The Real Me (How to Tame a Heartbreaker Book 4) (10 page)

"They knew you were at your parents house. Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering, you know, what you guys talked about."

"We didn't really have time to talk. It was busy
. I like them, though. They're all really nice."

Cam had
been so preoccupied with doing damage control that he'd forgotten to enjoy the simple fact that she had text in the first place and now he had her on the phone. Obviously, she wasn't suspicious or she would have already been asking questions. He went for a walk along the fence line and talked to Jax for the next hour. They talked about farming, and women's shelters, and fundraisers, and everything else they could fit into the conversation until Neil ran up to Cam waving to get his attention. He hung up the phone with the promise of a text or call before the day was over.

Chapter 11

The photographer insisted on being at the farm for several days so he'd have a better chance of shooting in the specific type of weather he was looking for. Cam never imagined that his friends would go spy on his girl while he was gone, and spoke to Neil in a distracted, agitated way that prompted Neil to leave him alone after a short conversation about whether or not Cam could actually drive a tractor, or if they should just plan on shooting him sitting on it like they originally thought.

Cam was ready to get to the bottom of this other thing, so he told
Neil something to the effect of being able to drive a tractor with his eyes closed—an answer that must have pleased Neil because he walked off smiling. Cam still had his phone in his hand from the conversation with Jax, and he dialed Jason's number just as soon as Neil was out of earshot.

"What the fu
uuuck, Jason? What were you guys doing at Bing's last night?" Cam asked the questions before Jason even said hello, and Jason scowled defensively even though Cam couldn’t see him.

Hannah
saw Jason's reaction and tried to ask what was the matter, but Jason waved her off and went outside to take Cam's call.

"Dude, I told you I was going to see The Mama's Boys."

"You
conveniently
didn't mention that they were playing at the bar where my girlfriend works."

Jason laughed. "Oh, she's your
girlfriend
now?"

"Shut-up. You know what I mean. You know I'm talking to that girl."

"I seriously did go to see the band," Jason said.

"Hannah wanted
the girls to meet her, but it was no big deal. They didn't say anything."

"They better not."

"Cam, has it ever crossed your mind that if you like her, she'll
have
to know the truth at some point? Unless you're planning on living a double life or something."

Cam didn't have a plan
—other than the fact that he knew he wasn't ready to tell her just yet. Especially when he couldn't talk to her face to face.

"
She knew the truth about you being in Iowa and the farm and everything." Jason said, after waiting through several long seconds of silence while Cam contemplated his lack of a plan.

"I told her I was here," he said. "I tell her mostly the truth."

"Except for who you really are."

"She knows who I really am. I've told her more about the
real
me than any other girl I've known."

Jason laughed.

"What?" Cam asked, defensively.

"Nothing. It's gonna be interesting to see how this all plays out, that's all."

"Well it's probably gonna play out with me and her together, so I don't want y'all going to Bing's while I'm gone. You're gonna fuck it up."

"We didn't fuck anything up. The girls all fell in love with her. They're saying they hope
you
don't fuck it up."

"I'm not."
There were a few more seconds of silence before Cam spoke again. "Hannah liked her? What'd she say?"

"
I don't know. Her, Taylor, and Molly talked about how cute and sweet she was like girls do. I didn't really hear everything, because like I said, I was there to watch the band."

Cam remembered something he learned about Jason earlier that day.
"Neil said Steve Carr told me you made the list for this magazine, but declined since you
weren't eligible
."

"Whatever,
" Jason said.

Cam laughed.
"What? Are you married or something?"

"No, but I'm not
eligible
."

"Does Hannah even know you were on the list?"

"No. And she's not gonna find out."

There was a pause.

"What number were you?"

"Nine."

"Nine's pretty good," Cam said.

"Not as good as two."

Cam sighed. He was so competitive that he was actually frustrated at not being chosen as number one. "Fuckin' Eric Short," he said. "It's just cause he's a producer."

"Number two's good, dude. Especially when you're apparently not even eligible anymore."

Cam laughed, knowing that was silly even though he innately agreed with it for some strange reason.

"Was that all you called me for—to give me shit about going to a show
and declining a chance at being number nine?"

"Yeah."

"All right, I'll talk to you later, then."

"Okay."

Cam pressed the button to end the call, and slid the phone into the back pocket of his jeans.

"What are you doing tonight?" Cam's brother, Chase, asked when Cam walked back into the house.

"Nothing. I think the photographer wants to get some pictures at sunrise tomorrow, so I can't be up all night."

"You can come to Des Moines with me and Seth," Chase said. "We're hanging out at his girlfriend's house. It's nice. She has a pool table and she smokes, so it's cool."

Cam knew Chase wasn't talking about cigarettes, and even though he liked to party, he had to be careful since people were so snap happy with their freaking cameras. "I can't do that."

"Come on. They all know you're my brother. Nobody's gonna trip."

"I'll think about it. What time are you going over there?"

"Eight or so."

"All right." 

Cam was busy as usual for the rest of the day.
Believe it or not, his dad put him to work on the farm. He didn't have him doing hard stuff, but the photo shoot didn't require all of his time, and Mr. Bishop wasn't big on letting his son sit around, famous or not. Cam didn't mind. It helped to pass the time while they waited for the weather.

Jax hadn't called by eight o'clock when Chase left for his friend's house, and Cam decided to go over there for a
while instead of waiting around for her to get in touch. Seth's girlfriend lived in a huge house that Cam assumed belonged to her parents, since she couldn't be a day over twenty. There were no parents in sight, however, and the three couples and few extra girls were already partying at 8PM when Cam and Chase got there.

"I can't believe you're
really
his brother," a fine little piece of ass said as she opened the door. She looked like a ready and willing little playboy bunny, and Cam's initial reaction was to put an arm around her and steak his claim for the evening. Then the thought of Jax and the image of her in his head did something crazy. Cam was suddenly no longer interested in the lovely lady standing at the door.
Shit. Is this how it's gonna be?
Cam managed a smile at the girl even though he was completely distracted by his un-attraction to her. He took in her face and body thinking she was probably the hottest ticket in Des Moines and why the hell couldn't he put his arm around her like he wanted to?

"This is Kami," Chase said.

Cam let out a little laugh, which made her instantly pout.

"What?" Chase asked.

"You're Kami and I'm Cam. That's just funny."

She looked offended
and confused, wondering if this took her out of the running for his attention. Everyone else was visible in the big, open living room, so Cam and Chase followed Kami in and they all found a seat. The couples were obvious since they were sitting on laps or cuddled up next to each other. There were a few single girls scattered here and there and Chase sat next to one of them.

Cam
could have his choice of several lovely ladies including Kami, but chose to sit on an ottoman near the center of the room. If he was good at one thing, it was being the center of attention. He talked, and cut up, and made them all laugh so much that nobody even noticed that he never took hits off the blunts when they came past him—no one except his brother.

"Nobody cares if you hit that," Chase said discretely
as he reached for the blunt Cam passed.

"I'm good," Cam said. "Neil would kill me if I wound up on somebody's Facebook page."

Chase wanted to assure him that nobody would do that, but he decided to let his brother take care of himself.

Cam told stories
from the road and was absolutely the life of the party for a couple of hours while they chilled at Seth's girlfriend's house. He didn't smoke or drink since he barely knew any of them, but had a good time, and the two hours passed quickly.

It wasn't until Kami mentioned finding a quiet spot upstairs that
Cam thought of Jax. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked down at it even though Kami was standing there with an expectant look on her face.

"I can't," Cam said, not bothering to look up at Kami. A text from Jax had come in about an hour before, and he cursed himself for not looking at his phone sooner.

Jax: "Hey. Just wanted to text since I said I would."

Cam read the text twice.

"Why? I was thinking we could hang out," Kami repeated.

Cam looked at her. She was cute and everything, and he didn't want to be mean, but couldn't she see he was busy here?

"I have to head back, actually," he said regretfully. "I was just about to tell Chase we had to leave. I have to be up really early."

"Aw, I thought for sure you'd hang out," she said stepping closer to him. "Beth and I don't mind sharing if you want to hang out with both of us."

And the deal sweetens.

"I wish I
could," Cam said, trying to be gracious with his rejection.

S
he then understood that he was serious and her expectant face fell, showing her disappointment. "Can I give you my number in case you change your mind?"

"Of course," Cam said. "It was nice meeting you.
" He looked over her shoulder. "Chase!" he yelled, causing Kami to jump. "I have to go."

Chase
started to protest, but reluctantly got to his feet and said his goodbyes to the girl he'd been sitting with.

"I told you they were cool," Chase said in the truck. "Why were you in such a hurry to leave?"

"I have to be up early in the morning."

Cam couldn't decide if he wanted to text Jax in the truck or just wait till he got back to the farm when he could talk to her on the phone and hear her voice. He opted for both. He typed out a text and sent it on their way home.

Cam: "I'm planning on calling you in thirty minutes, so wait by the phone if you know what's good for you."

He stared at it before he sent it and almost decided not to, but went ahead.

He got a text from her within a few seconds.

Jax: "I'll see if I'm available."

Cam: "Thirty minutes."

"Drive fast," He said to Chase.

"What's your problem?"

"I just want to get home. I have to call somebody." 

"Is this that girl you were talking about this morning?"

"Yeah."

"The one who has no idea who you are?"

"Everybody keeps saying that. She knows
exactly
who I am. She knows more about who I am than everyone else who thinks I'm supposed to be some kind of fucking rockstar all the time."

"Chill out Cam. I don't care what you do. I just can't understand why you wouldn't tell her the truth if you like her."

"It's not that easy. And I kind of like the fact that she doesn't know the truth and likes me anyway."

"
She likes you because you
are
a freaking rockstar no matter what kind of name you give yourself. You had everyone eating from the palm of your hand tonight."

"No,
it was the
idea
of Cam that had everyone eating out of the palm of my hand."

"That's bullshit and you know it."

Cam was quiet for a minute.

"I enjoy not having to live up to the hype for once."

"I can understand that. But you're going to have to tell her sooner or later."

Cam
didn’t respond because he knew it was the truth. He took a quick shower when he got home and scarfed a few slices of lunchmeat his mom had in the fridge, but otherwise went straight to his room where he collapsed on the bed to call Jax.

Neil and the three people with the crew from the magazine were staying in a hotel, and Cam felt like he was just visiting his parents' house for planting season again. This
sensation made him feel slightly better about not telling Jax the truth about why he was there. He dialed the number, held the phone to his ear, and waited for her to pickup.

"Hey," she said. He loved the sound of her voice, and could easily picture her face as she spoke.

"Hey. I'm sorry I'm just now calling you back."