Our gazes collided, and my cheeks flushed. I ran my finger along the rim of my glass. ‘So you’re a reformed player?’
He paused, egg halfway to his mouth. ‘What makes you think that?’
‘I heard you were quite the player in high school.’
‘Really? Who did you hear that from?’
‘None of your business.’
A brow arched. ‘With that mouth of yours, you don’t have a lot of friends, do you?’
I flinched, because that was a spot-on observation. ‘No,’ I heard myself saying. ‘I wasn’t really popular in high school.’
Cam dropped his egg on the plate and sat back. ‘Shit. I’m sorry. That was an asshole thing for me to say.’
I waved it off, but it stung.
He watched me through thick lashes. ‘Hard to believe, though, that you weren’t. You can be funny and nice when you’re not insulting me, and you’re a pretty girl. Actually, you’re really hot.’
‘Uh … thanks.’ I squirmed, holding my glass close.
‘I’m serious. You said your parents were strict. They didn’t let you hang out in high school?’ When I nodded, he finished off the egg he’d dropped. ‘I still can’t imagine you not being popular in high school. You rock the trifecta—smart, funny, and hot.’
‘I wasn’t. Okay?’ I set my glass down and moved on to tugging at a loose string on the hem of my shorts. ‘I was, like, the very opposite of popular.’
Cam started peeling another egg. I wondered how many he’d eat. ‘I am sorry, Avery. That … that sucks. High school is a big deal.’
‘Yeah, it is.’ I wetted my lips nervously. ‘You had a lot of friends?’
He nodded.
‘Still talk to them?’
‘Some of them. Ollie and I went to high school together, but he spent his first two years at WVU and transferred down here, and I see a few around campus and back home.’
Wrapping my arms around my legs to keep from fidgeting, I rested my chin on my knees. ‘Have any brothers or sisters?’
‘A sister,’ he replied, picking up the last egg—the fourth one. A genuine smile appeared. ‘She’s younger than me. Just turned eighteen. She graduates this year.’
‘You guys close?’ I couldn’t imagine having a brother like Cam.
‘Yeah, we’re close.’ A dark look crossed his face and vanished quickly, but it left me wondering if they really were that close. ‘She means a lot to me. How about you? A big brother I have to worry about visiting and kicking my ass for being here?’
‘No. I’m an only child. Have a cousin who’s older, but I doubt he’d do that.’
‘Ah, good.’ Devouring that egg, he sat back and patted his stomach. ‘Where you from?’
I pressed my lips together, trying to decide if I should lie or not.
‘Okay.’ He dropped his arm off the back of the metal chair. ‘You obviously know where I’m from if you’ve heard of my extracurricular activities in high school, but I’ll just confirm it. I’m from the Fort Hill area. Never heard of that? Well, most people haven’t. It’s near Morgantown. Why didn’t I go to WVU? Everyone wants to know that.’ He shrugged. ‘Just wanted to get away, but be somewhat close to my family. And, yes, I was … very busy in high school.’
‘You’re not anymore?’ I asked, not really expecting him to answer, because it wasn’t my business, but, hey, if I could keep him talking, I didn’t have to say anything.
And I was … interested in learning more, because Cam, he was fascinating in a way. He was like every überpopular, sexy guy in high school, but he wasn’t a dick. That alone made him worthy of a scientific study. Also, it was better than sitting around alone and thinking about harassing phone calls and e-mails.
‘Depends on who you ask.’ He laughed then. ‘Yeah, I don’t know. When I was a freshman—those first couple of months, being around all the older girls? I probably put more effort into them than I did my classes.’
I grinned, easily able to picture that. ‘But not now?’
He shook his head. ‘So where are you from?’
Okay. Obviously what changed his ex-player status was something he didn’t want to talk about. Visions of pregnancy scares danced in my head. ‘I’m from Texas.’
‘Texas?’ He leaned forward. ‘Really? You don’t have an accent.’
‘I wasn’t born in Texas. My family was originally from Ohio. We moved to Texas when I was eleven and I never picked up any accent.’
‘Texas to West Virginia? That’s a hell of a difference.’
Unfolding my legs, I stood and picked up my plate and his bowl. ‘Well, I lived in the strip mall hell part of Texas, but besides that, it’s kind of the same here.’
‘I should clean up.’ He started to stand. ‘I made the mess.’
‘No.’ I backed away with his bowl. ‘You cooked. I clean.’
He relented, opening the foiled bread. It did smell wonderful. ‘What made you choose here?’
I washed the dishes and his little frying pan before answering that doozy. ‘I just wanted to get away, like you.’
‘Got to be hard, though.’
‘No.’ I picked up the pot he used to boil the eggs. ‘It was incredibly easy to make the decision.’
He seemed to consider that as he broke the bread in half. ‘You are an enigma, Avery Morgansten.’
I leaned against the counter, my eyes widening as he proceeded to eat half the loaf. ‘Not really. More like you are.’
‘How so?’
I gestured at him. ‘You just ate four hard-boiled eggs, you’re eating half a loaf of bread, and you have abs that look like they belong on a Bowflex ad.’
Cam looked absolutely thrilled to hear that. ‘You’ve been checking me out, haven’t you? In between your flaming insults? I feel like man candy.’
I laughed. ‘Shut up.’
‘I’m a growing boy.’
My brows rose, and Cam laughed. As he finished off the loaf, he talked a little about his parents. I made my way back to the table and sat, genuinely interested. His father ran his own law firm, and his mother was a doctor. That meant Cam came from money, not the kind that my parents rolled around in, but enough that it most likely paid his rent. He was obviously close with them too, and I envied that. Growing up, all I wanted was for my parents to want to be around me, but with the benefits, the jet setting, and all the dinners, they’d never been home. And after everything that had happened, the few instances they were there, neither of them could even look at me.
‘So you flying back to Texas for fall break or Thanksgiving?’ he asked.
I snorted. ‘Probably not.’
He cocked his head to the side. ‘Got other plans?’
I shrugged.
Cam dropped the subject, and it was close to noon by the time he left. Stopping at my front door, he turned to me, flipping the tiny skillet in one hand, banana nut bread in the other. ‘So, Avery …’
I popped my hip against the back of the couch. ‘So, Cam …’
‘Whatcha doing Tuesday night?’
‘I don’t know.’