Chapter Thirty Sloane
Chapter Thirty
Sloane
“So, the romance is still going strong, huh?” Lina’s voice floated from behind me before she slid into the chair on my left. A moment later, Gabriel pulled out the seat on my right and dropped into place as the three of us sat down for lunch in the cafeteria.
“What are you talking about?” I mumbled, hiding my face behind the steam of my coffee. I’d already finished my lunch.
“You and Cameron,” Gabriel said with a grin. “Your eyes were throwing sparks from twenty feet away. Anyone who crossed your line of sight probably felt the scorch.”
I let out a noncommittal huff and took another sip of my coffee.
“See?” Lina nudged me. “You can’t stop looking at him!”
Fine. She wasn’t wrong. My eyes kept drifting his way. But in my defense, he was always looking at me, too.
“And now,” Gabriel drawled, “we wait until Cameron wraps it up with that guy.” His grin widened as he tracked Cameron’s every move. “Oh, cue the exit music. Here it comes!”
Sure enough, Cameron finished speaking with the family of a patient, offering a final, reassuring nod. He stood strong and magnetic, impossible to ignore even in the simplest exchanges. All three of us waited, Gabriel and Lina holding their breath in exaggerated, playful suspense as he turned away.
“Okay,” Gabriel began a hushed countdown, his eyes glued to the scene. “One… two… three…”
And there it was.
The exact moment Cameron’s gaze found mine. It was like watching a switch flip. A slow, easy smile touched his lips—a smile meant only for me—and his eyes crinkled at the corners. It was a look that said: There you are. I’ve been looking for you.
My own traitorous heart did a familiar, foolish somersault.
Gabriel clapped his hands together once, a triumphant sound. “Never fails.”
A dreamy, drawn-out sigh escaped Lina, dramatic enough to make me smile. “It’s disgustingly predictable. And adorable.”
Cameron started toward our table, his stride purposeful, his attention now solely on our little group—or more specifically, on me, pinned between my two best friends.
He sat across from me, alone on his side of the table, while the three of us crowded together on the other. His eyes never left mine.
“This feels exactly like when you two first started dating,” Lina said.
I arched a brow at her, and she grinned, knowing what I was asking.
“You don’t see it, but it’s the same. Your eyes keep finding each other.
Every part of you leans in, like you’re pulled by gravity.
And when you’re together, it’s as if the rest of us vanish.
Trust me, I’ve been through it enough to know that if I got up and left right now, you wouldn’t even notice. ”
Before I could respond, Caleb slid into the chair beside his brother, chewing on half a sandwich. “Notice what?”
“How we were all invisible back when Cam and Sloane first got together,” Lina explained.
“Oh, right,” Caleb said, nodding mid-bite. “Happened all the time.”
And still, Cameron and I hadn’t looked away from each other. The corner of his mouth curled, and I felt the same tug at mine.
“I don’t think they’re even listening to us,” Gabriel mumbled at my side.
“We heard you,” Cameron said with a low chuckle. He flicked a playful glance at Gabriel before turning right back to me.
“What did I say?” Caleb asked, whipping his head toward his brother.
“Something about it happening all the time,” Cameron replied, still not breaking our stare.
“And what was that?” Caleb pressed, clearly testing Cameron.
Cameron still didn’t look away from me, his eyes quietly pleading for rescue. It was obvious he hadn’t been listening. I laughed under my breath and bailed him out. “That we ignored you just as much when Cam and I first started dating.”
“That’s right,” Caleb said. “Aaand apparently, I’m talking to myself.”
“The sexual tension is thick in here,” Lina said.
“It’s scorching,” Gabriel added.
And then the table went quiet, all of them watching us with amusement like they were waiting for something to happen.
Finally, Gabriel leaned in, his voice pitched just enough to sound like a secret but still audible to everyone.
“Our male locker room’s closed for thirty minutes to an hour for maintenance.
Broken exhaust fan, they said. Craig says he’s running out to buy parts, so… ”
My eyes flew wide, but before I could react, Gabriel was already grinning at Cameron. Then, in a whisper-shout, he urged, “Go!”
And to my shock, Cameron pushed back his chair and stood.
“You can’t be serious,” I blurted, staring at him in disbelief.
He only laughed, jogging around the table to catch my hand. Before I could protest, he pulled me up, dragging me along as the sound of the others’ laughter followed us.
“My God, Cam, aren’t we too old for this?” I hissed between laughs as we jogged down the hall.
He ignored me, only asking, “How much time do you have?”
“Same as you. Lunch break’s over in twenty minutes.”
“Plenty,” he said, picking up the pace and tugging me faster.
I couldn’t help but laugh again.
We reached the locker room in no time. Standing in front of the Maintenance in Progress sign, Cameron muttered, “If this is locked, I’m asking Caroline if we can use her private bathroom.”
I gasped, staring at him as he began to push. “You wouldn’t dare.”
But the door gave way. “Come on,” he said, tugging me inside.
The second the door shut behind us, he pulled me hard against him, his mouth crashing onto mine.
“Cam,” I breathed between kisses.
“Shhh.” He actually hushed me.
He kissed me with a fervor that stole the air from my lungs, nothing like the soft, lingering way he had made love to me in our bed this morning.
This was rough, frantic, a hunger that clawed straight through his control.
His mouth crashed against mine, devouring, claiming, like he couldn’t get enough of me, like he would die if he didn’t have me right now.
“Let’s move to the back,” he said, breathless, taking my hand. We slipped behind a row of lockers, pressing ourselves into the shadows.
The moment we were hidden, his mouth was on mine again, fierce and demanding, and I melted into him, every nerve screaming for more.
His hand shoved beneath my shirt, greedy, urgent, finding my breast and filling his palm with it. He squeezed hard, thumb dragging over the tight bud until I moaned into his mouth. He swallowed the sound like it was his, groaning deep in his chest, the vibration rumbling against my lips.
“Fuck, Sloane,” he rasped, his breath hot and broken as he tore his mouth from mine only long enough to kiss down my jaw, biting at the skin of my throat. “I’m so hard right now.”
His teeth scraped me, his tongue soothed me, each kiss rougher, wetter, hungrier. His free hand gripped my hip, dragging me flush against his body, and I felt the hard, demanding proof of how badly he wanted me.
Every nerve in my body lit up, heat flooding me so fast it left me trembling.
I arched into his touch, desperate, aching for all of him.
Maybe it was the risk of being caught in the locker room, perhaps it was the way he looked at me, flushed and beautiful and utterly mine.
Whatever it was, it set me on fire. I had never been this hungry, this reckless, and I couldn’t hold myself back another second.
I turned away from him, facing the wall, and instantly, he pressed against me, his hardness pressing relentlessly, each movement rough and maddening, sending fire through me.
He yanked my pants down, the rubber waistband stretching in his grip. I could hear him fumbling with his own pants when suddenly, the door creaked open.
Craig had returned.
“Fuck,” Cameron cursed, yanking my pants back up.
I pressed my hand to my mouth to stifle a giggle, glancing up at him. He was grinning too. “We’ll finish this at home,” he murmured. He hesitated, then corrected himself, “At your place, I mean.” Another pause hit us as heavy footsteps drew closer. “Come on. Quick. This way.”
We weaved between the lockers, staying low and careful. Ahead, Craig strode toward the exhaust, utterly unaware of us sneaking behind him. Beanie on his head, earbuds likely stuffed in his ears, probably lost in one of his usual horror story podcasts.
When we reached the door, I held my breath, heart hammering as Cameron pushed it open. We slipped outside, scanning quickly to see if anyone had noticed, but in this part of the hospital, the hallway was mostly empty. At this hour, most people were at lunch, and no one paid us any attention.
“That was fun,” Cameron said, a sly grin tugging at his lips.
I laughed, unable to stop. “We’re too old for this!”
He chuckled, nodding. “Definitely not stealthy enough.”
“We did this a few times back then, remember?” he murmured, his voice soft as he pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me. “I could never get enough of you. Even after all these years, that hasn’t changed.”
“I remember,” I whispered, letting the memories wash over me. “Those were our good moments.”
“The best,” he said, a small smile tugging at his lips.
“We can do it again,” I suggested.
He grinned, teasing. “Might have to break the exhaust to get the locker empty again.”
“Or perhaps we don’t need to,” I said, pressing closer. “We can do it anytime at home.” I paused, searching his eyes. “Our home.”
His gaze held mine, as if looking for reassurance, for confirmation.
“Come back home, Cameron.” I pressed myself to him, tiptoed, and kissed him softly. “It’s time.”
I stood quietly in the kitchen, watching Cameron and Harper on the living room floor.
Plastic cups were lined up as pins, and Harper rolled a soft ball toward them.
It veered off to the side until Cameron, with a dramatic gasp, leaned down and gave it a gentle push with his hand, sending it straight into the cups.
Two toppled over, and Harper’s laughter rang out, bright and unrestrained.