He reaches up and runs a hand through his wavy chestnut hair. I swallow hard and hope I don’t look as dazed as I feel.
He shakes his head as his bright blue eyes focus on my face. The corner of his mouth quirks up in a half-smile. Those tingles spark through my tummy again.
Those boyish good looks he had when he was a kid are still there. I can see it in the brightness of his eyes and his smile. He’s always had this cheeky, mischievous edge to his smile. It always made my tummy flip, just like it does now.
I clear my throat and smile, feeling flustered.
“How many years has it been?” Camden says.
“Almost thirteen, I think.”
He shakes his head, a bewildered smile on his face. He opens his mouth, but before he can say anything, someone from inside the house speaks.
“Dude, just pay her the money and ask her to leave,” someone hollers.
Just then, a guy who looks a few years older than Camden walks up to him. He offers a polite smile when he looks at me.
“Hey. Sorry for what an inconvenience this is, but we won’t be needing your services tonight.” He claps Camden on the back, then hands me a handful of twenties. “We’re not interested in having a stripper perform for us. We’re really sorry.”
Camden twists his head to look at the guy. “She’s not a stripper.”
He explains what happened. His friend frowns like he’s confused, then bursts out laughing.
“No fucking way,” he says between laughs. He wipes his eyes. “Dude, you’re an idiot.”
Camden just shrugs and flashes a wide smile. “I am.”
I can’t help but chuckle. He’s always been like this, so effortlessly confident. It’s one of the first things that drew me to him.
I think back to fifth-grade math class when our teacher called on him to solve a math problem at the chalkboard. He got itwrong, and when the teacher started to scold him, he just flashed that same easy smile and shrugged.
He didn’t get embarrassed easily, and I always admired him for it. And was a little envious of it too. I was shy and easily flustered. I was in awe of the boy who could just shrug everything off with a cute smile.
I start to hand Camden’s friend his cash back, but they both shake their heads.
“That’s all yours,” his friend says.
“But I’m not working your party tonight.”
Camden grins at me, his mouth lifting in a sly smile. I notice the dimple in his right cheek. I bite back a grin, a happy feeling coursing through me. He’s always had that cute dimple when he smiles, and it’s comforting to see it after all these years.
“Oh, you’re working tonight, Rapunzel,” Camden says. “You said you do face painting, right?”
I nod.
He spins around. “Boys, change of plans. No stripper.”
Relieved sounds echo from behind him. I hear one guy mutter, “Thank fuck.”
“We’re doing face painting instead,” Camden says.
He lets me inside his house and closes the door behind me. I’m greeted with a bunch of confused stares from all the guys sitting around the kitchen table.
Camden pats a hand on my shoulder. “This is Ellie, aka Rapunzel. She’s a party princess.”
Even more confused looks. I hold back a laugh.
Camden explains the mistake he made while booking me. A quiet second passes before three of the guys at the table burst out laughing. The other two roll their eyes.
