Chapter 07 BELLA
Cam made me feel alive. For the first time in… I didn’t even know how long. With my ex-boyfriend, everything grew stagnant fairly quickly. To be fair, he was never very lively to begin with, aside from when he would go out and party. Even then, he was mostly an obnoxious drunk.
With Cam, I could tell that her energy was genuine. It flowed through her with each step we took toward the pond. It vibrated outside of her physical body when she skipped, when she held my hand—even when she simply smiled or flashed her eyes at me. I wasn’t certain what people meant when they said they could see people’s auras. I wasn’t sure if that was just some fake thing some people convinced themselves was real or not. But as we stopped in front of the pond and Cam squeezed my hand, I decided that if auras were real, hers would have to be neon yellow or a vibrant shade of orange.
“I had fun rolling with you,“
Cam said with a mischievous grin.
I wanted to dance. My bones were jittery and my muscles ached with a newfound excitement I hoped wouldn’t fade anytime soon. “I had fun rolling with you, too.”
Sadie stood a few feet away from us. She looked up at the sky, where the sun had fallen deeper toward the rolling hills. “This is perfect,“
she said. Sadie messed with several of the buttons on her camera, and we stayed quiet, waiting for our next set of instructions.
“So, where are you from?“
Bella asked softly as we waited.
“Originally, I’m from St. Augustine,“
I said. “But I lost my teaching job there, so I moved to Monticello a few months ago. What about you?”
“Wow. That’s a big change,“
Cam said with wide eyes. “I was born and raised in Tallahassee. I left for college—I went to USF. Then, I moved back home. I missed my family too much.”
I was about to reply when Sadie announced she was ready to finish up the photoshoot. “Okay! So, we’re going to do the majority of the photos here at the pond, and then I’ll take some more on our walk back to the mansion.”
“What do you want us to do?” I asked.
Sadie laughed. “Have fun! Nothing is off-limits, so long as it’s consensual. I mean, keep it PG-13 or whatever, but…“
She waved a hand in the air. “You guys know what I mean. Just act like I’m not here. Talk and get to know each other. The only thing I ask is for you guys to slowly make your way over there.“
Sadie pointed to a small gazebo on the other side of the pond. “I want to get some shots in the gazebo.”
“Oh, that’s cute!“
Cam remarked. Then, she turned her full attention to me. “How about we start off with a hug?”
My chest exploded with warmth, like I was suddenly sitting in front of a roaring campfire. “Yes.”
Cam’s arms circled around my waist as she pulled me into her. I was a little taller than she was, which made our bodies mesh together perfectly, like two puzzle pieces. I held onto her tightly after wrapping my arms around her, and then tucked my chin down into the crook of her neck.
Eventually, we broke apart. I noticed that our surroundings seemed a bit darker, so I lifted my face up to the sky and saw several large clouds passing above. Unfortunately, they looked like they promised rain in the near future.
“Shit. We may just have to speed this up if rain is coming,“
Sadie called out.
Cam shrugged. “I’m cool with rain!”
“Great! Let me just put on my rain cover real quick, just in case. You guys just keep hangin’ out!”
Cam quirked a brow at me. “Are you okay with getting a little wet?”
I snorted. “I am a Florida girl, after all.”
We made a little small talk as Sadie got the cover on her camera and lens. I found out that Cam worked at the main library branch in Tallahassee, and that she got to work with her best friend, which I thought was really awesome. I told her about my work as a teacher, and about my passion for working with middle schoolers with special needs.
“Okay, continuing on with the photos!“
Sadie said after a couple of minutes.
“Let’s walk hand in hand toward the gazebo?“
I asked Cam.
She nodded. For once, I reached for her hand instead of the other way around. We began walking with Sadie trailing behind us. After a minute or so, I no longer registered the clicks of the camera. Despite the clouds up above us, it was still a beautiful evening. A little bit of sun still leaked through the trees, casting the park in a beautiful pinkish-orange hue.
“Can I put my hand in your back pocket?“
Cam asked.
“Aw, that’d be cute!“
The next thing I knew, Cam’s right hand fell away from my grip, slid behind me, over the small of my back, and then found its way into my back pocket. Fiery heat erupted wherever her hand touched, even through my clothes, and I couldn’t help but realize that I never, ever felt that kind of chemistry with any of my exes. “You just wanted to get a feel of my tiny ass, didn’t you?” I joked.
Cam turned her face to me and stuck out her tongue. “Are you saying there’s something wrong with having a small ass? Don’t talk about your booty like that. She might get her feelings hurt.”
A giggle bubbled up and escaped my throat. Cam beamed at me as we continued our walk. Sadie eventually moved from behind us to walking backwards in front of us. As we grew closer to the gazebo, I started feeling a little bold.
“I think you’re stunning,“
I told Cam.
She stopped in her steps and put a hand over her heart. Her other hand slipped out of my back pocket. My pulse skyrocketed as she moved her body to face my own and cupped my face in her hands. Those mesmerizing eyes of hers bore into my own, and my whole body vibrated in response.
“I’d like to kiss you now,” I said.
“And here I was thinking you’d wait for me to make the first move.”
I shook my head. “You make me bolder than I usually am.”
“So, be bold,“
she whispered with anticipation.
I stepped into her and placed one hand on her hip and the other lightly on her neck. Heart pounding, body restless with the good kind of nerves, I decided not to think about it. I decided to just do it. I moved my head to the side a little for the right angle, then fully bridged the gap between us and brushed my lips against hers, and—total fucking fireworks. Her lips pressed against my own eagerly and I didn’t fail to notice the contented sigh that escaped from her mouth as we collided.
I was a little dizzy and felt like I was floating in the air by the time we broke apart. I could still feel where her lips had been. I licked my mouth to get another taste of her, and wondered what her tongue would feel like on mine; how it would feel to do this when we were alone. Maybe I’d find out after the photoshoot was over.
I really fucking hoped so.