Page 8 of Innocent Princess

"Oh, that. It's a yearly fundraiser the University puts on. It's basically a glorified prom."

I suck in a breath. "I never went to prom." My heart pounds with excitement. I dreamed about going to prom. Cameron asked me both years he went, but Mother always said no.

"I knew you'd want to go." He chuckles next to me as we cross the campus.

"Will you go with me, Cameron? Please, pretty please?" Turning to him, I pull his arm to me and lean my head into his arm. I give him my sweetest, pleading eyes.

He doesn't shake me off but wraps his arm around my shoulders. "Raps, of course, I'll go with you. Not that I don’t want to be seen on your arm, Raps, but eventually, you’re going to need to find someone you actually want to date."

"Do you already have a date?" Suddenly, I’m worried about overstepping.

"No, not at all, but you really need to get out there. You need to date."

"Pfft. Says whom?"

"Says anyone who finds out that this gorgeous twenty-year-old in her third year of college has never been on a date."

"Do study dates count?" I ask.

"Was kissing involved?"

I blush. There was this one guy last year, James. We had several classes together, so we became study partners.

"Oh, my God, Raps, have you been holding out on me?" Cameron's jaw nearly hits the ground.

"Shut up. I told you about James. There was kissing, maybe a little over the shirt, over the pants fondling, but that was about it." James was just as inexperienced as I was, but we had some very fun, unproductive study dates.

"Oh, I remember him. The nerd."

I push him away. "Shut up. Nerds can be very sexy."

"Was James a sexy nerd?" He hits me with a look and tells me he's not going to believe me if I say yes.

I sigh in defeat instead. "What does it matter?"

"You're right: it doesn't. What matters is that you need to have some fun. You need the full college experience. Date around, kiss some guys…"

"If I were a dude, would you tell me I needed to sleep around?" I question with a quirk of my eyebrow.

"I absolutely would, but you aren't a dude. Your Zella Raps, and you need to take it slow. Have fun before you get freaky between the sheets." He imitates a humping motion, and I push him again.

"This is a strange conversation."

"We've had stranger," he counters.

I nod, chewing on my lip as I think about dating.

Cameron bumps my shoulder with his as we come to a stop in front of Keane Hall and asks, "A penny for your thoughts?"

"I'm not even sure what to look for in possible dating material."

"You'll know." He sounds so confident.

"How?" I ask in an uncertain tone.

"When you meet a guy that piques your interest, you talk to him. As the conversation progresses, you'll get a sense if he's date-worthy or not."

"Sounds so easy," I mutter.

---