Page 33 of Just Like This
Chapter Thirteen
Cami
For the rest of thenight, the word magical kept popping into my brain. Everything with Garrett was magical, perhaps because it was new and because it was temporary. We had a deadline, which gave us a sense of urgency. After our shower, we went back to bed and wrapped ourselves in a cocoon of blankets and limbs. There was more kissing, which led to round two and then round three.
Every time Garrett buried himself inside me, our connection to each other seemed to intensify. Somehow, it felt stronger. He filled me physically, but the emptiness inside me that I never acknowledged and always avoided felt full again.This is insane, I thought to myself as Garrett slept next to me. Love at first sight didn’t exist, and it was impossible for love to grow in such a short amount of time.Isn’t it? I rolled over onto my side, facing away from Garrett.This is just infatuation, I told myself.
When I woke the next morning, I wasn’t surprised to find myself alone. Garrett had told me that he was always up at dawn. Subconsciously, I must have realized he wasn’t in bed, and I found myself awake just after sunrise.
Garrett cast a formidable shape against the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the city and Elliot Bay. He was shirtless, and he seemed relaxed, maybe even peaceful. The tattoos that paid tribute to his fallen brothers didn’t carry over onto his perfectly muscled back. I didn’t want to disturb him, but my body started to hum with desire.
“I know you’re there,” he said quietly. “I can smell jasmine.”
“I didn’t want to bother you,” I confessed.
“Did I wake you up?” He turned and extended a hand, a signal that it was okay for me to join him. I padded barefoot over to him, and my hand slipped perfectly into his.We were made for each other. I brushed aside the thought because this wasn’t love; it was infatuation.Love takes time,doesn’t it?
“No, you didn’t.” Garrett pulled me to stand in front of him, and he wrapped his arms around me. Together, we watched the city come alive. “Are you hungry? I have a few stops to make at Pike Market before we go back to Gig Harbor.”
“I could eat,” Garrett replied easily. He bent his head and brushed his lips along my shoulders. “You need to get dressed, though. Otherwise, we’re never going to leave this place.”
Garrett wore only his black boxer briefs, and I had managed to scrounge up a tiny camisole and a spare pair of panties. Over the past two years, I’d returned to the city a few times between temporary guests and left a few items in the event I needed them. Reluctantly, I slipped out of his arms and returned to the bedroom where I traded this morning’s camisole for yesterday’s T-shirt.
It didn’t take me long to clean up the condo and make sure that everything was turned off before we left. As I locked up, I decided it was time to either rent the condo long-term or sell it. Garrett and I headed back to Pike Place Market where we stopped for coffee and French pastries at Le Panier. I made sure to pick up a dozen of the delicate pastries that my dad and Valerie adored. Then we headed into the market to the flower vendors where I bought a huge armful of colorful, fragrant bouquets—Valerie’s favorites.
“Why don’t you move back to Seattle?” Garrett asked as we headed back toward the parking garage of my building. “You love it here. I can tell by the rosy glow of your cheeks.”
“I do love Seattle, but I have to be in Gig Harbor with my family right now.”
“I meant …” His voice trailed off, and I understood him perfectly. After my father died, he thought I should move back to Seattle.
I shook my head firmly. “No. I don’t know what I’ll do with myself when he’s gone, but I don’t think moving back to Seattle is the answer.”
There was a lot unsaid as we drove away from Seattle and back to Gig Harbor, and it weighed heavy between us. Promises and plans that we were too afraid to make because the future was so uncertain. In a few days, Garrett would be leaving for a year. I wanted him to say my place was with him, but I kept reminding myself this wasn’t love; this was just infatuation. Love would grow. But deep in my gut, it had already started.
* * *
The moment Garrettpulled into my driveway, Valerie flew out of the house and waited on the porch with a scowl on her face. As soon as I got out of the car, she started yelling. “Where have you been?” she demanded. “Why didn’t you call? We have plans to make. You can’t just run away from this, Cami.”
“I know,” I said softly. “I’m sorry. I’m here now.”
“We needed you yesterday.”
I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. I couldn’t lose my cool. “I’m sorry, Val. I don’t know what else to tell you.”
“She just needed time to clear her head,” Garrett interjected. I looked back to see him leaning against the driver’s side door. He made no attempt to get the box of pastries or the flowers. His hands were firmly across his chest, and his expression mirrored Valerie’s. He was being protective and wasn’t going to budge an inch until Valerie calmed down.
“Well, I needed time too, but I don’t have some knight in shining armor on call to whisk me away and then fuck away the pain,” Valerie hissed.
“VALERIE! What the fuck?” I yelled just as Garrett started forward. I put out a hand to stop him, but it was no use. He was already between us, shielding me.
“You better watch your mouth,” Garrett growled.
“Or what? You can’t do anything to me. You don’t even know me, or her, or what we’re going through right now. You’re just looking for a warm place to stick your dick. Palmer told me all about you last night.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What did Palmer say about Garrett?”
“He finds a new chick to fuck every time they’re home on leave. It only takes him a few days for him to find someone willing to spread her legs for him. Gee, Cami, how long did it take this time?”
