"No! Jeez, Cam, why do you always assume someone is mistreatin' me? Am I such a goddamned victim?"
"Nah, Rory girl, you're no victim, but you are beautiful and innocent and Robin Forbes doesn't do innocent. What'd he say to you?"
"He, uh... he asked to take me out," I murmur softly, suddenly unsure of what Cam's reaction will be. He's always been so damn protective of me. There's a long pause and for a moment I think the call got dropped, before Cam lets out a long, resigned sigh. "Cam?"
"I was afraid a' this." Another sigh. "Damn, Rory girl, what'd you say?"
"I... said nothin'. I stood there like a stupid deer in headlights!" I grumble.
Cam chuckles. It's a comforting sound, reminding me of childhood, of home. "Well you musta saidsomethin'.Was he a gentleman about it?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess. He was... sweet. Kinda. I don't know. But no. I really said nothin'. When I couldn't make myself talk he just smiled and told me to think about it. That he'd come by for my answer later tonight." I don't mention that he instructed me to sleep alone in the guest room. I know what Cam will make of that, and vaguely I wonder why it's not sending up red flags for me.
"Well, don't hold out on me, what's your answer gonna be? Don't keep me waitin', Rory girl, I ain't him."
"Of course you're not, Cam. I... don't know. That's why I called you! What do I do? What do I say?" I'm desperate, completely out of my comfort zone.
"Sayno," Cam says immediately, the big brother in him shining through.
"Cam," I whine.
He sighs again. "Well, hell, Ror. You're the one who's gonna have to make this call. Guys are gonna ask you out. You're too damn adorable for your own good. I was worried about this the other day. The seniors were talkin'. Sayin' how hot you've gotten. Askin' me all about you, and about you and me. They aint gonna stop askin', and I can't hold them off forever. Forbes ain't a bad guy, but you know he gets around. You ain't that kinda girl."
"Well I know I ain't that kinda girl. But surely Robin must know that, right? I mean, why would he even wanna go out with me?"
Cam laughs again. "Why would he wanna go out with you? Seriously Rory girl?" He lets out another frustrated sigh. "Whatever, it's probably best you keep on not knowin' what you got goin' on. But Forbes sure has noticed, along with the rest of the damn town. The fact that he must know how inexperienced you are is the only reason I believe his intentions might be alright. But that doesn't mean you gotta go out with him. That's your choice... What do you want, Ror? Do you wanna go out with him?"
Cam asks the million dollar question. And the truth is, I have no idea. I was much more comfortable admiring him from afar - when he was unattainable. And I know I should want to go out with him, every other girl sure does... and maybe I do, too. I think I'm just so thrown off and nervous that I can't quite get a grip on how I feel about it. But how do you decide if you like someone if you don't even know them? I suppose that is what dating is for - to get to know them.
"I suppose I'm not sure, Cam, can't you just decide for me?" I groan. He always makes decisions for me when I can't decide something, which is pretty often. But this is different than choosing my lunch order.
"I did, remember? I said 'no'. You didn't like that answer," he reminds me.
Lacey calls me from the living room and I realize I should get back to the girls. I tell Cam I'll call him tomorrow and sarcastically thank him for his "help".
The rest of the evening flies by and I'm no closer to knowing what the hell to do about Robin when Lacey starts telling us where we're all sleeping, which I'd thought would all be in her room. Courtney is sleeping in Lacey's bed with her, and Emmers and Stella will sleep on the pullout in the den. I have a choice between an air mattress in Lacey's room or the guest room on the third floor. She explains that it's the only room on the third floor so I may not want to be alone up there. Without thinking too hard, I tell her I don't mind, and climb the second staircase to the converted attic room.
Everyone's gone to bed, but I can't sleep. The guest room up here is lonely, like Lacey warned, but it is lovely. There's a canopy bed with a soft cream quilt that matches the gauzy drapes. The queen size mattress is comfortable, but still, I can't sleep. I can't stop wondering if Robin was joking or not about coming up here for my answer, or if he was joking about asking me out in the first place. When I glance at the mahogany wall clock and see it's almost 1:00 am, I realize he wasn't serious, or maybe he changed his mind. Part of me is relieved, but another part is disappointed, and I drift off to sleep wondering why I'm the only girl in my grade that's never even been kissed, let alone the only virgin in my group of new girlfriends.
****
I'm startled out of sleep by a bang and a muttered curse.
"Shit."
I open my eyes, but it's too dark to see the door, which I'm pretty sure has just slammed shut.
I lean up onto my elbows.
"Who's there?" I ask trepidatiously as the figure approaches my bed.
"Well, it's just me a' course. I told you I'd come, I'll be needin' that answer now, sweetheart," Robin drawls the slight slur to his accent tells me he's been drinking.
He sits down on the bed as I sit up.
"You scared me," I whisper.
Robin reaches out and brushes my hair out of my face, pushing a chunk of it over my shoulder. I must look like such a mess. "Well now I see why that daddy a' yours calls you Sleepin' Beauty." He grins sloppily and it’s somehow incredibly endearing. But I can smell the beers he's drunk tonight. And perfume. A woman's perfume.
