And Then it Happened

17

My breath hitched in my throat. Cameron was so close I could smell the scent of his woodsy cologne; his blue orbs swirling with some emotion that I couldn't quite place. The sunlight brought out the green specks in his blue eyes and it was almost mesmerizing. His warm, rough hand was still placed on my cheek.

I gulped. My voice was shaky and cracked lightly as I began to speak, "and h-how do you...see me?" I was hesitant. I didn't know where this conversation was headed.

This time, Cameron gulped before he spoke. His voice was deep and gravelly as he replied, "you're absolutely beautiful."

Butterflies. I felt those damn butterflies in the pit of my stomach again, flying around and making me feel all warm and giddy inside. My heartbeat was beating faster than normal and I'm sure color flushed my cheeks – and not from the cold, either. I didn't know what to say.

When I remain silent, Cameron seems to grow more and more nervous. He backs away from me, dropping his hand from my face. He begins fidgeting and wringing his hands together. Eventually he adds, "I meant that in the friendliest way possible by the way, like how girls compliment each other in the bathroom."

I would have laughed at the last part of his sentence, but what was throwing me off was the friendly part. I suddenly felt disappointed again. Of course, he wasn't being romantic! He was just trying to be nice and give a friendly compliment. Why would I think any differently? Especially when he's dating my best friend. And why would I want him to show any romantic interest in me anyway? I don't like him like that.

I smile softly. "Thanks, Cameron. I appreciate the compliment, but you don't have to lie to make me feel better." I push a tendril of my brown hair behind my ear and look down at the ground sheepishly.

He sighed. "Rachel, I'm not lying. I mean it, you're drop dead gorgeous, and honestly you can make any guy drop to his knees and do anything for you."

Me, being the sassy girl that I am, just had to have a remark for this. Looking up, I bat my eyelashes and stare directly at him. "Even you, Cam?" I ask, smirking slightly and softly biting my lip afterward. I meant it as a joke, I was poking fun at what he had said and having a laugh, but I don't think he caught onto that.

Instead, he looked as if he was a deer caught in headlights. His eyes widened in shock and his mouth opened slightly, though no words came out. He placed his hands in front of him, concealing his...well...that. The tips of his ears turned a rosy pink. "Uh...yeah...even me," he choked out.

None of knew what else to say, and I immediately regretted saying anything. I had now placed both of us in a very uncomfortable situation. I wasn't dumb, I knew he was hiding his erection. I had to smile a little at the fact that I knew I had just turned Cameron Sharpe on. Something I don't think I ever would have thought in a million years. I didn't judge though, I knew he was a guy and guys have needs. It probably didn't help that Sydney was out of the country currently, so he probably hadn't gotten any for a few days now.

Needing to break the awkward silence, I clapped. "Well, thank you for taking pictures with me today, I appreciate it. Now I can say I was able to use my brand new camera."

Cameron, grateful for the change in subject, smiled. "Yes, anytime. I had fun. You gotta send them to me! They really did turn out great."

I nod. "Okay, I'll send them to you. I'll just have to download the photos off of my camera to my computer. Then I can email them to you. Or if you'd rather I text them to you, I can do that too. I'll just have to get the photos from my computer to my phone. Which doesn't take long, but it is an extra step and-"

Cameron cut me off. "It's okay, you can just email them to me. Do you need it?"

I nodded and I typed in his email address on my phone under his contact as he told me what it was. When I was all finished typing it in, I looked up at him. "Done. I'll probably be able to send them to you within the next day or two, so be on the lookout for them."

"Cool," he said as he brushed his hair back with his fingers. "So are you up for hanging out some more or is this where we say goodbye for now?"

I paused. I didn't think he'd want to keep hanging out. We had already spent about an hour just taking pictures outside. Not once had he checked his phone for a text from Sydney, which I thought was slightly odd. "Umm, yeah I suppose we can keep hanging out. What do you want to do?"

He shrugged. "We can always go see a movie, I'm sure there's something good out?"

"I'll go, but just so you know, if I end up gaining 5 pounds from that buttered popcorn at the theaters, I'm blaming you," I retort.

Cameron laughed. "Just don't get popcorn?"

I scoffed. "Cameron Sharpe... not getting popcorn at the movie theaters should be a crime! You can't just not get popcorn at the movies," I respond as I take my camera off Cameron's tripod.

"Okay, that's fair. Besides the popcorn there is so good! I swear, I've never had better popcorn in my life than at the movie theater," he says. "So I assume we're driving separate then since we both drove separately to meet here."

"You'd be correct."

"Okay, well I'll meet you at AMC 40, does that sound good?" he asks.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll meet you there soon, I'm probably just going to stop at home first because I don't really want to leave my camera in my car in broad daylight" I say as I begin walking back to my car, camera bag in tow.

"Sounds good, see you soon Boyd!" Cameron yells, getting into his car and preparing to drive off.

I close my driver's side door of the car and sink into my seat. My lips are stretched out into such a wide grin, that my cheeks hurt. I feel the butterflies again, and I hate to admit that I'm super excited to hang out with Cameron longer. I feel giddy and nervous at the same time. I've never felt this way about anyone or anything before.

Then it hits me. My stomach plummets and the butterflies go away as I realize why I've been feeling the way I have been. I realize why I was jealous when Sydney wouldn't shut up about her relationship with Cameron, I realize why I felt nervous and had butterflies around Cameron, I realize why he had been in my thoughts nearly every night this week.

Holy shit, I have a crush on Cameron.