"Suspended!"
"—but if you continue with the excuse that
you're just lazy—"
"I never said I was lazy."
He gives me a stern look and I close my
mouth. "Unless you tell me how you've been cheating, I'll have no
choice but to suspend you for three days. We don't tolerate
cheating in my school."
"You seem to have already made up your mind.
What happened to innocent until proven guilty?"
He waves his hand over the papers. "I have
all the proof I need."
I stand. "Well then, there you go." I storm
out before he says another word, leaving him and the secretary
calling after me. I stalk down the hall and stop in front of
Cameron's class. I'm not sure if they'll make me leave right now or
at the end of the day, but I need to find out if he's the one who
sold me out.
By the time the bell rings I've thought of a
zillion nasty things to say, but settle on something a little less
accusatory.
The smile falls from Cameron's face when he
sees my scowl.
I fall in step alongside him. "Did you tell
Stride Right about…" I wave my hand in front of me, not wanting to
say it in the crowded hallway.
His mouth drops. "What? No. Why would I tell
him?" His eyes widen and he grabs my hand. "What happened?"
I spew out the story, glancing over my
shoulder in case Stride Right is lurking, ready to toss me out the
front door. "I didn't really think it was you, but I can't think
who else would want to bust me."
As if on cue, Double J and a couple other
guys run by, elbowing kids out of their way.
My eyes narrow. "That little prick."
"Who?"
"Robbie."
My ex trails the other guys, laughing at
some joke only they seem to get.
"Robbie!" I shout without thinking.
He glances over his shoulder but doesn't
stop. Several heads turn to look at me.
Cameron tugs on my hand but I pull away.
"Robbie, you prick!"
Now he stops. He turns on me, fists balled
at his side. "What the hell do you want?" Anger burns in his eyes
and he rocks back and forth, eager for a confrontation.
I don't know why I didn't think of him right
away. I'm sure there are other people who don't like me for one
reason or another, but he's the only one who's into petty revenge.
Rage bubbles in my chest at the sneer spread over his face. "You
know what I want. What the hell'd you say to Stride Right?"
By now kids have circled around us. Cameron
hovers near the edge, bouncing on the balls of his feet. I'm
ninety-nine percent certain Robbie wouldn't hit me, but it's nice
to have someone in my corner just in case.
"What? Did you get in trouble or something?"
He laughs over his shoulder at Double J and Kirk, but they don't
smile. He scoffs, rolls his eyes at me. "Whatever. You deserve
it."
"I can't believe you're such a baby.
Get over yourself!" My nerve endings are humming. Every inch of my
body longs to lash out at him, but I've already been suspended. I
take a step towards him and the crowd
oohs
.
Robbie straightens so he can look down
his nose at me. A sense of déjà vu—real déjà vu—sweeps over me:
that's the same look he used to give me when we were about to
kiss.
How did I not see how mean he
looks?
"I need to get over myself? Who's the
one—"
"Hey!" A deep voice booms from down the
hall.
Bodies scatter, leaving me and Robbie fuming
at each other. Cameron lingers just behind me, but the rest of our
friends are gone.
"What's going on here?" Stride Right rushes
towards us, arms swinging at his sides.
Robbie gestures at me. "She's pissed she got
in trouble and now she's—"
"Didn't take her long to figure it out."
Stride Right smiles and I nearly fall over in shock. I can't
believe he outed Robbie.
Robbie's mouth drops. "You aren't supposed
to tell!"
Stride Right shrugs. "You must have been the
obvious suspect if she already knows. Maybe you should have
considered that."
It doesn't change the fact that I'm
suspended, but having Robbie called out for being a douche makes
this day a teensy bit better.
Stride Right faces me.
Maybe I spoke too soon.
"You left before I could tell you that you
still need to finish your classes today. Get your homework before
you leave and one of your friends can bring you any other
assignments." I swear a smile crosses his face. "And no more
causing scenes in the middle of the hallway."
"Yessir." I give him a salute before
grabbing Cameron's hand and rushing down the hall, leaving Robbie
standing alone.
Chapter 31
The house is empty when I get home. There's
no note on the kitchen counter and as far as I can remember, Dad
didn't have an appointment. A murmur of worry darkens my
already-foul mood, but they would have called my cell if something
was wrong.
I head upstairs to my room, but stop
halfway. As soon as they find out I'm suspended I'll be grounded
for at least a week. This is my last chance to do anything.
I text Cameron. "Parents not home yet. Can
you hang out?"
A minute later I'm in my car on my way to
meet him at the park, my camera nestled in the passenger seat. No
one needs to tell me that this is the best time of day for long
exaggerated shadows. I may as well make the most of my last hours
of freedom.
Cameron's leaning on the hood of Old Berta,
his arms folded lightly over his chest, the same blanket tucked
beneath one arm. I park next to him and ease out of the car,
casually slinging my bag over my shoulder, when what I really want
to do is launch over the car and tackle him.
"Lucky they weren't home yet."
A twinge of guilt doesn't let me feel very
lucky. "Yeah."
He reaches his hand out to mine, and we
follow a winding sidewalk to the center of the park. Once he
spreads out the blanket, he sets my bag on the ground, pulls me
into his arms, and gently kisses me on the lips.
Well, hello.
I'm acutely aware of every other person in
the park, but this kiss is totally G-rated. His lips part and his
breath warms my lips. Okay, maybe PG.
Can I get a PG-13?
Cameron lingers a moment longer before
pulling back and smiling down at me. "We don't want to scare the
kids."
I wave a hand at the impressionable
children. "Yeah, yeah."
He snorts. "They'll go home soon
enough."
As if I'm supposed to concentrate on
photography now.
An hour later I've got three dozen shots of
a shadow creeping its way over a wooden bench. I like the way the
light bathes the bench in warmth, while the absence of light leaves
the plank of wood cold, stark. When the shadow fully engulfs the
bench I lower my camera and glance at Cameron.
He's focused on the tree line at the
edge of the park. The tallest tree here—the one we're sitting
beneath—casts a spindly shadow that stretches like it's trying to
grab something in the darkness.
Click-click-click
.
I hadn't noticed that perspective earlier
and now I'm plotting to come back another evening so I can see what
he does. Copying him now would seem, I don't know, unauthentic, but
maybe if I come at a different time of day I could use the shots
and still have it be different from his. The trees overlap, forming
a canopy that shields whatever lurks inside, and if I could capture
that—
Cameron's hand on my neck startles me.
"How's it going?" He's moved closer, his leg just inches from
mine.
"Good, but I think I want to come back at a
different time of day to see the change in perspective."
He winces. "One benefit to being suspended,
right?"
"Yeah, assuming I can convince my dad to let
me outta the house. This might be the last time you see me for a
couple days."
He trails his fingers along the edge of my
jaw and down my throat, stopping at my collar bone. "We better make
good use of this time then." His lips replace his fingers and my
breath catches in my throat.
I peek over his lowered head to see if
anyone's watching, but most of the families have already left. Good
thing too, because his lips are moving up my neck and now his warm
mouth is covering mine. My pulse quickens, launching a thousand
butterflies loose in my stomach. I fall back onto the blanket.
Cameron stretches out alongside me and props
himself on one elbow. His eyes shimmer in the waning light. "I've
missed you," he whispers, before kissing me again.
My fingers curl into the hair at the back of
his neck. It seems like I've thought of nothing but this for the
past week, but now that we're finally kissing, his strong body
pressed close to mine, I can't stop thinking about the few people
still in the park.
"Cam?" I mumble, but my words are lost. I
pull back a fraction of an inch. "Cam? Do you think we could go
someplace else? I feel like we're on display here."
He lifts his head and two girls sitting on
the bench I was photographing giggle. "Good point." He rolls off of
me and runs his hand through his hair. "Where should we go?"
I sit up next to him. My place is
off-limits, and I'm guessing his is too. "Surprise me."
Once I'm seat-belted into the car I realize
the downside to this plan. I reach across the gearshift and brush
the back of my hand against Cameron's thigh. "You're too far
away."
A mischievous smile lights up his face. "Not
for long." He covers my hand with his own but removes it just as
quickly to shift gears.
"I was getting worried we'd end up on
YouTube if we stayed there much longer."
"I wasn't thinking about other people. To be
honest, I'm still not."
Okay, we need to hurry up
and get to wherever it is we're going.
Speaking of
which. "So where are we going?"
"I thought you had a plan."
I snort. "Me? A plan?"
"Yeah, it was a long shot." Even his smile
is driving me crazy.
"I have to be home in another hour, so
wherever we go can't be too far from my house."
He hits the blinker and slows to turn.
"Deal."
Ten minutes later we park in front of the
elementary school.
I raise an eyebrow. After the adventure at
the zoo on our first date, I'm determined not to question him, but
when he leads me past the building towards the playground, I can't
resist. "Got a sudden urge to play on the monkey bars?" He elbows
me and I giggle. Two seconds at our old school and he's already
reverted to pulling my pigtails.
He grabs my hand. "Come on." We walk along
the perimeter of the playground, past a row of tall lights, and
stop in front of the swings. He sits in one, then loops an arm
around my waist and pulls me into his lap.
This could be interesting.
He scootches further back to make room.
"Ready?"
I grip the chains, nervous energy making me
sit upright. "Okay."
He leans back and I squeal. After a couple
leg pumps we're flying through the air.
A giggle escapes me. "I'm sorry for doubting
you."
The cool air blows my hair all around,
caressing my face and trailing over his fingers. The looming
darkness pulls us higher and I'm overwhelmed with the sensation of
Cameron's body beneath me. His closeness makes me feel safe, even
as our heads rise as high as the top of the swing-set. I slide my
hands over his and lean my head back. My eyes drift shut and I give
myself over to the moment.
Eventually we slow. The return to earth is
no less exhilarating because he's wrapped an arm across my chest
and is kissing the back of my neck. The swing stops. Before I can
stand he turns me around, then pulls me to him and his mouth covers
mine. He's still sitting on the swing so I'm taller than him, and
the change in perspective gives me a heady rush. I dig my fingers
into his hair as our tongues meet. His arms tighten around me and
we press closer together.
This time I break away first and run my lips
over his eyes, down the arch of his cheekbone until I find the
hollow in his throat. I taste his skin and he moans softly into my
hair.
"Let's get off this thing." His voice is
hoarse, his lips full from our kiss. A sheen in his eyes catches
the fading sun and my heart leaps into my throat.
I nod.
Taking my hand, he guides me to the plastic
jungle gym in the middle of the playground. There are conveniently
no lights in this part of field and shadows consume the inside of
the structure. We walk around to the other side.
He tilts his head back, looking up the
slide. "How the hell are we supposed to get up there?"
Two slides—one twisty, one straight—descend
from either side, a fireman's pole drops from the center, and a web
of ropes stretches over the broadest side.
I point at the rope. "I think we have to
climb that." I grab my hands behind my back and make a big show of
stretching. I touch the closest rung. It's gritty from the
countless people before us. My foot sneaks onto the lowest rung and
I quickly pull myself up. "I'll race you."
"Hey!"
I'm halfway up before he catches me. His
hand covers mine, preventing me from climbing higher until he
passes me. "Cheater!"
He laughs down at me from the landing. His
head sticks out over the edge and he dangles his arms, there for me
if I need it.
I don't, but I let him help me over the
edge.
"What do I get for winning?"
"My eternal adoration."
He rolls to his back and I ease on top of
him. He stares into my eyes and the lump in my throat returns. I
still can't wrap my head around the fact that it's Cam lying here
beneath me, holding me, making me feel more beautiful than I can
ever remember feeling.