Messy Love - Rafe Cameron

Part 21

"We can't. You're wasted." He grabbed her hand again and kept walking with her. "But I like the party!" She pulled and he tightened his grip on her. "Please, Cami." They made it to the end of the street one way and he turned the other way.

"Yay! Back to the party!" Cami skipped beside him. She drank the rest of her water and dropped it on the ground. JJ didn't protest, rather, he kept dragging her along until they made it to the party and she started pulling him toward the door.

"Cami, let's go," He pulled her away from the party and she groaned. "C'mon JJ! Stop being such a fun sponge!" JJ kept pressing the keys and eventually heard a sound. "The car's this way, let's go!" JJ pulled her along and she went quiet for a long pause.

JJ noticed and looked at her. She was grinning at him. "What?" He stopped walking. "I'll race you." He rolled his eyes and she giggled. She let go of his hand and started running toward Sarah's car. "Cami!" JJ yelled and ran after her.

She laughed loudly and he caught up to her. He grabbed her by the shoulders and made her stop. "Jesus, Cami." He panted and she laughed. "Don't do that." He mumbled and grabbed her hand tighter than before. "Sorry," She slurred through a laugh.

He unlocked the car and walked her to the passenger seat. He made her sit inside and shut her door. He opened the driver's side and got in. He locked the doors and turned the car on. "You cold?" He asked and she shook her head.

He turned on the radio and pulled out his phone. "So," Cami said. JJ glanced at her and went back to his phone. "John B and Sarah." She continued. JJ swallowed and Cami played with her fingers. "Yep." He rushed out, then went quiet. She cleared her throat to try and get her attention.

He didn't look up so she did it again. "What?" He groaned and dropped his phone on his lap. "I don't know, talk to me!" She threw her arms up. "What'd you wanna talk about?" He asked. She thought for a second and slouched down in her chair.

"How long have you and John B been friends?" She kicked off her shoes and pulled her legs into her seat. "Since third grade." He replied. She crossed her legs under herself. "Dang." The headlights from cars passing by momentarily illuminated his face before quickly going dark again and she couldn't help but notice he was very attractive.

"How long have you and Sarah been friends?" Cami made a thick snorting sound through her nose and shook her head. "Forever." She looked down at her nails and noticed how grown out her acrylics were.

"Forever?" He turned a little more toward her and pressed him back between the car door and the edge of his seat. She nodded. "My entire life, Sarah's been there. She's basically my sister." Cami plucked some bobby pins out of her hair.

"Sometimes, I like to imagine me and John B are brothers." He looked away from her and down the street. It was too dark to see anything. The car fell awkwardly quiet and Cami tossed the pins into her bag.

"Sometimes," Cami echoed him, "I like to imagine my family doesn't exist." She tossed the last pin into her bag and sagged her body, unbothered by her poor posture for the first time in a while. JJ gave her a look of pure confusion.

"Why?" He scrunched his nose up. Cami didn't answer for a few seconds, then let out a long sigh. "They're just a mess." She wasn't sure why she was being so vulnerable with him but figured it was the booze.

"Really?" He whistled and scratched the back of his neck, removing his eyes from hers. "I always thought the West's were like, perfect." That little comment made Cami's cheeks blush for a split second. He thinks I'm perfect?

"Well, we're not." Cami twisted her body to completely face his. She pressed her back into the door behind her. "We're drunkards and junkies and 20-year-old men who still live off their parent's lucky fortune." JJ snickered and Cami smiled at her lap.