Precious Consequences (20 page)

“That was…” I breathe out. “Amazing.”

“Told you I’m good,” Cameron grins. I’m about to say something smart, but Cameron and I are halted when the shower curtain is ripped open. Our heads whip to the side.

“Mommy, Cam is touching you.”

Our eyes grow wide as Ari stares at us. It takes a second or two for us to gain our bearings and when we do, Cameron mutters “Oh shit,” while trying to cover himself up with the shower curtain, nearly slipping on his ass in the process.

“Ari!” I squeal, trying to grab the nearest towel without face planting on the tiled floor. I wrap it around myself and pick Ari up, rushing out of the bathroom and shutting the door.

“How did you get in here?” I ask Ari. I quickly place her on the bed and slip into my robe.

Ari’s eyes never leave me and when I pick her up again she blurts, “Mommy, Cam has a tail.”

I freeze, staring at my daughter, because, well, I can’t help it. Oh, dear Lord, did she just say that? I cover my mouth to hide the giggle that wants to come out and take Ari downstairs. My grandmother gives me a look, like she knows what just happened and my face becomes hot. “I’ll be down in a few minutes,” I say, placing Ari amongst her toys in front of the television. I take the stairs two at a time and slide down the door after it’s closed, struggling to contain my laughter. Cameron pokes his head out the bathroom door.

“Is it safe?” he asks, looking as embarrassed as I feel. One look at his face and the lid on my laughter comes off.

I stand, wiping the tears from my face. “It’s safe,” I say between bouts of laughter. “But that was so…” my words trail off as I am no longer capable of speech. Cameron walks towards me, a towel around his waist and wraps his arms around me.

“What’s so funny?”

I choke, thinking about Ari’s comment.

“Tell me,” he presses.

I look into his eyes and try to squelch my laughter long enough to talk. “Um, Ari....” I start, waiting for my breathing to return to normal. “She made a comment, when you were still in the bathroom.”

His eyebrows shoot up. “What did she say?”

“She, uh, said you have a tail.”

I press my face into his damp chest, shaking as more laughter takes over. The moment the words came out of Ari’s mouth is on constant replay in my head, which is probably why I can’t stop laughing.

Cameron clears his throat and I look up to see him blushing. His cheeks are rosy and he’s rubbing the back of his neck.

“I’m so sorry,” I say, laying a kiss on his pec. “I didn’t mean to laugh, but it was just so funny.”

Placing my fingers under his chin, I tip his face up so that he can look at me. “It’s okay,” I assure him. “She’ll forget about it in a few hours.”

“But I won’t,” he grumbles.

I kiss the side of his mouth. “Don’t worry about it.”

He sighs, kissing me back. “Okay, fine.”

I smile against his lips. “Let’s get dressed. I want to go see your sister and the baby.”

After getting dressed, and having an awkward breakfast, Cameron got Ari’s car seat out of my car and put it in his truck. I zip Ari’s jacket and get her ready to leave when my grandmother stops me at the front door.

“You’d better be more careful next time,” she warns quietly. “I won’t be having Arianna exposed to such things on a regular basis. Now, I understand you’re young and Cameron is nice to look at, but all I’m asking is that you be a little more sensible next time.”

My brows furrow. “It was an accident, Gama. She just opened my bedroom door and came in. What was I supposed to do? I don’t like that you’re insinuating I would purposefully expose her to...to…things like
that.”

My grandmother's face softens slightly. “I know, sweetheart, and I’m not insinuating anything of the kind. All I’m saying is that you two need to be careful because Ari is around. I know you two are probably having sex, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but you need to make sure Ari isn’t exposed to that side of your relationship.”

“I would never do anything to harm Ari, you know that.”

“Of course, sweetheart. But just be careful, okay?”

I nod and my grandmother smiles, cupping my face with her hand. “You are a good mother, Hayley. I know you will always do what’s best for your baby girl.”

“We’ll be more careful next time, Gama,” I promise.

“Good girl.”

With that my grandmother goes back into the kitchen. The front door opens and Cameron appears.

“You girls ready?” he asks.

Ari answers by running up to him and throwing her arms in the air, a silent command that she wants to be picked up. Cameron does it without hesitation, although his cheeks turn a darker shade of red whenever Ari looks at him. I find it comical. How a two year old little girl can make a grown man like Cameron, who is confident and sometimes cocky, blush every shade of red on the color wheel. But even so, watching them together always makes me feel strange. In a good way.

Cameron parks his truck and takes us inside the hospital. We take the elevator up to the maternity floor and head straight for Candice’s room. Cameron knocks and I follow behind him. Candice is holding her newborn and Cameron’s mother, Gemma, is sitting beside her on the bed. I don’t see Brett anywhere so I assume he’s out with Jordan.

“Hi,” Candice whispers. Cameron leans down and kisses her cheek before doing the same with his mother. I walk closer and give each of them a hug, careful not to squeeze Candice too hard.

I watch how Cameron holds Ari, suspended above where Candice is holding her daughter. “Mommy, look,” she says, lifting her gaze to me. I smile at her, thinking back to when she was as small as the bundle in Candice’s arms.

“I see, princess. It’s a baby.”

“A baby,” she repeats, looking down.

“Did you finally choose a name?” Cameron asks.

Candice smiles. “We decided on Aubrey Michaela.”

Gemma sniffles and I realize she moved from her spot on the bed to next to me.

“Are you okay?” I ask her gently, understanding just how emotional she must feel.

“Oh, I’m fine, honey.” Her eyes tell me a different story but it’s not my place to push. Cameron walks across the room and joins us. He engulfs his mother in his arms, and I hear her muffled sobs. It then dawns on me that this must be incredibly difficult for her, getting to experience this magic without her husband. Candice wipes a tear and I squeeze her hand. I might not understand what they’ve been through, but I understand wishing you had someone there to share this with. I felt it for months before
and
after Ari was born.

“Thank you, Hayley,” Candice whispers.

I frown. “For what?”

“Just…thank you.”

Her words and the way she says it makes something tug at my heartstrings. She glances back at Cameron and their mother and suddenly it becomes a little clearer. She’s thanking me for so much more than I think I can give, but it makes me want to throw caution to the wind and give this thing with Cameron everything I’ve got. Because somehow, I think he could possibly do the same.

Chapter 16

~ December, 2013 ~

~ Hayley ~

Hannah and I practically run into the diner, eager to get out of the freezing winter temperatures. The thirty-degree weather has our teeth chattering, even though we’ve spent the last few hours indoors at the swim meet against Notre Dame. We wave to Taylor who grabs us menus as we walk towards our regular booth. Cameron and Noah should be here soon, so we go ahead and order some hot drinks to help with the chill. Taylor brings them over and then takes a seat next to us for a few minutes.

“I’m so happy to see you two,” she whispers. “I need some advice and soon, because I’m about half past freaked out already.”

“What’s wrong?” I ask her. “You look ready to puke.”

“Oh my God,” Hannah gasps, smacking the table. “Are you pregnant? Is Macy going to have a little brother or sister?”

Taylor rolls her eyes. “No! But I do have a date tonight….” Her words trail off and she looks between me and Hannah nervously.

“Well, don’t just sit there,” I say. “Tell us who the lucky guy is.”

Taylor’s cheeks darken beneath her make-up, giving her face a beautiful glow. “It’s, uh…it’s Dr. Gates.”

“Ari’s pediatrician?” I ask.

Taylor nods and Hannah and I giggle. “It’s about time,” Hannah says. “We saw how he looked at you when Ari was at the hospital. But what took you so long?”

“Well,” Taylor begins, fidgeting nervously with a napkin. “I decided to start taking Macy to him, too, after I saw how good he was with Ari, and I don’t know, I guess we just hit it off. He asked me a few times, but I declined because I was scared as hell to get involved with someone, “ her eyes drift to me, a silent understanding passing between us, “but then I thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have one date with a nice guy who will treat me to dinner and make me feel special for a night.”

“Or, it could turn out to be more than one night,” I state.

Taylor shrugs. “Is it wrong of me to want more than one night?”

Shaking my head, I reply, “Not at all. You also need love and affection. We all do.”

“So you think it’s a good idea? Given that he’s Macy’s doctor and all?”

Hannah and I both nod in agreement and Taylor visibly relaxes. The doorbell chimes and I look up to see Cameron and Noah making their way towards us. Taylor jumps up and I grab her hand quickly. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

She nods, a grateful smile adorning her face. “Thanks, Hayley.”

Taylor goes back to serving her other customers and Noah and Cameron drop into the booth with us. Cameron wraps his arm around me, pulling me close into his side. “I missed you,” he whispers, his hot breath tickling the sensitive skin around my neck.

I chuckle, playfully rolling my eyes. “You saw me less than twenty minutes ago.”

“That’s a really long time,” he retorts. He pouts, giving me puppy dog eyes that make my insides do somersaults, and I resist the yearning to sink my teeth into his bottom lip.

“Ugh,” Noah snorts. “You two make me sick. You’re like two horny teenagers. Why don’t you just do each other right here?”

“Because,” Cameron replies, nuzzling my neck. “I don’t think ‘doggie style’ is on the menu.”

Hannah chokes on her hot chocolate and I feel my cheeks flush.

“Cameron!” I hiss, slapping his thigh. “Don’t say things like that here!”

“Yeah, please, that’s definitely too much information,” Hannah adds. She winks at me and I know she’s teasing. Cameron and I have yet to venture into
that
kind of territory. But that’s not to say the sex isn’t hot enough already. Because it is. Ridiculously hot. It makes me blush just thinking about it.

“I’m sorry, Hayls.” Cameron unleashes his panty-dropping smile and I’m no longer able to be irritated with his comment. He threads his fingers with mine and brings my hand up to his lips, kissing my palm.

Hannah and Noah start bickering, which is nothing new when they’re together, but Cameron and I hardly notice. We stare at each other a little longer than what’s deemed appropriate for public displays of affection and my body starts to hum, the heat from his body radiating onto mine and making me keenly aware of his closeness.

He leans closer to me, his mouth inches from mine. “Later,” he whispers, like he read my mind. He brushes my lips briefly before another protest comes from the other side of the table. This time it’s from Hannah.

“Okay, seriously, I’m getting jealous watching the two of you eye fuck each other, so for the sake of my lacking sex life, please stop.”

“Oh God,” Noah groans. “I don’t need to hear about your sex life, please. That’s gross.”

Hannah rolls her eyes. “Are you fucking kidding me? I
hear
about yours almost every night. It’s a good thing mom and dad aren’t at home that often, otherwise they’d think you’ve turned our house into a brothel. And for the love of my eardrums, stop screwing girls who scream like banshees or at least stuff a sock in their mouths. I can’t handle the sound of cats being strangled any longer.”

Noah stares at his sister, shocked. Cameron and I laugh at Hannah’s crass statement, not only because of Noah’s face, but also because it’s probably true.

“I’m not that bad,” Noah grumbles.

Hannah snorts. “No, you’re worse.”

For the first time since I met them, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them act this harshly towards one another. Something tells me there’s more to it than what they’re letting on and I resolve to find out from Hannah exactly what it is. But that can wait for now. We have a victory to celebrate.

I turn to look at Cam, smiling when I see his eyes have never left me. “Congratulations on your win, Cam. I’m so proud of you.”

“Thank you, buttercup.” His new nickname for me always makes me sigh. It’s corny, but it’s grown on me in the last few weeks. In fact,
Cameron
has grown on me. We’ve been inseparable for the most part, and he spends a little more time over at my grandmother’s house than I do at his. But he never complains. I made it clear that I didn’t want to do anything that would upset Ari’s routine, and me sleeping over at Cameron’s house would definitely do that.

“Okay, kids,” Taylor says, stepping up to our table. Her smile wavers when she sees Noah. He always makes her uncomfortable, and I don’t blame her. He’s a shameless flirt and can even charm the pants off a mannequin if he tried hard enough. Something about the way he looks at Taylor even makes
me
a little uncomfortable, like he’s eyeing his prey. “What can I get you?”

“Burger and fries, right here,” Cameron replies, rubbing his stomach.

“Same here,” Noah adds. “But with a side of you, sexy.”