He halts mid-step. “Okay, what’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?” I look at our surroundings, playing dumb.
“You’ve been distant as hell, dodging, or timing us sleeping together, you were nice to me just now and even your texts have been different. What happened between Halloween and today?” He tucks his hands into his pockets, waiting for my answer.
Looking up and meeting his gaze, I can’t tell whether he’s annoyed or worried, maybe both. Taking in a deep steady breath, I decide to tell him the first thought that comes to mind.
“My friends found out about us.”
He stares at me, shrugging. “And? It was inevitable. You see them all the time.”
His tone irritates me for some reason. He’s right, but he didn’t have to say it like that.
“First of all, I didn’t want anyone to know. It was one of my conditions?—”
“And if I recall,” he interrupts. “Two of your conditions have already been revoked, so why the fuck does this one matter more than the other two?”
“IfIrecall, you were the one to revoke them first.” He tsks, but I don’t stop there, apparently my mouth has a mind of its own today. “Listen, Cameron, I thought it was a good idea to put some distance between us after you asked me to be exclusive to make things easier. That’s why I’ve been so weird?—”
He throws his hands up in the air. “You are so full of shit.”
“Excuse me?” I exclaim.
“This isn’t because you want to make things clear. We both made things crystal clear that night, so this whole distance thing is unnecessary.” He puts his hands on his hips and taps his foot. “What is this really about?”
I pace the ground, trying to come up with the right words. “The list of rules is becoming shorter, making this more complicated than it needs to be.”
His sarcastic laugh echoes behind one of the campus buildings. “Baby, this got complicated the second we ran into each other, the moment your lips met mine, and especially the first time I sank my dick deep inside of you.”
My breath catches as he cages me against a brick wall. It’s getting hard for me to think straight, to breathe properly.Stay strong, Kamila.
“You know what I think?” he says, his mouth inches away from mine. “I think you’re scared.”
My body tenses and anger courses through me. “You want to know what I think?”
He raises a brow and dips his head in challenge. It’s as if with those two moves a thread snaps inside me.
“I’m thinking we need to stop seeing each other for a while.”
He rears his head back as if I’ve just slapped him. My eyes widen at their own accord, surprised at the words that just spilled from my mouth.
“What? Why?” Cameron asks quietly.
I wasn’t expecting that to be my decision. It seems as though my subconscious is making my choices today. But maybe a break is what I need to sort myself out. Even so, I can’t help feeling bad for hurting Cam. Then again we still treat each other like shit half the time.
“Like I said before, things are getting more complicated. I’m not sure if feelings are going to get involved, and I have a lot on my plate right now, I need some space to breathe.”
His breaths are shallower and it feels like his stare is burning a hole through my skull.
“Are you ending things?”
“No,” I say, truthfully while I stuff my shaky hands into my pocket. “I need some time to think, and I need you to respect that.”
Cameron flicks his eyes all around my face, trying to discernwhether I’m telling the truth or not. “Is this really what you want?”
“Yes.”It’s what we need.
A hint of pain etches his features before it quickly fades. “How long?”
