Page 44 of Freeing Camila

“‘Ride Something with Two Wheels.”

Ashlyn laughed. “I like the interpretation of that.”

“Did you like it?” Carley asked.

Cammie thought of the ride, and how free she’d felt. Plus, being plastered up against Wade’s back was an added bonus. “It was awesome.”

The women all laughed, then Elodie asked, “What else.”

“He taught me how to line dance. That was ‘Walk on the Wild Side,’” she said before they could ask. “And when he discovered I was about to make my first s’more in the microwave?”

“Eww,” Elodie gasped. Of course, the chef in her would balk as such a thing.

“He took me camping and taught me to make the perfect s’more over the campfire.”

A long, drawn-out “Wow” sighed over the phone line from Lexie. “He sounds perfect.”

“What happened after the s’mores?” Ashlyn wondered.

Cammie could feel the heat of a blush rising in her cheeks and she ducked her head even though her friends couldn’t see it. “We kissed,” she answered, a small smile teasing her lips.

The women all reacted enthusiastically. From ‘awws’ to ‘you get ‘em, girl’ were called out.

“Wait,” cried Kenna to be heard over the others. “This was your first kiss, wasn’t it?” she guessed correctly. Cammie had talked to Kenna one night about her inexperience with the opposite sex. Her friend had assured her it would come naturally to her when the time was right. She’d been correct.

“You mean like the first . . . ever?” Ashlyn’s voice rose incredulously, a mixture of shock and anger coloring her tone.

“You know how I was raised,” Cammie whispered, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. These women all seemed much more worldly than her. Much more experienced. Sometimes, surrounded by their boisterous laughter and bawdy jokes that she didn’t always understand, she felt a pang of isolation. Like she didn’t quite fit in. But they never made her feel like that on purpose. It was just her own insecurities playing with her head.

“Aw. I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean it like that,” Ashlyn apologized. “I’m really happy for you.”

“As we all are,” Elodie added.

“So, how was it?” Monica asked. “Better than the motorcycle ride?”

“One hundred percent,” laughed Cammie. Leave it to them to bring her out of her own head.

“Yeah. It was like that the first time I kissed Scott,” mused Elodie.

“Pretty sure it was like that we all kissed our guys for the first time,” Lexie added.

“Not me,” Ashlyn admitted.

Carly scoffed. “That’s because you had that friends with benefits thing going with Slate.”

“True,” Lexie agreed. “But look where that got them.”

The women all laughed again, and Cammie felt lighter. A gnawing worry had settled in her stomach about Wade and the secretive mission that had whisked him away so abruptly. The silence from him only adding to her anxiety.

Needing to know how her friends handled the work their men did, she asked, “How dangerous are the missions your guys go on?”

“Why do you ask, sweetie?” Ashlyn wondered.

“Wade works for a security company. Something called Condor’s Overwatch. He explained some of what they do, but I don’t know a lot. He had to leave suddenly a few days ago for some sort of mission.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone line. It lasted so long Cammie worried the call had been disconnected. “Hello? You guys still there?”

“Sorry. Yes. We’re still here,” assured Elodie.

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