A Promise Gone Wrong

Chapter Twenty: Heart Strings

"It's not mine," he admits, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "I wasn't wearing any cologne earlier, so Dylan sprayed me down with his while you were changing. He's convinced that girls only like to be around guys if they smell nice, so--" he substitutes the end of his sentence with a shrug. 

Interesting. Maybe the man-whores do have insecurities after all. 

"Well, I like being around you no matter what you smell like," I blurt absentmindedly only to then bite my tongue when I realize what I've said. It's not an "I love you" by any means, but I swear my words are becoming more and more endearing every time we get together.

Mind spinning, I busy myself with browsing through various themes and designs for our photoshoot. It takes me a while to figure out how to navigate the touch screen, and when Cameron doesn't have anything witty to say about it I turn back to check on him. 

"What?" I murmur, my entire body warming when I find he's just been staring at me with those electric blue eyes. 

Raising a hand, he combs his fingers through the feathery strands of his hair, lazily leaving them as he allows his head to rest against a wall of the booth. 

"You're just so sweet." His voice is as gentle as a whisper, though his tone is warm and steady. It's so tender that my heart's pulse catches. "I don't deserve--"my lips blanket his mouth, hushing his moment of insecurity. 

Taken off guard, he hesitates a moment but I remain in place with my eyes shut. A second later his hands cup my face. Gasping in his essence, my lips part with his little nudge and we begin our kissing dance.

It doesn't matter that the photo booth showers us with a series of flashes.

At some point, it actually makes me laugh which allows Cameron time to slip his hands to my hips and lift me until I straddle his lap. Resting our foreheads together, I giggle again when the booth seat is too short for our new position.

"Damn," he breathes, voice low and raspy.

He's so funny.

Glancing to the screen, I find we just have a few pictures left, so I return my seat beside him. Our eyes meet for a moment with his pout. Laughing, I use a hand to cup his chin and turn his face forward.

"Smile, Man-whore."

One flash, we smile though with my hand still on his face.
Another, he removes it and we chuckle as our heads tilt together.
With the third, he tilts up my chin.
For the last, we share a chaste kiss. 

"Cameron," I whisper, parting from him even though I wish I didn't have to, "we should go find Brielle and Dylan."

To my surprise, he scoots forward in his seat and lifts me onto his lap in a single motion. My straddle now fully in place, bringing his face so close to mine that our noses touch. Trying to lean back does me no good. I end up with my back pressed against the screen of the photo booth with our lips uniting again slower though our breaths are heavier. If it wasn't for the loud chatting of people in the arcade outside the curtain, my flames of desire would be sparking.

"Do we have to?" he speaks against my mouth, his words straining in a way that tells me his desire has sparked. 

"Yes," I laugh. "I'm not getting frisky with you in a photo booth, let alone in an arcade full of people!"