Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 48306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48306 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 193(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
It’s my mom.
“Go,” Camden says quietly. “Seriously. You’re in enough hot water with your mom already.”
“Uh-uh,” I quickly shake my head. “No way. I’m not leaving you like this.”
“Waverly, I’m fine. Really. Just a weird day. Look, the other day in the showers when I got all fucking weird.” He frowns. “It’s what you said.”
I wince. “I—fuck, I’m so sorr—”
“No,” he growls quickly. “No, it’s nothing like that. You said, ‘life’s a hell of a ride.’”
I frown, holding him tight.
“It’s one of the last things Gina said to me, is all,” he says quietly.
My heart wrenches in two again, and I launch myself into him, hugging him fiercely.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper into his chest.
He holds me tight, kissing the top of my head as we stand there in the dark until my phone goes off again.
“Answer it,” he says gently. “You should.”
I nod, picking up the call.
“Hey, mom. No, sorry, I got held up going over some stuff for math with—” I almost say Brynn or Sasha, until I start to worry that my mom is like, standing next to them or something waiting for me to walk right into a lie.
“A couple kids from class,” I blurt out quickly.
“Okay!”
Whew.
“Are you coming home now though? Dinner’s ready soon.”
“Yeah, I—”
I glance at Camden, and he nod.
“Yeah, I’ll be home soon, mom.”
I hang up and put the phone away before I slide back into his arms.
“I don’t want to leave you,” I hiss.
“I never want you to leave,” he groans back. “But you need to get home.”
I nod, hating that it’s true before suddenly, a thought hits me, and I grin.
“So,” I say quietly. “There’s a back gate to our yard.”
He chuckles. “No, baby, that’s not a good id—”
“Meet me there in two hours?”
He frowns, but I can see the fire in his eyes.
“Please,” I whisper, my eyes locking with his. “C’mon, say yes. Say yes so I can make sure you’re not alone.”
He smiles, slowly nodding. “Waverly.”
“Just say yes?”
His smile widens into a grin, and he nods.
“Yeah, I’ll be there.”
I beam at him, hugging him tightly before I pull away.
“Okay, I’ll see you then?”
“It’s a date.”
I grin. “Perfect. “Love y—”
I catch myself instantly, my mouth snapping shut and my hand flying to my lips as my eyes go wide. Camden just stares at me, his face hard and his jaw clenched.
“Fuck,” I whisper, slowly shaking my head. “Oh my God, I’m… I’m so sorry, that—I have no idea why I—”
“Hey, Waverly?”
I cringe, looking down.
“Waverly.”
I swallow.
“Look at me, Waverly.”
Slowly, my face bright red and my body physically cringing at what I just blurted out, I look up at him.
Camden is grinning as he steps into me, and before I can even take a breath, he’s scooping me into his arms and kissing me deeply. He kisses me hard, and slow, and with so much passion my freaking toes curl, until finally, he pulls back.
“Camden, I—”
“I love you too, Waverly,” he growls.
I blink. “What?”
“I love you too. Even if you didn’t mean to say it before, even if you don’t even really mean it, and if you don’t, that’s fine. But I fucking love you, beautiful. I’ve loved you since the second you dove into my pool.”
I choke out a laugh, my eyes getting all teary again as I rush into him, kissing him madly.
“I love you,” I moan, tangling in him and kissing him over and over, before finally, he pulls back.
“Get home, baby,” he purrs. “Get home, and I’ll be at that gate in a few hours, okay?”
I nod, biting my lip as my pulse races.
“It’s a date.”
15
Waverly
“Hey.”
Something wild blooms through me when I see him, and when I rush barefoot through the grass and into his arms, it’s like I’m taking a breath for the first time since the last time I saw him. Which, granted, was only about two hours and fifteen minutes before, but still.
“Are you…”
I frown, and he smiles.
“I’m good, baby,” he growls quietly, leaning down to kiss me. “Look, before—”
“It’s fine,” I whisper. “You really don’t have to explain anything to me.”
Camden smiles. “Yeah, but I want to.”
I blush as he leans down to kiss me again in the darkness of my backyard.
“Look, earlier today, before practice, I got a phone call from this…” he frowns. “This fucking car dealership looking for Gina.”
My heart twists as I hold him close.
“That’s what set that off.”
I nod. “I’m so sorry, Camden.”
“That’s, uh…” he grins, pushing his fingers through his hair. “That’s not the only call I got.”
I raise a brow curiously. “What—”
“USA Swimming called, Waverly,” he says quietly.
My mouth falls open. “Wait, what? What’d they want!?”
He grins widely. “Me. They want me, Waverly. They want me to swim competitively again.”
I almost shriek, but my mom’s inside, and so instead, I just jump into his arms. “That’s amazing!” I say eagerly, hugging him tight.