tell her I’d stopped in the middle of shopping because the object of my stalking affections had wandered by, which fucking reminded me of something important. He was nearly halfway finished with his checkout, and I hadn’t apologized yet.
I lowered my voice a bit. “So, we’re okay, right?”
“Cameron.” His voice was exasperated. “Yes. It’s okay. I’ve been turned down before. Although, maybe not as many times with the same person. You should start punching my loyalty card. One more and I get a free frozen yogurt.”
I snorted. “I haven’t been that bad.”
“You have. But I get it. Message received, loud and clear.” Done with our conversation, he tossed two KitKats on the conveyer belt.
All right, I’d done what I’d come to do. No need to keep talking. I shifted from one foot to the other. “I’ve missed you on our walks.”
And just like that, his hold on his blank expression slipped. Irritation wreathed his brow as he stared at me—hard. “Cameron.”
I winced. “I know, I know.”
“I’m trying to figure out what your damage is,” he said quietly, but no less intense for the lack of volume. “You said you didn’t want me to pursue you, and I’m not. You were extremely vocal that you don’t want to go there again, especially with him. I accept that.”
I started to get a little annoyed. He was acting like this was easy for me, and it wasn’t. “I remember what I said.”
“Now you’ve hunted me down to apologize, and I said we’re good,” he steamrolled on. “What else do you want?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t you?”
I want you. That answer was pretty easy. I just didn’t know if I could have him that way without taking us back to a place better left forgotten.
Molly was doing a poor job of pretending not to listen. She was so into our conversation that she rung up the cabbage twice. Blushing, she called for the manager. We waited in silence as the manager sauntered over, in no particular hurry, and keyed in his code. When he finished, Journey paid and left without speaking to me again, his arms laden with bags. I didn’t blame him. What else was there to say? Either I was in or I was out.
Molly widened blue mascara-rimmed eyes at me. “Are you just going to let him go?”
I blinked at her. “What do you expect me to do? Physically restrain him?”
“Good Lord, Cameron.” She looked appalled at my cluelessness. “Go after him.”
Just like that? Was she mad? She hadn’t even rung up my items. Judging from the look on her face, she wasn’t going to, either. “I can’t—”
“Go.”
“It’s not that simple—”
She waved me off. “Don’t make me repeat myself, sugar. Get on, now.”
When someone starts talking to you like a mutt digging in the trash, you’d better not argue. Even I knew that. By the time I rushed out in the parking lot, I was relieved to see Journey still loading up the back of his dad’s Mustang.
“Need any help?” I offered.
He looked askance at me, brow furrowed as he put the last bag in the tiny trunk. “I think I can handle a couple of bags, Foster.”
“Right-o.” Right-o? I shouldn’t be allowed to speak to people—ever. “I guess I’ll be seeing you, then.”
“We live next door to one another, therefore the likelihood of that is pretty high, yes.”
“I don’t do hookups,” I blurted. “I never have. Especially not with an ex. It just gets messy.”
“Good of you to rush over here and tell me that. Again. I’m starting to take it personally.” He shut the trunk and not gently either. “And now you owe me a fucking frozen yogurt.”
I grabbed his arm before he could turn away and promptly forgot what the hell I was going to say. His skin was warm and soft. I couldn’t see the hairs there all that well, probably because he was so fair, but I could feel them under my fingertips. His pulse thrummed at hummingbird speed under my touch. “I wasn’t finished.”
“Then finish.” His voice wasn’t that steady, letting me know he was just as affected as I was.
“I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop remembering how we were… together. I’m making an exception to my own rules.”
“An exception for what?”
“An exception for us,” I said, frustrated that I wasn’t being clear. “Having a little fun.”
“Like Poker? I do love Poker.”
“You know what I mean.”
His eyes were amused as he blinked at me innocently. “Do I?”
That rat bastard was going to make me