Unexpectedly

Chapter Seventeen- Forget It

                He placed one hand in his pocket and leaned closer to me, making me catch my breath. He took a hanky out. “You should have at least tried to wash most of it away,” he said with a smile.

                And oh my gosh, I can’t believe I'm saying this, but he actually looked cool. I mean, like, whoa. He was smiling. Not smirking. At me.

                He leaned even closer, so I could actually smell his cologne and all, and was dabbing at my hair with his hanky. He didn’t even seem to notice how close he was, and how hard it was getting for me to breathe. “This actually smells good. So, what happened? Blake dumped his food on you?”

                “Oh, shut up,” I told him. “You know he’d never do that. And for the record, I'm not here with him.”

                “Oh, really, now?” He leaned even closer, barely noticing the distance between my face and his neck—or more like the lack of it, anyway. He seemed to be seriously engrossed with getting my hair clean, not, even for once, meeting my gaze. “You’re not with Blake right now?”

                “No,” I replied, still bothered with his neck just there and his cologne and all of him.

                “Better,” he said. It took me for a moment to realize that he was talking about my hair, not the part about me and not-Blake. He looked at my eyes then. I didn’t look away. Then he must have realized how close he stood in front of me and backed off a little. “Uhhh.” He cleared his throat. “H-here.”

                He handed me his hanky.

                I took it from him.”Umm, uhh, thanks.”

                What was with the awkwardness? I didn’t get it. I didn’t get it at all.

                He smiled at me. Not his smile earlier, but more like an arrogant smile. But no, it wasn’t his smirk either. “So you really aren’t with Blake? I thought you had a date tonight.”

                “I'm not with him,” I replied. “Really.”

                “So—”

                “Shea.”

                The voice made both me and Cam look. It was Blake, jogging slightly from the restaurant. Blake. Blake. It was Blake. He actually came.

                I looked back at Cam, who wouldn’t look at me. He was just standing there, looking at Blake. A shiver ran down my spine. And no, I didn’t think it was because of the cold weather and all.

                “Cam,” I said.

                He shook his head, finally looking at me. “You’re not with Blake? You’re not with Blake? Damn funny, Collins,” he said, his voice sounding strained. He ran a hand through his hair. “Just so damn funny.” He shook his head again and started to back away.

                “Cam—”

                “Forget it,” he snapped, turning away.

                There it was again. I wanted to call out again. I wanted to, seeing him turn away, hearing his voice that way. Watching him leave. So I opened my mouth to call him.

                But then behind me, Blake said, “Hey.”

                I half-turned to him, not really wanting to let Cam leave, for a reason. “Hey,” I said back.

                He looked down at his feet. “I… I, uhh, you need a ride?”

                I looked at Cam again, out to the darkness, but I didn’t see him. He was there again, in that place I can’t reach. I closed my eyes, tried not to sigh and looked back at Blake.

                “No. Not really. But can I use your cell?” I asked him.

                'And I should have been glad that in the end, it didn’t go worse. Blake wasn’t mad. He understood everything. Sherri was three minutes away to pick me up. Really, it turned out even better than I would have expected.

                But I also ended up with a dirty handkerchief and the sound of Cam’s voice when he said those words.

                Forget it.

                But I knew I could never.