Kiss This (36 page)

Teague pushed off the wall and tried to read
her as he approached. “How come?”

“Just…because things with his family are
very…awkward sometimes.”

“Yeah, you mentioned that. You’re the
daughter they never had?”

“Yeah, but I’ve never been close to them.
Doesn’t that sound weird? I mean they live in Santa Clara now so
it’s not exactly a simple trip to visit them, but even before Zach
died, I was hardly around them. His dad was always working, his mom
was involved in a ton of activities and book clubs and other stuff.
I think I ate dinner with his family maybe a total of five times
while we were together. But I did live with Zach for a month or two
at a time while he was in North Carolina. And if I wasn’t over
there with him, I was busy with dance commitments and Melanie. So I
guess no one is to blame.”

“If you feel uncomfortable seeing them, then
I don’t want you to.”

“Then Helen will probably take it personal
and go into a big weepy depression.”

“She sounds like she needs some
therapy.”

Camryn smiled. “They aren’t entirely bad.
I’m just giving you the part of them that makes me uncomfortable.
And we’ve all been to therapy. You know, as a ‘family’,” she said
with air quotes.

“So they expect you to be part of the
family, huh? Does this have anything to do with Brandon, too?”

She pressed her lips tightly together and
took a deep breath of air through her nose. “Yeah, I suppose. They
want us together. Helen found the letter Zach wrote to Brandon and
acts like that was his dying wish that needed to be honored.”

“But you’ve told them it’s not happening,
right?” he asked in a low voice.

She lightly shoved him. “Yes, Teague. Reel
in your inner caveman.”

“Fuck no,” he laughed with a scoff. “But
hell, if you want me to I’ll go with you. I’ll even keep my mouth
shut.” He turned for the bathroom but cast a wink over he shoulder.
“Get your ass naked, Camryn.”

She held back a laugh as she followed him
into the bathroom. He was already shirtless, and just seeing the
muscles move in his back made her ogle and appreciate him like
she’d never seen him naked before. He glanced behind him as he
dropped his drawers on the floor and then stepped right into the
garden tub, sinking into the hot water with a sigh.

“Come on, sexy girl. Get in here with
me.”

She removed her shirt first as he watched
closely. She liked to tempt him whenever she undressed because it
was a total adrenaline rush to see his beautiful eyes drink her in
like he did.

As she shimmied her pants down, he looked
her in the eye and said, “Turn me on at your own risk. You’ll have
something big and hard jabbing into your back when you sit against
me.”

“Pssh,” she laughed. “I’ll have something
jabbing in my back
anyways
.”

He shrugged as the last of her clothing was
shed and she joined him in the bath. “I can’t help it. You weaken
me.”

She settled against him and sighed as he
wrapped his arms around her. “Weaken? Feels like something has been
strengthened
.”

He released a low, deep laugh as she gently
pressed against him. “Ironic, huh?”

They were both quiet for several minutes,
just enjoying the time being close skin to skin. Finally Camryn’s
curiosity won and she had to ask, “So…what did you want to tell
me?”

***

Teague paused momentarily, just to decide
how or if he was really going to discuss this with her. He also
needed to get a handle on his fucking nerves. “Well, it’s not
something to
tell
you…well, maybe it is, but just something
I wanted to discuss and…see what you thought of it.”

She turned slightly to face him better.
“Okay.”

He took a few seconds to gather the right
words. “Well, I’ve been thinking about something. A lot. You
mentioned the other day that moving closer to LA would be a change
you’d make since you had work here and…”

He paused again, waiting for her to figure
it out.

“And?” she asked with a smile. “Are you
wanting to know if I’m going to?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You rent your house, so
you don’t have to worry about that, right? It’s just a matter of
making arrangements with your friend or something?”

“Well her family owns a few townhouses in
the area so yeah, she was just looking into pinning one down for me
that will be vacant. But that won’t be until summertime. For now
I’ll keep working for Mimi and travel for competitions and
conventions.”

“What about that video you were asked to
choreograph for? Isn’t that down here in LA somewhere?”

“Yeah, but that’s not until the end of
March. And I’ll be staying with Sonja for those few days.”

“Why not here?” he frowned.

She smiled and lightly tapped his pouty lip.
“Because I would be here to sleep for four hours and then just be
commuting in between. We pound out those videos in a pretty short
amount of time. Barely any rest because we try to spend the time
wisely on the set to keep costs down.”

He nodded. “Yeah, I understand that.
But…back to the other issue. Your move.”

“What about it?”

“What if you moved sooner?”

“Well I’d like to if that place was
available sooner, but I promise, seeing you is number one on my
list and I’ll be sure to make it happen as much as I can.”

She slid her hand behind his neck and
pressed her lips to his. She deepened the kiss when he held her
tighter, and right there in the middle of a tongue lock, Teague
said, “I want you to move in with me, Camryn.”

She paused as her eyes flew open and then
pulled back slightly. They just stared at each other for a few
seconds as Teague waited for a response. He could tell she was
stunned, and part of him was nervous as to why. He’d expected she’d
be surprised, but didn’t anticipate how long she would
hesitate.

“Camryn? You look pissed.”

She blinked and then swallowed. “Um, no, I’m
not pissed, I’m- I’m surprised I guess and just… Well I can’t,
Teague. I mean I’ve got my sister to look after and- and really,
maybe you don’t know what living with me full time will be like
because…because…”

“Because why?” he smiled. He rubbed a hand
over her shoulder and added, “I love having you here. I mean
truly
love when you’re here. It feels right. When you leave,
it sucks. I hate it. And I hate that you’re almost three hours
away. I know you commute a lot for different jobs when you need to,
but maybe we could just cut out the commutes to
each other
.
And Melanie seems comfortable here, too. She said she loves my
house.”

“That and she loves the location. I don’t
know if I really want Melanie closer to LA. But are you saying
you’d let her live here, too?”

He nodded. “Of course. I don’t think she’d
object at all. And consider this…she’ll be further away from
Jordan.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Wow, that would be
worth it all on its own,” she said without cracking a smile.

“Thanks,” he chuckled, knowing she was
messing with him.

With a smile she patted his face. “I
definitely wouldn’t move in with you for any other reason except
that I love you and want to be with you as much as I can.”

“So…that’s a yes, right? Please tell me
that’s a yes, Camryn.”

She paused for a moment, wanting to respond
the best way. “My instinct is to say yes, Teague. But that’s
because I really want to be with you more. But…I’m not sure if it’s
the right thing
at this time
.”

“Why not? What do you need to consider? What
would make it the right time?”

She thought for a second and then slowly
shrugged. “Ummm…”

“Camryn,” he said sternly. “Please tell me.
What makes you hesitate? You think it’s too soon?”

“We’ve been together for a couple of months,
so no, I don’t think it’s too soon.”

“Well I don’t either. I know how I feel
about you. I don’t give a shit what’s considered a ‘reasonable’
timeline when it comes to stuff like that. I think it’s different
for every couple. And for us, I feel like we fit just right. And
you need to be closer to LA, so if you’re really thinking about
making that change, I’d rather you move here with me. I’ll be
working on two movies this spring and summer, so my time with you
is already going to be limited. That makes me sad just thinking
about it. I’m not sure I want to go through so much time away from
you.”

She smiled at the frown on his face.

“You don’t have to answer me tonight, Cam.
Just think about it, okay?”

“What about Jay and Kellie? I mean now
you’ve got both of them here, too.”

“We’ve all lived together off and on for the
past six years.”

“It doesn’t mean they want two more
roommates,” Camryn argued.

“Babe, I’ve already mentioned it to them.
Not for their permission, though, since this house is in my name.
But they’re both cool with it. They’ll still have their own rooms,
Mel will have her own room, and you…you’re stuck in
my
bed,
sweetheart.”

“That’s definitely the best part,” she
smiled. “But Teague, like I said, it’s not a matter of if I
want
to be here with you. It’s that this entire house will
change when Melanie has a baby added to the mix. I can’t do that to
you guys. And I know my sister needs me. I know she’s almost
twenty, but she’s got a lot of growing up to do. Is she my
responsibility still? I don’t know. But I keep hoping for the day
that she’ll get her shit together so she can have stability in her
life. I really don’t know what that will consist of. I’m sorry
but…I don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”

His heart fell. He was sure she would say
yes. But desperate times call for desperate measures…

“Please, Camryn. Please change your mind. At
least try it out and…and if things don’t work out, I swear to God I
will help you find something that does. Please, I’m not too proud
to grovel. I don’t like having you so far away from me, I just…I
worry about you, and I worry about Melanie and…I just want you here
with me. Please, Cam. Just try it. I’ll do whatever I can to make
you say yes. If you—”

“Okay,” she lightly laughed. “Yes, Teague.
Okay.”

He stared at her for a few seconds before he
smiled. “Really?”

“Are you giving me a chance to change my
mind again?”

“Oh hell no!”

She straddled his waist and held his face in
her hands. “Good. But you just agreed to take Fucktard, too.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

Camryn stood in the doorway of her former
home and looked over the small place they’d lived in for the past
ten months. It was hardly meant to be a permanent situation, but
she never thought she’d be leaving it to move in with a guy. Teague
had invited her to live with him a week ago, so once she gave her
notice to the landlord, she was excited to make the change. The
neighborhood was less than desirable for two single women, but it
was all she could afford at the time. Life seemed to be getting
better and better these days, and even though she was looking
forward to more work with Sonja, she was most excited to have more
time with Teague.

“Okay, that should do it, I guess,” Teague
said as he stood in the doorway with her. The truck was full and
there didn’t seem to be anything else to pack.

“Uh, Teague…?” Jay said, pointing to the
corner of the room.

Teague’s attention settled on the last thing
in the room that hadn’t been loaded and he rolled his eyes. “Shit,
were we really about to leave the damn bird?”

All four of them laughed and Camryn said, “I
think subconsciously we all wanted to. Maybe he should’ve gone with
the first truckload to charity.”

“Hey, you guys are rude!” Melanie pointed at
them. “Poor Geraldo.”

Jay’s jaw dropped. “
Geraldo
? Are you
joking?” he snorted. He stepped over to the bird that had been
watching them from the corner the entire time but hadn’t made a
peep. “I think I’d prefer to be called Fucktard, too,” Jay told the
bird.

“Shut up!” Melanie squealed with a laugh.
“Camryn, I’m gonna kill you for naming him that!”

“Well I can’t wait for Bart to arrive,” she
answered, rubbing her hands together.

“I’m not naming my baby Bart either, so
you’d better get over it.”

Once the bird was loaded and they were at
the truck to head out, Camryn noticed that Don popped his head out
of his garage again to check on their progress. This time he
sauntered over, eyeing Teague and Jay warily, but he looked at
Camryn and asked, “So…you girls are moving out, huh?”

“Yes, Don,” Camryn answered tolerantly. “You
no longer have to deal with us anymore.”

He smirked at her response but shrugged.
“Nah, just losing my neighborhood eye candy.”

“Watch it, asshole,” Teague warned as he
checked to make sure the tailgate was firmly shut.

“Hey, I’m just saying,” Don said, holding up
his hands. “Just stating a fact.” He nodded toward the truck and
said, “Geraldo working out for ya?”

Camryn shrugged. “He’s alright.”

“He, uh, chat some good conversations with
ya?” he smiled.

“Hardly. He says some unusual things,
though.”

Don’s eyes shifted from her to Teague. “Like
what?”

“He tells us the names of all your
customers,” Teague replied dryly.

Camryn refrained from laughing because
that’s exactly where
she
was headed with her comment.

Don glared at him but shook it off.
“Whatever. Well, have a nice life and all that,” he said over his
shoulder as he turned away.

Camryn moved for the truck so they could
leave, but remembered one more thing. “Oh. Hey, Don?”

He turned around as he crossed his yard.
“Yeah?”

“Why the hell would you teach a bird to say
‘hey fatty’?”