The black Mercedes cruised smoothly down neon–lit streets.
Bradley drove while Cameron sat silently in the passenger seat, face turned toward the window, watching the city blur past.
“So,” Bradley said, eyes fixed on the road ahead, “what did you think of the fondue place?”
Cameron pulled her gaze from the window. “Not bad.”
Bradley nodded. “That’s actually why I wanted to meet up with you today. To try that place.”
“What a coincidence we ran into each other there,” Cameron replied, her expression giving nothing away.
The corner of Bradley’s mouth twitched upward. He didn’t bother asking why she’d turned down his invitation but accepted Elijah’s. He wasn’t that petty.
“The food was pretty good,” Bradley said instead. “We should go back sometime.”
Cameron had absolutely nothing to say to that.
Bradley dropped the subject quickly. “So how’s the tutoring going with Xander? Is anything sticking in that brain of his?”
Cameron rubbed her forehead. “His basics are terrible. I’m struggling just to get him caught up.”
“Sounds like you need to charge more,” Bradley laughed.
Cameron finally turned to look at him. “30 grand an hour should do it.”
“That might cover it.” Bradley smirked.
They chatted easily, the vibe between them sliding back to how things used to be. Thirty minutes later, the car pulled into Noble Vista’s underground parking.
Cameron felt herself finally relax. “Brad, thanks for the ride. Later,” she said with a quick wave.
“See ya.” Bradley nodded.
Back in her apartment, it was nearly ten. Cameron took a shower, removed her chest binder, and flopped onto her bed in pajamas, planning to read a bit before crashing.
She glanced at her phone to check the time and noticed a WhatsApp message from Austin.
Austin: [Cam, you busy?] He was just checking in after yesterday, when he’d seen those big guys surrounding her. He was curious how she was doing.
Cameron: [Reading. What’s up?]
Austin: [I wrote another song. Can I play it for you now?]
Cameron: [Now?]
Austin: [Yeah, we can just video chat.]
Cameron instinctively glanced down at her black pajamas. Without her binder on, there was no way she could video chat with Austin.
Cameron: [Sorry, I’m about to crash.]
Austin: [My bad, didn’t think about the time. Can I play it for you tomorrow at school?]
Cameron: [If you want.]
Austin: [Cool, see you tomorrow.]
‘So Cameron’s injuries couldn’t be too serious, right? After all, he’d be back in class tomorrow like nothing happened,’ Austin thought.
Cameron set his phone down and leaned back against the headboard with a book in his lap. After reading for a while, his eyelids started to get heavy.
Just as he was about to lie down, he thought he heard the doorbell. He listened for a moment, but the sound didn’t re, at. With a shrug, Cameron turned off the light and settled in to sleep. A few minutes later, his bedroom doorknob turned slowly.
“Who’s there?” Cameron wasn’t fully asleep yet. He immediately sat up and slapped the light switch on.
The room flooded with brightness, revealing a Successfully unlocked! White button–down, black slacks, gold–rimmed
glasses–it was Bradley.
“Brad?” Cameron blinked in surprise. ‘What’s Bradley doing at my bedroom door in the middle of the night?‘ she thought. Bradley stood there with an easy smile. “Sorry, Cameron. I knocked, but you didn’t answer. I figured you were asleep, so I let myself in.”
