“Really. Why does that surprise you?”
Shrugging sheepishly, I reply, “I guess I thought that this was regular thing, that you did this on all of your ‘dates’”.
Now it’s Cameron who looks sheepish. “No, you’re the first.”
“Oh.” I take a sip of my sparkling wine hoping it will calm the nerves dancing around in my belly. So far, nothing has been what I expected and I’m not sure how I feel about all of it. It suddenly feels like more than just another date.
Cameron cuts into his chicken breast and I follow his cue. When the tender meat hits my taste buds, the mixture of it all leaves an explosion of flavors on my taste buds. “Oh my God,” I moan. “This is really amazing, Cam. Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“I started when I was fifteen, and kind of taught myself. My mom had to fight to get me out of the kitchen.”
“You must’ve been really stubborn as a kid,” I joke. “I bet you drove your parents crazy half the time.”
“I have an older sister who set the precedent when we were kids, I just followed in her lead.”
“You have an older sister?”
“Yes,” he replies. “Candice. I was a bit of an accident so Candice and I are about eight years apart. She has a two year old, Jordan, and she and her husband, Brett, are expecting their second baby soon. I don’t know who’s more excited though, Candice or my mom, because it’s a girl.”
“And your dad? Is he excited?” I ask.
Cameron’s face darkens and his excitement dwindles. “No,” I say softly. “He’s not really…around.”
Putting my hand over his, I squeeze. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean - “
“Don’t worry about it,” he cuts me off. We look down at where my hand touches his and for a second I wonder if he can feel the chemistry, pulsating around us like a live wire. His eyes meet mine and they darken. He’s definitely feeling it. He holds my hand and we continue to eat, chatting animatedly about mundane things yet never feeling bored. I was worried that it would feel awkward, having become close friends over the last few weeks and then exploring the possibility of there being ‘more’ between us. But it’s not. In fact, it’s easy, and comfortable, and what scares me even more is that it feels right, natural.
“How was it?” Cameron asks anxiously.
Giggling, I retort, “My moaning between bites wasn’t enough of a giveaway?”
“No, that was just sexy as hell and a very big distraction.”
I stand to meet Cameron at the sink where he rinses off our dirty dishes and stop next to him. “Well,” I say, stretching onto my toes. “It was the most amazing food I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting and knowing that you went to so much effort to make our first date so special made it even better.” I kiss him on the cheek and allow my lips to linger as I murmur a “thank you” against his skin. He drops the dishes, making a loud clang, but neither of us notices. He faces me, stunning me with his beautiful face adorning those dimples. “You’re welcome,” he replies, his voice husky. After a minute of silence goes by, he speaks. “Hayley?”
“Hmmm?”
“Can I kiss you?”
My heart stutters. I never imagined Cameron asking for a kiss, I thought he would just take it. Something about him asking me endears him to me, softening that bad boy exterior.
I nod and Cameron wraps an arm around my waist, not worried about the soapy water dripping from his hands. It could be muddy water for all I care. Nothing will stop this kiss from happening.
He steps into me, our lips touching lightly before his mouth consumes mine. His lips are gentle at first, but when my tongue darts out to meet his it sparks a hunger, not only in Cameron but in me too. Our tongues dance and Cameron’s grip tightens. My hands hold onto his biceps for support because my knees feel weak and it’s like I’m floating on air. I know it’s not normal for two people to share a kiss like this on their first date but if this were to become more then I’ll have to both acknowledge and accept that nothing about us would be normal. I’m a nineteen-year-old mother to a two year old and Cameron is the school playboy. We’ve already broken several rules according to society, why not obliterate one more.
We break apart and Cameron gives me one last chaste peck before resting his forehead on mine. “I didn’t bring you here for that,” he says quietly. “But I’m glad it happened.”
I smile. “I know, and I’m pretty sure I wanted it as badly as you did.”
“Dessert?” he asks. His eyes are bright and I can’t help but wonder if I’m seeing into his soul.
“I thought that was it?” I tease. I purse my lips. “That’s going to be a tough act to follow.”
“Even with homemade peppermint crisp mousse and chocolate souffle?”
Before I can reply, my phone goes off, effectively killing our little moment. “You answer that,” Cameron says, kissing my neck. “And I’ll finish cleaning up and get dessert ready.”
I slip out of his grasp and walk briskly to where my purse is. When I remove my phone from my purse, my grandmother’s number is flashing on the screen. I frown, a feeling of panic sinking into my belly. She would only phone me if something were wrong. I don’t like this.
“Hello?”
My grandmother’s words fly out of her mouth rapidly, so fast I almost don’t catch everything she’s saying. “OhHayleyI’mTakingAriToTheHospital - ”
I cut her off. “Wait, Gama, slow down,” I say. “I can’t hear what you’re saying.”
Her inhalation on the other end is sharp, and wobbly, like it’s filled with tears. “I’ve taken Ari to the hospital,” she says, her voice cracking. “You need to come.”
Fear grips me, sucking the air from my chest and wrapping around my throat. I can’t breathe and I feel a panic attack coming on. Stay calm, I chant to myself, over and over again. The line goes dead and it’s then that I notice Cameron standing next to me.
“Hospital,” I say robotically. “Please, I need to go to the hospital. Now.”
He nods and we head out to his truck, our dessert forgotten. The ten-minute drive is silent and I can tell Cameron wants to ask me what’s going on, but I can’t tell him. Right now all I’m thinking about is my little girl and it only proves why Cameron and I can’t be more than friends. Because Ari will always come first.
Cameron has barely stopped his truck when I jump out and run into reception. I don’t stop to see if he’s followed me, I simply tell the nurse who it is I’m looking for and follow her directions. I burst into the emergency room and spot Ari and my grandmother in the corner. I rush when I see Ari screaming and writhing in pain and push the doctor aside to get to her.
“It’s ok, baby girl,” I soothe, wrapping her unusually hot body in my arms. Her screams don’t subside and my inability to calm her down brings tears to my eyes. Her hands push me and I look down at her. Her face is red and tear stained, and her screams continue. “What’s wrong?” I ask the doctor, not bother to get a name. It’s a young woman, her blue scrubs indicating that she’s an E.R doctor.
“Miss. Tanner, it would appear that your daughter has appendicitis. It’s not uncommon for someone her age, but what concerns me is her high fever and slightly swollen belly. That could mean that her appendix has burst.”
“You have a daughter?”
We all spin our heads around. Cameron is standing behind the doctor, a look of shock and disbelief on his face. Instead of responding I look back at the doctor and ask, “What do we do?”
“The best solution would be to have an ultra-sound, to determine the severity of the condition and then possibly schedule an emergency appendectomy. The operation is about an hour long but we can have her prepped for an ultra-sound while you fill out the paperwork. Once we know the result of that, we can determine whether or not she will need surgery, but given her current state, surgery looks like our best form of treatment. ”
I nod, “Okay.”
The doctor scurries off and my grandmother takes Ari from me. I hesitantly let her go but I need to chat to Cameron. This is not how I envisioned myself telling him about Ari but now I have no other choice.
“I can explain,” I say, walking to where he’s still standing.
“Explain what exactly Hayley? How you can have a kid at nineteen or how you failed to mention it until now?” His voice comes out harsh and if it weren’t for my need to defend my actions I would flinch. But I don’t. I meet his anger and shocked expression head-on with a glare of my own.
“This is why I didn’t want to tell you, because I knew you would judge me.”
