Before You (Before You #1)(66)
“Those were just rumors. Nothing was ever confirmed, and Mia would say anything to separate us. I think she truly believes that if I were out of the picture, Cam would date her. Have you heard anything else?”
“Yes, there’s always a rumor or two floating around.”
“That’s to be expected. He’s like a local celebrity, so people like to gossip about him, but I’m the guilty party.”
“So you’ve heard some other rumors about Cam, too?”
“Some, mostly bits and pieces when people don’t think I’m listening and…” Bre looked down and started fiddling with the yarn dangling off the end of the blanket again.
“And what?”
“Jax made a few heated comments that made me think they all aren’t rumors. He didn’t come out and make any direct accusations, but he alluded to some stuff that made me think I close my eyes to things because I want to trust Cam.”
“So what does your heart tell you?”
They both sat on the phone in silence, neither saying a word. She honestly didn’t know what she believed. She had ignored the rumors, pretended as if she didn’t hear the whispers, and tried to pretend Cam hadn’t changed even though she knew they both had.
A few moments later, Cam opened the front door and turned on the lights in the entry. Bre stared at Cam with her red-rimmed eyes as he walked toward her and sat next to her on the sofa. “Sara, I have to go. Cam’s home,” she said softly.
“Good luck, Bre,” Sara replied before disconnecting the call.
“What’s going on, Bre? Why does it look as though you’re planning to sleep on the sofa?”
Bre shifted to the end of the sofa, leaning over the side table to turn on the lamp. She hastily grabbed a pillow and clutched it to her chest as she studiously avoided looking at Cam. “I thought it might be better if I sleep out here tonight.”
Abruptly standing up, Cam headed to the kitchen. “Do you want something to drink? I have a feeling this is going to be a long night.”
“Coffee would be great,” Bre replied, ignoring Cam’s commentary.
As he spooned coffee grounds in the coffeemaker, Bre swung her legs off the couch and followed him into the kitchen.
“So Bre, what’s on your mind?”
Bre pulled two red mugs out of the upper cabinet and slid them adjacent to the coffeemaker. “I think I made the right decision when we broke up last week. I know you hoped that once we saw each other things would work out, but I can’t be with you right now.”
“What does that mean?”
“Right now, where we are in our lives, it makes more sense if we’re just friends. The long distance thing is too hard, too much maintenance. We’re both so busy trying to get our careers off the ground, and our relationship is an unnecessary complication.”
“What brought this on? Did something happen that you aren’t telling me?”
Leaning back against the countertop, Bre turned her head, watching the dark liquid fill the carafe. “A lot happened, but mostly I realized that we need a break.”
“Can you be more specific?” Cam persisted.
Cam filled the mugs with coffee. Nervously, she rubbed her hands together, and she tried to smile reassuringly. “I don’t think the specifics are imperative.”
“Okay, let me tell you what I think is going on instead,” he said, his voice harsh. “You’re still angry that I cancelled my visit last weekend. Now you’re even more pissed because I’ve been so busy we’ve hardly spent any time together this weekend and I disappeared this evening, trying to prevent Jax from messing up our potential record deal by toying with Anna. Tonight you paid me back by leaving without a word, and now you’re trying to end our relationship. Does that sum it up?”
Bre smiled faintly. She always admired people that didn’t mince words. “Not entirely. I’m disappointed, not angry, that we haven’t spent much time to together, and I didn’t leave tonight to pay you back. I left because I realized that… we aren’t the right people for each other at this time.”
He froze in the act of raising his mug to his mouth. “What does that mean?”
She inhaled deeply. “You’re the only person I’ve ever dated, and I think I need to see what else is out there. Maybe in a roundabout way, seeing other people will bring us closer together.”
He slammed he mug down on the counter without taking a sip. “What? You want to see other people?”
“I’ve been out with someone else a couple times in the past week… and I’ve come to the conclusion that it isn’t fair to either of us to be so wrapped up in this relationship when we’re so young.”
“When did this happen?”
“Well, I’ve been considering it for a while, but being with the other person happened last weekend.”
“Did this happen when Jax visited? Does he know about this? Is that why he left early?”
“I don’t want to talk about Jax. This isn’t about him. This is about us, our relationship,” Bre whispered, looking away, hoping Cam couldn’t see the guilt twisting in her stomach at the mention of Jax’s name.
“Fine. Then explain to me how you could throw away our lifelong friendship and our future for this man. Do I know him?”