My Dad's Bestfriend novel Chapter 156

Evelyn

“You didn’t tell me you had a party going on here on the beachside—I thought it’d just be a walk by the beach,” I chuckled, swaying with the music as it thumped around us, the star-filled sky above, the wind tousling my hair while Cameron gently tucked a few loose strands behind my ear.

“I was afraid that scary-looking friend of your dad wouldn’t let you come if he got even a hint,” he laughed, sliding his hand around my waist and pulling me closer. Suddenly, I grew aware of our proximity, my senses heightening. “So, I kept it a secret.” He kissed my cheek, and though my body froze, I didn’t pull away. I didn’t want to.

I needed this distraction. Wasn’t this what I wanted? A connection that progressed smoothly, nothing too fast or frantic, just smooth sailing? But that came with its own downsides—no butterflies, no flutters of your heart, and no sparks.

“Well,” I slipped my hands around his neck, our bodies swaying with the music, in perfect rhythm. From the corner of my eye, I spotted Mason a sucking the lips off of a guy, and Nancy doing body shots with a blonde—she wasn’t gay, but she’d fuck literally anyone.

“You’re already so scared, huh?” I teased. “What are you going to do if someone else snatches me right in front of you? Will you still keep it a secret and have a secret affair with me then?”

A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, and he leaned closer to my ear, his breath caressing the side of my neck without evoking the visceral response that even a single glance from that cursed Italian bastard would. “I’d steal you,” Cameron whispered.

I’d kill him and snatch you back—Jacob would have said.

Fuck, Evelyn—don’t think about him.

“That’s not very brave, is it?” I tried to keep my thoughts from drifting back to him.

“You don’t need bravery to win, beautiful,” Cameron chuckled, turning me around so that my back pressed against his front, his chin resting on my shoulder. “You just need to be smart. And I think I’m smart enough to snatch you from anyone in this world—though I’d appreciate it if Jacob doesn’t stay on the enemy’s side,” he joked.

Well… he is the enemy here.

“Cute,” I laughed awkwardly before I pulled away from him. “But I need a drink to find your joke funny,” I said, heading over to the bar, with him following me.

“Hey, it was a good one,” he protested while I placed an order. A few seconds passed by.

“Not at all, Cameron,” I sighed as I grabbed the drink from the bartender and downed it in one go. “You need to work on your jokes. Especially if you’re trying to make them funny when they involve that Italian I absolutely fucking hate.” Another drink down.

As I reached for a third shot, Cameron took it from my hand. “Slow down, baby,” he chuckled. “If I drop you off at your house, drunk out of your wits, do you think I’d have any chance of becoming your family’s favorite? Hell no. I can’t risk that.”

“Trust me—if I like you enough, I’d go against my family and every fucking moral,” I pulled him by his collar, feeling him freeze for a second as I grabbed the drink back. “I’ve done it before. It’s not my first rodeo.”

“Oh really?” he cocked an eyebrow. “So do I get to know who had the fortune to come to you before me?”

“Trust me, you’ve already seen him up close,” I chuckled as I downed the third shot. I was already spewing nonsense; it seemed like the last two shots had made their way into my system too soon, and the gripping effects of the alcohol were all over me already.

“Mason?” he quipped, a laugh tearing from my throat.

“Now that was funny—didn’t know you’d improve so quickly.”

“To get a girl like you, one has to improve quickly, Evelyn,” he grabbed the edge of the stool I was sitting on and dragged it closer. My breathing hitched for a second, but then I found myself trapped under his gaze. “Or else someone else will take you away, and I’d be left with nothing. So it’s better I work fast when there are so many risks around, isn’t it?”

A guy like Cameron should have been the choice from the very first time. He was well-spoken, soft, careful, and always putting in effort—an ideal choice for any girl. But that was the thing—guys my age never interested me, nor did guys like Cameron, in fact, none ever did except for him. It was as if God had made only one person for my eyes to love from my very being, and it was Jacob.

As I looked at Cameron, I didn’t feel the sparks, the deep urge to run my fingers through his hair or caress his skin. I didn’t burn with the desire to pull him in for a kiss and never break away. I didn’t feel the hunger of desire, that familiar fire I was used to, or even mere embers of it. I didn’t feel anything… at all.