The Return of the Bad boy

Chapter 17: Summer

I stared at the space Cam had occupied for longer than necessary.

All the mysteries surrounding him just seemed to be growing more and more.

So Cam liked some girl at school. And I'd be damned if it wasn't me.

My mind, that treacherous thing, decided to replay the night before when jealously sparked Cam into action, and he snatched me away from Jason. The way his gaze had burned into mine, as if he was telepathically staking his claim and recognizing that no one else should be with me.

Then out by the gazebo, that playful chat really had my heart going. I tried to play it off. I wanted to play it cool, but I think Cam saw it at that moment. The way he rested his forehead against mine, his breath tickling my cheek, and his lips achingly close to a kiss.

I knew it was all too good to be true. The ever-so predictable Cam would have made a move, and I, so greedily, would have relished the moment only to have him run off when he felt he'd crossed that line again.

And I wanted that line to go to hell.

I had thought it melted away from all those months we spent working on that project last year.

I let out a long miserable sigh. I had wondered if I did the right thing last night by becoming the one who walked away from him. I thought about it all night to the point where I couldn't sleep, and exhaustion had to take me forcefully. I wanted to straighten everything out, give Cam a call and see if he would answer. Instead, I chose to let it go. Odds were Cam would pretend it never happened, which was precisely what happened when my Grandpa asked about us.

How Cam thought he could cover his surprise of seeing me was astounding.

I snickered, rolling my eyes. That guy was a piece of work sometimes.

Grandpa cleared his throat, and my eyes cut to him before I slowly turned my head in his direction. He quirked a curious brow. My response was a small smile.

"You scared him off the poor guy, gramps."

He let out a hoarse chuckle. "That wasn't my intention," he said innocently.

"What did you expect when you started playing matchmaker and spilling his secrets?"

The end credits started rolling in, and Gramps paused it. "I thought he would own up to his feelings and try to win my granddaughter back."

"What!" I screeched.

Gramps grinned, "These old eyes catch more than you think." He tapped his temple.

"They have deceived you." I fidgeted in my seat, toying with the fringe on my jean shorts. "I think a pair of glasses would be beneficial at your old age."

He tsked. "I think you're just as bad as Cam is. He has a good reason. What's yours? You talked about how much you liked this guy all summer and how worried you were about him when you couldn't reach him."

I ignored his question. "And what's his reason?" I basically confirmed that Cam was the guy I told my gramps about a few weeks ago.

Gramps' grin waned. "Not my story to tell, pumpkin. So go easy on him. He's a good kid."

"You're one of the few that sees that." I thought about how everyone has been treating Cam at school.

"Those kids at school are heartless. They take all that hearsay and think it's cool to judge and crucify someone over it. They weren't raised well enough."

I stared at him blankly. So Cam does talk to him. I couldn't blame him. My gramps was pretty cool.

I leaned back into the couch, stretching my legs out in front of me. "It's not only the kids at school. It's the town."

Gramps features hardened. "They think the mayor is a saint."

"You disagree?" I asked. His statement piqued my interest.

"If you asked me that last year, I wouldn't have said yes. But knowing what I know about Cam, in the short days that I've met him, something doesn't add up."

I opened my mouth to fire another question, but he held up his hand.

"Before you ask, Cam was very vague with his story. He told me as much as he was comfortable with. He left out parts..." Gramps trailed off into deep thoughts.

I filled in the blanks. "Because he was embarrassed."

Gramps shook his head. "No. It looked like he was afraid of something."

I felt a tremor go through my body. "That doesn't make sense." The Cam I knew wasn't afraid of anything or anyone. Except you know, maybe me at the moment, but that was beside the point.

"I know how it sounds, but I have a feeling I'm right." His eyes shined with absolute certainty.

I sucked in my bottom lip, letting my train of thought kick into hyper speed.

Gramps slapped his hands onto his thighs. "You're going to do that thing, aren't you?"

I laughed nervously, letting my eyes flitter around the room. "Thing? I have a thing?" I tucked my side band behind my ear.

"Yes. I believe you call it investigative journalism. When you obsess and research."

Yes, my hobby, my passion, my life. "Nope. Never heard of it." My lips tipped up into a grin.

Gramps looked around like he was afraid we were being spied on, then he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I want to be the first person you tell when you get the details."

I winked. "You got it."