Land's End

6 | stuck zipper situation

Maybe I should have worked on my poker face. "Yes," I breathed, giving him a smile while all I wanted was to weep in the shower. "It is,"—I pointed at my back—"my stuck zipper."

"Oh."

I didn't expect him to walk behind me and check my zipper immediately. He could go back and change into some clothes first. He took his moment staring at my back, probably examining the zipper, but I grew impatient due to the pregnant silence between us.

"Can you stand up?" He asked at last. "I can help you with it."

I did as I was told, standing up and turning my back to him as I securely held the front of the dress. I held my breath as I felt his breath against my hair before his fingers brushed my skin, working on the zipper. He gave the zipper a tug that threw me off balance so that my back bumped against his chest.

"Sorry," he said, awkward but focused, putting a distance between us again. His wet hair was dripping on my shoulders, but I didn't comment on that. I couldn't not feel his touch intensifying on my skin like goosebumps.

I was tired and emotionally lonely, and Cameron was the only available option. It was natural for my body to react to his touch. It didn't mean anything. I was merely seeking a distraction to cope with heartbreak and stress. A band-aid.

"You won't tear up my dress, right?"

I hated how I wasn't opposed to the idea at all.

"Would you want me to?" He sounded hopeful, which threw me off guard. "It'd be much easier for me," he added.

"No, I want this dress in one piece. You already owe me a pair of heels, Cammybear."

He laughed, and I think I felt his laugh against my back, the vibration—was he that close now? I shut my eyes, trying to think of anything but Cam's hands on me.

He suddenly pulled me a bit closer and pulled the zipper downward. And the zipper obeyed him at the end. "Ta-da."

Then, he was gone like the wind—his touch, even the feeling of his presence—and I could finally release my breath. I held the front of my dress and turned around.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

Cam grabbed the clothes he put on the armchair and went into the bathroom again. I took a deep breath and pressed my hand over my heart. It is beating so fast. It was the room—this confined space that made this whole thing intense and ridiculous. On top of it all, I wasn't in a healthy mental state at the moment.

My mind was prone to hold onto anything that would prevent me from thinking about today, Marcus and my mother. When I thought I had finally sorted my life out, it collapsed down on me.

I didn't see Cam in that light. He grew to be an attractive man, but he was still Cammybear inside. That annoying and stubborn boy that I'd fought all my life. A part of my past that I'd worked so hard to overcome — he knew me before I was the excellent, successful Amber Gardner.

Get yourself together, Amber.

And the door opened again. Cam came out, wiping off his wet hair with a towel. He shot me a glance but didn't say anything.

I walked to my suitcase to get fresh clothes. I kneeled and opened it, looking through the stuff I put in: fancy dresses, jean shorts, lingerie, two pairs of heels, bikinis, and more lingerie—oh, shit.

I didn't bring one single decent pair of pajamas to sleep because I thought I'd have some sexy nights with my new husband tonight—not spending it in a room with my nemesis in the middle of nowhere. There was no way I could walk around wearing any of these.