Page 84 of See You Again

“Cami, I never said that.” James struggled to get his harsh breathing under control.

Cami’s jaw set. “I saw you talking to Justin and your father at the bar. You weren’t acting like you normally did, and then after Justin talked to me, your father…” Her voice fractured.

James’s stomach roiled as memories of that night flooded back. His father had been a condescending ass to Cami all night at the table. Asking her if she had a lot of student loans, what her parents did... At the time, James thought his father was being his arrogant, oblivious self.

“What did he say to you?” His voice was barely more than a whisper.

“James—”

“What. Did. He. Say.”

Cami swallowed, her eyes shining with tears that she tried to blink away. “After Justin told me what you said, I tried to escape to the bathroom before I started crying in front of all those rich people. Your father caught me in the hallway.” She paused when James hissed out an angry breath. “He wasn’t mean. He just made it clear that I wasn’t the type of girl who belonged in your world. He said I should enjoy my fling, and that if there were consequences, to come to him and he would take care of it.” A tear slipped down her cheek, and James wanted to howl with rage and loss. “That if I didn’t, and tried to force you into a marriage, he would cut you off and ruin your life.”

“You knew me.” James shook his head. “How could you believe?—”

“Because you said basically the same thing to me not thirty minutes later!” Her hand came up to cover her mouth.

James looked at her dumbfounded, racking his brain. And then he remembered.

“You wanted to get on stage and sing karaoke with Luke,” he said dully.

“And you told me to get down. I was embarrassing you. And how I would never fit in if that’s how I behaved.”

James felt sick. The dessert turned to stone in his stomach. Furious eyes found Justin, who, instead of talking to his girlfriend, had his full attention on their table. James’s blood heated, and whatever Justin saw on his face made him blanch.

“James,” Cami’s eyes were wide as she looked at him and then glanced over her shoulder. “I think we should leave.” James felt like his muscles were locked in cement.

He wanted to murder Justin. But also, himself. Had he let something as stupid as pride and a misunderstanding ruin everything? Had they lost twelve years because of his stupidity?

James’s eyes flashed to hers as his mind ricocheted from one memory to the next. “I did have a conversation at the gala with my father about you. Justin was nearby. I had conversations with Justin, too… about you… at the gala and before.”

Cami’s knuckles whitened on her napkin, her face drawn as if she knew what was coming. “What about me?”

“I told my father that I was in love with you, and that he needed to be more polite to you.”

Cami’s body froze.

“I am so sorry he was such an ass to you. But the conversation I’m more concerned about was with Justin. He took me aside and told me that you were drunk, that I shouldn’t hold it against you, but as my friend, he felt like he needed to tell me.” Regret stabbed at him. “I was such an idiot. Justin and I weren’t even that good of friends. If I hadn’t been coming from an argument with my father…” An argument that sounded extremely similar to what David Bloom had said to Cami. He clenched his jaw. “But that’s an excuse. I shouldn’t have walked away from you afterward.”

“What did Justin say?” Her voice was low, full of dread, and James wished they were anywhere but seated in the middle of a romantic restaurant. “I need to know.”

James held her eyes with his own. “Before the gala, he said you confided in him that you were in over your head with your student debt and that nabbing one of the Bloom heirs on campus was your actual career goal. That when we ended up in the same class, you decided I was the easiest target to manipulate. But you’d run into Luke recently and realized he was more fun, and you had switched which twin you wanted. But that I would make a good back-up in case you couldn’t pull it off, because everyone knew how I felt about you.”

Cami’s eyes were enormous in her pale face. “Everyone but me. That was before? You still took me to the party.”

James’s lips twisted. “I didn’t want to believe it was true. I came to find you at the gala when you took so long in the bathroom.” Cami’s eyes dilated, and he knew she was remembering, too. “I heard what you said to those girls.”

“You’re here with James Bloom. Lucky you,” a woman’s voice said through the door. James could still hear the sounds of the band in the hallway, but the voices through the restroom door were clear enough.

“You think?” That was Cami.

“Duh. He and his brother are freaking hot as hell. Combined with that name and money. You should get yourself knocked up as soon as possible.”

He waited for Cami’s denial but it didn’t come. James’s stomach plummeted as a chorus of feminine laughter sounded. Was that all he was to people? Even to someone he thought he knew and trusted… loved.

“I don’t think I could do it for the long term.” Cami’s voice hit him like an axe. “Yeah, he’s hot and rich. But after that, what is there? There’s more to life—” The next part was garbled as the door to the men’s restroom opened, and a rush of drunk men fell through the door laughing. When they disappeared, he caught the tail end of the conversation.

“Luke is definitely having a good time out there.” Cami’s voice. “He doesn’t give a damn about what these people think, including his father. I admire that. Much better way to spend the rest of your life.”

---