In Too Deep(5)

He laughed hard, having to take a drink of his ice water before he could calm down. The server came by and took our orders, Cam adding in a bottle of wine that wasn't part of the normal menu but sounded great to go with our fish and saffron rice pilaf anyway. “Far from it actually, I'm nothing at all like that. I'm actually just a High School teacher."

"Shut up," I said with a laugh. "Really? How'd you get here then?"

Cam shrugged. "I had an uncle pass away six months ago, he left me a little bit. I figured why the heck not? I've always wanted to go to the Caribbean, and I’ve got two weeks before I have to go back for summer work. I help out with the JV basketball team at my school, and offseason lifting starts August first. What about you? You said this is your first time in a place like this, what do you do?"

I took a drink of my water, setting it down to shrug. I wasn’t quite buying his story, but hey, who knows. “I’m technically unemployed now. Up until a week ago I worked as the pharmacy manager for one of the major chains that I won't say because they're actually paying for this trip. My store manager gave me the employee of the year award right before corporate closed the branch down."

The server brought the bottle of wine, pouring us two glasses before leaving the bottle behind. Cam inhaled the aroma and then gave me another startling white grin. "Well then, here's to unemployment," he said, toasting me. "May your previous employer regret leaving such a valuable person behind."

"And to success for the JV basketball team," I replied, clinking glasses with him. "Where is this High School, by the way?"

Cam smirked and took a sip of his wine. I followed, impressed. It was just a bit fruity, but not overly so. If the fish was as good as I expected, it would be a great compliment. "I live in T or C."

"Where?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I've heard of T and C, but that's a surf shop or something, isn't it?"

"T or C. Truth or Consequences, New Mexico," Cam said. "And yes, that's a real town, not just an old show or some place thought up for fictional stories. What about you? When you're not making this island all that much more beautiful, where do you call home?"

"Lima, Ohio," I said with a shake of my head. "So if you think you get jokes about where you live, try living in a town named after a bean."

"A universally hated one at that," Cam laughed. "Well then, another toast. To two people from ridiculously named places."

We toasted again and relaxed as our first course was brought to us. "The chef loves to use lots of fresh vegetables and tropical ingredients," Cam said. "If you're into steak and potatoes, you're in for disappointment."

"I can use a week of lighter fare," I said. "It was so nice of you to come over and say something after those two girls were so disrespectful. Even if they were right.”

“No, they weren't," Cam said casually as he stabbed a piece of Romaine lettuce and took a bite. "They're just jealous. And let me be clear," he said softly, but still with command in his voice. "If you think I asked you to dinner out of some sense of charity or pity, you’re mistaken. I asked you to dinner because I think you're attractive, I'm on vacation by myself, and I was hoping to get to know a pretty woman."

I blinked, then lowered my eyes. "Thank you. I mean, ever since you asked me, I've had that at the back of my mind. I guess it's hard for me to think of myself as anything other than average.”

"With those eyes and that face? You're gorgeous," Cam replied, picking up his fork again. “And I’ll admit, I checked out the rest of the package as you were lying on that lounge chair. But since we’re at a polite dinner, I'll keep those observations to myself . . . for now."

I was about to reply when I was at a loss for words, so I just smiled instead.

Cam grinned and tilted his head. “So tell me about yourself. I guess this is the point in the date where we figure out if you can tolerate my habit of sleeping in on Sundays until noon, or if I can deal with your My Little Pony obsession."

"She-Hulk, actually," I said with a laugh. "Growing up, she just kicked so much ass that I couldn't help but admire her. And she was the total package too, brains and body."

"Good point, but I always preferred Power Girl for female superheroes," Cam said. "Good character."

"You mean giant boobs," I countered, and he laughed, nodding.

"Hey, I was a teenager. And she was a lot more interesting than Psylocke," Cam countered. "Don't tell me you didn't do the same thing."

"Touche," I answered, thinking back to watching the Captain America movie back in 2011. In fact, thinking about it, Cam looked a lot like the superhero. I decided to change the subject. "So why'd you move to Truth or Consequences? You don’t exactly strike me as a desert guy."

"I'm not," Cam said. "Actually, I'm originally from Chicago. I kind of messed around a lot in high school, so the only place I could get in with a decent scholarship was the University of Arizona-Flagstaff. While Flagstaff is hot in summer, it's actually colder than Chicago in winter at times, and after that, I spent a lot of time in really frigid areas. So when it came time to find a new job, I chose going back to the desert. T or C had an opening, and it's a small town, which I appreciate after growing up on the wrong side of Chicago."