16. Kameron
16
KAMERON
I have no clue what Davidson is talking about, I haven’t been listening to him since I walked back over here.
My eyes are instead focused on Kris, leaning against the bar as he watches his brother and Ruby dance to Perfect by Ed Sheeran. The two are wrapped up in each other, singing the words with smiles on their faces, but Kris… he looks like he’s in pain.
“Kameron.”
Hearing my name pulls my attention back to Davidson. He looks down at me with a smile.
“I’m sorry, what?” I laugh. “It’s hard to hear over the music.” I point to my ear, lying right through my teeth. Hearing wasn’t the issue at all, it was me being focused on Kris that made me deaf.
Davidson’s smile grows larger as he leans in, I freeze for a second, worried he’s going to try to kiss me, but he puts his lips against my ear. “I asked if you wanted to dance.”
He slowly pulls back, looking me in the eyes and tilts his head toward the dance floor. My eyes follow the path before moving to Kris again. This time his back is to all of us, but I can still see the muscles through his thin shirt, and they’re tense.
Everything in me is telling me to go to him, to comfort him and ask what’s wrong, and demand that he tell me what’s going on. But then, I remember our past, and how he refuses to open up. How I’m the one that always gets burnt in the end by trying to pry into his life.
So instead, I pull my eyes from Kris and force them back on Davidson.
“Sure.” I nod, and let him lead me to the floor.
Once we reach the center next to Ruby and Kaleb, he spins me before pulling me in close to him. He’s been drinking a lot longer than I have tonight, and the way he sways against me, putting a little too much of his weight on me tells me just how far behind I am tonight.
He croons the lyrics, singing extremely off key but not giving a damn that everyone around us is practically holding their ears. Finally, the song changes and he steps away from me as Take On Me by A-Ha starts blaring through the speakers.
I haven’t heard this song since the early days of college, whenever I used to go to the baseball house and… I freeze.
Standing on the dance floor I freeze when my memory takes me right back to those days with Kris, in the baseball house at the parties they used to throw.
They were notorious for their music playlist. Everything from the golden oldies to the newest pop was played.
It’s the only reason I know every single word of Elvira.
Davidson looks around, confused why everyone is starting to jump around to the beat of the song as the intensity picks up. He’s clearly not a fan of eighties music.
“Excuse me,” a deep voice says from behind me, and I really have to focus on biting back my smile as I turn to face him. “Dance with me?” he asks.
I wait a second, staring into his eyes, and completely forgetting about Davidson behind me. The chorus hits and I sing the opening line to him as my response, making him smile.
My heart could pound right out of my chest at the pure happiness on his face right now, despite being ready to break down minutes ago.
We stand in the middle of the dance floor, doing the same goofy dance moves that we did years ago as everyone else joins in.
Well, everyone except for Davidson, I have no idea where he disappeared to.
The song eventually changes. Kris and I stand in our spots, laughing from our antics and the memories of the song as we attempt to catch our breath. We’ve only had a couple drinks apiece so far, at least for me.
“Let’s have another drink.” He smiles, eyes glossy as he stares down at me.
“Okay.” It’s more of a whisper than anything.
Kris holds his hand out to me, and I think about taking it and following him to the bar. But the feisty side of me won’t allow it, a truce can’t be this easy between us, not with our past.
Although tonight, I can let up a little and enjoy this night out for his sake.
Whatever was going through his head earlier was clearly difficult for him.
His hand is still extended between us when my lips curve slightly. I swat his hand away, and push past him heading toward the bar.
“No need for an escort, Hart.” I don’t look behind me, but even over the intro of the next song I can hear his laughter and relax a little, knowing that I’ve taken whatever foul mood appeared earlier away from him.
I reach the bar, waving at one of the bartenders to get their attention when Kris slides into the open spot beside me. He’s sitting on the bar stool, legs open facing me and I just happen to be right between them with the way he’s positioned himself.
The bartender reaches us, and I look over at Kris, smirking.
“Two shots, please.”
The guy nods. “What’s your poison?” he asks, looking between the two of us.
Kris stares at me, and I wait. I’ll let him choose what he wants to drink tonight.
“Tequila,” he tells the man, never taking his eyes off of me.
The intensity in his stare nearly makes me shiver, and I discreetly squeeze my legs to get rid of the ache forming from just his eyes being on me.
The bartender says something but I can’t hear anything when Kris is looking at me like this.
This is going to be a disaster. Pure fire, both the good kind and the bad.
And for some damn reason, I don’t care to stop it right now.
Our shots are poured and slid across the bar to us.
“Hey, I want in on this shot action.” Kaleb claps a hand on Kris’ shoulder, breaking our connection. “Two for us as well.”
Ruby steps beside me, smiling and taking her freshly poured shot as we all four hold them between us.
Kaleb looks at his fiance, smiles and says, “To love.”
My eyes immediately move to Kris, and my mouth parts slightly at the sight of him looking at me already. I smile, licking the salt from my hand, tilting the glass to my lips before sitting it down and grabbing a lime and sucking the juice from it.
“God, I remember why I fucking hate tequila,” Kaleb sputters, making us all laugh.
“Nah,” his brother says, “I don’t think I could ever hate tequila.”
I blush, the underlying meaning of his words isn’t lost on me. Maybe it’s the alcohol making me feel all fuzzy, but I could never hate tequila either.
“Ugh, those ball pants should be illegal.” Cora laughs next to me as I push the bottom portion of my chair down and sit.
The sun is beating down on us since we’re just behind home plate, no coverage to protect us. The stands are starting to fill up, everyone in this city loves their baseball team. College sports are a whole different level, one I’ve tried to avoid getting tangled up in. I’m not big on crowds, or organized sports since I’m focused on school.
“Look,” she points and I follow her hand, “there’s Kris Hart. I’ve heard he has what it takes to go pro.”
She rattles on about his stats and how he’s supposedly the best in the state at whatever position he plays, but I tune her out because his eyes are locked on me. He says something to the guy beside him, and they turn heading back into the dugout or club house, whatever the thing is called.
I know who Kris Hart is though. He’s one of the hottest players on campus, a legit star on the diamond, but he's also the campus whore. One I need to stay far, far away from.
Cora begged me to go to the baseball game, and I fought her tooth and nail until finally giving in.
And I’m glad I did.
We still have thirty minutes until the game starts, why we needed to be here so early is beyond me. I’m listening to Cora talk, telling me about her classes and what she plans on doing next semester when she freezes, her eyes going wide. I frown, confused by her sudden silence, because Cora is never lost for words.
I feel the empty seat next to me flip down, and even though I haven’t looked, I can tell whoever is occupying the seat is huge. My head slowly turns in their direction, and holy hell. He’s even more gorgeous up close. Gray eyes get lost in mine, as he leans back in the seat, propping one foot on the back of the chair in the row in front of us.
“I’ve not seen you here before,” he tells me.
I look back at Cora, certain he’s speaking to her but she’s preoccupied talking to whoever his friend is.
He chuckles, bringing my attention back to him. “I’m Kris. With a K.”
He extends his hand between us, and I take it. It’d be rude not to, right?
“Kameron.” I pause, trying to force myself not to be weird with this interaction. “With a K.”
His eyes flash, but I’m not sure with what. Surprise? Desire? I have no clue, I’m so out of my element right now.
“You staying for the entire game?” he asks, and I nod. “Good, wait for me after? There’s a party at the baseball house tonight.”
“Umm.” I’m not big on parties. I’ve gone, I’ve enjoyed them, but I’m not the most outgoing or fun at parties.
“Please?” He sits up, leaning toward me. “What’s your favorite alcohol?”
“Tequila,” Cora says from beside me. “She loves tequila. Makes her clothes fall off, just like the song.” She winks, and I immediately turn red.
“I think tequila just became my favorite, too.” He winks. “Don’t leave, I’ll come find you after and we can go together.”
“Ok,” I tell him, I can’t find any other words to use right now.
Tequila just became my favorite. His words play over and over in my head. Was he flirting?
“Of course he was flirting, goof. He clearly wants you, that’s why he asked you out tonight,” Cora tells me, and I realize I must have asked that question out loud. “You know, if anyone could get him to straighten up his ways, it’d be you.”
Me? I’m just a boring girl that’s hyper-focused on my education and what the future holds.
I doubt I could turn the campus playboy into a one woman man.
Someone touches my hand, pulling me from the flashback. My eyes focus on Kris in front of me. I’ve somehow taken another step toward him, standing fully between his legs now. He’s talking to his brother and Ruby about something, but I feel the hand he had resting on the bar against my back.
If only Kris was able to be a one woman man, life might look quite different right now.