Stupid, traitorous hormones.
He didn’t move his hand. Didn’t brush against my skin, and he didn’t move closer. But he peered down at me, a mountain of confidence and stillness.
My pulse raced, and my skin burned from his touch. “I’m scared I won’t be enough. Or you’ll leave if you get traded. I don’t want that life, Cameron.”
“I ever get traded, I’ll quit. Never letting you walk away, never letting you go again.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You didn’t. It’s already decided.”
Shit. He said all the right things. All the things that could give me hope. They couldn’t be true. Football had always been his life. His dream. His ultimate goal since before he could walk was what his family always said.
My head fell, and I stared at my toes, the dirt. Cameron’s feet were so close to mine. God, what I wouldn’t give to be able to blink and simply forget the pain he caused me.
“I don’t know,” I finally said. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Then do dinner with me. Tonight.”
“No way.” I shook my head. There was no way I was going out to dinner with Cameron. Someone would see us at Millie’s or in Shamrock, the next town over, and the gossip would be everywhere.
“Not in town,” he said so quickly, like he knew exactly how to read my mind. “Your place. I’ll bring food. We can cook it together.”
I should say no. It was simple. Two little letters, and it wasn’t only a word but a complete sentence.
But he was so close. His hand was still on me, and now his breath was brushing along my cheek. I closed my eyes, there was no way I could lift my chin and look at him. Hell, with the way my panties were growing wet, I’d probably throw him to the ground and have my way with him.
A shiver racked through my body. It was probably that thought that made the no stuck in my throat.
And instead, I nodded.
“Okay.”
Stupid, stupid me.
Chapter 15
Cameron
I had one shot at this, and I was damn lucky I was being given that. If anything went wrong tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ava kicked me out of her life for good. There’d be no more giving her shit. No more seeing that smile. No more seeing her eyes melt when I stepped within three feet of her.
I’d have nothing.
Which meant I really needed to not screw this up. Considering how I’d handled pretty much every interaction with her since I was eighteen, I wasn’t feeling all that confident.
Except, like she always seemed to do, Ava surprised the hell out of me by stepping out onto her front porch as my truck pulled into her driveway. She had a soft, timid smile on her face that became more nervous when she bit her bottom lip. She had a glass of what looked like wine in one hand, and she leaned a shoulder against one of the pillars at the edge of her porch.
Fuck. She looked as excited and terrified as I felt inside. I could do this. I could finally step up and be the man she needed.
I climbed out of my truck and opened the door to the back seat of the cab when she called out, “Need any help carrying things in?”
I leaned back around the edge of the door. “I got it. Thanks.”
She smiled, nodded, and stayed right where she was as I grabbed the bags and hauled them up to her. Stepping back, she opened her door and then held it for me as I entered.
A massive change to her home made me pause when I was in the process of slipping out of my shoes. “Your furniture came.”
“Got the call as I was coming back from the creek. Perfect timing.”