“Okay, fine,” I sigh. “You caught me.”

“What’s his name?” Taylor asks, intrigued.

“Cameron,” I reply. “But I hardly know the guy. We met two weeks ago outside Ari’s daycare center and I saw him again yesterday.”

“Honey,” Taylor says, sitting back on the lounger. “We all start off as strangers, and there’s nothing wrong with being curious about someone. You might find that he’s just as curious about you.”

“I doubt it. A guy like that can have any girl he wants and I’m pretty sure he’ll head for the hills when he finds out I’m a package deal.”

Taylor sighs and I think about what she said. “That’s the reality of being a momma. Our girls always have to come first and if that means not having a guy in our lives until much later, then so be it. I’m quite happy having it be just me and Mace for a while anyway.”

We fall silent, both being pulled in by our thoughts. She’s right. Ari’s needs will always come before mine and I will be that way until she’s old enough to stand on her own two feet. Being with a guy right now just isn’t in the cards and I’m oddly okay with that. Because when the right guy comes along, he won’t only fall in love with me, but he’ll fall in love with Ari, too.

** ** ** **

Taylor and Macy stay with us through Saturday and Sunday and when Monday rears its ugly head, I drop Macy off at daycare with Ari. I have a test on Friday, so after stopping at the coffee shop, I make my way to the library, hoping to get in an hour or two of studying before my first class with Hannah. I take two flights of stairs and find a quiet corner in the study center. I take out my text book for my Concepts of Communication and Journalism class and start making notes, scribbling furiously across sheets of paper until it’s covered in ink. Somehow two hours goes by without me even realizing it. I pack up my things and when I walk out the library again, I spot Cameron walking in my direction. He’s wearing a pair of blue faded jeans and a black t-shirt that shows of his broad shoulders. As if he knows I’m staring at him, his head comes up, revealing a pair of aviator sunglasses and a smile that could melt the panties off even the most frigid woman.

“Hi,” he says, stepping up to me.

“Hey Cameron,” I reply. I can’t see his eyes but I know he’s staring straight at me. An awkward silence travels between us and I nibble on the inside of my cheek.

After a few minutes, Cameron speaks. “You headed to class?” he asks.

“Yeah, I’m headed that way,” I reply, stupidly pointing in the direction Cameron was walking.

“I’ll walk you,” he says. He adjusts his bag that rests across his chest and we start walking.

I decide to make small talk in the hopes that it will squelch the awkwardness. Or maybe it’s nervousness. But why would I be nervous around Cameron, or him around me? “How did the rest of the swim meet go?”

Cameron grins triumphantly. “We won of course, it was a no-brainer.”

“Congrats,” I reply, smiling.

“Of course you’d know that if you were at the party on Friday night, but you weren’t.”

He sounds disappointed? No, he can’t be. Could he?

“Uh, yeah, sorry about that. I had other plans. But I’m sure you had just as much fun though.”

We stop outside my class and I notice that Cameron looks nervous for some reason. He turns to face me, rubbing the back of his neck. I’m about to say goodbye when he speaks first. “Hayley, I…” he hesitates. “I wanted to know if you’d like to go out with me?”

I stare at him, a little taken aback. I did not see that coming, that’s for sure. “Uh.”

He chuckles, “Not quite the reaction I was hoping for.”

Shaking my head, I reply, “Cameron, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Instead of asking me why he simply grins. It’s confident. “Well, that’s never happened before.”

“What?” I ask. “A girl’s never said no to you before?”

“No,” he laughs. “But that’s fine. I can be pretty persistent when I see something I want.”

I fold my arms over my chest. “Oh, really?”

“Yes ma’am,” he replies. He starts walking away from me, turning to face me as he walks backwards.

“I’ll just ask you again tomorrow.”

“And what if I say no?”

He laughs again, saying, “I’ll keep asking you until you want me so bad you’ll say yes.”

I shake my head, watching him walk away, and just when I think the conversation is over, he shouts, “I will get you to go on a date with me, Hayley Tanner, even if I have to ask you every day for a month.”

Heads turn and I blush from the attention. It’s the girls who stop and stare at him, looking back and forth between us. I walk into class, an idiotic grin on my face. There’s no way he’d ask me out every day for an entire month, and even if he did, I doubt I can say yes. I would have to tell him about Ari and I’m not sure if I want to. Not out of shame, but out of fear. It would take someone special to want to be with me, because I have Ari, and I’m just not sure Cameron is that guy.

Chapter 7

~ October, 2013 ~

~ Hayley ~

We’re sitting in the cafeteria. Hannah and Noah are arguing, while Cameron and I watch, amused. Over the last four weeks, I’ve become close friends with them. We spend every free moment together when we’re on campus and my days are more interesting with them around. I’ve also spent more and more time with Cameron and I’ve found that there’s more to him than the cocky facade he hides behind. He’s also delivered on his promise to ask me out every day and he hasn’t been subtle about it either. Every time he’s asked me he’s done something a little more ridiculous than the time before and more often that not, I’ve turned beet red from embarrassment. I thought it would stop, that he’d get tired or give up, but he wasn’t kidding when said he’s persistent. After the first two weeks, people started whispering, spreading rumors about us. I soon realized that Cameron had never done this with another girl before and this made me somewhat unpopular amongst the female student population.

“Seriously, Noah, you’re such a pig,” Hannah chides, smacking her brother on the arm.

Noah shrugs, a smug look on his face. “What?” he asks. “I can’t help it if the girls find me irresistible.”

Hannah rolls her eyes. “I don’t know why. You eat like a pig, you’re a complete slob and you’re a total man whore.”

Noah squares his shoulders, grinning arrogantly at his sister who is clearly very exasperated with him. “You see sis,” he says, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Girls don’t want me for my personality. They want me for my body and what I can do to theirs. Because let’s face it, I’m a great lay.”

Cameron snorts, choking on a piece of his burger, and Hannah looks at Noah with disgust. “I hope you get checked regularly. God knows what you catch with the amount of ‘holes you plug’. I’m surprised your ‘mini-me’ hasn’t fallen off yet, especially after seeing the type of girls that leave your room in the mornings. And let’s hope you don’t knock anyone up.”