The Blindside of Love (Camren) Altern Versión

Chapter Nine

"What do you think?" Nathan asked excitedly. His brown hair was spiked up with enough hair spray and mousse to make the ozone layer cringe. His greenish eyes were focused on the stereo system of his new Mustang.

Camila stared at the piece of equipment, wondering what the big deal was. It played music just like his old one did.

"It's nice," she said, forcing some enthusiasm into the words.

"Nice?" Nathan questioned, glancing at his girlfriend.

"What are you talking about, nice? Can you hear the bass on this baby? It's sweet!" He turned up the music, and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel along with the tune.

Camila sank down into the passenger seat, turning her attention to the view outside the window. They were headed up to see her parents. In New York City traffic it was going to take a year to get there, but Nathan had insisted on taking the car. He was anxious to show it off to Carlos and Dimitri.

Nathan had cancelled their date for Monday. Something last minute had come up and he'd been unable to meet her after class.

Camila had been secretly relieved.

After spending all of Sunday night working on the Shakespeare essay she'd been beyond exhausted. She'd gone directly home to take a nap.

She was not looking forward to this dinner at her parents'. Inevitably, the subject of Harry would be either purposely avoided or blown out of proportion. Camila suddenly felt guilty. It had been nearly a week since the incident, and she still hadn't called Harry . She wasn't entirely sure why. Camila was certainly not homophobic. And the fact that Harry was gay didn't really bother her.

So why was she avoiding him?

Unable to come up with an answer, Camila decided to think about something else. Her art, for instance. She was in the process of creating a collage of pictures she'd taken. It was her tribute to New York and contained pictures of the City in all of its glory. From the beauty to the sadness. It was all there. Her entire range of existence, cut up and blended into a whole.

Her thoughts drifted suddenly to the person who'd emailed her, and wondered if they'd written her back. She made a mental note to check her e-mail once she got home.

Nathan suddenly turned off the stereo. "I'm sorry about Monday," he said. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Camila hesitated. "It was nothing," she lied.

"You sure?" Nathan asked.

"Positive," Camila replied, smiling at him.

"So how's school going?"

Nathan grinned. "It's going well," he replied. "I'm happy to be graduating. High school drags on forever, don't you think?"

"I don't remember back that far," Camila teased.

"Oh shut up," Nathan said with a laugh.

"You're not that much older than me. But anyway, things are winding down. Senior activities are coming up. Speaking of which, start thinking about a prom dress."

Camila wasn't sure she felt like going through the whole prom ordeal again.

She'd hated her own. But she owed it to Nathan to go with him.

"I'll tell mom tonight," she replied. "I'm sure she'll want to go shopping with me."

Nathan nodded in approval, turning the music back on.

Camila focused on the world outside her window, and returned to the land of her thoughts.

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