Page 89 of For the Cameras

A smile slowly spread over my face as I read each text.

He was rambling. Fumbling, like I always did. And it wasn’t that I enjoyed seeing someone else be awkward—I usuallyhatedit, actually, and I just wanted everyone to be as socially confident as I wished I could be.

But with these texts, I saw a portion of myself in Chase. Which was a rare thing to witness. He was second-guessing himself, but it only came off as intensely charming.

Everything Chase did came off as intensely charming.

Adam Richardsen: See you soon, Chase. And here’s a little something from this morning.

I sent him the short video I’d just taken, straight to his text messages.

I had filmed it with the intention of uploading it to OnlyShots, but I knew deep down that the person I’d filmed itforwas him.

And only him.

Every word I’d said in the video, I’d been thinking of him. And I wanted that video to be all his own.

Twenty minutes later, a knock sounded out from my front door.

“Let’s finish up this kitchen,” Shawn said as I swung the door open. He was there with Nathan and Charlie, all three of them in their work clothes with tool belts slung around their waists.

Behind them, in the driveway, one of the film crew vans had just parked, and I saw Chase’s blue car pulling up behind it.

“Kitchen’s all yours,” I told the construction guys, giving them a little salute.

Chase walked up to the front door and the look he gave me made me feel like my chest wasmadeof butterflies.

If I thought he’d been adorably awkward in the text messages, it was only ten times more apparent in real life.

He came up to the front door, glancing behind me toward the other guys, who had all filed into the kitchen. He cleared his throat, shifting on his feet.

“Ah, thank you,” he said. “For the video.”

I bit my lower lip. “Did you enjoy it?”

He swallowed, his gaze dancing from my lips to my eyes and back again. “I didn’t have time to…fullyenjoy it, because I was heading out to my car when I got it. But holy fuck, Adam.”

“It’s one of my favorites.”

“You’re crazy if you don’t upload that one,” he told me. “It’s one of your best, ever.”

I shook my head. “I decided that video is just for you.”

His eyebrows shot up. “What? Why?”

I shrugged. “Because I like you. And you’re worth it,” I told him.

A blush crept onto his cheeks and filled me with a deep satisfaction I didn’t even know I’d been looking for. Was this how Chase had felt when he’d first met me? Absolutelyrelishingevery opportunity to make me squirm in the best possible way?

As the day went on, there were only more opportunities for me to make Chase feel special. I offered him some more fresh-cut watermelon in the morning, which he loved. During his lunch break, I came downstairs and showed him a couple of recent comments on our last video that had been complimenting the specific film quality of it compared to my other videos.

In the afternoon, I went out to get fresh-squeezed juices for the whole crew, and came back with the haul and passed them around to everyone.

Chase was upstairs using the spare bathroom and when he came out, I caught him alone for a moment, standing in the light by the hallway window.

There was no one around upstairs.

So I leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek and watched as his eyes went all dreamy, just for a moment.

---