Chapter Eight
My Roommate
Cammy
“You did what?” Leah shrieked the next morning when I told her the bet I made with Lucas.
I handed her a mug of coffee and sat across from her on the dining table. Savoring a sip, I said, “It just happened. I was so pissed off at him that I just said it. He thinks it’s so easy for me to take him back after he kissed that girl. How could he think I could just forget it like it never happened?”
“I don’t know, but I have to say, you’re sneaky.” She covered her hands around the mug, taking in the warmth.
“Sneaky?”
“Well, sneaky might not be the word, but are you going to kiss Grayson?” She eyed me carefully.
I almost spit out my tea I had just drunk. “No. Why would you say that? I mean, I think he’s very attractive, but I don’t have thoughts of him like that. Though I told Lucas any guy. I should kiss someone he dislikes as much as I hate that girl. I can’t even say her name. I should kiss a guy from the other frat. That would piss him off.” Then I thought about what I had said. “I’m being ridiculous, aren’t I? I’m acting so immature about this. This isn’t me.”
Leah perked her pretty pink lips and shook her head. Then her hazel eyes beamed. “But I like the new you. Cunning. Evil. And he deserves it. I’ve told you so many times he’s not good enough for you. He doesn’t treat you like you deserve. You’re one in a million, Cammy. He took that for granted. It’s his freakin’ fault for being stupid enough to let a freshman bitch get in the way of your relationship.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, Leah. This isn’t who I am. I don’t think I’ll have the guts to kiss a stranger, to use him like that.”
“Then kiss a guy you know. Tell him your plan, no strings attached. And I bet this guy will be more than willing to kiss you. You tell Lucas where and when. Then just do it. Kiss and it’s over.”
“You make it sound so simple,” I groaned then savored another sip. “The problem is, I don’t know any guys. I mean, I know lots of guys, but most of them know Lucas and they would never do what I ask.”
Leah twitched her eyebrows, giving me a mischievous smile. “You know Grayson.”
My cheeks warmed. “I can’t. I barely know him. And besides, I need to be in his study group. It was the best study group I’ve ever attended, not that I’ve been to many, but it was helpful.”
Leah leaned back into the chair, her fingers still hugging the mug. “How can you compare? In all three years I’ve known you, you’ve only been to two group studies. That’s not much to compare, Cammy. So don’t make up any excuses. Besides, who else can you ask?”
I shook my head. “I made a stupid bet out of anger. One of us is going to get burned.”
“It ain’t going to be you, sista.” Leah gazed at me under those long eyelashes. Lucky for her, she didn’t have to use mascara.
I tapped on my mug. “Honestly, I don’t think I can go through with this.”
“I won’t tell you what to do Cammy, but either do this and get it out of your system, take Lucas back or dump him. Make a decision.”
“How do you leave someone you love? I still love him. I’m just so angry at what he did. He’s truly sorry. I know he is.”
“I understand. This is your first real relationship. The first break up is very difficult. But if Lucas isn’t the one, you have to let him go. I want you to find the kind of love you can’t let go. And if you can see yourself without him, then it’s over. Don’t try to mend what is already broken and unrepairable.”
My fingers slowly traced the rim of the empty mug. “You’re right. I still don’t know what I’m going to do, but you’re right.”
She waved a hand. “Just let it happen or sleep on it. That’s what I always do.”
“The reason you’re always relaxed and the reason I’m stressed as hell.”
Leah giggled. “When you’ve been through hell and back plenty of times, you learn to laugh about it. It’s all good. Anyway, your mom called and left a message on the answering machine.”
“Thank you. I mean for everything.”
Leah reached over and rested her hand on mine. “Anytime. You’re my nurse and I’m your therapist.”
We shared a laugh.
“You working today?” She finished her coffee with a long gulp.
“It’s Sunday, remember?”
“Fever can do funny things to your brain.” She snorted. “Well, I don’t feel like studying, and I don’t want to be indoors. Let’s go shopping.”
“Are you okay to be out? I mean you just got over a fever.”
Leah stood up and took my empty mug. “Don’t be my nurse right now. We both need some sun, Snow White.”
I glanced down at my arm and then to Leah’s smooth, golden brown skin. Lucky.
“Fine,” I snapped playfully with a flip of my messy blonde hair.
Chapter Nine
The Phone Call
Cammy
Leah and I had a blast shopping. We spent three hours at the mall, grabbed something light to eat for dinner, and then finally came home. After I washed and plopped into bed, I called my mom.
“Cammy. How are you?”
“Good. How are you?”
“I’m calling because I haven’t heard from you.”
“Sorry. I’ve been very busy. It’s only been a week, Mom.”
I sounded a bit sassy, so I paused to change my tone. After my fight with Lucas, I hadn’t felt like talking to even my mom or my sister.
“I know, but I was getting used to you calling me every other day.”
“Sorry, Mom. How’re Casey and Peter?”
After my parents divorced, my mom married Peter when I was in high school. I rarely spoke to my father, especially since he moved back to London. I visited him last summer, but with the time change, it was difficult to call, not to mention how expensive it was to call overseas.
“They’re fine. Casey isn’t home right now. She got a job at the bakery, and she’s making her own graduation cards. She got accepted to the culinary school she wanted to attend in San Francisco.”
I shifted on my bed and coiled the telephone cord around my finger. “She did? Great for her. I can’t believe my little sister is graduating from high school in three months.”
“You’ll be there, won’t you?” Not a question, but not a demand.
“Of course. I only have one sister, and you guys are only an hour away.”
“Good.”
“Give Peter my love.”
“He’s right next to me.”
“He’s not working in the ER today?”
Mom met Peter at the Emergency Care in the county hospital, where she was a nurse. They were friends to lovers. He had been there for her through a rough marriage and divorce, and they discovered they wanted to be more than friends.
“Nope. He got the day off.” Mom sounded excited.
“Well, enjoy your time together, and I’ll swing by home next Sunday.”