Page 55 of Slots & Sticks
“That,” he says, “was one for the books.”
“It was perfect,” I whisper. “He laughed, Cam. Really laughed.”
He glances at me, smiling faintly. “Then it was worth it.”
I nod and look down at Skinbad, who’s already snoring. “Yeah. Every bit of it.”
We drive the rest of the way in silence, the kind that feels full instead of empty—the kind that says everything we don’t have words for.
As soon as we get to my dad’s, Camden collects Soot’s crate. “I’m going to head out. I need to get this little hellion set up in her new home. Will you be okay with the dogs?”
“I can handle them.” I walk Camden out to the car. Along the way, I try to find the right words for everything the last two days have meant to me. “I’ll text you soon?”
“Oh, be prepared to receive eleven thousand pictures of this cat. You’re going to be getting updates at every hour of the day and night.” He sets Soot’s carrier in the front seat, then turns to give me a chaste kiss.
“You can do better than that,” I tell him.
Camden tips his head to one side. Across the street and cattycorner, Dad’s friend Cash is out watering his lawn. “We have an audience,” he whispers. “Ten minutes from now, the whole team will know I kissed you.”
I lift my chin in a challenge. “Is that a problem?”
Camden reaches up to cup my cheek. “Not for me. But I want to talk about this when it’s had time to settle.”
“Soon?”
“Soon,” he agrees.
And then he’s gone.
I watch his car until it rounds the bend at the end of the street. I don’t know what to make of this. Is he playing hard to get? What’s the deal? I don’t know who to ask. Usually, I’d go to Mira, but she’s hit or miss when it comes to human emotions. Dad’s out. Talking to Knova, Sofia, or Violet doesn’t feel right, since they’re friends with Camden, too. I need impartial advice.
No. I needwisdom.
I turn and march to Cash’s house.
Cash rolls his eyes when he sees me coming. “Oh, fuck me,” he mutters. “Never should have made eye contact.”
“Hey, Cash, do you have a second?” Cash was Dad’s mentor when they played for the Venom. He’s cranky, but he knows what he’s talking about.
“One second.” Cash looks at his watch. “There you go. Time’s up.”
“Really?” I stick out my bottom lip in a pout. I’ve seen how Knova interacts with him. I know all her tricks. “But Dad says you give the best advice ever.”
Cash releases the handle of the spray nozzle to kill the flow of water. “That’s usually about money or real estate. Do you want to talk about either of those subjects?”
“Not particularly.” Though maybe I should make notes for later.
Cash sighs. “Then what do you need to talk about?”
“Um… Camden.”
He purses his lips and thinks. “He’s a good hockey player. A rising talent. A team asset.”
“No, more like Camden andme.” I adjust my glasses. I’m probably too old to be asking this stuff. Everyone else I know got their first-real-relationship jitters out of the way in high school and college.
“I don’t think you want to talk to me about relationships,” Cash says. “Kingsley puts up with me for some reason, but hell if I know why.”
“That’s not… I mean, it’s relationship-adjacent, but…”Just spit it out, Dot.“What if we talk about guys and sex?”
