Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
CAMERON
“ Y ou okay, dude?” Will places a hand on my shoulder, and I aggressively shrug it off, not wanting to be touched by anyone.
“I’m fine,” I say, tight-lipped.
“Guys, I think this was a bad idea.” My head veers to Zoey, who’s attempting to get out of the booth.
Fuck. The last thing I want to do is ruin her night. We were the idiots who asked to come, knowing it was a girl’s night out.
“No, stay.” I motion to the booth. “We came here to have fun, and we’re going to have some fucking fun. I’ll fix this.”
“Yeah, don’t leave Zo. Just because they have some weird shitty history doesn’t mean we can’t have a good time,” Luna says, shooting daggers my way. “You’ll behave for the rest of the night. Right, Cam?”
“Yes, Luna.” As long as Kamila does, too. “Like I said, I'm going to fix it. I’ll be back in a few.” I leave before anyone tries to stop me. This fucking girl. She drives me insane. I know I’ve been a dick, even so she went too far again. I can handle petty, stupid comments, but did she have to mention that damn party?
For the last week, I’ve been ignoring her, trying my best to act indifferent and avoid any more conflict. Unnecessary drama is the last thing I want or need in my life. I thought it would work. Until the drinks I had earlier tonight messed me up more than I thought. I’m not drunk, but to avoid any more intense stare-offs like the one we just had, this will be my last drink for the rest of the night.
I get close enough to the bar to spot Kamila and her friend. Pausing, I down the rest of my jack and coke and cough at the taste of whiskey. This shit is way stronger than it should be.
Kamila is moving her hips slightly to the music and catches the attention of the bartender. In three strides, I’m shoving the person on the left to get in between them and Kamila.
“So, is this how it’s going to be all night?” I voice. She keeps her eyes on the bartender who’s coming our way and ignores me. I take in a deep breath and grind my teeth together, keeping my mouth shut for now.
“Long time no see, Mateo,” she tells the bartender while he makes his way over. His eyes widen when he spots her.
“Kamila. Wow.” Mateo looks like he wants to swallow her whole. My body tenses when I see the obvious sexual desire in his eyes while he gawks. It’s not jealousy I feel, it’s annoyance.
“I barely recognized you,” he finally says. “You look great.”
She leans over the counter, and he looks directly at her tits. Could he be any more fucking obvious?
“Thanks.” She smiles sweetly at him.
This is like the beginning of a bad porno.
He finally manages to bring his eyes back up to her face. “What can I get for you?”
“Let me have an amaretto sour, vodka soda, and a mojito.”
“No problem.”
“Make that two of each, actually,” she says quickly before he turns. Mateo looks back down at her tits.
Alright, that’s enough. I clear my throat.
He looks over before dismissing me. “I’ll be right with you.”
“Actually Mateo , you’ll take my order now, and I wouldn’t look at her tits again since she’s with me tonight, got it?” Kamila whips her head back and narrows her eyes into slits, but mine are still focused on Mateo’s, whose face has gone a little paler.
“Sorry. Didn’t notice. What can I get for you?” he stammers, and I can’t help but grin.
“Water.”
“Coming right up.”
Emma’s gaping over at me. She drags her pointer finger across her neck as to say: she’s really going to kill you now .
That’s exactly what I’m expecting, I retaliate silently.
“What the hell was that?!” Kamila yells loud enough to hear her clearly over the music. “I had the perfect opportunity to take a cute bartender home tonight, and you ruined it by marking your territory like a dog.”
I bite my bottom lip, attempting not to laugh. Her face is fucking priceless. She brings out a whole other side of me. The little devil has been making on-and-off appearances for a couple of years now, yet around her, he thrives. I have the feeling he’s not going away anytime soon, not while she’s around.
“Good, now I have your attention.”
“What do you want, Kahlo?” She looks at me, bored.
“For you to listen for once in your goddamn life.”
She opens her mouth to speak, and I take a step forward, cutting her off.
“You’ll listen to me, or I’ll be two steps behind you all night, giving a death stare to every guy who so much as looks in your direction. And I will tell all of them that you are mine . Is that what you want, Kamila?”
She stares at me in horror as if waiting to see if I’m being serious or not. When she realizes that I’m not messing around, she shakes her head no.
“Good. Now, can you stop throwing a temper tantrum long enough to hear me out?”
She opens her mouth while her nostrils flare. When I realize that she’s going to say something she’ll regret, I give her my best try me look. She closes it and nods .
Delight zings through me. “Listen carefully. I promised Zo a night of fun. She’s a new friend, but we’ve gotten close, and I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. I’m willing to put our problems aside for tonight for her. Are you willing to do that?”
She looks at me suspiciously and crosses her arms. After an entire minute, she finally speaks. “Do you like her?”
I tilt my head in amusement. “Why do you want to know?”
She shrugs. “I have my reasons.”
Shaking my head, I smirk. I’d ask her what reasons, but I’m not going to waste my breath on another Morales girl.
“Not that it is any of your business, but no, we’re just friends.”
The bartender returns with our drinks. “That’ll be forty-six dollars.” Both girls open their purses and jump when I quickly slam my credit card on the wooden bar.
“Open a tab under Cameron Kahlo. Their drinks are on me.”
Mateo barely looks over at Kamila when he gives me a thumbs up. “Gotcha. You guys have a nice night.”
“Thanks, Cam,” Emma says, grabbing the vodka sodas and mojitos carefully. “I think I’ll head back to the table now.” Kamila swivels her head to her friend with what I’m assuming is a pleading look. Emma shrugs her shoulders, smiles awkwardly and leaves.
Kamila grabs her amaretto sour and sips on it. “Don’t ever pay for my shit again.”
“You’re welcome,” I say smugly. “Listen, I might be a dick, but I’m a dick who keeps his word. First two rounds are on me and Will, that was the deal.”
Her eyes loom over my face as she remains with the straw of the drink in her mouth. She pulls it out to speak.
“Fine, just for tonight, and it’s only because I like Zoey.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to do it for me. Let’s go.”
Kamila walks to the table as I follow behind her. She stops and looks at me after a couple of steps. Taking another sip of her drink, she tilts her head.
“She likes Will. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. I thought you should know just in case you were lying about not liking her.”
Fuck. It took her five minutes to see what took me two whole days. I take a second to come up with a response. After all, they're my friends, not hers. Still, Kamila isn’t stupid. Mean, sure, but not stupid.
“I know she does. I’m pretty sure Will likes her too, he just doesn’t know how to go about it,” I say stoically.
“Well, good, I hope it works out for them.” She continues her stroll until we’re back at the table. Sitting next to Will, I see that everyone else is in the same spot they were before, only Will is now sitting next to the other girl Kamila and Emma brought with them. He’s clearly flirting with her. I find Zo talking to Emma and Luna, but her attention is divided between their conversation and Will’s. If I could slap some sense into him, I would. The fucker doesn’t see what’s right in front of him. Zo deserves better than having to sit through this.
Moving my head a little to the right, I see Kamila, who’s giving Zo a sympathetic smile.
Kamila suddenly slaps her hands on the table, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Whoever has two drinks and hasn’t finished their first, chug it, and let’s go dance.”
The smirk that she’s sporting tells me that she’s cooking up some sort of plan. Everyone cheers with her, including myself, hoping that tonight will be entertaining at the very least.