Stuck // ag & cd

Chapter 9

The backyard shrieks with laughter. I was sitting in between Cameron and Taylor. I knew all the guys and Mahogany now. "Mine!" Matt yells. They were playing water volleyball. So far, his team was winning. I took a sip of my water and set it down behind me. Cameron looks over and grins, reaches for my hand, and squeezes it. I squeeze back and he comes and scoots over closer to me. I watch Matt and the rest of them play. Cameron whispers something in my ear. I shiver. "Dry off. I want to show you something." We both get out of the pool and I dry myself off. I wrap a towel around me and I follow him upstairs. We go into his room and he gets on his phone, then shuts and locks the door. I freeze. "So, my ex girlfriend Melissa called. She says she felt bad about what happened and wants to get back together," He says. His voice was shaking a little. "Oh?" I manage to spit out. He sat in the chair, and put an elbow on his desk. "Yeah. I still like her a little, but not that much, but I'm stuck between her and another girl." That caught my attention. "Really? Oh. Um, do I know the other girl?" I ask a bit too eagerly. I felt like I was being nosy, but I had an urge to know who she was-badly. "Yeah, actually. You know her pretty well." I look down at my feet. Who was it? Liz? Lexie? I couldn't think. "Oh, um what does she look like?" "She's famous, talented, pretty, and amazing." I was stuck. Lexie wasn't really famous or anything like that. Not her. Liz was famous also, and she's talented. She sang well. "Uhh, Liz?" I ask. He shakes his head. "One more guess." "Errr... I give up." He sets his phone down on the desk, gets up and walks over to me. He was still a little wet from the pool, and he was shirtless. I did my best not to stare. He looks down at me and smiles. My eyes widen and my jaw drops a little. "M-me??? W-why me??" I stutter. He slips his hands between mine and squeezes both of them. He frowns. "You say it like its a bad thing, Ari." I lean back. "I'm just a little surprised, Cam," I hesitate, "Honestly, I've liked you forever, but with you all the girlfriends you've had, I thought you'd never like me back. I did my best to hide it because I thought that our friendship would ruin it." I pull back and turn away from him. I've always wanted for him to like me back, but it was so sudden. All the girls he went out with, and he finally picked me. I shivered. What about Matt? What would I say to him if I was dating Cameron later? I feel Cameron's hand on my shoulder. I turn around and frown, and look up at him. "Ari," he says quietly, "That's not it. I've always liked you, too. But with all the fame, I thought you'd find a guy easily, but you've been single after Jai and Nathan. I thought I'd take a shot at it, so I invited you today. I was supposed to go to New York today for an interview, but I cancelled, just for you." I stare. "You cancelled for me? Cameron, I'm not that special. I don't understand." He smiles and pulls me in for a hug. "You don't have to understand. Just know that you're special to me." I put my ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He's mine, he's mine, he's mine, I thought. I pull back and I stand on the tip of my toes and kiss his soft, pink lips. I wrap my arms around his neck as he pulls me up. I put my short, tanned legs around him. I felt electricity travel through every single part of my body. I pull back and I hug him tightly. I crane my neck and put my lips against his right ear. "I love you," I whisper.

-

We laid on his bed, talking, kissing, laughing, cuddling. "Cam?" "Ari?" he mimics me. I roll my eyes and sticky tongue at him. "You know Matt, right?" "Yeah, what about him?" "Um. Well when I was in Santa Cruz, I met him and Carter, and Matt and I had dinner and we hung out and stuff and so found out that he likes me..." He stays quiet for a moment. I look up at him, and he starts nodding slowly. "What else?" He asks. I think for a second. "Well, he asked if I liked him, I didn't want to be rude, and I liked him a little, but only as a friend...so I said yes." I press my lips together in a firm line and hold my breath. "But I don't like him anymore. I've moved on." I lie there waiting for his response as he strokes my hair, tucking strands behind my ear. We both look at each other and he knowingly smiles; and I know that he believes me.

"Okay."