ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟛 #3
I slowly turned toward him. "You built it."
He stares at me in confusion before it finally clicks to his brain.
"Right. Forgot about that."
I couldn't help but laugh.
"I missed your laugh." He says suddenly.
The smile slowly faded from my face.
He looked away almost immediately, realizing what he'd said.
"I just mean-"
His voice softened. "You used to laugh a lot."
Well, Cameron, that was back way back when. Neither of us spoke for a moment.
Then I cleared my throat. "The cabinet."
"Right."
He pointed toward the far wall. "I definitely knew where that was."
"Odf course you did! Otherwise, why else would you be hunched over those bins?"
We crossed the basement together, and sure enough, tucked beneath the stairs sat a gray metal cabinet.
I opened it, and inside were three flashlights. Exactly where they'd always been. There were two normal ones, and a smaller one. One made specifically for a special someone.
I handed him one flashlight, and kept another for myself. The third stayed in the cabinet.
"There," I shut the door, "Crisis averted."
Instead of heading upstairs, Cameron wandered toward another stack of boxes.
"What now?" I sigh.
"I saw something."
"You always 'seeing somethin'.'"
He ignored me. A minute later he crouched beside a dusty storage tote. His face lit up.
"No way."
"What?"
He held up a faded cardboard box.
Inside were board games- Monopoly, Scrabble, Uno, Connect Four, and a tiny blue deck of cards.
He grinned. "Oh, absolutely."
I looked over his shoulder. "Go Fish?"
"Go Fish."
"We're adults, Cam, not seven."
"You're only saying that because you know you'll lose."
The lawyer in me activated when he said that.
"Bring it on, gameboy."
Five minutes later we were sitting cross-legged on the basement floor with two flashlights propped against storage bins, their beams illuminating the cards between us.
Cameron shuffled dramatically.
"Prepare to lose."
I accepted my cards. "We'll see."
"Do you have any queens?"
"...Go fish." I break out into a grin.
"You're smiling."
"I can't smile?"
"You don't smile."
"I do when I'm winning."
He narrowed his eyes. "You've played this before."
"When I was little."
"How little?"
"My cousins took games very seriously. There's a reason I was never invited to game night."
"I can tell."
Another ten minutes passed by.
"This game is rigged."
"Oh, suck it up."
By the fourth round he'd lost every single game. He dramatically dropped his cards onto the floor.
"I quit."
"You can't quit! C'mon, we were just having fun." I giggle.
"I just did."
"That's against the rules."
"Are there rules?"
"There are now." I smirk, as he got up.
"You made those up."
I folded my arms proudly. "I believe that's five to zero."
"I've never seen anyone become this competitive over Go Fish."
"I'm excellent at many things."
"You are."
He looked at me for another second. "Including smiling."
I looked away before he could see mine growing again. It was insane how much I had forgotten this man made me smile.
He reached behind another box. "What's this?"
A dusty green bottle emerged. He wiped the label with his sleeve. I watched as His eyebrows shot up.
"Champagne?" I leaned over. "where did that come from?"
"No idea." He turned the bottle over.
I lean in closer. "I think it's been down here for years."
"It should still be fine."
"You sure?"
"Want to find out?"
Cameron disappeared behind another stack of boxes. A second later, he reappeared holding two dusty champagne flutes.
He placed the glasses between us before setting the bottle on the concrete floor.
The foil practically disintegrated in his hands. "That's probably a good sign."
"No, Cam, it's not.."
He twisted the cork slowly. The cork shot across the basement. We both watched it disappear into the darkness
"We'll find that eventually," Cameron said.
"I doubt that."
He poured us each a small glass.
The champagne fizzed softly.
I picked mine up. He raised his glass.
"To going out together."
I lifted an eyebrow. "That's what we're celebrating?"
"Pretty nice thing to celebrate, right?"
Our glasses clinked.
The champagne was crisp, and mildly sweet. Much better than I'd expected.
We settled back against the couch we'd dragged into the middle of the basement years ago. The flashlights rested beside us, casting soft circles of light across the ceiling while the storm rumbled overhead.
I smiled into my glass.
The storm was beginning to move.
"I forgot how loud rain sounds when there's no electricity," I murmured.
"It's kind of nice."
"Yeah."
For a little while we simply listened. Cameron leaned his head back against the couch.
"You know what this reminds me of?"
"What?"
"When we first bought this place."
I laughed softly. "It leaked everywhere."
Despite how beautiful the mansion looked, it still came with its problems.
"The realtor forgot to mention that." I say.
"He also forgot to mention the squirrels."
"Oh gosh, not the squirrels!" I laugh.
Cameron looks over at me before sighing. "Geez Dixie, you don't know how much I missed your laugh."
The way he said it made my chest tighten. To save myself from answering, I reached over and gently nudged his shoulder.
"You're getting sentimental."
"It's the champagne." he groans.
"Haven't you had like, three sips?"
"I'm a lightweight, Dix."
"I've seen you drink far more than this."
"Don't ruin my excuse."
I rolled my eyes before closing them briefly. I can't remember the last time we had been so carefree. Must've been the storm.
All of a sudden, Cam's fingers found my side, and I jerked.
"What the-"
Another poke hit my rib. "Cameron."
I twisted away.
"Don't."
He bit his entire bottom lip, smiling. "I'm not doing anything."
His fingers wiggled.
"Cameron."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
He poked my ribs again, and I squealed. The sound echoed through the basement.
I've never squealed.
His eyes widened.
"I forgot how ticklish you are."
"I'm not!"
"You want to say that again?"
Before I could defend myself, both hands attacked my sides.
"Cameron!" I burst into laughter, trying to shove him away.
He only laughed harder.
"Stop!" I giggle, contorting my boy into all sorts of positions I didn't know where possible.
"I haven't even started!" he says.
"Cameron Royce West!"
"You don't scare me, Dixie Armani West."
"I'm warning you!"
He tickled me again.
I dissolved into helpless laughter, nearly dropping my glass. "You are the worst!"
"You know you love me."
"I don't!"
Another poke under my armpits.
"You absolutely do."
"I absolutely don't!"
He finally stopped, breathing almost as hard as I was. For a moment neither of us moved. We simply looked at one another. Both smiling. I was still laughing from the adrenaline.
I finally got my revenge when I reached over and shoved him. It enough that he lost his balance and flopped sideways onto the rug.
"You pain me, Mrs. West."
"Thats too bad."
I lay my back onto the rug.
The basement fell quiet again, and the storm outside had softened to a steady rain. I hadn't realized how tired I was until I yawned.
"Tired?" Cameron asks softly.
"A little."
He checked his watch. "It's almost one."
"We should probably go upstairs." I sit back up.
He looked toward the dark staircase, then toward the flashlights. "Or.."
"Or?"
"We stay here."
I blinked confused. "Here?"
"We've got blankets in that cabinet." He shrugged.
"We're sleeping on the basement floor?"
"Better to stay down here when there's a storm going on outside."
I laugh through another yawn. "That only applies to tornados."
He gets up, walking towards the cabinet. "I'm a firefighter. Trust me, I would know."
A few minutes later he'd spread two old blankets across the rug.
They weren't especially comfortable, but they worked for sleep. I laid down first, folding one arm beneath my head.
The flashlight rested on its side, filling the room with a soft glow.
Cameron quickly settled beside me.
Rain tapped gently against the tiny basement windows. For several quiet minutes we simply listened, and then another cool draft drifted through the room. I shivered.
Without saying anything, Cameron picked up a spare blanket and draped it over both of us.
"You'll freeze like that," he murmured.
"I'm fine."
"You've said that about fifteen times today."
"It's the truth, I am."
He gave me a look- the same look that always said: You're stubborn.
Cam shifted closer, His arm rested lightly around my shoulders, offering warmth.
I hesitated for only about a second. Then I let myself lean into him. His body was warm. A heartbeat later, his arm tightened just enough to keep the blanket from slipping.
I would say goodnight, but my eyelids fall heavily, sending me off asleep wrapped around Cameron's arm in the midst of rain.