Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Cam
Nikki
you forgot to call back!!
Cam
shit. im sorry!
Nikki
i’ll forgive you if you went to lonzo
Eric
Cam saw Lonzo again?
Nikki
she should have. or i’ll be mad that she forgot us for nothing.
Cam
at boot camp. txt u later
For the nth time, my thumb hovered on the notification stating I had unread messages from Alonzo.
A bunch of texts shouldn’t have messed with my head. But it did, and the excitement that swelled within me stressed me out more than the thought of having to return to the function hall where the rest of the applicants were having lunch.
I’d go back in ten minutes when most of them were finished.
For now, I was happy to hang out in my corner of the rooftop.
The silence and solitude were a welcome change after the morning’s activities, which had us hopping blindfolded across the room while trying to pick out our team leader’s voice amongst the people shouting.
How that was relevant to me developing code, I’d never know.
I tapped at my phone, telling myself to go on and read the damn messages. Alonzo was just a guy, and I’d promised myself I would never let one of them hold any kind of power over me. Never again. Even if he was the first guy who made me want more.
Especially because he did.
I shouldn’t have said yes to either of his propositions—not to the one night and not to the remaining two.
He already occupied more than enough of my brain space to begin with.
After last night, I could still feel him inside me.
All over me. My body was deliciously sore, and I found a hickey on the curve of my boob when I showered earlier.
I squeezed my thighs together at the memory of how thoroughly he’d?—
My phone rang in my hand. My breath caught in my throat only to release at the sight of the name on my screen. It was a guy. Just not the one I’d been thinking about.
Clearing my throat, I answered, “Eric.”
“Cam,” he said. “You’re on lunch break, right?”
“Uh huh. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to check how you’re holding up. You saw Lonzo last night?”
I saw him, alright. Every amazing inch of him. “You guys need to chill with this thing,” I muttered, thankful we weren’t on camera.
“So you didn’t hook up with him?”
The answer should have been easy. If it were any other guy, I would have said yes and let that be the end of the conversation. But with Alonzo, it felt wrong. None of the other guys had me wanting more than one encounter. When it came to him …
“Cam?” Eric’s voice brought me back to reality. “You still there?”
“Yep. How’s your work trip? You’ll be back on Friday, right?”
“Productive enough. And yes, I should be back as long as the weather holds up. You didn’t answer my question.”
“We—” I hesitated, torn between being honest to Eric and being respectful to Alonzo. “We did.”
He took a moment to respond. “Are you okay? I told you I still have friends in the city. I can contact them if you need anything.”
“No, no. I’m okay. Things are just complicated.”
“Yeah? I know a thing or two about that.”
“Damn right, you do.”
Clearing his throat, he said, “Speaking of complicated, I actually wanted to talk to you about another topic.”
His tone had me standing straight. “Are you finally doing it?”
“I have a formal event I need to attend next weekend, and I want to ask Nikki to come. As my date.”
“Yes! About time.” I slapped my thigh, wishing I could slap his back instead.
“I don’t know how she’ll take it. Knowing her, she’ll say something about Jo or work, so I was wondering?—”
“I’ll look after Jo and the café, no problem. Milo too, of course.”
He sighed. “Thanks, Cam. It might not even get to that point, but I want to cover my bases.”
“Just be honest with her. You know as well as I do why she’s so careful about relationships, but I think deep down, she knows you’re the right guy for her.”
“I hope so. If not, well, at least you can’t keep bugging me about not trying.”
“That’s fair. Why now, by the way?”
Again, he was silent for a beat. “One of my local counterparts asked me out.”
“Oh.”
“She said she’s always been interested in me, but I didn’t seem available.
When she found out I was single, she figured she’d shoot her shot while she could.
I got to thinking about how I’ve had so many chances with Nikki and I haven’t really taken them.
I don’t want anyone else to beat me to it.
” He paused. “I also thought of you being in Manila. If you were brave enough to go there for the sake of what you wanted, why shouldn’t I be the same? ”
My throat constricted. Ever since I’d gotten to know Eric, I’d looked up to him.
He was smart and successful without being arrogant, and he’d given up a lucrative career to pursue a purposeful path.
I trusted and respected his opinions as much as I did Nikki’s, and it was strange to think he would look to me for… well, anything.
“I’m glad you’re finally going for it,” I told him. “If Nikki mentions it to me, I’ll try my best to convince her to say yes.”
“Don’t. If she does?—”
“When she does,” I corrected firmly.
“When she does, I want it to be of her own will.”
“Okay, then. Good luck popping the question. Let me know what she says, will you?”
“Of course. And Cam? I hope you give Lonzo a real shot too. You deserve to be happy, and I think he could be good for you if you let him.”
I had no response for that.
His short laugh let me know he got me and wouldn’t push. Not today, at least. “Call if you need anything.”
“Will do. Take care there.”
“You too. I’ll see you Saturday.”
I hung up. I should have been thrilled to count down the hours till I was back in Juana, but part of me wondered if I could put off my bus ride for another day, or even a few hours. That way, I wouldn’t have to travel through the night.
Look at me, making excuses to myself. That just confirmed I really was in trouble.
I did what I should have done earlier and opened my messages.
Alonzo
Glad I passed I had a great night, Maya. Sleep well.
Morning! Good luck with your session today. I’ll pick you up at 7:30—can’t wait
I’m choosing to believe you’re busy, not ignoring me. Because I can’t get you off my mind.
His sappiness should have repelled me because he was clearly taking this too seriously. But there was something about how he laid his thoughts out so openly that got to me. I replied:
focus on ur classes. c u later.
And as I headed down to the function hall, all I could think about was what Alonzo had planned for tonight.
Alonzo
“Reyes.”
I snapped to attention, my stomach churning as Professor Santos fixed his unblinking gaze on me. Of course, he had to call on me when my brain was far from the classroom. “Yes, sir.”
“Why don’t you tell us why Sy’s answer is incorrect?”
Swallowing, I racked my brain for a memory of anything he’d said in the past few minutes, but I came up blank. “I’m sorry, sir. Can you repeat the original question?”
His brows slammed together. “Do you think that’s an acceptable request in court?”
“If the intent is to clarify that question to ensure that one is answering correctly, then I believe so. Sir.”
“And is that your intent—to clarify?” he demanded. “Or is it to hear the question again because you weren’t listening the first time around?”
I dug my fingers into my thighs. “The latter, sir,” I said, knowing I couldn’t talk my way out of the hole I dug for myself.
He curled his lip. “If you do not intend to listen in my classroom, then what are you doing here?”
“I’m—”
Giving me his back, he called out, “De Guzman. Care to enlighten Reyes?”
My breath left me in a quiet whoosh. I felt my classmates’ eyes on me, and I couldn’t tell if they pitied me or thought I deserved it.
Miggy knocked his knee against mine, but I didn’t dare look his way.
I kept my attention fixed on Tommy as he not only recited Santos’ question, but also answered it to our professor’s satisfaction.
Damn it. I needed to get my shit together.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. The urge to check if Maya finally replied had my fingers twitching, but I didn’t want to risk Santos noticing.
I forced my mind to tune in to the discussion, taking in the pattern of his questions so I could better prepare for our next class.
As soon as he dismissed us and left the room, I pulled out my phone.
Relief flooded me when I saw the message from Maya telling me to focus and that she’d see me later.
I’d only gotten an hour’s sleep, and the one thing that motivated me to power through the day was the knowledge that I’d see her again tonight.
“Bro, that was a close call,” Miggy was saying.
“Hmm?” I murmured as I texted Maya back.
Alonzo
I’m glad you’re still up for it. You had me worried.
“Lonzo.”
Hitting send, I looked at Miggy. “Sorry. Yeah, I know. I wasn’t sure if he expected me to leave the classroom.”
“At least he didn’t throw you out. What’s up with you? You seem out of it,” he said as we gathered our things and stood.
“I didn’t get much sleep last night,” I said, following him out of the room.
“Stressed about class?”
“Not exactly.” I lowered my voice. “You remember Cam, right?”
“How could I forget? Wait, are there any developments there?”
“She’s here for work.”
He did a double-take. “No shit? When do I get to meet her?”
“That’s not happening anytime soon.”
Throughout our lunch break, Miggy tried to argue his case, but I didn’t budge. Maya had warmed up to me, but she was jittery still. I didn’t want to overwhelm her and potentially drive her away.
Her next message only confirmed my gut instinct.
Maya
i thought abt backing out
Alonzo
But?
Maya
i keep my word. and ur not bad company
Alonzo
Fair enough. Someone told me I’m A+ ;)
Maya
someone ws under the influence
Alonzo
Too many orgasms. I get that.
She left me on read, but I laughed anyway. Then I continued counting down the hours until I could tease her in person.