Love, Scars, & Shooting Stars

Chapter Thirty-Four

The embrace had long passed the point of a friendly hug when Cameron reluctantly released his hold on Julie and rose from the edge of the bed. As he stooped to retrieve the Hefty bag still lying abandoned on the floor, he snatched a pink t-shirt from the floor and tossed it playfully in her direction.

"C'mon, let's put this stuff back in the bureau where it belongs," he said, dumping the contents of the bag onto the bed.

Julie pulled her feet up to sit cross-legged on the bed and began folding the clothes in silence. Cam joined in from the other side of the pile and they worked together in silence for nearly ten minutes, the moments cloaked in a peaceful intimacy that he hoped he wasn't imagining. Just then, Julie glanced up and smiled at him, and he knew that she could feel it to. Still, what that meant and where it would lead was anyone's guess.

Suddenly her look of contentment shifted to alarm, and her eyes widened just the slightest bit as they flickered down from his and then back up again. Cam wondered what was wrong, until he looked down to see that he was attempting to fold a very small and dainty pair of ladies' underwear. He paused, hooking the material with one finger and holding them up for a more thorough assessment. String-bikini, lavender in color and edged with a delicate lace trim. He could see her silhouette through the silky-sheer material, and when he leaned to one side and raised an inquisitive eyebrow, her cheeks flushed to a hot pink glow.

Cameron grinned. "Nice. Very nice."

Julie's lips twisted as she fought back a smile, and she blushed even more as she reached out and snatched her panties away from him and buried them beneath her half of the pile of clothes. Cameron laughed, and she finally smiled as she tossed one of Finn's t-shirts at him and ordered him back to work. When they had finished folding, Julie rose from the bed and quietly began placing the clothes back in the dresser drawers. Cam methodically folded the garbage bag, then absently twisted it in his hands as he waited for her to finish. Finally, she turned back to face him.

"You look tired," she noted with a half-smile.

"You, too," he said, rising from the edge of the bed. "I should probably go so you can get some sleep."

She didn't say anything, just nodded and ducked her head. Cam turned and started toward the door.

"Hey," Julie said, and he spun back to face her. She smiled, motioning to the garbage bag still clutched in his grasp. "You going to give me back my suitcase?"

Cameron looked down at the bag in his hands, then back to her. He closed the distance between them, stopping just short of their bodies touching. She looked up at him and, with her caramel eyes soft and sleepy-looking, and her honey-blond hair tumbling down over her shoulders, he wanted her all the more. He reached for her hand, pressed the bag into her palm, and gently closed her fingers around it.

"Are you planning on using it anytime soon?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.

"No," she said softly, shaking her head slowly from side to side. "Not anytime soon."

"Good," Cam said, leaning in to brush a soft kiss over her forehead. "Because I kind of like having you around."

He watched as her pretty lips tipped up into a smile, her eyes glistening with a message that he couldn't read, and he knew that he had to leave right then... or not at all. Cameron's gaze fell once again to the lush, pink bow of her mouth. He wanted so badly to kiss her, to taste the suppleness of her lips and feel the heated mixture of her breaths intermingling with his, but he couldn't allow himself that indulgence. Not yet, anyhow. No doubt he was lonely, and it had been far too long since he'd even looked at a woman let alone kissed one, but Cameron was looking for more than just a casual fling, and he had a feeling that Julie was, too. But first, she had to contend with the issue of her Ex. Cameron had been on the receiving end of heartbreak once too often, and he wouldn't risk going through that again. Before he could allow things to go any further with Julie Callahan, he had to be absolutely certain that she was ready, which meant exercising all his powers of self-control until he knew how this mess with Garrett Bradley was going to play out. Cameron let out a low growl of frustration and pulled her into his arms. She laughed and slipped her arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry," she murmured.

"Don't be," he responded, although he wasn't sure what she was apologizing for. For what she was doing to him, for what she wasn't doing to him... or maybe a little of both? He pulled away and forced a smile, reaching out to brush the hair back from her face. "Take the day off tomorrow."

"No, you don't have to do that," Julie started to protest. "Finn will be at Becca's until at least eight, and—"

"Take. The. Day," Cameron repeated, emphasizing each word separately. "You and Finn have a lot to talk about, and I'm pretty sure that I can handle running The Shack for one day."

"Well, I know that," she said with a roll of her eyes, obviously intent on arguing the point. But suddenly she stopped short, and after a brief moment, she looked up at him and smiled graciously. "Never mind, you're right. I do need to take the day with Finn on this one, so... Thank you."

"You're welcome," Cameron said. "Take as much time as you need."

Julie blinked, and something behind her eyes shifted. Taking a step closer, she reached up and touched Cam's face, his eyes closing involuntarily as her fingertips traveled lightly over the bristly shadow of beard that he'd neglected to shave that morning. He opened them again just as her touch reached his chin, her thumb grazing ever-so-slightly along the curve of his lower lip before her hand drifted away and came to rest on his shoulder. Cameron slid his hands around to the small of her back and pulled her closer, her lower abdomen pressing hard against the bulging erection that he could no longer restrain. She glanced down and then back up again, her eyes glinting mischievously and her lips parted ever-so-slightly. Cam leaned closer, then closer still as the sound of her breathing quickened in time with his own. He stared into her eyes, committing to memory every nuance of brown, every fleck of gold, and every single ray of the tiny amber sunbursts that circled the infinite black pools at their center. She tipped her chin up just the tiniest bit, and he was acutely aware of the close proximity of her lips to his own. It would be so damned easy to lean in just a little bit further, to feel her and taste her and dive headfirst into—

Cameron jerked away and turned his back to her, raking his fingers roughly through his hair. He took a deep breath and let it out again, hoping to slow the pounding of his heart. The air shifted as Julie moved in to his left, and he felt her fingertips whisper over the back of his shoulder. He turned and pulled her in close, and she sighed heavily as she slid her hands up the length of his back, her chin resting lightly against his chest as she looked up at him with sympathetic eyes. Cameron pressed his lips gently to her forehead, the only risk he would allow himself to take, for now.

"I have to go," he said hoarsely, still clinging to her.

"I know," Julie nodded, burying her face against his chest.

They slowly drew apart, and Cameron moved for the door, not trusting his resolve enough to look into her eyes once again. He pulled the door open and then paused, one foot on the landing outside and his hand still gripping the knob.

"I don't want to, though," he confessed, his back still turned.

"I know that, too," she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice.