CHAMELEON

SIX.

Cameron stepped out of the hotel bathroom to a squeal from her mother.

"Oh darling, give me a hug," she cooed, wrapping the girl into her long perfumed hair. Cameron smiled at the embrace and squeezed back.

After being held a little too long for somebody who hadn't seen their family for only two months, she stepped out of the hug and into the arms of her father. She stretched her right arm out behind him to first bump her sister, smirking at the look she read from her face. Satisfaction could be felt all around the room, as well as an unspoken wave of ease from being safe behind a locked door.

"You two have the adjoining suite. It's a California King," her father said as he stepped away to drop his suit jacket on a chair. "Has somebody ordered room service?"

"I thought you said we could have Chinese!" Charlotte whined.

Patricia walked off to change her clothes, and most likely, check her makeup in the mirror.

Charlotte threw herself onto the velvet sofa, kicking her feet happily off of the side like it didn't cost more than some people's cars.

"How ya been, biatch?"

Cameron smacked her sister's feet, successfully swinging her to a seated position, and took the new spot beside her.

"Depends. What the hell did you bring me to wear tomorrow?"

"Hey, don't start. You owe me and I'm going to hold you to it. Two months is way too long," Cameron watched as Charlottle started tossing pins from her hair to the coffee table, creating a pile big enough to rest a bird on by the time she was able to wiggle off her wig with a sharp breath through her teeth.

Cameron felt a tinge of empathy, she knew just how badly hair could hurt after being pulled tight for days. Charlotte scratched her exposed scalp like a dog, letting out a long moan that some people might associate with something else. To Cameron, she knew the feelings were equally satisfying. Though, thinking back to her night with Brett, she wondered if maybe that idea was starting to shift.

Charlotte cocked her head to the side as she studied her sister.

"Is this the point where you tell me that you've had way more fun than me?" she demanded.

Cameron rolled her eyes and tried to fight off a blush.

"Later," she promised, knowing it wasn't worth the effort to pretend like she hadn't met somebody. "Let me unbraid your hair."

The girls shifted so that Charlotte could lean back into Cameron's lap, her head in the perfect position for Cameron to pick at the tight braids.

"Room service has chicken cordon bleu," their mother called out.

"With mashed potatoes?" Cameron shouted back at the same time as her father, causing a feminine giggle from Patricia.

"I want Chinese," Charlotte whined again.

Cameron tugged teasingly at the half braided chunk of hair in her hand.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they have a kids menu with macaroni on it or something," she muttered.

"You really do need to start eating some vegetables," their father added as he came back into the room. He bent down to kiss Cameron's forehead on his way to grabbing his laptop.

Without seeing it, Cameron knew exactly what face her sister was demonstrating.

Of course, she had seen it many times before in the mirror.