CRUSH (10 page)

“How many?” he demanded.

“Three,” I answered dutifully.

“What’s your full name?”

I rolled my eyes. “Camilla Noelle Wimberley.”

“Who’s the president of the United States?”

“Abraham Lincoln,” I replied in a snarky tone.
“Quit asking me dumb questions.”

He sighed but grinned. “I’m just trying to make
sure you’re okay. You got bumped around pretty good. If you hit your head I
should probably take you to the emergency room.”

“I don’t think I hit my head, just every part
of the rest of my body.” I slumped back against the seat.

“Let’s get you home.” He tucked the bottom of
the blanket into the car and shut the door.

I watched him as he retrieved my shoes, then
took my clothes off the hood and wrung the water out of them before tossing
them in the trunk and closing it.

“Somehow I don’t think bringing you home mostly
naked is going to score me many points with your parents,” he said as he slid
into the driver’s seat.

“Hunter, you just saved me from drowning. I’m
thinking they’ll probably be pretty grateful.” That was when I noticed how wet
he was also.

He sighed heavily. “Guess we’ll find out.” He
turned the heater on and slowly made his way over the bumps and ruts in the
road. As soon as we reached the highway he gassed the engine and raced the last
the forty miles back into Copper City.

Hunter-

What to
do?
I sat sprawled on the plush
black leather sofa in my condo, flipping my phone around in my hand while I
tried to decide whether or not I should text Cami and see how she was doing.

Her dad was not at all happy with the nearly
naked state I’d returned her in. Her mom was all worry and concern, thanking me
profusely for helping her daughter before shuttling her off into the other
room. I hadn’t waited around long enough to get my blanket back, and it was the
actual comforter for my bed.

It had been several hours now.
The words,
How R U?
were
typed onto my screen, I hadn’t pressed send yet. There
were a million things running through my head—things I was having extreme
difficulty sorting out.

If I sent this text, it would give the message
I was still thinking about her, and I really did care. It made me out as being
committed enough to keep an interest in her, which I honestly was, but
shouldn’t be.

There was a jingle of keys at the door and it
swung open. “Hey, Uncle Chris,” I said to the tall, thin man as he walked
inside carrying his briefcase.

He shook his head. “Would you cool it with the
whole uncle thing?” he asked in exasperation. “It’s not funny anymore.”

I chuckled. “Maybe not for you. I find it quite
funny.”

“Well, I’m glad I can amuse you, even though
I’m way too young for you to call uncle. How are you doing? You look like you
could use a little cheering up. You’re worried about something, I can tell.
What’s eating you?”

I sighed, and sat up. He knew me too well. “Can
I confess something? I’m really struggling here, and I need a second opinion.”

“Sure,” he said, tossing the briefcase on the
coffee table between us. “What’s up?”

I decided to plunge in. “I’ve met this
girl . . .” I held my breath, waiting for the explosion.

“What? You’re kidding me. Please tell me you’re
kidding.” He looked astounded.

“I wish I could, but I can’t. I’m sorry. I
noticed her right from the beginning. I’ve been trying to fight my attraction
for her, but it isn’t working so well. Now I find myself jumping from the
kettle into the fire. We’ve had the opportunity to get to know each other a
little more, and not only do I like her, she seems to really like me.”

Chris groaned and loosened his tie. “This is
wrong in so many ways.”

I nodded. “I know it is. I’m totally torn. If I
walk away from her now, she’s going to wonder what happened. She knows there
was a real connection there. If I don’t walk away from
her . . . well, you can see where I’m going with this.”

“Hunter,” he warned. “This isn’t good.” He
stroked a hand over his face. “What’s her name?”

“Cami Wimberley.”

Chris rubbed his temples. “How old is she?”

“Seventeen.”

He gave me an incredulous look. “She’s a
freakin
’ minor, Hunter, and you’re not. You can’t be
involved with someone like that. She’s too young, and it’s too dangerous.”

“I know!” I growled, jumping up and pacing to
the window.

 
“How close are we talking here?
Boyfriend/girlfriend status? Have you kissed her?”

“No, I haven’t, but I would’ve today if we
hadn’t been interrupted. The sad thing is I want to.” I leaned against the
window and folded my arms. “Being with her is the most natural thing in the
world. I swear it’s like she’s perfect. It doesn’t matter that she’s
all wrong
for me. It all melts away when I’m with her.
There’s just this amazing connection.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “What
should I do?”

Chris shook his head. “I don’t know, but we
need to maintain a low profile here. We can’t afford to draw any undue
attention to ourselves right now.”

“Well then, I need some advice. I like this
girl, and I don’t think I can stay away. I want to be with her.”

He shook his head. “You’re a legal adult. If
you cross any lines with her and someone found out, it could land you in jail.
We can’t have that.”

“She’ll be eighteen next month. I checked.”

“Why’d you ask her out? You know we’re trying
to lay low.”

“She was in a bit of a pickle with another guy
who likes her. I decided to help her—thinking it would be just a onetime
deal. Things progressed from there.”

Chris snorted. “Oh, so now you’re saying you’re
in some sort of a love triangle? You’re not supposed to star in your own
romance novel! What the heck are you doing when I’m gone?”

I smiled wryly. “Apparently making a big giant
mess of things. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Do you have
any advice?”

“Probably nothing you want to hear. I guess try
to be careful and not get involved with kissing her. That’s when the lines will
get sticky for you and could cause problems.”

I nodded. “Okay, so look, don’t touch. I got
it.”

“Be careful. This sounds like it could go south
really fast.”

“I’m aware. I hate having her in the middle of
this. I don’t want her caught in the crossfire if something actually does go
down.”

He stared at me for a minute. “We’re playing a
dangerous game here. You need to be careful. How would she handle things if you
just up and disappeared? It could happen, you know.”

“She’d be terrified. I imagine she’d think I
overdosed on something. She’s very concerned about my current drug use. She’s
had a bad experience with that.” I ran a hand through my hair.

“So, here’s my question. If you’ve been growing
closer since you’ve been here—why the extreme concern all of a sudden?
Surely you’ve thought of all this before.”

I sat down on the couch again. “We went out
together today, and she had a near death experience this afternoon.”

“What?” Chris sat up straighter.

“It’s not as bad as it sounds, but she fell
into a river—more like a fast-moving creek really. She got caught in the
undercurrent and couldn’t get up. I thought she was going to drown before I got
there. It was the most terrifying few seconds of my life.”

“That sounds horrible. Is she okay?” He seemed
genuinely concerned.

“Yeah. She was mostly cold, wet, and exhausted.
I wrapped her up in a blanket I had from our picnic and took her home.”

“I’m glad you were with her.”

“Me too, but something happened out there.
Seeing her like that really solidified what I’m feeling. This isn’t about
trying to help her, like I’ve been deluding myself. I really want to
pursue . . . whatever this is.”

Chris watched me for several moments before he
spoke. “I can see this is kind of like walking a tight rope for you. You’re
going to have to be aware and try balancing things properly. Guess we’re
finally going to see what you’re really made of, aren’t we? Be careful. You
could end up blowing everything.”

He got up and walked into the kitchen.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I said under my
breath.

Hunter-

How R U? U awake?
I retyped, pushed send and waited, lounging on my bed while I
listened to some music, trying to calm my nervous energy. I couldn’t stand not
knowing any longer.

My phone buzzed, and I opened the text
immediately.
Hey. I’m good, thx. I
kinda
crashed after U brought me
home. Sorry.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I read her
message and then dialed her number.

“Hello?”

It was good to hear her voice. “I’ve been
worried.”

“Don’t be. I’m fine, just wiped out. You know
you’re my hero now, right?”

I snorted. “Hardly, I was scared to death.” That
was an understatement of epic proportions. I was pretty sure my heart had
stopped beating from the moment she slipped under to the second she was finally
able to gasp for a breath.

“You didn’t show it. You just swooped in and
saved the day. You work well under pressure.”

“I’m not so sure about that, but I was happy to
help.” I paused before continuing. “I guess you should go ahead and tell me how
your dad is going to ban me from ever seeing you again.”

“Actually, he’s coming around. After I
explained everything he even seemed a little impressed with your quick actions.
I think it was my lack of clothes that bugged him the most . . .
and knowing you’d seen me that way.”

“Well, I couldn’t very well leave you standing
there dripping wet and freezing.”

She laughed. “It’s okay, Hunter, really. He
gets it. He was nervous about you to begin with. I’ve never really dated guys
like you before.”

“Guys like me? Why does that sound like a bad
thing?”

“I don’t mean it badly at all. It was a
compliment. Let’s just say the guys I dated in the past
were . . . geekier guys, for lack of better terminology. You’re
definitely
not
one of those, but I
think geeky is what he’s comfortable with.”

“What are you comfortable with?” I wanted to
know.

There was silence on the other end for several
seconds. “I’m pretty comfortable with you, if that’s what you’re asking. I
didn’t think I would be, but I am. It’s strange really.”

“I’m glad you feel that way. I don’t want you
to be uneasy around me.”

There was a moment of silence. “Would it be bad
if I said I miss you?” she asked, and my pulse rate picked up. “I’m sorry I
fell. I wanted to watch the sunset out there with you today. My carelessness
cut our date short.”

“Don’t worry about it. There will be other
dates.” I groaned internally. I was determined to dig myself into a deeper hole
it seemed.

“There will be?”

“If that’s what you’d like.” After today I was
pretty much willing to give her whatever she wanted. I just needed her to be
safe.

“I’d like that a lot.” She gave a short laugh. “Did
you know I dreamed about you while I was sleeping? I can smell your aftershave
or something on your blanket. Sorry I didn’t give it to you before you left.
I’ll wash and return it.”

The image of her body wrapped up tightly in my
bedding with her gorgeous red hair splayed about her pleased me to no end.
Seventeen, dude,
I reminded myself.
Rein it in.
“Keep it,” I said. “I want
you to have it.”

“No, I don’t want to steal your blanket,” she
protested.

“You aren’t. I just gave it to you. Now you can
tell me how much you like me.” I grinned.

“Nice try.” She laughed, and the sound warmed
my heart.

“I will win this,” I promised her.

“I don’t think so.”

“Go back to sleep. You can tell me how much you
like me tomorrow at school, and you can fill me in on this dream you had.”

She laughed even harder. “Good luck with that,
playboy.”

“I don’t need luck, Goody. It’s
gonna
happen. Now go back to sleep.”

“Yes, sir!” she said in military fashion.

I smiled, wishing I could brush my hand over
her beautiful face. “Goodnight, Cami.”

“Goodnight, Hunter. Thanks for being there.”

The call clicked off, and I missed her already.
I sat there for several moments staring at the white ceiling. This was going to
be rough. I knew things weren’t in a good place right now, and part of me
wanted to run far and fast in the other direction. Unfortunately, the part that
didn’t want to seemed the most in control. I’d been excited for the move here
at first, eager to get into the local scene and live the party life. It was
easy for me—natural.