Rylie and Cameron started with coffee but connected better than either of them thought. They went to many more places together; the movies, the park, even dinner.
They had ended their date at the beach, waiting for the sun the set. Cameron had laid out a blanket on the sand and as they sat side by side, they buried their toes in the sand.
"I hope you had a good time today, Rylie. It was nice to spend time with someone other than Joel," he laughed nervously.
"He's too much for you?" She giggled.
"No it's just…I'm a little shy. I'm an only child and my parents were strict with who I surrounded myself with. Joel's dad and my dad are childhood friends, so they didn't have any problems with him."
"You must've had a rough childhood. I know where you're coming from…" she muttered the last part under her breath.
"What was that?"
"Oh nothing, I just said it must've been hard making friends."
"The thing is, I never knew what to say to people when they approached me. I tried to but I would just freeze."
"Why don't you talk to them the way you talk to Joel?"
"It's different with him, he's like a brother rather than a friend. He accepts me no matter how awkward I am."
"But you just met me, how come you can talk to me like we've known each other for years?" Rylie leaned towards him teasingly, but he glanced the other way and blushed.
"I don't know myself. I guess when I'm with you, I just feel…comfortable."
She was able to get a look at his facial reaction before he turned away in embarrassment. Cameron couldn't maintain eye contact for very long, he stumbled over his own words and was at a loss of words most of the time. But he was honest and genuinely listened when she opened her mouth to speak. And the times he was able to look her way, he focused on her face and his eyes didn't wander to other parts of her body. She smiled.
Beep Beep
"Sorry, that was a text message," he took out his phone, glanced at the message and chuckled.
"Something funny?"
"It's Joel, he wants to know…never mind," he said bashfully and put his phone away.
"You must mean a lot to him huh?"
"I guess you could say that. He's always been there for me and listened to whatever I had to say. Sometimes, I think he cares about me more than he cares about himself."
As Rylie listened, she thought:
'Maybe one day I'll find someone like that. Someone who will love me for me, even with all my flaws…'
In that moment, the sun disappeared beyond the horizon and the sky became engulfed in darkness.
"Rylie? Are you okay?" She snapped back to reality and offered him a smile.
"Yes, I'm okay. I had a great time today Cameron and I don't live too far from here. I think I'm going to walk home. You've done so much already so don't worry about me."
She got up to leave and before he could say anything in return, she stopped him in his tracks with a kiss on the cheek. She waved goodbye and headed for the main road. Cameron, still frozen, caressed his cheek where her lips just touched.
-------------------------------------------------
Joel had been warming up on the treadmill for awhile now, trying to get his heartbeat up. Beads of sweat were falling down the side of his face, down his slender neck and landed on his broad shoulders.
He stopped the machine and made his way over to the weights. After getting the appropriate weights and positioning himself in front of the full-length mirrors, he started with curls but found he was getting distracted.
His mind kept circling back to the conversation he accidently heard Rylie having on the phone. From where he was standing at the time, he could hear everything that was being said. He was sure it was her mother but was surprised they could talk to each other the way they did.
What did she mean when she said she was providing them with food and shelter? Was her father in the picture? He didn't mean to stick his nose where it didn't belong, but it was in his nature to help others.
His mother was a university professor that would build homes in third world countries in the summer. He was always taught to remember that when it felt like you had nothing, there were always others out there that were suffering more and in greater pain.
He didn't know what she was going through but felt as though she was silently crying for help. She appeared cheerful and happy but there was also a distant look in her eyes.
"Why am I putting so much thought into this? Didn't I come here to work out?" Joel snapped out of it and went back to counting his reps.
------------------------------------------
Emilia was concentrating hard as she tapped her pencil on the side of her cheek. She wasn't an artist herself but something about James' sketches intrigued her. She knew it was dumb, but it made her want to try drawing to, to step into his world, even if just for a moment.
Yuki was coming out of the bathroom and noticed Emilia deep in thought, so he peeked his head into her room. School just started so it couldn't have been that.
"What are you up to?"
"I'm just trying to figure out if I could draw like this if I start now," she flipped a napkin and sheet of paper towards him so he could see.
"Why? I admit, these are pretty amazing and whoever did them has talent but you suck at drawing!" he smirked as Emilia gave him a dirty look.
"Honestly, I don't know. It's just, he does all these so effortlessly and he can capture me like this when I don't even see myself like this. I think he's better at drawing than you are at dancing!"
"Excuse me, being a professional choreographer is hard work! Or did you forget about all those autographs I got you?" Hearing this, Emilia's eyes grew wide and quickly threw him a smile.
"You mentioned it was a 'he'? Is it a new friend from university?"
"I met him the morning of my mom's funeral. I was looking out into the water and he just handed me this," she shoved the sketch towards him.
"Then I met him again at the club and he gave me this," she shoved her other hand holding the napkin so they were now both in front of him.
"So, are you guys friends now? How do you know he isn't a stalker or some weirdo?"
"I mean, we aren't yet but doesn't mean we can't be. I want to know him more! He seems cold on the outside but something about him makes me want to talk to him more."
"Em, just be careful, okay? You never know nowadays. I wouldn't want you to get hurt or something to happen to you."
"What's wrong with you? You usually tease me or say I'm being silly. No one jumps to that extreme so early on…" she raised her eyebrow to question Yuki.
"Nothing! Just be careful!" he quickly walked out of her room and shut the door behind him. He collapsed onto his own bed and let out the sigh he was holding in.
'What was that? She's right, I usually DO tease her about these things. Did something change?'