Page 23 of Scandal

“Well, you’re you. You know?”

“I’m not the same person I was at the start of summer.” I realize I might be standing over her with my hands on my hips, so I take a few paces back and drop my arms.

Nayla doesn’t seem affected. She leans back into the wall, folding one leg under the other. “I know that. I’m proud of you.”

“You sound like Joy.”

“You told her before you told me?” She sounds honestly shocked.

I snicker. “More jealousy. I should have known you couldn’t share me.”

Nayla throws her pencil at me, and I snatch it out the air. “What did she say about it all?”

“To take it slow.” I frown at the thought. I don’t want to take it slow. I want to take more kisses. And maybe more than kisses. I want to curl up around Cam and run with him in the rain, and do whatever other silly things he has in mind for us.

“Huh?”

“What, huh?” I question, feeling my agitation growing.

“I don’t know. Maybe she knows best. It’s just... I would have figured she’d tell you to steer clear of shitting where you eat.”

“I’m not shitting where I eat.”

“Aren’t you though? Plus...”

“Plus what?” I scoff.

She throws her hands up. “Just saying it, because it needs to be said. You only just now increased your friendship circle from one person to two people. Do you really want to blow that friendship by dating?”

“Who says I’d blow it?” The agitation is still blooming beneath my skin.

“Isn’t that why we never took it there?”

I bark a laugh. “No. We never took it there because I saw you eat your own boogers when you were five.”

Nayla sticks out her tongue and rolls her eyes. “Whatever. I’m just saying. Aren’t you glad we never crossed that line? That we don’t have some messy history?”

“I already crossed the line with Cam. We kissed. You heard that part, right? Besides, what would you know about it? You’ve never successfully dated anyone anyway. Don’t tell me what to do or what not to do with Cam.”

Nayla stands, shoving her laptop into her bag. “No need to yell at me. I was just saying. If you want to shoot the messenger, be my guest. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Cameron

Something has changed, but I can’t figure out what. Nayla’s stopped coming by our room. She’s been MIA all week. But Xan doesn’t seem fazed by it, so I’ve been leaving it be. At least this morning I found her in time for breakfast, since Xan decided to go on the world’s longest run.

Aside from the extra running this week, Xan hasn’t been acting all that weird after I kissed him. I half expect that to be the end of our friendship. Well, I mean, if I’m being honest, I secretly hope it would be the beginning of something more. But I’ll take it for what it is. My first kiss. A perfect one. In the rain. It is hella romantic.

Maybe he’s waiting for me to do it again? Is that how this works? I make the moves? Not sure I have the confidence for that again though. Don’t know what gave me the confidence the first time. I guess the rain and the darkness. It felt like we were in a different world. One all our own. But here in our room, this is the real world. I don’t go in for kisses in the real world.

But who could not want to do that again! Did Xan not feel the same things I felt in that kiss? It rocked me like a damn wagon wheel. Nowayhe’s that good at faking a romantic kiss. There was nothing plutonic about it.

Not that I’m the expert though.

Too bad I can’t ask Nayla, even though we’re sitting alone at breakfast.

“Okay, you have stabbed that same piece of melon so many times, it’s looking like Swiss cheese.”

“Have I?” Even I can hear the far-off tone of my voice, I’m so deep into my own thoughts. “Sorry.”

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