The Pursuit of Felicity

{ Chapter 21 }

As he prepares the cookies, I watch in slight admiration. Just as I had predicted, his family is nicer than I could imagine. It only makes sense, really. He's a really good boy who had a really good upbringing. I shift my attention to the floor and repress a sigh. I wonder what he's going to think about my family tomorrow. They're very, very different from his.

"What are you thinking about?" He places the cookies in the oven and closes the door.

I give a weak head shake as I keep my eyes locked on the glowing food box. "I'm just happy to see you."

Once the cookies finish, we make our way downstairs and continue our Nintendo Switch tournament until the early hours of the morning. He eventually acknowledges that my yawns are interfering with my ability to play a fair game and decides that we should call it quits. He grins at me and instead of caving like I want to, I shake my head and point to the stairs.

"I'm going to go to the guest bedroom like I said I would." He gives me an entertained nod and rises to his feet.

"You can brush your teeth in here. I have an extra toothbrush under the sink." After going through our nightly routines together, he walks me upstairs and to the guest bedroom. I push open the door and before I can even step inside he leaps in front of me. As if he can feel my confused gaze, he turns to face me with a grin. "They said you can't sleep downstairs, not that I can't sleep in here."

"Cam..." I want to say yes; I really do, but I know better. The last thing I want his dads to think is that I'm disrespectful.

"They won't get mad at you, I promise," he assures me in a convincing tone. "They'll just call me conniving."

"You can hang out in here..." I slowly close the door before pointing a finger at him. "We're not doing anything."

"Thanks for permission." He smile only widens more as he jumps on the bed, which seems just as comfortable as the one in his room. I flick off the light, join him, and release a long groan. I lay my head on his chest and let out a comfortable sigh, which seems to entertain him. His lengthy fingers tangle in my hair as I listen to the beating of his heart and somehow we fall asleep that way.

+++

"See, I told you they wouldn't say anything..." Cam announces once his fathers leave the following morning. They definitely knew he slept upstairs because they watched us descend down the steps together in search of food. As he gathers the ingredients for breakfast, Joe walks in and quirks an eyebrow at him.

"Morning," Cam greets him nonchalantly.

"How'd you sleep?" He's definitely going to bring it up and I can tell that Cam is under the same impression as me.

"Like a baby." Cam doesn't even glance at his dad as he cracks another egg into the bowl and whisks away.

"Is the guest bed comfortable?" Joe is now resting with his arms crossed against the counter. I awkwardly bow my head as to not cause any problems. I told Cam I didn't think it was a good idea. We didn't do anything but it's the principle. They asked us not to sleep in the same area yet we did.

"Sort of." Cam allows his shoulders to bounce as if genuinely considering the question. Then he adds: "I prefer a softer bed but it does the job."

"Don't be a smartass, Cam." Joe's eyes are narrowed while Cam's stay focused on the hot pan in front of him.

"You said that she couldn't sleep downstairs, not that I couldn't sleep upstairs." As soon as the words leave Cam's mouth, his father heaves a noisy sigh.

"Cameron..." I watch as he cups his temples in his hands out of frustration.

"Sorry." It doesn't sound too genuine but it seems to satisfy his father.