“I like you too,” I whisper into his mouth.
When I step back inside the house, I go to my room and shut the door. I turn on some music and spin around the room. I feel like a teenager, and a boy took me home, and we made out past curfew. I missed doing all this stuff when I was young. I missed it all because I was too busy caring for somebody else, somebody who should have been caring for me.
Chapter Eighteen
Cameron
On my way to a sales call, I impulsively pick up the phone. My mind is going in a hundred different directions after the shit Savannah told me last night about her father, and I need some advice.
But I can’t tell my cousins about her. Not yet.
So I need a workaround.
I press a number on speed dial. Dylan picks up on the second ring.
“What’s up, Cam?” His voice comes through my car speakers, and he sounds like he’s in a tunnel.
“Where the hell are you?” I say. “You busy?”
“Nope. I’m on the beach. Jasalie and I are meeting with the social worker in a bit, but I needed to go for a run first.”
“How are the classes going? Do they teach you parenting skills?”
“Sort of. They go over lots of stuff about what it’s like to be a foster kid and how best to handle a variety of situations that could come up. I feel like I have a bit of an advantage because my wife knows first-hand about a lot of things that I had no freaking clue about before meeting her.” His tone is excited and confident. Nothing much fazes Dylan, but I know becoming a father is a particularly big deal for him.
“That’s great. Hey, speaking of fatherhood…”
“Don’t tell me you’re…”
“Shit, Dyl! No!”
Loud chuckle. “Okay. No need to bite my head off.”
I grip the steering wheel tightly. “Look, I’ve been thinking—do you think people who come from screwed-up parents actually have an advantage? Kind of like what you said about Jasalie?”
“You mean you and I could potentially use what we learned from our strained relationships with our fathers to become better parents than we would have been without going through all that shit?”
“Yeah.” I pause, thinking of Savannah and how amazing she is. “I always felt kind of sorry for you and me, you know? Brayden’s dad is so cool, and so were Colt’s and Ayden’s. Colt and Ayd had to deal with the early loss, which is a terrible thing, but they all seemed so…”
I trail off, but Dylan finishes my thought exactly. “They all seemed like they knew how to love unconditionally. I felt it too, Cam. But you and I…we’ll be okay. I didn’t used to be so sure about myself, but then I met Jasalie. Once you meet the right woman, it will all fall into place for you. Don’t sweat it.”
“I’m okay. Really.”
I finally know what he means. I’ve already felt it. With a certain brunette who loves beignets and can skate as well as half the guys on our team. I never felt anything close to this with Amy. As much as I tried, something was always missing.
* * *
Savannah
I take one last look at myself in the mirror at the black and blue sweater with cute black jeans that fit me just right. My hair’s loose and flowing down my shoulders.
“Vannah!” Molly calls to me through my closed bedroom door. “Enough primping already—we’re going to be late!”
“No, we’re not!” I shout back at her. “We’ve got plenty of time!”
Molly and Celie want to get to the rink early so they can spend as much time as possible scoping out and analyzing the potential relationship between Cam and me.
I open the door and nearly trip on Molly, who’s standing about two inches away with her hands on her hips.
