Deal

A soft breeze caressed my skin as I laid back on my pink pool float. The sky was bright blue and only a few clouds stretched across it. Breathing out a sign of relief, I sipped at my drink – a Sex on the Beach, as per usual – and thanked God for beautiful summer days, for perfect water temperatures, for deliciously refreshing drinks, and most importantly for Saturdays, one of my two days off a week. And after last night, I was glad to finally have a day to rest.

After Rylee admitted that the boys had in fact requested my table, my night had only gotten worse. As to be expected, the family on the main dining floor was not happy that I had disappeared and not bothered to check on them or give them their food right as it was finished. Though I apologized profusely, explaining that things had gotten crazy on the lower floor, I knew I was partially making excuses. When I finally returned to the lower floor, albeit unhappily and a little curious, I was again taunted and teased by the devilish Lucas Fuller. Next to him, neither of the boys said anything; Alex would snicker every so often, while surprisingly Jason appeared a bit disapproving of his friend’s behavior. All the while after they had received and eaten their food, a large deep-dish cheese pizza, they continued drinking. And drinking.

“‘Ey, sweet cheeks!” the annoying, deep male voice had slurred, slamming his fourth empty glass of the hour on the table as I approached. “More Sex on the Beach!” I had grimaced as he winked at me. He practically radiated sensuality. It made my skin crawl.

“Okay,” I had muttered, snatching Lucas’ empty glass from the table. “But after this one, the bartender will probably be cutting you off.” While I normally wouldn’t proclaim this to a customer, Lucas had already worn me out. Plus, we’d gone to high school together so that had to count for something. Right?

However, as the words left my lips, the sound of a fist hitting a table had rung in my ears. Wide eyed, I had peered down to see Lucas’ balled fists now on the table. Then, even more suddenly, he was suddenly standing. It was the first time I’d really seen him passed his chest. Though his hands were still on the table and his back bent, I could immediately tell he was much bulkier and taller than I’d remembered him. Even bent over, he was much taller than I. My eyes had trailed down his face and over the visible muscles through his T-shirt and back up again to meet his hard gaze. The tension building between us had made the hairs on the back of my neck stand erect and my palm sweaty. I’d gulped, but made no move to lose my ground. Instead, I had pushed forward, meeting his dark eyes with a glare of my own, so close to him our noses had nearly touched.

I grimaced at the memory. It really was like looking into the eyes of the devil. Dark, wild, daring, amused… I shuddered just thinking about them. Luckily though, after a few seconds of tension-filled staring, Jason recommended that they leave and, though Lucas opposed, Alex dragged him out while Jason paid the bill. Once they left, the rest of the shift went by considerably smoother, like a blur.

Unfortunately, I was no closer to solving the mystery as to why they’d requested my table in the first place. I wasn’t acquainted to any of them enough that they would have chosen it to see me. So why…?

“Cami!” a woman’s voice called from inside – my mother’s. “Cami, dear, where are you?”

“Outside!” I shouted back, flicking my sunglasses from my face to the top of my head. Pool skimmer in hand, I used it to paddle toward the side of the above-ground pool as my mother stepped onto the deck. I sat up on the pink inflatable bed and smiled at her, “Hey Mum.”

“You look like you’re enjoying yourself,” she commented with a soft smile, sitting on the porch swing. “Have you seen your father?”

“No,” I placed my elbows against the rim of the pool and held my head between my palms.

“I see,” she sighed, peering absentmindedly away from me. I followed her gaze, staring at a single rose poking up from the garden.

“You married the wrong Sheppard,” I joked, and she peered questioningly at me. “Derek Shepherd? From Grey’s Anatomy? We’d be sitting really pretty right now if you married him.”

My mother laughed and I smiled. “You realize he died right?” My smile diminished to a grimace.

“Don’t remind me,” I groaned, pursing my lips. “On the bright side, I’m sure he had killer life insurance. Even if Meredith wasn’t a surgeon herself, I’m sure she’d be set for life either way.” The two of us shared a laugh, but it was bittersweet.

Two months ago, my father was laid off from his job at a car dealership. It was sudden and unexpected, and caused my already normally anxious mother to become even more stressed. Not wanting to worry my sister and me, my parents hadn’t told us immediately. However, as the days became weeks and the excuses ran thin, it became obvious that this wasn’t a predicament that would be solved quickly and without us taking notice. And man, did we notice. He was the main source of our household income; without his salary, my family was stuck living off of my mother’s meagerly pay at her job in the town’s middle school main office, barely making us an eighth of what my father made. Though he eventually filed as Unemployed, we were barely able to survive with the little funds we had. It was then that I filled out an application to work at The Loft, to help my family however I could.

But they can’t ever know that, I thought, laying back on my pool bed and closed my eye. My father, when he wasn’t off somewhere presumably job-hunting, already sulked over his inability to get a new job. If he’d known that I’d only gotten that job to help them, he would feel even more embarrassed, more incapable. No, for all they know, I got this job to supplement my college spending. They didn’t need to know that I’d been slowly restocking groceries before they could. They didn’t need to know that I’d been helping pay for my sister’s high school dues. They didn’t need to know anything I’d done, because that wasn’t the point.

“I’m going to bring your sister to work,” I heard my mother say, and I peeked an eye open to see her sit up from the swing. “Did you want to come for the ride?”

“No thanks,” I responded, stretching out my arms above my head and shutting my eyes again. “I think I’m just going to enjoy not moving from here for a little while longer.”

I heard my mother chuckle. “Okay. Try not to stay in the sun too long, so you don’t get burned. I’ll be back, love you sweetie!”

“Bye Mum!”

When I heard the porch door slam shut, I breathed out a sign and sipped at my drink. Within minutes, I heard the rumble of an engine and the crunching of tires against concrete. Slowly, the sound got softer and softer until I was left in complete silence again. I smiled, reveling in the quietness and swirled pool water around with my right foot. It seemed like recently, my world was never this serene and still. If anything… I thought sadly.

“Cam! Yoo-hoo!”

…it only seemed to get louder. Rolling my head to the side in the direction of the voice, I glowered at the curvy frame just beyond the fence. Rylee had her arms crossed over her chest as she peered through a space between two wood planks.

“I know you can hear me!” she shouted, grabbing the fence and shaking it furiously. “Open up Cam!”

“Fine,” I groaned, sitting up and paddling over toward the stairs. After lifting myself up, I climbed down the stairs and sauntered toward the fence gate where Rylee impatiently tapped her flip-flopped foot against the brick pathway. When I unlocked it, I peered tiredly at her and questioned, “What are you even doing here? Shouldn’t you be out with Jordan or something?”

“Oh, he’s out with the boys,” she waved off, brushing passed me toward the patio set on the deck. “I’m not in the mood to deal with them today. You know how they can be.” She paused as she sat back in one of the patio chairs, studying my face, before pursing her lips and furrowing her brow. “Sorry. I’m sure that’s still a touchy topic for you.”

I shrugged, following her suit and sitting on the patio chair to her left. “It’s fine. He barely even crosses my mind anymore.” Which was mostly the truth. While I had thought of our break up more times than it was really worth, I had kept Zack out of my mind. Keeping busy with work had helped with that. I continued, “Anyway, you didn’t answer my first question.”

“Oh right,” she mused. “I was just bored.”

I snorted and shook my head with a small smile. “Well, don’t I feel special.”

“You know what I meant,” she grinned, shoving my shoulder. “Plus, that was only half of it. Cam, I’m worried about you.”

This again. I rolled my eyes at her.

“No, seriously!” she yelled, catching my sassy response. “You haven’t been yourself at all since you and Zack broke up, and it’s really beginning to worry me. Like, you seem fine and all, but…” her voice trailed off and she bit her lip gingerly, as if she were trying to find a way to word what she had to say perfectly. Then, “I think you need a change. A big change. Your life can’t just be going to work and hiding out at home all summer–”

“I’ve hung out with some friends,” I interjected, averting my eyes from hers.

“Hanging out with me, like, one other time in the last month and going to that party Jarad threw three weeks ago doesn’t count,” Rylee groaned, suddenly jumping up to her feet. “I’m being serious Cam! This is not healthy, you need to get some human interaction beside me, your family, and that old couple at The Loft!” She thought for a moment before adding, “How about you hang out with some of your friends from Saint George’s?”

My brow furrowed as the image of three girls – red-faced, arms crossed, teeth bared – who attended Saint George University with me appeared in my mind. I shivered inwardly. That definitely was not an option, not now and probably not ever again. As I carefully shook my head, Rylee let out an exasperated sigh.

“My goodness, Cam!” she groaned, throwing her hands in the air. “I know your upset about what happened with Zack, but you are not handling this the right way. At this point, I’d almost feel better if you were trying to rebound instead of locking yourself away like this.”

I wanted to laugh out loud. “What?” I questioned sarcastically, still refusing to look at her. “Well, in that case, I might as well pull a Lucas Fuller on every other guy in Lakeview this summer, huh? Since that’s obviously the better option here.”

Silence followed. Again, I had the urge to break out laughing at the incredulous idea. On what planet was taking advantage of others feelings to make yourself feel better a healthy way of dealing with stress?

“That’s a great idea.”

My head snapped toward Rylee, who had a finger placed delicately on her chin as if she were seriously contemplating the idea. Frowning, I grumbled, “You have got to be kidding me. I am not doing that.” But even as I said the words, something deep inside my chest fluttered ever so slightly.

“Why not?” she wondered, staring back at me. “You’re super pretty and fun to be around. And you haven’t been single since you were a junior. In high school. And now you’re going into your senior year of college! I think you owe it to yourself to get out there in the world and find Mr. Right or even just date around a bit and have fun. Or, as you put it so kindly, ‘pull a Lucas Fuller’.” She shook her head with a light chuckle, adding quietly, “He’s really not all that bad.”

“Oh, yes he is!” I fought, but the side of my lip tugged up slightly. “Plus, I wouldn’t even know how to do that…Just like, date whoever I wanted.” Though I was saying the words, I knew I was lying to her. Lying, because I was horrified and embarrassed. Lying, to hide my excitement. Lying, to avoid the judgments. Lying, to hide the horrible truth.

“I’m sure Lucas could give you some pointers,” she cooed with a wink. I groaned loudly and hit my head against the table.

“Shut up!” I cried, as her laughter filled the air all around us.