10 Years Later (10 page)

“Why is he here?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” I said, skirting around the whole truth.

“So you’re taking pictures and stuff? Like surveillance?”

“Exactly.” I hesitated, and she definitely sensed it.

“I have a million more questions, because this is really fascinating,” she said, “but I’ll stop.”

“I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just that I can’t talk about most of the case, and I haven’t been in this kind of situation”—I waved my hand between the two of us—“in a long time.”

“You’re not being rude. And it’s okay, I totally get it,” she reassured me, and I wanted to leap over the table and kiss her for being so damn understanding.

A change of subject was called for, and for whatever reason, a certain memory popped into my head. Making a quick choice, I decided to put it all out there—every misunderstanding, every action or inaction, word not spoken, thought not shared—all of it. I wanted there to be nothing standing between us anymore.

“You know, I came to your house the night before I left for New York.”

“You came to my house?” Her brows drew together as she squinted at me.

“I waited across the street in my car for three hours. I wanted to at least tell you good-bye. You still weren’t speaking to me, but I had to try.”

“I never saw you.” She shook her head as she refilled her wineglass. “I mean, I don’t remember seeing your car or anything.”

“You came home with another guy.” I still remember how I felt when she pulled into her driveway and a strange guy jumped out of her passenger seat, laughing and racing her to the front door. The smile on my face had instantly changed into a frown, and that was when I knew it was really over between us.

“Another guy?” Her eyes narrowed at my words. “But I wasn’t dating anyone. That doesn’t make sense. Are you sure it was me?”

I barked out a sharp laugh. “Yes, Cammie. It was you. It was your house, your driveway, and your car. But I didn’t know the guy, though. He didn’t look familiar.”

She tapped the side of her head with her finger. “I’m trying to remember. I don’t even know who it could have been.”

“Well, I wanted to kill him,” I admitted, and she huffed out a laugh.

“Oh my God!” Cammie blurted. “I know who it was! It was Kristy’s stupid boyfriend at the time, Glen. He went to the other high school, and he didn’t have a car. I picked him up a lot.”

“Well, now I wish I would have gotten out of the car and talked to you,” I said, wishing I could kick my eighteen-year-old ass all the way from here to Wisconsin as her gaze dropped to her plate and my heart sank. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” she said softly, but I didn’t believe her for a second.

Cammie

We moved our conversation over to the living room after I insisted on cleaning off the table.

“Please let me do the dishes,” Dalton said, but I swatted him away and shoved him toward the couch.

“It’s literally two plates and two wineglasses. I think I can handle it.”

“You’re so damn stubborn,” he said with a whine as he tossed the empty wine bottle into the trash.

“And you’re bossy,” I shot back, not really meaning it. The truth was, Dalton wasn’t all that bossy, I just liked having a mouthy comeback. “Do you want some water? Or a soda or something? I don’t have much.” I knew I probably didn’t even have any soda in my fridge, but I offered it anyway and hoped he wouldn’t want one.

“Water would be great, thanks,” he responded from the couch.

After putting the dishes in the dishwasher, I pulled out two glasses and filled them with water. I grabbed the plate of cookies and some napkins, balancing the items as I walked toward Dalton. He hopped off the couch and grabbed the drinks from my hand before setting them down on top of the coffee table. The cookies followed close behind, along with a short stack of napkins.

“Am I allowed to eat these now?” He reached for one of the napkins and placed two cookies on it as I moved to sit down next to him.

“I should tell you no.”

“But you won’t.” He put over half of the first cookie in his mouth, moaning as he began to chew, and I had to force myself to look away from the faces he was making as he ate the damn thing. “This is so good,” he said after he swallowed, then popped the rest of it in his mouth and chewed it slowly as he closed his eyes.

“I can tell you like it.” I reached for my own cookie before breaking off a small piece. After swallowing it, I yawned. I couldn’t help it, but I knew Dalton was going to comment on it if I didn’t stop. It wasn’t my first yawn of the evening.

“Am I boring you?” he teased.

I knew it.
“No. I just get really tired at night. I usually wake up around three thirty every morning since I need to be at work so early, so by the time evening rolls around, I feel like a zombie.”

His eyes widened a little and he leaned forward, as if to get up. “Do you want me to go?”

I tensed at the thought of him leaving and quickly said, “No. Not yet,” because I wanted to power through this night.

To be honest, I never wanted it to end. Getting clarification on everything that happened when we were kids was helping me tremendously. Even now, after all this time, hearing certain things helped to set my mind at ease, not to mention my heart. As much as I tried to believe that Dalton and what happened between us was firmly in the past, having him here and talking about us made it abundantly clear that I was still affected by him.

Thinking back to the comment about closure that Kristy had made the other day, it occurred to me that being around Dalton only reinforced that it wasn’t closure I wanted. Even if we cleared up the misunderstandings of our past and put them to rest, I still wanted the possibility of a future with him.

I was definitely following my heart when it came to Dalton Thomas. Different year, same Cammie.

He took a long sip of his water, and then glanced at me. “Can I ask you something?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“Why did you stop talking to me back then?”

“You’re joking, right?” I was completely shocked. There was no way he didn’t know the reason, or hadn’t figured it out by now.

He leaned back against the couch after placing his water glass on the coffee table. “I swear. I had no idea then and I have no idea now.”

“You asked Carla Benten to prom! That was the final straw for me when it came to you. I was devastated when I heard that, and I felt like you didn’t care about me at all. All the time we’d spent together, and I meant nothing to you,” I admitted, those hurt feelings from all those years ago coming rushing back.

Dalton gave me an incredulous look. “I only asked Carla because I heard that you were going with Mark Davies!”

“Mark asked me, but I said no.”

I recalled the day that Mark came up to me at school to ask me to prom. He was so sweet about it, and even though it damn near killed me to tell him no, I had to. I was waiting for someone else to ask, someone who never would. Someone named Dalton.

“Jesus,” Dalton said on a long breath. “When I heard people talking in the halls about you and Mark going to prom together, I fucking lost it. I was so damn jealous and so pissed off, that I decided I’d ask the next girl who flirted with me. I turned around and there was Carla Benton, grabbing my arm, laughing at something I said that wasn’t even funny. And that was it.”

• • •

Kristy had approached me that day, nervously looking around as she said, “I have something to tell you.”

“Just say it,” I’d snapped, feeling suddenly insecure and nervous. Mark Davies had asked me to prom earlier and I’d told him no. I hoped what Kristy had to say didn’t have anything to do with that.

“Dalton asked Carla Benten to prom.” Kristy eyed me as she waited for my reaction, knowing me well enough to know it wasn’t going to be a good one.

He did what? How could he? I knew that Dalton wasn’t technically my boyfriend, but I never thought he would do something so disrespectful and thoughtless.

Kristy’s head tilted to one side, as if she half expected me to crumple to the floor at any second with her stupid, horrible news. And I wanted to—oh, how I wanted to—but I refused to give Dalton the satisfaction.

Fighting back the tears that immediately filled my eyes, I glared at her, my jaw tense. “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

A buzzing sound began inside my head as I struggled to keep some semblance of self-control and composure. I wanted to cause a scene—to find Dalton and smack him across his traitorous face—something that would make him feel as broken as I did.

“Did someone tell you?” I asked Kristy as she continued to watch me.

She shook her head. “I was walking past them when he asked her. I’m so sorry, Cammie. I don’t know what the hell is going on between you two, but”—she paused, placing her hand on my shoulder and squeezing—“I almost punched him in the face as I passed by.”

I let out an angry huff. “You should have.”

“Well, next time I see him, I might.” She shrugged one shoulder, and I silently wished that she would.

• • •

“We were idiots. I mean it. Seriously, idiots,” I said with a slight laugh and a yawn. I couldn’t believe that after all this time, Dalton had only asked Carla to prom because he thought I was going with Mark. I had been so hurt for all these years over something that could have been fixed with a single conversation.

“We were just kids. We didn’t know any better.” He leaned toward me, closing the space between us. “I know better now,” he said as he placed a soft kiss on my lips.

“I should hope so,” I said, then kissed him back.

“But I will say this. When I got to prom, I didn’t see you or Mark there. I looked for you all night. And when you never showed up, my mind went crazy with scenarios as to where you and him were. I tried to talk to you after that, but you wouldn’t speak to me. Hell, you wouldn’t even look at me.”

Dalton was right. After he’d asked Carla to prom, I felt like I’d been slapped in the face. I loved the way I felt when I was in Dalton’s arms, or being kissed by him, but his actions proved that I meant little more to him than a hookup. And my heart couldn’t take it because by that point, he had meant everything to me.

“I was heartbroken,” I said softly, having trouble meeting his eyes. “You were the only light in my life. And then you became part of the gray like everything else. I didn’t know how to see you as light anymore after that.”

His hand flew to his chest as if my words had wounded him. “Jesus, Cammie. Hearing that shit kills me. Even now.”

“I was so sad. I don’t know any other way to put it.” I yawned again, then nuzzled my cheek against his chest.

“You wouldn’t even look at me after prom. I can’t believe I never put two and two together.”

I lifted one shoulder in a small shrug and spoke into his shirt. “I refused to let you hurt me again after that. But I also knew that my willpower was weak when it came to you, and I didn’t want to hear the reason why you asked Carla Benten to prom and not me. If it was a good reason, I didn’t want to hear it.”

“So you stayed away from me completely.” He sighed. “As much as I fucking hated that, I get it.” Dalton ran his fingers through my hair, causing my eyes to close as I lay snuggled against his side. “Hey, I’m going to go,” he said as his lips pressed against my head.

Leaning back, I looked up at him through groggy eyes. “I’m sorry I can’t stay awake. What time is it?”

“Don’t apologize. And it’s after ten.”

“Crap.” I knew I’d pay tomorrow for staying up this late.

“I’m sorry I kept you up so late, but tonight was perfect. Thank you.” He leaned forward, pressing his lips against mine again, and I was half-tempted to tell him to stay.

“It was perfect. Thank you for coming over. Talk to you later?” I grinned at him sleepily. Or maybe it was dopily; I was so out of it I couldn’t be sure.

“Talk? Hell, I can’t wait to see you again,” he said with a smile before rising off the couch and extending his hand.

I linked my fingers with his as he pulled me up and gave me a tight hug. “Do you want some cookies for the road?” I asked, and reached for the plate.

“Yes,” he answered a little too enthusiastically, and I laughed.

Grabbing several cookies and placing them into a zipper bag, I handed it to Dalton as I led him toward the front door. I turned the knob and pulled the door open, shivering as a blast of chilled night air hit me.

Dalton slid his arms around me and turned me around to face him. I snuggled against his chest before glancing up at his eyes. His lips pressed against mine, and I moaned involuntarily as I opened my mouth to him. Our kiss deepened as my world spun. Hands splayed over the small of my back, his fingers dug into my skin as he pulled me tighter against him. We grasped for each other, pressing together as if we couldn’t get close enough. If any space existed between us, it was too much. I longed for the night when nothing would be—no jeans, no cotton, not even air.

We both pulled back at the same time, our lips slowly drifting apart as if it was the last thing on earth either one of us wanted to do. “I’ll see you later,” he whispered before kissing the top of my head.

“I’m tempted to ask you to stay.” I bit at my bottom lip.

“So ask then.”

“Would you like to stay?” I asked, part of me wondering if this was moving way too fast, and the other part acknowledging just how right it all felt being here again with him.

“I thought you’d never ask.” He smiled before leaning over and picking me up. My feet no longer touched the ground as Dalton held me in his arms. He lifted a foot and nudged the front door shut, then he spun me around to face it so I could double lock it. With a huge grin on his face, he walked us into my bedroom before putting me down gently on top of my bed.

“Are you sure this is okay?” He crawled onto the bed and propped himself over me, his shoulders flexing as they supported his weight.

“It’s not like we haven’t been here before.” I looked up into his eyes as I memorized the way his looked in this moment, counting the brown flecks in each one before moving to the scruff that lined his jaw.

“You were my first.” He said it like it was new information, but we had confessed that to each other already. It was part of the reason why I’d decided to go all the way with Dalton back in high school.

We were both virgins, both seniors, and even though he wasn’t officially my boyfriend, I loved him and I trusted him. A small, misguided part of me probably believed that having sex with Dalton would change things between us for the better. That after we did it, he’d announce to the world that I was his and he was mine. Instead, he’d asked that bitch Carla Benten to prom and ruined everything.

“I know. I was there, remember?”

“I’m sure our first time wasn’t great for you, but I don’t even know how to ruin sex for a teenage boy.” He smirked before kissing my cheek.

“By not having any,” I said with a small smile.

“Was our first time horrible? I remember feeling rushed and nervous.”

I grimaced. “I mostly remember being terrified that my mom might come home from work on her lunch break and find us alone inside the house. Every noise I heard made me want to push you off the bed. And it hurt.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea what I was doing back then. I’m much better now,” he said with a cocky grin before propping himself up on his elbows.

I let out a little huff. “You should let me be the one to tell you you’re better now.”

“You’re not going to be able to speak by the time I’m done with you.” He lowered himself onto me as his lips pressed against my neck, his prickly chin a stark contrast to the softness of his mouth. I rolled my head to the side, allowing him access as his fingers lightly brushed my hair out of his way. His tongue licked at my flesh as he moved slowly up the length of my neck toward my ear.