8. Cameron

eight

Cameron

My hand gently wraps around Talia’s tiny wrist, stopping her from running out on me.

I can’t let her leave without explaining. There’s no way I’d be able to sleep knowing I was the one who upset her. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong.”

Her pulse races beneath my fingertips, fluttering like a hummingbird. She freezes, giving me hope she won’t walk away.

“Please don’t go.” I’m close to begging because that’s how badly I want her to stay. To get to know her. It’s a terrible idea, but one I’m going to follow through with anyway. It drove me insane not to see her the last couple of days. I can’t stop thinking about her.

“Why should I stay?” Her question is a whisper, so soft I almost miss it.

Yeah, asshole. Why should she stay?

I go with the only truth that matters. “ Because I want you to.”

With a gentle squeeze of her wrist, I release her, letting her decide what she wants. I won’t push her. If she wants this as much as I do, then she needs to choose to stay on her own.

I haven’t seen her since the night of our kiss, and I weirdly missed her. It’s fucking crazy, but I did. When she didn’t show up, I panicked a little. I had to remind myself that it was for the best.

Tentatively, Talia turns to face me, arms crossed over her chest and lips pursed tight. Talia’s wet body shines in the moon’s light. Involuntarily, my eyes zero in on her mouth, and I’m reminded of how she tasted when I kissed her.

“I won’t stay here and listen to you bash my brother,” she says, bringing my attention back to what’s important—getting her to stay.

“I’m pretty sure you know I’ve never done that, and I don’t intend to start now.”

“Just because you’ve said nothing publicly, doesn’t mean you haven’t done it behind his back.”

I fight a smile. Talia is a smart woman, and she definitely did her research. Pride surges through me, not only at her investigation but at my ability to keep my mouth shut.

In public.

Because she’s not wrong. In private, my family has heard me rant and rave about every vile word her brother has said about me. So many times, I wanted to say something but didn’t.

Instead, I followed my dad’s advice and played off Romero’s comments as a simple rivalry between our two teams. If I hadn’t kept my opinions to myself over the years, there’s no way Talia would have shown up tonight.

I need to send my dad a special thank you when I get home.

“You’re right. I have. But I don’t think my family counts,” I admit.

I bet she has gotten an earful at home too.

“He’s a good man, Cam.” Her steel-gray eyes bore into mine, imploring me to believe her.

“I’m not saying he isn’t.”

“He is. I know him better than he knows himself.”

I don’t doubt she knows her brother, but everyone has their secrets—stuff they don’t share with their families. Shit, I have things I don’t tell my family. And Nico is no exemption. I doubt he’s regaled her with stories of his time in college, but it’s not my job or business to point that out.

Not wanting to intimidate her—or touch her—I sink to my knees in front of her, bringing us eye to eye. She’s so tiny that I could wrap my entire body around her, hiding her away from the world.

Fuck, I like that, way more than I should.

“I was just shocked. I know very little about your brother. Please believe me,” I say honestly.

I don’t know Romero personally. The little I know leads me to believe he’s a complete dick, but in no way do I want to taint the view she has of her brother, even if the guy doesn’t deserve her loyalty. She should keep him on the pedestal she put him on. Based on the way she spoke about him, he clearly loves his family, especially his sister. That, I can respect.

“I want to believe you.” She chews on her bottom lip. The air between us grows taut as her brain works out what she wants to say. “I want to get to know you, even though I know it’s risky.”

Whatever she asks for, I will probably give her. Unless it’s staying away. I don’t know if I can do that. That’s a problem for another day. I just have to hope that’s not the case.

“You’re in charge. I know this … situation we are in isn’t ideal.”

“No, it’s not.” She steps away from me, and my stomach sinks.

Fuck, she’s going to leave. The organ in my chest stalls, and panic creeps in until she sits down across from me.

My heart restarts. Recovering as quickly as I can, I sit across from her. She’s still thinking, chewing on the delicious lip of hers.

“I’m sensing there’s a but coming.”

She smiles. It’s weak at best. “There’s a big but coming.”

“It’s okay. I like big butts.” My joke lands, and Talia’s smile widens. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes at me.

There’s the girl I remember from the bar.

“Stop it.”

“Fine. I’m serious. What’s your but?”

“But I think we should stop.”

“Stop what?” I play stupid.

“Stop this.” She motions between us with her finger. “Stop whatever this is from starting.”

No . Is my instant thought, but I keep my lips sealed .

‘Think first, react later,’ Dad’s voice rings in my head. He taught me restraint and dedication will help me achieve my goals as long as I think smarter. Right now, my goal is to get to know Talia.

I take a deep breath and nod like I’m going along with what she’s saying. She’s not wrong. Whatever this is between us is all kinds of fucked up. But I haven’t had a spark with a woman in a very long time, and something in my gut tells me to keep going. Keep talking to her, seeing her, and being near her.

“I get it. Nico is my sworn enemy and therefore, by association, I’m persona non grata in his book. But what about yours? Because as much as I don’t disagree with you, I also don’t want to stop getting to know you.” See if there is something more between us.

Being with Talia, even in a friendly way, is seriously so bad it’s almost too good to pass up. Like an ice cream sundae with all the toppings. About halfway, you know you should listen to your stomach and stop, but you can’t because it’s sitting there looking delicious and tastes so damn good.

My only hope is I don’t get a stomachache if I eat her.

Fuck, I shouldn’t have thought about eating her because now I can’t stop thinking about going down on Talia’s sweet pussy. I bet she tastes sweet, like an ice cream sundae. Dirty visions of us flood my brain and send my cock saluting.

“Why are you doing this to me?” She groans, covering her face with her hands.

Desperately needing to touch her and ease her fears without scaring her away, I slide my foot out and graze the side of hers under the water. Talia freezes, unsure what to do.

“I could ask you the same question.”

My admission eases the conflict she’s struggling with because she relaxes and glides her foot against mine. Waves of energy slide up my leg and shoot straight to my dick as her soft skin brushes mine. Fuck, I’m pathetic, playing footsie like a teenager with a crush.

“Let’s just keep getting to know each other. How does that sound? ”

“I’d like that. I have another small but first.”

“Shoot me with it.”

“If I’m going to go behind my brother’s back to hang out with you, can we maybe not talk about him?”

My chest warms at the innocence in her question.

“Nothing would make me happier.” I can’t help but return the smile she gives me. I’m like the cat that caught the canary. Because I did. I caught her, and this beautiful pixie of a woman wants to stay and get to know me. “Tell me more about your mom.”

“Really?”

“Hell yeah. My mom is the fucking best. She taught third grade until a couple of years ago. She’s retired now, and I’m pretty sure she and my dad are going to move closer to my older brother and his family.”

“That must be weird for you.”

“Are you kidding? I’d move to Oregon to be closer to my niece and nephew too. It’s nice up there. You ever been?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve never really traveled anywhere.”

“Not even a family vacation?”

“Nope.” She pops the P. With the way she’s smiling, I know she hasn’t missed out on anything. Her life is full. “Can’t really travel when your mom and aunt own and operate an Italian restaurant.”

“Oh wow. That’s pretty cool. Think your mom and aunt would let me sit down for a meal?”

“My mom would serve you, but I don’t know about Zia Rose. She’s pretty savage.”

I bark a laugh at her honesty. It’s nice being around a woman who’s genuine. “So, I should expect spit-ghetti?”

“That’s a good one.” She laughs, her shoulders shaking, making the steaming hot water lap and lick at the tops of her breasts. “No spit-ghetti. Pinky promise. Besides, my cousin Sofia is the chef now, and she wouldn’t let anything less than perfect leave her kitchen. ”

“I can respect that. It’s the same for me when I’m on the mound. If I’m off even for a second, I signal for my coach to take me off.”

Her eyes widen in shock at my admission. “Whoa, really? You do that?”

Not a lot of guys would, but I do. Baseball might be one of the most important parts of my life, but it’s not my whole life. I still have my family and a future after baseball. You can’t play the game forever.

“Of course. I could hurt myself and, worse yet, I could let my team down by being too proud to get help. Something like that could cost us the opportunity to win the World Series.”

“That’s incredibly unselfish of you, Cam.”

“Don’t act so surprised. You’re hurting my feelings.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just, I—”

“Talia, I’m fucking with you. There’s more to me than what you heard.”

“You’re right.” She giggles, and the sound shoots me in the chest and settles in deep.

What is she doing to me?

We go back and forth, asking and answering questions. Nothing serious, mostly surface stuff like our favorite foods, favorite color, and most embarrassing moment.

She gets a kick out of my story about forcing Mason to drink the hangover concoction that almost made him vomit. Mason is probably going to kill me for that, but the laugh I got out of Talia was worth it. I’d take every bit of punishment my brother can come up with to hear that sound again.

The roar of Romero’s fancy-ass sports car pulling into the driveway, effectively ends our night.

Talia looks panicked, so I help her out by climbing out of the jacuzzi. Steam billows off my body, drawing her eyes to my chest. Her panic quickly morphs into interest, but as much as I like her eyes on me, I need to get out of here. For her sake. I can handle her brother, but I’d rather know where I stand with Talia before I do .

“Will I see you tomorrow night?”

“I-I think so.” She nods, dragging her gaze from my body to my face.

“Until tomorrow. Good night, itty bitty.” I grab my towel off the table near her. Unable to stop myself from touching her one last time, I run my fingers over her exposed shoulder and watch as her skin pebbles at my touch.

The way her body reacts… Fuck.

I speed off towards my room as quickly as possible. I need a freezing-cold shower before bed.

“See you tomorrow, Cameron,” she whispers to my back.

Fuck the cold shower.

I’m going to go jerk off, over and over, to visions of Talia in that little green bikini and the sound of her soft voice whispering my name.

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