Camden didn’t go back to France, and suddenly, he was everywhere I turned.
I just thought we’d parted ways when I was a kid, but that was nothing compared to this.
This was the year our true animosity began.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
SPIKED COFFEE
CAMDEN
Present
I haven’t been able to stop smiling since I got back to Windy Harbor last night. I wanted to spend the night, but Juju said she needed her beauty sleep after this weekend. We’d barely slept at all, and I knew if we stayed together, we wouldn’t get any sleep for the third night in a row.
Plus, I felt like I needed to continuously remind myself that we weren’t out in the open. It had been so nice in Minneapolis not to hold back or hide anything, but now that we were back in Windy Harbor, those boundaries had to be put in place again. I didn’t like it, and I wasn’t sure how much longer we could keep going this way.
Sometimes I wonder if Juju might be pumping the brakes a little. It’s time we tell Jackson. I can’t keep hiding how I feel about Juju.
I’m getting ready to go see her at the cafe when I get a text from Jackson. I freeze and find it hard to even swallow. It’s a picture of Juju and me kissing on the Jumbotron.
Jackson
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS? We need to talk.
I don’t respond. I take off for the cafe, wanting to talk to Juju before I say anything to Jackson, but when I walk in, I see that it’s too late. Jackson is there already, looking heated, with his new wife looking worried nearby. Juju’s eyes flash to me in a panic. I give her an apologetic look and rush toward her brother.
“Jackson,” I say, “let’s talk…please.”
He whirls around, fury all over his face. He walks over to me, cocks his arm back, and punches me in the jaw. The punch’s impact is the only sound for a moment, and then gasps ripple throughout the room. My hand goes to my face, and I see red.
“Jackson!” Juju yells, rushing around the counter.
Jackson’s body is shaking with anger, and I’m highly tempted to hit him back. I straighten slowly, rubbing my jaw. My eyes flick from Jackson to Juju, and suddenly, I feel exhausted.
“Jackson,” I say, my voice low, “I’m giving you that one hit, but you will never touch me like that again, are we clear? Take a step back before we both say things we regret. And…I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Jackson’s laugh is bitter. “How long have you been messing around with my sister?”
Juju shoves herself between us, sounding like she might do some punching of her own. “That’s enough!”
Jackson is furious, and when he’s like this, we both know he’s almost impossible to reason with.
“He’s supposed to be my best friend, Juju,” Jackson yells. “He’s supposed to know better. We promised each other.”
“Know better than what? Liking me? Wanting me? It was a stupid promise you made when you were kids, Jackson. We’re adults now. We don’t need your permission!”
The cafe is so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Hector and Hal come in, singing “New York, New York.” When they assess the seriousness of the room, Hector rushes toward Juju.
“Juliana, is everything okay?”
“Ask Jackson,” she says, her voice cracking. “He just punched Camden in the face.”
Hector’s head rears back. “Jackson!”
Jackson shakes his head, jaw clenched, and points at me. “He kissed Juju, Papa. In front of everyone.”
