Bender (The Core Four #1)(32)

I swallowed, unsure how to ask. But mostly because I felt stupid talking to Camden’s brother about it. “Dodger, can you tell me why—”

Holding his hand up, his black hair moving back and forth, he said, “No. You’re doing this one on your own. Cam just left, and I’m not getting in the middle of it.”

My mouth dropped open. “But I just want to—”

He looked up at me with his piercing blue eyes, and firmly repeated, “I said no. I love you, but this is between you two.”

I tipped my head down in understanding. “K.” I stood there and watched him grab his keys and shut the front door behind him. My lower lip quivered, and I just wanted to crawl back in bed and pretend that everything that happened this morning would go away. Could I have a do over day, pretty please? Shaking myself out of my stupor, I went back to my room and phoned Macie. We set up a time to meet. She didn’t seem at all concerned when I gave her the condensed rundown. She simply said, “We’re skipping lunch and going straight to the chocolate cake.” I was cool with that. And frankly my thighs would appreciate a little loving at the moment.



“What does it all mean?” I whined to Macie, who was sitting across from me. I’d just finished telling her every pitiful detail of what happened, from the moment I woke up until I turned around and Camden wasn’t standing behind me.

Using her fork, she pierced a piece of cake and brought it to her mouth. She shoved it in then shrugged. What in the hell? Why was she shrugging at me?

“Mace, I’m not kidding. I need help here. Why does Camden keep going from hot to cold?”

Licking her lips, she put her fork down. “Well first, why don’t you tell me about your date with Luke.”

I drew my brows together. “Luke? What does he have to do with any of this?”

Macie had a knowing look on her face, like she knew where she was going with it. “Just tell me about your date, and then we’ll tackle the other issue.”

I glanced down at the plate. My stomach was so tied up in knots that I hadn’t even taken a full bit of the little slice of heaven in front of me. “Well, we went on a picnic at the park then we played some Frisbee. He’s really good by the way. Before the game and during the game, things seemed to be heating up between us. Before I knew it, we were kissing, and I was asking him to come stay the night with me.”

“And did he?”

I rolled my eyes. “Duh, does he have a penis? A chick asks you to stay the night and you think he’d actually turn it down?”

She shrugged again. Grrr… I’ve about had it with her stupid shoulders. “You never know. I mean, what if he knew that she slept around and had a serious case of the Hot Crotch?” She picked up her fork again, reaching across the table and diving into my cake. After she took her bite, she pointed her silverware at me. “That, my friend, is nasty. I’m sure he would have said no to that.”

“Mace, I have no idea where you’re going with this, but eating chocolate cake like you are, and talking about Hot Crotch is seriously going to make me gag.” Not to mention it was making me itchy.

“Never mind. Tell me what happened next.”

I leaned back in the booth. “Well, we went back to the apartment, and we had sex.”

“Did you orgasm?”

“Of course I did.”

“No need to sound offended, Keeg, I’m just asking you questions.”

I crossed my arms over my chest protectively. “Yes, I had an orgasm.”

“Did you feel anything else?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, was there passion, steam, heat, hair pulling, spanking, dirty talk, any and all that good stuff that happens when you’re really into it.”

“Jesus, do you do all of that stuff?”

Macie stared at me like I’d grown a second head. “Don’t you?” I shook my head. “Holy shit, what am I going to do with you? So you simply had sex, and that was it?”

“It wasn’t just sex, Mace, it was sweet. He was sweet.”

Now she looked irritated at me. “This is what I’m getting at. You have no passion with Luke. He may heat you up, but he only keeps you warm. You want someone who will make you angry, fiery, passionate, and so desperate to have them that it makes your thighs shake.” She paused for a few brief moments. “Someone like Camden.”

I shot up in my seat. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Her little smirk stretched across her beautiful face and touched her eyes. “Yes you do. Camden makes you feel all of those things and more. You just finished telling me, not even ten minutes ago, that you were responding to him, and you didn’t know why. I bet if you sat back and listened to your body, it’d tell you that you crave your sexy roommate. You want him, Keegan. He may piss you off more than any other man that you’ve met, but that’s the kind of intensity that I’m talking about. Those kinds of relationships are the ones that are explosive in and out of the bedroom. I bet he could make you come just by telling you to do so.”

I squirmed in my seat, and she noticed. How embarrassing. I was sitting in the middle of a restaurant pressing my legs together because just the idea of Camden touching me the way that I had physically been craving made me wet. I felt my cheeks heat up, and Macie gave me a full blown smile.