Only You
Authors: Kaleigh James
Tags: #Literature & Fiction, #Romance, #Contemporary, #Contemporary Fiction
Only You
Copyrigh
t
©
2014
Kaleigh James
Kindle
Edition
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Three years ago
Camden Shepherd had been in love exactly one time. It was a love that was fierce and pure and true. She had known since she was ten years old that her heart would always belong to one boy - a boy who had grown into a handsome man. For eight years, she had waited for the perfect moment to admit her feelings to him.
There had been complications, as there always are in the path to true love. Shane Hunt was her brother Brody's best friend, and therefore forbidden. There were also the two years he and Brody had spent in Afghanistan, fighting for their country. She had missed Shane terribly during that interlude, but she had kept in contact, sending the boys care packages filled with goodies and carefully constructed letters that did NOT indicate her burning love for Shane. In fact, Camden was quite proud of her ability to hide her feelings from Shane. She was certain he had no idea that she had been carrying a torch for him.
Tonight, though, all that would change. It was finally time to tell him
of her unshakeable love. Shane and Brody had both come home in time to attend her high school graduation. They had cheered boisterously as she crossed the stage to receive her diploma. It had felt wonderful having the people she loved most in the world supporting her on such a momentous occasion; but in Camden's heart, tonight would be even more momentous. Her parents were throwing her a huge graduation party, and finally, after years of waiting, she was going to tell Shane how she felt.
***
Shane Hunt was well on his way to being drunk. Camden's graduation party roared around him, the bass of some terrible top 40 song vibrating beneath his feet. He had tried to get out of coming, but he had known Camden would be disappointed, and he couldn't do anything to hurt her. She'd been under his skin for years. Shane stumbled as he made his way out the front door. He was definitely feeling buzzed, and he was headed towards total drunkenness. He had come outside because he didn't think it would go over well if he got sick on the Shepherd's carpet. Once is forgivable, but a second occurrence was shameful...especially since he wasn't a rebellious fifteen year old anymore.
Outside, the wind rustled the leaves, and Shane could hear the muted melody of the music, but it was much more peaceful. He made his way straight to the wooden swing, his favorite place on the wrap around porch. He settled into the swing and took a long pull from his beer as the
seat began to sway. He closed his eyes and laid his head against the back of the swing, dreaming of what tonight should have been like...a night where he was stone cold sober and would absolutely NOT be sleeping alone.
"I thought I might find you here," a warm, sexy voice interrupted his musings. Shane jerked his head upright, staring at Camden. His head be
gan pounding from the movement, but he couldn't tear his eyes from her. She looked beautiful. Her long blonde hair lay in waves around her shoulders, and her bright green eyes hypnotized him. Her golden skin shimmered against her pale yellow dress, and even in the darkness of night, Shane could see her worried expression.
"Are you okay?" She sounded concerned, but of course he wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. They'd known each other since they were children.
"Just drank too much," he grumbled.
Camden thought Shane looked a little dark
and morose that evening. His dark hair was in disarray, and his blue eyes had darkened to almost black. Something was going on that he wasn't happy about. She wondered whether she should proceed with her plan, as she looked at him sullenly pouting on the porch swing. She chewed her lower lip, a habit her mother loathed, as she waivered in her decision.
No
, she thought.
There is no backing out of this. It is now or never.
"Shane?" she began timidly.
"Can we go for a walk? I want to talk to you about something."
Shane's eyebrows scrunched together, as if he was preparing himself for terrible news
, but he nodded slowly. Surprised that Camden would want to leave her party, he began to wonder what she wanted to talk to him about. And why couldn't they talk about it here on the front porch? Shane's heart began to race, as he thought through all the reasons Camden would reach out to him away from Brody or her parents. Was she in trouble? He hadn't been home in a year. Had something bad happened while he was gone? Shane's head began pounding as he thought of what he would do to anyone who had hurt Camden. Hell, anyone who had touched her. He ground his teeth together to stop himself from demanding answers as he stood and followed Camden down the front steps.
Camden
could feel the heat of Shane's body at her side, and butterflies erupted in her stomach. She couldn't believe she was about to risk everything by telling him the truth, but if he felt a fraction of what she did, she knew that they could face her family and a life together. As they reached a street light just a couple of houses away, Camden paused, wanting to see Shane's face as she bore her heart to him. She placed her hand on his forearm, stopping him in his tracks.
Shane's deep blue eyes peered at her from beneath lashes so thick, any girl would be envious. Camden wondered at the hesitant look in his eyes. She squeezed her hands together, and her mind went totally blank. She had rehearsed what she was going to say a million times, and nothing came to mind. Her speech had been eloquently composed, romantic even. Camden's heart fluttered as she began to panic. Shane's expression became concerned, and he gently grabbed her hand.
"You can tell me anything, Cam," he urged supportively, although he wasn't sure how true that was. Even now, he was using every ounce of self-control to keep from demanding who had caused her this level of distress.
Camden stared at Shane, her mouth hanging open. When the words she had rehearsed still wouldn't come to mind, she blurted, "I'm in love with you. I always have been, at least since I've known that boys were worth liking. I know you are Brody's best friend, so it's kind of off-limits, but I love you too much to not say anything." Camden took a deep breath and barreled on. "I know that if you feel something towards me, we can make it work, no matter what Brody and my parents think. I'm eighteen now, so it's legal. Plus, I'm an adult and can make my own decisions, and I choose you."
She paused, and looked at Shane's stricken face. "I choose you," she whispered, dropping her hand from his. It was obvious that he was not expecting her outburst. In shock, Shane was unable to formulate an immediate reply. He had expected her to confess she was in some sort of trouble. It wouldn't have been the first time she had sought him to help her out of a tight spot. Brody was crazy overprotective, so Shane helped out from time to time to keep Camden from Brody's brotherly rants.
"Camden," Shane croaked. He stared at her in disbelief, and Camden knew he was about to break her heart. Her eyes filled with tears, and Shane sobered completely. He hated to hurt her. He always had. "Camden, I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice faltering slightly at the end. "You....you're like a little sister to me. I've never thought of you that way."
A single tear trickled down her cheek, and Camden knew she couldn't stand to look at the man she loved while he broke her heart, no matter how gently he did so. Before she could think better of it, she turned and ran back to the house.
"Camden!" Shane yelled after her. "Cam!" But she kept running down the sidewalk. She stumbled up the porch steps, holding back the sobs that wanted to break free. The music blasted as she opened the front door. Her guests were too busy reveling to notice her as she made her way upstairs, unlocked her bedroom and stepped inside. She had just enough control to remember to
bolt her door behind her. She would be even more humiliated if someone saw her lose it.
As soon as the door was locked, Camden's knees buckled, and she sank to the floor sobbing. Heart-wrenching cries were hidden by the music and party sounds downstairs. No one knew the pain she suffered, save the quiet boy who had followed her into the house and up the stairs.
Shane's stomach turned as he listened to Camden cry. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but stopped, knowing he was the last person that she would want to see. He touched his fingers to the fuzzy pink sign bearing her name and two single tears raced from his eyes. He had never heard her sob like this before. She was crushed, and he had been the person to destroy her. Shane turned slowly, wiped his eyes, and headed to the kitchen to get wasted.
***
Camden wasn't sure how much time had passed, but her tears had finally dried. Her breathing was still unsteady, so she focused on steadying her breaths as she went into her bathroom to clean the mascara streaks off her face. She stared at her red puffy eyes in the mirror. She knew that Shane would see the evidence of her tears, but if she covered it well with her makeup, everyone would just assume her eyes were red from drinking.
After fifteen minutes fixing her face, Camden went into her closet. She had dressed in a cute, pale yellow sundress with strappy tan sandals. Shane had always called her "Sunshine" when she wore yellow, and she knew the
soft, creamy color looked great against her golden skin and sparkling green eyes. She couldn't get the dress off fast enough. As she began tossing her wardrobe on the floor of her closet, she noticed a red mini-dress that Jennifer had left a few weeks before. It was a little slutty for Camden's taste, but she had made a decision. She had wasted years...YEARS...waiting for Shane, and he hadn't given her even a thought. He said she was like his little sister. Well, she'd be damned if she was going to wait for him to notice her any longer.
She choked back another sob. Her family loved Shane like he was part of the family, and even though Camden was going to force herself to move on, she knew she couldn't bear to see him whenever she came home for holidays or summer break. She had always been told not to make rash decisions when she was upset, but tonight she was going to make two, and she couldn't care less if either was wrong. First, she was not going to be the only freshman
in college with her v-card. She'd been saving it for Shane, but what was the point of saving her virginity for her true love if her love was unrequited? She was going give that v-card to the first acceptable bidder, as early as tonight, if she could swing it. Second, she was not going to stay in her hometown to see Shane fall in love with someone else. She was salutatorian, so she had been accepted to most of the schools to which she applied, but she didn't care about that. She was going to drive until she found a town she liked, and then she was going to get a job and enroll in community college. It would probably take her a week to arrange everything so that she could leave, but she had decided, and once Camden made a decision, she was a force with which to be reckoned.
