River's Destiny (River's End Series, #8) Page 4

  “What did you come here to tell me, Charlie?”

  With Cami hiding behind him, Charlie reached back and put his hand out, palm up. Cami waited a moment but soon slipped her hand into his. “I came to tell you that I care very much about your daughter, and we’ve decided to start dating.”

  “When did you decide? Last night?”

  “Yes, last night.”

  AJ’s eyebrows rose higher and his expression was grim. “Have you told your aunt yet, Charlie?” His scathing tone got his point across.

  “AJ. We are not cousins,” Cami protested, stepping around Charlie, her hand still clasped tightly in his.

  AJ pinned his eyes on that. “No. Nope. I didn’t say you were. But Kate is Charlie’s aunt. By blood. That’s true.”

  Charlie met AJ’s cool gaze. “We know that. But is this really such a stretch?” His eyebrows rose up in a tacit challenge. “Or such terrible news? We are still solid friends. I rarely get into any kind of trouble and follow all of your rules. It’s not like you don’t know me well or my family or what I’m all about. Couldn’t it be a lot worse if it wasn’t me dating Cami?”

  AJ sighed, his shoulders hunching. “It could be worse, I suppose. It’s just that I don’t really want to see any guy…”

  Cami sighed, standing next to him and rolling her eyes while jutting her hip out. “Don’t act so old and judgmental. Come on, AJ. I’m not a baby and you can’t possibly think I’m not going to—”

  Charlie put a hand over her mouth. When Cami got mad, anything could pop out.

  AJ’s gaze darted from Cami to Charlie and then narrowed in on his hand covering her mouth as she sputtered from behind it. AJ smiled finally. “Huh. Well, looks like you got this handled. Good luck then, Charlie. I just hope you two know exactly what you’re doing because a lot of family already exists between us and whatever happens could have far-reaching consequences that could entail a lot more than just you two, right? I hope you see the source of my concerns.”

  “Yes, sir,” Charlie said, nodding and withdrawing his hand from Cami’s mouth as she shot him an irritated look. AJ turned and walked back towards his shop. Cami sputtered and shoved his hand away.

  “What the hell? Don’t ever stick your hand over my mouth to shut me up.” Her hands dropped to her hips, punctuating her point.

  “You were just about to fling sex into your father’s face and only to prove your point. First, we haven’t had sex and we aren’t having it yet, and second, he’s so big, he could squish me with his fingers. Call it self-preservation.” Charlie’s tone was calm and quiet in contrast to her heated vitriol that had her almost screaming.

  Sex. The one word they had never discussed before. They stared at each other and Charlie noticed she was breathing hard. “He has no right to insist that I adhere to something so archaic as his daughter never having sex.”

  “His daughter. It’s got to be hard for him to imagine you having sex. Why do you always have to antagonize him? If it isn’t AJ, it’s Kate or anyone who’ll argue back with you and for no real reason.”

  “Well, I could ask you why you always have to play so nice. You’re always a parent’s wet dream of a perfectly behaved child who became my boyfriend. Why can’t you ever act out? Rebel? Be outrageous and abrasive?”

  “Like you?” Again, Charlie responded with quiet and calm. She could fling all the insults. And it wasn’t the first time. Usually after she got angry, she eventually apologized for her statements and he already knew she didn’t mean any of them. “You spend half your life getting into trouble or grounded or being yelled at. Why, exactly, do I need to do that? Besides, AJ had the same concerns that my dad did. He works for my dad. It’s not something he takes lightly, and you already know that. And of course, since Kate and my dad are blood relatives, if we’d known that fact years before, you and I would have been raised as normal cousins—”

  “But we weren’t.”

  “No. We weren’t. I’m just saying that’s why other people are so worried about us becoming more than just friends.”

  “Maybe we didn’t consider this long enough. I mean, if you think this…” Her anger depleted her confidence, and her shoulders hunched forward.

  “I did consider this for a long time. For a year, to be exact. And I eventually concluded that I was fine with it. I worked it all out in my head. But it might take others a little while to get used to it, including you. At least, that’s what I’m thinking.”

  Her gaze shot up. “A year? You’ve been thinking of me like, like this for that long?”

  “At least that long, Cams.”

  Her gaze rose to his before it darted away. “I haven’t thought of you like that, Charlie. I didn’t think of you like that until you said something last night that shocked me before we kissed. And until that second, I never considered us—”

  “I know. I feared you might just shut me down last night and we’d have to try and avoid each other for a while, if only out of the inevitable awkwardness. I also feared that we would never feel the same together again because this would drive a wedge between us. I like you, and I developed a crush on you and I worried that you could only see me as your super nice friend. Believe me, I thought through every possible outcome before I admitted my true feelings to you.”

  “And yet… you did it anyway? Why?”

  He lifted a hand to touch her cheek, cupping it before letting his hand drop. “Because I believed there could be a chance that you felt the same or could eventually start to feel the same way. And I guess selfishly, I didn’t want to be relegated as your friend for the rest of this summer, or the next year, or for the rest of our lives. I wanted you, Cams. So, I took the one chance.”

  Her chest rose and fell as if she were breathing heavily. “I—I had no idea you felt this strongly. Thinking about an ‘us’ or that you analyzed it so thoroughly and for so long. But it’s just like you.”

  He shrugged and stuck his hands into his pockets. “Does it really surprise you? You know how logical I am. How slowly I do anything. How much I over-examine and scrutinize everything. It usually drives you nuts.”

  Her smile was small. “It does. I can’t believe that a teenager could be that methodical. Or that thoughtful. But you are. And yet, I’ve often wished I could be half as confident and careful as you are. Did you really worry you were risking our friendship?”

  “I knew I was.”

  Her eyebrows dropped. “You took a huge risk, Charlie. That’s new for you.”

  “After a whole year of consideration and mental debate. Not exactly a wild leap.”

  “Why last night?”

  “Senior Prom? Why not last night?”

  She sucked in a breath. “I couldn’t sleep last night. I kept thinking about it. The entire night, I kept replaying what you said and the moment when we kissed… and I’ve never had another night like it.”

  “That was my intent.”

  “You’re the only person our age who has ever done anything so meaningful and made it all about me.”

  “I know you feel that way.”

  Her smile was meek. “You always know what’s real. You’re confident in knowing all the facts and accepting reality. It’s not fake modesty, since you have no ego about it either. I always loved that about you.”

  “But?”

  “But this morning, I’ve been pacing around, so unsure of what to do now. What do I say when I see you? How should I act? I don’t know how to go from being Cami and Charlie, best friends, ranch residents, and inseparable companions to suddenly being, you know, Cami and Charlie.”

  “We can take it slowly. I already figured we would. Why do you think I left you alone this morning? I knew you’d have doubts and start second guessing all of it. You never seem to get that I totally know you. I usually manage to predict your behavior long before you show it.”

  “You know, going slowly doesn’t sound like something I can do at all.”

  “I know it doesn’t. But you were never wi
th anyone who mattered so much to you before or knew you so well.” He stepped closer to her, making her eyes widen as he stared into her face. “I watched you date and sleep with guys who shouldn’t have been allowed to polish your shoes. You thought they were hot and you had sex with all of them. You thought they were funny. So, you let them feel you up. You thought they were going to treat you nicely, even though it was obvious to everyone except for you that they never would. And then you were shocked and hurt when they abandoned you and treated you harshly. Or rudely. Shunning you after they had sex with you. I should know, since I was the one you always ran to in tears, broken-hearted. I was the one you trusted for comfort and love.”

  She licked her lips. “And all that time you had feelings like this for me?”

  “All during high school.”

  “You’ve never dated anyone else.”

  “No. Because I knew the one I wanted. You know me well enough or you should. I don’t bother with anything or anyone unless it’s genuine and real. I liked you, Cami, so how could I waste my time with anyone else? Not when you were it for me? Why would I settle for second best?”

  She sucked in a breath and color flushed her cheeks. “Because it’s a sad state if I’m what you consider the best.”

  “The best in my feelings towards you. It’s not rocket science, Cams. There isn’t some standard you have to meet before I accept you. It’s simply the way you make me feel.”

  “There were a lot of guys you saw me through. How could you stand it? How could you stand me? Why didn’t I repulse you? Or make you hate me? I have to admit I never once considered you or your feelings.”

  “You like the stupid, rebellious, idiotic guys, who do nothing but get you into trouble and never give a crap that they did. You always, always, always pick the wrong guy. The one who doesn’t know you or care about getting to know you.”

  “How could you keep being so nice to me? You should have hated me, not wanted me.”

  He smiled and set his hands on her waist, drawing her totally against him. “Because I know you, Cami. You hated yourself, but I never did. No matter what you manage to do, I could never hate you.”

  Her eyes dimmed, and her thick lashes shut over them as she dropped her chin down. Being so close, he could see it begin to quiver. “How can you say that? You don’t know what I’ve done or what I might do. You know, there’s no telling with me.”

  He tightened his arms around her. “I know what was done to you. I know. Just believe me when I say there is no way I could ever hate you.”

  Her throat vibrated, and her eyes filled with tears at the sincerity of his words. “You’re saying no matter what I might do, I can trust you to stay with me no matter what happens?”

  “No matter what. Forever. Yeah, I can promise you that.”

  “You know I can’t promise that to you. I don’t know how I could accomplish such a task. I don’t know how to start.” Her head shook. “I’m completely inadequate for this relationship. I don’t deserve you. You are so together and whole and sure, and I’m… not. Charlie, you are grossly out of my league.”

  “And you still think too little of yourself, so you react by picking all the jerks who will reinforce that familiar image of yourself. Of course, you don’t know what to do with the first guy who doesn’t do that.”

  Her eyelids blinked until her wet eyes dried up. She sucked in a deep breath. “Anyone would underestimate how strong and confident you are. Are you sure this, I mean, me, are you sure that I am what you want? You know, I’m not always… okay.”

  “I think we can work it out together.”

  She took in a breath. “I am so scared.”

  “I’m not. We complement each other.”

  “Why aren’t you feeling weird about this? Not at all? It’s really odd and people are going to find it odd and—”

  “Take a slow, deep breath, Cami.” He pushed his hand into her hair and cupped the side of her face. “We’ll proceed one moment at a time. We’ll figure it out together. That is, if you want to. That’s the only thing that matters in all of this. If you want to be with me in this way and you ask me inside your house, then maybe… what? We could watch TV for a while or walk down beside the river or… do anything. Anything. Don’t you see how easy this can be?”

  Her head shook against his hand and she licked her lips. The former panic in her gaze started to recede. “I do. I want you to come inside the house with me.”

  “See? It’s not too hard. No need for alarm. It’s nothing we haven’t done before.”

  “Except… we can touch now?”

  His lips twitched. “That's something I’d be interested in pursuing.”

  His wry tone made her giggle. “It makes me kinda nervous. With you. I don’t mean to insult you.”

  “It doesn’t insult me. It’s just new.”

  “New. Right. Okay, then do you want to come in and… and…”

  “Let’s just go inside.” He leaned down and kissed her lips before he added, “I could get used to that.”

  She smiled. “I could too.”

  They linked hands and entered the house where he already spotted his Aunt Kate. She’d been peeking out and watching them for at least half of the conversation. No doubt AJ either texted her the news or went around back and told her. Kate, being far more diplomatic and progressive than AJ, chose not to interrupt them. She was in the kitchen when they finally entered. It was a small house, only two stories. Three bedrooms were located upstairs at the right of the entry. The living room flowed into the kitchen, but a wall separated them, so it wasn’t totally open.

  They entered the kitchen where Kate had her computer set up and a sea of papers surrounding her. She was obviously working. “Hey, Charlie. Cams. Wh—what’re you guys up to?”

  “Going upstairs,” he said, grinning. Testing her.

  “No.” Kate screeched far too fast and loud. He raised his eyebrows at her reaction.

  Cami glared in dismay. “You know.”

  “Your dad already texted me.”

  “We can go into my room. We always have before anyway. I’m nearly nineteen years old. I can legally do anything I want,” Cami bristled.

  Kate started to straighten up. “Well, you’re right and you could. Except you live here, we still totally support you, and damn it, Cami, that comes with a set of rules you have to respect.”

  Charlie set a hand on Cami’s shoulder. “You can trust me, Kate. You always have. If anything happened, it would be because we were ready. You know me well enough to recognize that.”

  Kate quit her staring contest with Cami to glare at him. Her lips compressed as she shook her head in frustration and discontent. “Damn it, nephew. You’re always so logical and mature. I’ve always said that any woman and her parents would be more than lucky to have you date their daughter. I guess I should heed my own advice. It’s just the whole me-being-your-aunt thing.”

  “You are. I’m also not a child anymore. So, I think we can handle that. Or whatever happens.”

  She nodded, throwing her hands up in the air. “How do I argue with totally sound reasoning? Fine, then go to her room. But be aware, please, that this is our house and we aren’t comfortable knowing you two—”

  “We just started this, Kate. We’re not doing anything for you to be uncomfortable about.” Charlie interrupted her.

  Kate shrugged. “Okay, then. Just be aware.”

  “We are, and we do.”

  They entered her room. Charlie had been going up there ever since it was finished three years ago. Cami decorated the black walls with horror movie posters along with a few heavy metal bands. They were only added for a bit of diversity. It was kind of terrifying to any visitor. Adding to that was the bright red streak of her bed linens. Cami didn’t do anything soft or feminine. She was half-gothic and half-rock star. Her nails were usually painted black and she hid her small, pixie-like features beneath ebony eyeshadows and lipsticks. That was just how she was. Charlie didn’t h
ave any particular opinion either way about it. She knew that.

  “What did you do this morning besides being so calm and put together about this?” she asked. Charlie knew she probably spent her morning pacing with nervous energy. She was anxiety-ridden and hyperactive, constantly moving and fretting, like a ball of raw nerves. And that was on one of her good days.

  “I read Return of the Creators.” She also knew he read hundreds of pages often in a single day. Being a sci-fi geek, Charlie nerded out over anything in fantasy. She detested all of that genre. Charlie always wore jeans and t-shirts, keeping his red hair cut short and his face smooth. He wasn’t trendy. He was average, ordinary, and generally, forgettable. She liked that about him. That’s just how he was.

  “How many pages?”

  “Two hundred.”

  “And then?”

  “Then I told my dad about us and came over to tell yours. I knew he’d be a pain in the ass with it, and I figured Kate would trust us. I worried you’d either change your mind or threaten to do so when I got here. So,” he shrugged, “yeah, the day passed just about how I expected it to.”

  She dropped her head and started to giggle. “How do you manage to predict it all?”

  He stepped closer. “By knowing my girlfriend better than anyone else.”

  She jerked upright. “Girlfriend.” She said the word a few more times. “Wow, that sounds official and so… odd.” She licked her lips and stepped towards him, setting her hands on his waist. “I wish you didn’t know about my past with other guys.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t care about it. I only care about right now.”

  “Have you ever had sex?”

  “No. You know that.”

  “You know I have a lot of times.” Her gaze reached his before she looked away.

  “Yes.” He reached towards her and set his hands on her shoulders.

  “I want this… I want us to be different.”

  “Of course you do, because it is, and it will be.”

  “So that’s okay then?”

  “Everything is okay.”

  She shut her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. He put his arms around her. “It is now. I didn’t know you were what I needed to make it so, but it feels like this is what I’ve always been searching for, even though I didn’t know anything was missing. You’ve been right here with me for years.”