She walked around the corner of the building, her legs shaking, eyes searching, blood still rushing in her ears. And then she saw it. The table where Cameron had been was empty. Her stomach dropped. A tight wave of panic rolled through her. But laced beneath it was something close to relief. It had been Cameron.
Ithadto be Cameron. Right? As much as that angered her, she breathed easier at the possibility of him rushing her than a stranger.
Stepping further out into the coffee shop's garden she spotted him at the outside counter talking to the barista. Both were in deep discussion about tonight's game and the current score. The kernel of cold fear in her stomach sprouted and began to spread like veins throughout her body. Was it him?
She thought back on that moment. The way the figure had seemed to materialize out of the dark. The way they had predicted her defensive moves. Catching her wrist and shifting his body at her sharp knee. And that cologne. It was crisp and clean yet aromatic and spicy like bergamot and pepper suffused together. It was different from anything she had smelled before and not the cologne that had filled Cameron's car on the way there.
Ebony thought of the only time something similar had happened. She pulled her phone from her pocket. Even as she found his contact file and typed the message it made perfect sense and didn’t at the same time. Who else could read and block her moves with ridiculous ease? Who else was crazy enough to ambush her like that?
She sent a text to Gavin.
Me: Where are you right now?
His reply was immediate as if wherever he was he had been waiting for her to text.
Gavin: I'm at the game. Where are you?
Ebony frowned in confusion. Was he lying?
Me: Prove it.
A few seconds later a picture came through of him staring into the camera with one eyebrow raised. Behind him she could see people on the bleachers.
Gavin: Your turn. Where are you?
Ebony didn’t have time to let the information sink in before Cameron walked over carrying two cinnamon rolls.
"I got us some cinnamon rolls…hey you, okay?" he asked, putting the plates down on a nearby table.
Her fear and frustration must have shown on her face, because Cameron reached for her, holding her by the shoulders.
Not now. She’d would think about this later—alone, in private. Right now, she had to keep it together.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just Gavin texting me." She held up the phone. Which wasn't an outright lie he had texted her eight questions marks back-to-back. He was the only person in the world that could make a question mark look menacing.
Cameron scowled at the phone. "Then let's take our mind off of him and replace it with empty calories."
Ebony laughed and followed him back to the table even as her eyes kept scanning the area. They spent another half hour finishing their food and talking before finally leaving. They were back on the main road heading back down the mountain toward home when they came to a wall of red and blue flashing lights. They were about ten cars ahead of them stopped on the road, no one moving.
"Is it an accident?" she asked.
He shifted in his seat trying to see past the cars. "Maybe, I see a firetruck up there."
"Hopefully no one was-" A blur of red whooshed past their car cutting her off.
Both her and Cameron sat perfectly still watching as an ambulance raced to the front. They sat there for another thirty minutes not moving an inch. Eventually an officer walked down, stopping at each car and talking to the driver.
After a few minutes he stopped at their car. "Good evening. There’s been a pretty bad accident at the main road down the mountain blocking both lanes. Nobody's making it down in the next few hours."
Ebony glanced at her phone. It was already eleven thirty. The thought of sitting there for another few hours was daunting.
She looked at Cameron. "I have an idea."
Thirty minutes later they were walking through the quiet halls of the Rosebank Hotel. It was her family hotel located in Stardust Heights. She had only ever visited the beautiful five-star hotel when her parents had wanted to eat dinner at the fancy French restaurant, Le Palais, or for the company dinners her dad hosted. There had never been a reason to actually stay at the hotel—until tonight. It took a little convincing and maybe even a dash of name dropping her family name but she was able to get them a suite.
"I can’t believe I'm actually staying in a Rosebank suite." Cameron's excitement was palpable. Holding the tote filled with overnight essentials, all things they had bought from the discreet hotel store, he was practically bouncing with enthusiasm.
Even though she had tried to stop it, the memory of that mysterious kiss resurfaced and Ebony stopped in her tracks and gave him a pointed stare. "I think I should inform you, I only intend to sleep tonight. I didn’t want to wait around for that accident to clear up but I don’t intend on-"
