My lips contort into some mixture of a smile and grimace at the pet name, and I choke out a laugh. “Sorry to blindside you. I was just…tired of the secrets. At least at home.”
“All good. I’m glad it’s out in the open,” he murmurs.
How the hell is he so calm about this?
It’s equally strange and comforting, how he’s just fallen into step beside me on this. But for right now, I’m not going to question it. That’s a conversation to have behind closed doors.
Lexi’s been eerily quiet since the whole exchange started, and while I’ve done my best to keep my attention away from her—afraid if I do, I might give myself away—I can’t help looking at her now. She’s watching us, piqued with curiosity, but from what I can tell, she believes it. And while there’s the tiniest part of me that feels guilty for lying to her like this, it’s far outweighed by the alternative.
At least, I hope so.
“I’m sorry, but how the hell did this happen?” she finally asks.
I lift my shoulder, though it’s a little difficult with Camden’s arm still wrapped around it. “Honestly? It kinda just…did.”
Look at that. It’s not even a lie.
Lexi laughs a couple times and shakes her head, still clearly processing the information we’ve just dropped in her lap.
“We’re about to go grab some dinner at Thai Me Up. Did you wanna come with, Camden? Maybe fill us in on some of the details we’ve been missing?” Lexi asks sweetly.
Willow nods, still very much in disbelief about the whole thing if the tone of her voice is anything to go off of. “Yeah, I’d love to hear more about how the two of you have been sneaking around under our noses.”
Yeah, definitely suspicious.
Another bolt of panic slices through me, but Camden subtly squeezes my upper arm and then takes control before I can come up with some sort of excuse.
“As much as I’d love to, you actually caught me on my way out.” Releasing me, he lifts the bag I hadn’t noticed him drop to the floor. “I’ve got a study session with one of the team tutors tonight.”
Willow purses her lips before nodding briskly. “A rain check, then.”
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely,” he agrees with a charming smile—the same I bet he uses on the girls he brings home. The guys too.
But the smile morphs as he looks to me, becoming some odd blend of a knowing smirk and a questioning, confused grin. It’s an odd combination that screamsI have no idea what you’re up to, but I’m sure entertained by it.
Whatever. As long as he doesn’t blow my cover, I can work with it.
But then Camden leans down, and I realize too late he’s going in for another kiss. Why? I couldn’t say. But in a panic, I half-flinch, half-turn involuntarily, the kiss landing on my cheek rather than my lips the way he intended. And while I don’tthinkWillow or Lexi noticed the awkwardness of it, Camden certainly does.
His expression is confused at best when he says, “Have fun at dinner. I’ll see you when I get home, yeah?”
Shit, shit, shit.
“Yeah, see you when you get home,” I confirm.
And I know I’m gonna have to come up with a damn good explanation before then.
I still go to dinner with the girls, and, as expected, most of the time at the restaurant is spent grilling me about my supposedrelationship with Camden. I’m hit with a barrage of questions, all of which I have to fight for my life to answer on the spot, but thankfully, I at least had the common sense to tell them it’s relatively new. It gives me a minimal amount of backstory to fill it, and though I know Willow still remains suspicious afterward, Lexi seems to buy into my lies.
For now. The issue comes with keeping it that way.
It’s only when we get back to the house and I lock myself in the blissful isolation of my room that I realize just how stupid my lie was.
With a groan, I do the only thing I can think of to work through what I’m feeling—I grab my sketchbook and put ink to paper. Drawing helps me process my emotions, yes, but it also serves as a distraction from the situation rather than a way for me to figure out what I’m gonna do next. Though that’s likely due to having no clue what my options even are. There are too many variables, too many moving parts that could easily go awry.
I mean, would Camden evenagreeto faking it a little longer? Even if he did, would I be able to go through with pretending on that level?
Dating Camden Steele? Fake or not, the mere idea is certifiable.
