I’m pretty positive that I’m the only sober person at this party right now. Delilah invited me along and I thought it was worth attempting to get out of the house for the night. Now that I’m here, I honestly wish I wouldn’t have even bothered. Delilah has been working part-time at the local hospital and one of the guys she met invited us here.
There isn’t a single person I recognize here, but Delilah doesn’t seem to mind. She introduced me to a few of her friends from work. This is the first time she’s hung out with any of them outside of work and with the way she’s hanging all over Carter, I can see that she has ulterior motives.
After things didn’t work out with Alexander and she pretty much told him to get lost, it didn’t take her long to move on to the next guy that showed her some fraction of attention. I can’t say I fully blame her for it. Delilah craves male attention, probably from her lack of having a father present in her life.
And honestly… sometimes that attention is nice for anyone. Delilah’s only problem is she usually falls quickly and when she does, she falls hard. And after everything comes crashing down, I’m the only one who is there to piece her back together again.
Delilah saunters over to me as I drop down onto an empty spot on the couch. “You look miserable,” she slurs, her eyebrows tugging together in disapproval. “Did you want to leave? I can see if one of the guys can give you a ride.” She calls out to someone named Leo and waves him over.
I shake my head at her. “I’m pretty sure no one is really in any condition to drive right now.”
Leo walks over to us, looking like he stepped right off the front of a GQ magazine. He smiles at me, revealing perfect teeth that only money can buy. “Hey, I’m Leo,” he says, extending his arm for me to shake his hand.
“Aspen,” I tell him, slicing my eyes to Delilah’s as she shrugs. “I don’t need a ride.”
Leo drops down onto the couch beside me, his cologne overwhelming my senses. Delilah lifts her eyebrows at me, a smirk playing on her lips before she winks and leaves the two of us alone. I’m uncomfortable next to him and shift my weight nervously as he takes a sip of whatever is in his plastic cup.
“So, are you pre-med too?” he asks me, his gray eyes burning with curiosity as he turns to face me. “I know Delilah from the hospital. I’m finishing up my first year of med school this year.”
My eyes widen, my curiosity piqued. “Yeah, I am. What specialty are you interested in?”
Leo smiles, taking another sip of his drink. “I want to be an orthopedic surgeon, but I plan on exploring my other options before completely committing.” His eyes search mine, a fire burning in his irises. “Have you decided on where you want to go to med school yet? You know Drezel is one of the best in the nation and it’s not that far from Wyncote…”
“I’ve thought about Drezel,” I tell him honestly. It’s one of my top three dream schools, but I know that admission is extremely competitive. It’s hard to get my hopes up and have my sights settled on one school when I know how hard it can be to get in. “It’s in my top three. I’m obviously going to apply to others just in case.”
“Hey, don’t sell yourself short already.” He smiles at me, wrapping his arm around the back of the couch. He doesn’t touch me but I can feel his warmth with how close he is and it makes me uncomfortable. Not because there’s anything wrong with him. I’ve known him for two seconds, but the last thing he gives off is creepy vibes. It just feels wrong because he’s not Cam. “If you ever want to come tour the campus or anything, let me know. I’d be more than happy to show you around.”
“You don’t even know me,” I remind him, tilting my head to the side as I raise an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure that I even have a chance of getting into Drezel?”
Leo blinks, his steel gray eyes shining back at me. His gaze drops down to the water bottle that I’m clutching in my hands before his gaze meets mine again with a hint of amusement playing in his expression. “I’m usually a good judge of character. I’m not often wrong about people and you don’t really strike me as the type of girl who came to college to party and fuck around. Right or wrong?”
My lips part as I smile back at him, a soft chuckle falling from my lips. “You’re right. My sole focus right now is my classes. Not to brag, but I’m currently on track to graduating with honors.”
He narrows his eyes playfully, a chuckle vibrating from his chest. “And you’re actually worried about med school? Shit, I’m pretty positive you could probably get into the school of your choice at this point.” Leo pauses for a moment, something sinister dancing in his irises. “You know, you don’t have to be humble, Aspen. Don’t ever be embarrassed of sharing something like that with someone.”
“And this is coming from someone who wants to be a surgeon?” I throw back at him, the playfulness in my tone. “The cockiness kind of fits into the stereotypical surgeon mentality.”
A ghost of a smile plays on Leo’s lips. “Not cocky, love. I’m just pretty fucking confident. If I can’t have that image of myself, how do I expect anyone else to feel that way when I need them to trust me with their lives in my hands?”
I stare back at Leo for a moment, mulling over his words. He seemed nice enough, with an arrogance about him, but perhaps I read it in the wrong light. His cockiness wasn’t from a place of thinking that he’s better than anyone. He has a point. He has to be confident if he wants to thrive in a position like what he’s aiming for.
“Am I interrupting something?” Cameron’s voice comes from behind me, the sound sliding across my eardrums like silk. There’s a coldness in his tone, laced with curiosity.
Whipping my head around, I lift my gaze to his and he raises an eyebrow, keeping his eyes trained on me instead of even bothering to acknowledge Leo.
“Cam,” I breathe, rising to my feet as my heart picks up the pace, rattling against my rib cage. “You’re here.”
“You called and I came, baby,” he reminds me, the coldness still lingering in his tone. “Who’s your friend?”
Swallowing hard over the knives in my throat, I feel a wave of nausea rolling in the pit of my stomach. “This is Leo. Delilah knows him from the hospital.”
“Hmm,” Cam murmurs, directing his intense green eyes to Leo. “You can leave now.”
Leo snorts as he rises to his feet. “And who the fuck are you?”
“The only one that Aspen will be going home with.” Cam’s gaze is cold and he doesn’t tear his eyes away from Leo as he stares him down. The possessiveness rolls off him in waves and I don’t miss the way he tightens his jaw as he challenges Leo to try and take what is his.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize that Aspen was a piece of property that you needed to come and piss on.” Leo narrows his eyes, not backing down from Cam before he glances at me. “Good luck with everything,” he tells me, a sadness lingering in his voice. “Maybe I’ll see you around Drezel sometime.”
Swallowing hard, I offer him a small smile and nod. Glancing at Cam, I stare at the side of his face as he watches Leo walk away. And I can’t help but feel like shit for it. I didn’t want to pursue anything with Leo, but he seemed nice enough. He didn’t do anything wrong that warranted Cam’s attitude.
“What the hell, Cameron?” I snap at him as he turns his head to stare at me. “That was completely unnecessary.”
He tilts his head to the side, raising an eyebrow at me. “Oh, was it?” Turning his body to face me, the anger vibrates from him, the tension thick in the air. His movements are slow as he walks around the couch, stopping as his toes meet mine. “And how would you feel if the situation were reversed? What if I called you to come to me and you found me with another girl.”
“That’s not even fair. I swear that it’s not what it looks like. We were literally just talking.”
Cam’s jaw tics. “That’s how it always starts, isn’t it? A friendly little exchange between two strangers until it grows into something more.”
“Do you hear yourself right now?” Rolling my eyes, I throw my hands up in defeat. This is a side of Cameron I haven’t seen before. And while his possessiveness may have been hot at first, I have no energy to deal with this shit. “Forget that I called you. You can go home or do whatever the hell it was you were going to do.”
As I spin on my heel and begin to walk away from him, his arm darts out, wrapping his hand around my wrist as he hauls me back to him. The front of my body collides with his, but it doesn’t throw him off-balance at all. He links his arms around the back of my waist as he holds me close to him.
Tilting my head back, I look up at him and find a fire burning in his gaze as he stares down at me.
“You want to know what it was that I was going to do tonight?” he murmurs, his voice soft as he stares through me. “I was going to come here and pick you up and take you home with me for the night.”
My breath catches in my throat, a fire burning in the pit of my stomach as I swallow roughly. Cam lifts the bottom hem of my shirt high enough to slip his fingertips underneath. His palms are warm and soft against my skin, his fingers digging into my flesh as he holds me tighter.
“I guess I didn’t make myself clear when I agreed to your little deal.” He pauses for a moment, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. “I’m the only friend that you have benefits with. That’s my only condition. We don’t have to be in a relationship, but when it comes to fucking around, we’re exclusive. I have no intentions of fucking around with anyone else and I expect the same courtesy from you too.”
His words shake me straight to my core as it hits me. He felt threatened by Leo because we were together. I know how it probably looked to him, but that wasn’t the case at all. It’s not worth arguing, since it seems like Cam has already moved on from that and is now making himself crystal clear.
I think about how he must have felt and if roles would have been reversed like he said. He’s not asking me for a relationship or anything definitive. Just a mutual respect. If we’re friends with benefits, that means no one else. Not that there is anyone else that I would even want.
“You’re the only one,” I tell him, my voice low as I lift my arms and lace them around the back of his neck. “As long as this is going on between us, there’s no one else.”
“Good girl,” he murmurs, his face dropping down to mine. He nips at my bottom lip, pulling it in between his teeth before he bites down lightly. “Now, can I continue with my plan and take you home?”
Pulling back from him, I slowly lick my lips, the corners of them tugging upward.
“I dare you.”
