Chapter Six: Who's Cheating?

"I cannot believe this," I mutter under my breath.

"Really? I saw it coming from a mile away."

I pull the phone away from my ear and glare at it, hoping that Chase will absorb the negative energy I'm sending him. "No one asked you, Rivera."

"You called me!" He protests. Rolling my eyes, I jab the "End Call" button and slide my phone back in my pocket. I should have known that inviting him to my pathetic little spy mission would be a bad idea. This in general is a bad idea, but I can't exactly back out now.

Two feet away, Cameron has Parker pinned against the brick of his house.

After what seems like hours of their faces being fused together, Parker pulls away. "Cameron." Cameron shakes his head and starts kissing her harder. "Cameron, there's something I need to talk to you about," she protests, shoving him away from her.

"It can wait," he replies with a laugh. "I don't want to think of anything right now except this."

"Cam, enough!"

Mentally, I bore holes into Parker's head. She is not allowed to call him that.

"What?" He whines.

"You have to tell Ann."

"Excuse me?!"

"You have to tell Ann."

"Why? Haven't things been good the way they are?"

"No! I feel so guilty I can't sleep!"

"Well, let me take your mind off your guilt."

"Cam..."

"Hey guys!" Chase waves cheerfully as he bounds over to where they stand.

What is he doing? He's ruining our cover!

Cameron shoves Parker away from him, causing her to trip and fall into the wall.

"Hey!" She hisses.

"What's up? Err, how long have you been around for, bro?" The panic on Cameron's face is evident as he struggles for a casual-looking position against the wall.

Chase shrugs and smiles. "Ah, you know, I've been all around today. Anywho! Enough about me, how are you all? Man, last time I saw you, you were getting laid!"

Mentally, I am kicking him where it hurts.

Cameron chokes on his spit. "Well, I mean, ahaha..." The shocked look of outrage he receives from Parker in response could kill a man.

"Well, I guess I should tell you I've decided to go on the vacation after all! I just think it will be so much fun."

As it turns out, Chase Rivera is full of surprises. Nodding to myself, I get up and take a calming breath.

"Hey, Cam!" I call, trotting over as innocently as can be. I make myself sick, I should have been an actress.

"Why is this happening to me," I hear Parker mutter as I stand on my tip-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.

He smiles down at me and for the second time in two days, I almost gag. "Well, well, what do we have here? You never kiss me. Is it my birthday or something?"

Funny.

"No, but it is our anniversary in a week," I smile sweetly at him.

He pretends to think. "Oh, right! I still don't know what to get you."

"How about a vacation on the beach?" The sweetness in my voice and the cheesiness of the line is enough to give me a migraine.

"I think I can handle that," he smiles.
Are you kidding yourself, Cameron? You were just pretty much begging Parker to kiss you and now you're flirting with me? A lump takes form in my throat as it begins to dawn on me that I don't know him like I thought I did.

I fake a flirty smile and look up at him innocently. "What should I get you?"

He grins mischievously at me. "I think we both know what you should give me."

My heart picks up speed and I pinch myself to bring me back to reality.

What is wrong with you? He's cheating on you.

Yes, but he still loves me.

That's because he's too selfish to give you up.

Or because he secretly only feels love for me.

Yeah, so he goes to a girl who can give him a good time, which you'll never bring yourself to do.

"Like a watch, maybe?"

He rolls his eyes and pulls me by my waist until our chests are touching. "No, sweetheart. I want you for our anniversary."

Sweetheart... Chase always calls me sweetheart. I blink and pull on a fake smile.

"We'll see about that. Well, I gotta go... bye!"

"I love you!" He calls after me. The words hit me like a knife.

~•~

"I love you, Cameron."

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "O-oh. You do?"

Mortified, I cover my face with my hands. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I just said that. I really like hanging out with you and I know we've only been on one date but I've been waiting for it for so long..."

He gently takes my hands from my face and encloses them into his own. "Ann. Never apologize for saying how you feel. Okay?"

"Okay..."

Slowly, he moves closer and leans in for a kiss. Eyes wide in alarm, I jerk away.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I just thought- why are you crying? I'm so sorry, I just..."

"No," I say through tears, sitting down on the porch step with my arms wrapped around my knees. "It's not your fault. It's been like this."

He joins me on the step. "What do you mean?"

I take a shaky breath. "I just... I want to kiss you. I really, honestly do. But I'm scared and I'm not ready. Every time someone tries to kiss me I just feel... panicked. You can go if that's too weird."

He nods slowly and puts his arms around me. "Nothing could make me leave your side, do you hear me? Nothing. You could never kiss me and join a convent and I'd still be there at church every Sunday just to catch a glimpse of you in that sexy habit."

I laugh through my tears. "I don't know if that's how it works."

"We will make it work. Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."

Resting my head on his shoulder, I smile. "Thank you, Cam. You're an amazing date."

"I'd love to be an amazing boyfriend. I love you, Ann. I loved you as a friend and I love you as my girlfriend. All I see is you."

~•~

Do I love my cheating boyfriend? We could still come back from this, I reason with myself. Once he breaks things off with Parker, I can confront him and we'll talk about why he did it and how we can make it better. I know that deep down he must still love me like he loved me before. Unconditionally.

Yeah, right.