29. Lizzie
29
LIZZIE
I worked all day in my studio, and now I’m headed over to my parents’ house for dinner to let them know that Cameron and I are seeing each other.
Simple, right? It’ll be that easy.
So why am I so nervous to see their reaction?
I know my parents think highly of Cameron and all that he’s accomplished in life. He’s only ever been a perfect gentleman in front of them, and he does such a great job with his girls that my mom can’t stop gushing about how great of a dad he is.
But will they think he’s a good match for me?
My secret crush wasn’t ever that much of a secret, but a lot has changed since I was a teenager who swooned over her neighbor. He was married and is now divorced and has two kids. He’s also ten years older than me. I know the way my mom behaved when Cameron and the girls were over for dinner, so I know she’s likely to be on board.
Theoretically, at least. When faced with a sure thing, that might change. But while I’m only twenty-four and have never been in a relationship, I hope they can see that this is what I want more than anything and trust me enough to know what I’m getting into, though. They’ve never been judgmental or critical of me in any way and have always supported everything I’ve done, so I’m not sure why I’m worried about this now.
Because Cameron matters to me.
I take a deep breath. We’ve faced the worst part—getting what we want out in the open and admitting we want to be together. Whatever else comes, I’m sure we can take that too.
I walk through the front door, which is always unlocked for me at dinnertime, and I’m immediately hit with the aroma of beef stroganoff. It’s like my mom knew I needed comfort food tonight.
“Hey, Lizzie girl,” my dad yells from the living room, where I can hear the sounds of a baseball game on the TV.
“Hey, Dad.” I keep walking through to the kitchen where my mom is pulling fresh-baked bread out of the oven. “Hey, Mom.”
“Lizzie,” my mom says cheerfully. “I was hoping you’d come over tonight. I was going to drop off leftovers later if you didn’t show.”
I love my mom so much. She’s the absolute best, and I hope to be standing in my kitchen saying these same things to my own grown kids one day. “It smells amazing. You know I could never miss stroganoff night.”
“That reminds me that I need to invite Cam and the girls over for another dinner. With his kitchen being out of commission, I can only imagine all the takeout they’re probably eating.”
The mention of his name alone sets butterflies aflutter in my stomach. I feel like I just need to blurt everything out and rip the Band-Aid off. Get it off my chest and hope for the best reaction from them.
“Speaking of Cam, I wanted to tell you and Dad something.”
“Did that boy finally come to his senses?” my dad asks, walking in from the living room.
“Dad, he’s hardly a boy! Wait, what do you mean, come to his senses ?” I’m suddenly suspicious that maybe Cameron and I haven’t been hiding our feelings for each other as well as I thought we had. Or maybe they saw us outside his house this morning. I didn’t even think about my parents seeing, I was too caught up in the moment.
“Oh, Lizzie,” my mom says and rolls her eyes while slicing the bread into big, hearty slices. “It was only a matter of time until the two of you stopped sneaking around and just started being honest with yourselves and everyone else. It’s been quite obvious, sweetheart, that you two are smitten with each other.”
I’m completely dumbfounded. Here I was nervous that I was going to surprise them, but instead they surprised me.
“So, are you guys okay with Cameron and me being smitten with each other?” I use the same word as my mom because it feels like the most innocent. It seems strange to call myself his girlfriend, and I’m obviously not going to tell them we’re sleeping together.
“He’s a good man, and you’re the best there is, Lizzie. If you’re happy, then your father and I are happy for you.” My mom wraps me in a hug, and I squeeze her back tightly.
Why was I worried about telling them?
My parents have only ever wanted the best for me and for me to be happy. Why did I think this would be any different?
“Thanks, Mom. Love you.” I move to my dad and do the same, and then we all sit down to eat dinner. To my surprise, my parents don’t bombard me with questions about how Cameron and I got close. They act as if they knew this was coming.
Maybe they did.
After stuffing myself, I start walking back to my place and see that I have a text message waiting from Cameron.
Cameron: Looking for someone to lie under the stars with tonight?
Me: Hmmmmm. That depends. Does he have the deepest brown eyes and sexiest body to ever come through Brantley Falls?
Cameron: He does indeed. Man, this guy sounds like a Greek god.
Me: Oh, he is. He’s who they model the statues after. Literal perfection.
Cameron: If you’re not careful, my ego is going to get too big, Lizzie.
Me: Good. Maybe it matches the size of other things.
Cameron: Lizzie…
Me: Lol. Are the girls already asleep?
Cameron: Completely dead to the world. Meet me in five?
Me: Yes.
I run inside, brush my teeth, and double-check my look in the mirror. I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard, but I also don’t want to look like I’m not trying enough. Not that I think he’ll care. Not after this morning.
I grab the blanket and head outside to the big oak tree that has come to mean so much more to me in the past couple of weeks.
Cameron is already leaning against the tree, looking like he just walked off the cover of a magazine—which isn’t hard for him, since he has indeed been on the cover of several. He smiles at me, and I’m instantly wondering how I got this lucky.
And then I decide to quit questioning it and just enjoy it.
Enjoy him .
“Hi,” I squeak out.
“Hey.” He walks up to me and takes the blanket before wrapping his free hand around my neck to draw me toward him for a deep, toe-curling kiss. When he releases me, I sway on my feet, so he wraps his arm around my waist to steady me. “It feels good to know just a kiss from me can do that to you. Unless you’ve been drinking and are a little tipsy?” He laughs.
“Completely sober. It’s all you,” I say, going up on my tiptoes and running my lips along his jaw. His quick intake of breath makes me smile. Knowing I can get this kind of reaction out of him is something else. A girl could get high on this kind of power if she’s not careful.
Cameron backs up and spreads the blanket out so we can both lie down. Maybe it’s autopilot or just me being unsure of myself, but I lie down on my back a foot away from him like on all those nights we shared before.
“What are you doing?” he asks, confused.
“Lying down. Why?”
He pulls me over to him and wraps his arm around my back so my front is flush against his side and chest. “Get over here. I want you as close as possible.”
I run my hand up his chest and take a big inhale of him. I wish I could bottle up the way he smells.
“Do you know how bad I wanted to lie just like this with you on those nights we were out here together?”
“I can imagine, actually.” I reply. “Even though I probably wanted it more. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to come out here alone anymore without you. Like it would be too painful if you weren’t here.”
Cameron kisses the top of my head and rubs his hand up and down my back comfortingly. “Never. You don’t have to worry about that, Lizzie,” he whispers.
We sit in silence for a few minutes, just savoring being wrapped up in each other instead of tiptoeing around our feelings. It seems like so long ago that we were last on this blanket under the stars, talking about everything and anything, but in reality it was just days ago. We’ve gone through so much in such a short amount of time.
“How’d it go telling the girls? Is our relationship over before it even really began?” I go for a light tone, playing my comment off as a joke, but inside I’m genuinely worried about his answer. If Addy and Mackenzie don’t support their dad and me being together, then whatever we have is done. I would never expect Cameron to go against his kids, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I ever caused problems between them.
He laughs, and the knot in my stomach starts to untwist. “Not even close. They acted like they already knew. They’re thrilled by the idea of me and you together. I’m actually pretty sure that they love you more than me.” He squeezes my side, and I can’t help burrowing further into his chest.
“My parents had a similar reaction. I don’t think we were as inconspicuous as we thought we were.”
“Probably not. We were practically eye-fucking each other across the dinner table that night.”
“God, we were, weren’t we?” I smile into his chest. “That seems so long ago.”
“Yeah. If I had just come to my senses then, I could’ve been making a dent on all those fantasies of yours I’ve been starring in for days now.” Cameron pushes me onto my back and holds himself over me, staring into my eyes and biting his lip. “Forcing all those breathy moans you make when I kiss you deep, when my fingers and mouth are on you.” He leans in and sucks along my neck to my ear, making me shiver. “When my cock is balls deep in that tight, sweet pussy of yours.”
I moan loudly and wrap my legs around him, feeling how hard he is through his jeans. “Your mouth, Cameron. God, I can’t handle the stuff that comes out of it.”
“Yes, you can. You can handle everything I give you because you’re my good girl, right?” He moves down from my ear to my lips, where he completely devours my mouth. He only lets me up for air so he can move his mouth further down as his hand skims up my stomach and under my shirt. He slides his fingers under my bra and pinches my nipple, causing me to make that breathy sound he loves so much.
“I’m not feeling like such a good girl right now,” I finally answer when I have enough air in my lungs to speak and reach down, wanting to palm his dick and drive him just as crazy as he does me.
“Fuck, Lizzie.” Cameron abruptly moves away, sitting back on his legs with mine still wrapped around his waist. He runs his hands up my thighs, almost massaging them. “If we don’t stop, baby, I’m going to strip you bare and have sex with you right here on this blanket where anyone could see,” he says, his voice pained. “And I don’t really want anyone to see what’s mine.”
“Well, that’s just not fair.” I pretend to pout. “First, you stop me from giving my first blow job ever, now I’m not allowed to touch you.” He groans, so I know I’m getting to him, and that makes me giddy.
“Fuck me, Lizzie. You have no idea what you do to me. Or how much I want that blow job right now.” Cameron looks tortured before he lies back down and pulls me along.
A long, comfortable silence passes between us as we gaze at the stars. This moment right here, lying next to Cameron, has been one I’ve thought about more than I’d like to admit. It was never sexual, just intimate and loving. Just the two of us sharing a view of the same stars that I’ve made so many wishes on since I was a kid.
How many of those wishes were about Cameron? Way too many. Again, more than I’d like to admit. Never when I made those wishes did I think they’d come true. It still feels unreal to be honest. Like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop and that everything that’s happened in the past three weeks was all my overactive imagination.
“Can I take you out Thursday night? Like, on an actual date. We haven’t done one of those yet.” Cameron asks, breaking the silence and shutting down my negative thoughts. “I’ll take you to Crest Steakhouse, but we’ll actually stay and eat this time.”
“I would love to go out with you Thursday night.” I try to keep the excited giddiness out of my voice as I answer so I don’t seem like a teenage girl going on her first date. “Are the girls coming to my class this week?”
“They wouldn’t miss it. Mackenzie can’t stop talking about it. Her excitement over it has been a relief to see, actually.”
I can sense some unease in his voice, like this is something that’s been keeping him up at night. He’s mentioned before that Mackenzie took the divorce the hardest. Not the divorce per se, but Renee leaving. The missed phone calls and lack of any effort whatsoever from her mom have been hard for her to cope with, and I can only imagine she blames herself for it. Just thinking about it literally sends me into a rage. I will never understand a mother abandoning her kids.
“That’s good. I love watching her raw talent. She really is a natural.”
“God, you’re so fucking sweet. I’m sure you even say that to a kid who can’t make more than a clay ball, don’t you?”
“What? No.” I laugh and nudge him with my shoulder. “Maybe. But I’m serious about Mackenzie.”
“She’s always been artistic. Loves to draw and comes up with the coolest stuff. Hasn’t been doing it much lately, but I’m hoping this gets her back into it.”
It must be so hard to be a single dad to two little girls. And he seems to do it all so effortlessly. Like he was made for it. I doubt he feels that way, though.
“You’re such a great dad, Cameron. Don’t forget that, okay? Whatever Mackenzie is going through, I’m sure it will get better. Just give her time.” I try to reassure him.
“Thanks, Lizzie.” He squeezes me tighter, and we just stay there, looking up at the dark sky.
A little while later, I feel my eyes start to droop. I was up way later than I usually am last night, and I think it’s finally catching up with me. “I’m falling asleep on you, Cameron. I better head home.”
“I’m not opposed to you falling asleep on me. I actually really like that idea.”
“You won’t like it once I leave a giant drool spot on your shirt.” I push up from him, but before I can get myself up, he’s already reaching out to help me. “I’m excited for our date. I haven’t been on many, so forgive me if I’m totally lame.”
“You could never be lame to me, Lizzie.” He leans down for a kiss and then walks me home and gives me one more quick peck.
“Good night,” I say sleepily.
“Good night, baby. Dream about me because I’m for sure going to be dreaming about you.”
Easy. I already dream about Cameron Dylan every night as it is.