know you had it in you; you were very convincing."

I feel like my heart was just ripped from my chest and crusted into a million pieces. He only thinks of the kiss as a good move in our deal.

Of course he does. Why would he think otherwise? It't not like we're actually dating.

"Yeah, it was nothing," I try to say as nonchalantly as possible. "Just trying to make this seem as legit as possible."

"Well, it worked. Your brother was pissed," Cameron laughs.

That's another thing I hate about my brother. He has the power to hurt me even when he's not around and he doesn't even know he's doing it.

"Good thing I get to be under the same roof as him this weekend," I comment bitterly.

"Oh yeah, you're going home this weekend," Cameron says. "Well, have a good time."

"I doubt that'll happen, but thanks," I tell him while climbing into the driver's seat.

"See you later."

And with that, I head out of the campus and start to make my way home, hoping that this trip isn't going to be as bad I think it will.