Page 36 of Slots & Sticks
Camden shakes his head. “Maybe not for you.”
“What—?” I blink at him. “What would it mean to you?”
He won’t look at me. “The other night, you’d been crying, you’d had a terrible day, and you fell asleep on me by accident. That’s different from sleeping in a bed with silk sheets after taking all of our clothes off.”
“It’ll only be weird if we make it weird.” I point up to the deer head on the wall. “Technically, he’s already making it weird. But you know what I mean. I can sleep in a bed with you without throwing myself at you. You don’t have to sleep on the floor out of some misguided sense of modesty—”
“It’s not misguided.” Camden shifts from foot to foot. “If I get in that bed with you, I am definitely going to make it weird.” When I keep staring at him, he makes a vague gesture toward his groin.
“Oh.” I stare at his crotch for a moment. “Oh. You would?”
“I would.”
The admission punches a secret thrill straight through the awkwardness, followed by a pit of nerves. My mind cartwheels through every possibility—do I want him to touch me? What if I flinch, or worse, what if I melt? What if I ruin this because I don’t know how to be cool about wanting him back?
“Did you… the other night?” I raise my gaze to his face.
His cheeks flush an attractive shade of pink. “I did.”
“Oh,” I say again.
Okay, okay, so definitely not in a relationship with George.
That’s a relief. Not that there would have been anything wrong with being in a relationship with George. I just thought… never mind.
Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. Guys are notoriously horny, after all, and NHL players have quite the reputation. Camden’s never been like that, though. When our male classmates made lewd comments about girls, Camden never joined in. Even Viktor, who was not-so-secretly in love with Knova since forever, was never secret about being a bit of a man-ho.
Secretly? I’m flattered. I’ve always felt a bit frumpy and pudgy compared to my—nope, compared to other people with pinup model proportions. Like Knova.. Is Camden attracted tome, or is it simple biology?
I want to believe it’s me he wants. Not just a warm body in a tacky bed. Not just an accidental reaction.
But me.
The version of me that panics in diners and names dogs Skinbad. The version he’s been looking at like I’m worth choosing.
No, he couldn’t be attracted to me. It has to be a knee-jerk reaction, so to speak.
“Okay,” I say eventually.
My voice sounds steadier than I feel. I’m not a seductress in red silk. I’m simply me—nervous, plain old Dot, asking the hottest man I’ve ever known to take the empty side of the bed and not notice how fast my heart’s beating.
He nods brusquely. “I’ll see if they have a spare blanket at the front desk…”
“No, I mean, okay. We’ll sleep in the bed.” I swallow the sudden lump in my throat. “Together.”
Camden’s head whips toward me. “What?”
I fight back a smile. “But only if you take me to dinner first. That’s how it goes, right?”
“I. Uh.” He rubs a hand across his mouth. “I won’t do anything you don’t want, I just… might get…” he makes a sweeping gesture toward the godawful paneling, “wood.”
I lift my chin. “I’ll let you know if your wood becomes as offensive as the decor.”
Camden sucks in a breath. “We can talk about it after dinner. Although if you don’t mind, I’m going to shower before we leave. Spent too much time in the sun earlier.”
I give him two thumbs-up like a total dork. “Go for it. I’ll be out here.”
There’s nowhere to sit except the ridiculous heart-shaped bed. I perch on the edge, knees squeezed together, but the stupid mattress tilts and I end up sliding a few inches toward the center—closer to the dent where Cam will probably land.
