Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,33

I was waiting for Hayden?

Okay, so maybe I was. But not to grovel like they clearly assumed. It’d be a cold day in hell before that happened.

At lunch, Taylor still acted like her happy social-butterfly self, even after she had time to digest the morning’s turn of events. My ears followed the conversation at my table, but my eyes searched the crowded room. Yet again, Hayden was nowhere to be found.

Did he have any idea what he’d done? Did he realize he almost sabotaged one of the only friendships I had?

“So as promised, I’m driving to the bonfire tonight,” Taylor informed Chloe and me.

“I’ll have to meet up with you there,” Chloe explained. “I’ve got practice then a unity-building activity afterwards.”

“No worries,” Taylor assured her with a smile in her voice. “Alex and I will get the party started on our own.”

* * *

We pulled up at the beach in Taylor’s sporty red convertible just after nine. I had no clue why she’d been so eager to take my car last time. Hers put all others to shame.

I planned to tell her I was dropping out of the competition since it meant nothing to me and everything to her. But since she hadn’t brought it up, I didn’t want to spoil our night by reminding her she didn’t make it.

We walked through the cool sand, skirting around groups of people surrounding the crimson flames.

“Look, there’s Cameron.” Taylor pointed to a white truck parked on the beach just past the fire. Music blared from its opened doors, and a keg sat in the bed. People with red cups hung around it.

A shaggy blonde in green board shorts and a black hoodie made his way over to us. He wore a giant grin and carried two cups.

“I hear a celebration’s in order.” He handed one of the cups to Taylor before handing the other to me.

I took the cup, eyeing him curiously.

“SSC Voice,” he explained. “Taylor said you’re gonna steal the show.”

I gulped down half the cup of beer so I didn’t have to respond.

He bumped my shoulder playfully. “It’s okay to admit you’re gonna kill it.”

My cheeks burned and my face fell into a grimace. I needed him to stop talking about the competition. It only reminded Taylor why she should hate me.

“I’m Cameron,” he offered, misinterpreting my expression as confusion.

“Right.” I flashed him a regrettable smile.

“What do you say we take a walk? You know, get to know each other, see the sights,” he offered lightheartedly.

I glanced beside me. Taylor had disappeared. “Where’d she go?”

He shot me a crooked smile, the kind that said I’d been set up. For some reason, it didn’t feel like such a bad thing. He didn’t have dimples like Hayden, but he possessed that cute surfer swag that turned girls’ heads. “Does it really matter?”

“Only if you want her to walk with us.” Feeling immediately embarrassed by my blatant flirting, I chugged more of my beer.

A smile dragged across his sun-chapped lips as he shook his head. “Did you?”

I kept the cup to my mouth and shook my head.

“Come on.” He grasped my hand, like it was completely normal to be holding hands with a stranger, and led me down to the water’s edge. His hand was cold to the touch and not as strong as Hayden’s.

Ugh.

I shook away the thought and threatened any future thoughts of him from entering my head.

We reached the water, staying back just enough that the tide didn’t reach us.

“Hold on.”

Cameron watched in amusement as I dropped to the sand, slipped off my flip flops, and rolled the bottom of my jeans. When I stood up, wooziness caused me to stumble back a step.

“Whoa there.” Cameron grabbed hold of my elbow and steadied me.

“Sorry.” I glanced into my nearly-empty cup. I wasn’t usually such a lightweight. “I guess I just stood up too fast.”

“No worries. I’ve got you.” He linked his fingers with mine and tugged me along the beach.

It felt nice to have someone paying attention to me. It had been a while. And though Cameron didn’t make me feel safe the way Hayden did, he made me feel excited. Like a girl getting attention from the most popular guy in school. I would’ve been a fool not to enjoy the attention from such a hottie.

Hottie?

“So, as promised, I’m going to show you the sights the coast has to offer.”

Cameron walked alongside me, his bare feet on the damp sand while mine were covered by the icy water—such a