Water dripped from my hair as I walked out of the ocean, and Tuesday caught up with me, said a quick hello, and started explaining why it was the perfect time to tell her the story now. I laughed, reaching for my towel and throwing her a look. "Are you serious?"

"Of course," she said, handing me a plastic cup of iced Americano. "I waited for two whole days."

I lay my towel back and sat on it. She gave me a puppy look when I looked up and took the drink from her.

Tues said it as I kept it from her for centuries. I didn't even know what to tell her or if I wanted to do this without booze in my system. However, she wouldn't let me go if I didn't satisfy her needs.

On the other hand, this conversation could take my mind off last night. Cam was gone when I woke up at six, and I wondered when he woke up or if he slept at all. I didn't know if we would talk about what happened or brush it off. Knowing us, it was probably the latter.

"Okay," I said, taking a long sip from my drink and putting it on the empty spot of my towel. "Sit down."

Obeying me with enthusiasm, Tues sat beside me.

"I don't know where to start, but it's safe to say that I'm not the best decision-maker."

"Obviously."

"Don't cut me off," I said with a glare. I gave it a thought and figured out the best point to start from. "It all started when I moved to New York for college. New place, new people, and no parents to tell you what to do. Though it initially freaked me out, I quickly adjusted to the idea of being on my own. Don't get me wrong; I love my family. Pops and Auntie are the best people in the world, and I feel lucky to be raised by them. Still, freedom taught me a lot.

"Then, I met Marcus, my fiancé—"

"Ex-fiancé," Tues corrected me.

"—ex-fiancé, at the new graduate program of a tech company after college. He is two years older than me, so he was one of the supervisors there to help us newbies adjust to the place and guide us through our questions. One day, we left the office together and realized we were going in the same direction. That walk changed everything on my part: because the more we talked, the more I realized how sensible, charismatic and friendly he was. Then, I learned he broke up with his girlfriend only two months ago."

I paused and met Tuesday's skeptical gaze.

"He walked with me to my apartment and told me about his pain, his feelings, and more. The conversation flowed easily with him. Then, I started to like him. At first, as a friend, then unrequited. I knew he wasn't ready for a new relationship, but I was determined to be there for him. Listen to his rants, and stay by his side. Until..." I sighed. "Until he noticed me."

I shook my head, realizing how stupid that sounded. Telling Tues about this helped me reflect on my relationship, too. It was therapeutic and painful at the same time. I remembered the good moments, the bad moments, and how the picture in my head differed from reality. It was like watching a movie: I could see everything clearly now.

I looked up to push my tears back as I sipped on my coffee.

"You can cry, bestie," Tues said, putting her hand on my leg. "Relax."

"It's just—I'm mad at myself for not realizing this sooner."

"Realize what? You couldn't know he'd chicken out last minute."

"I could, Tues," I sighed. "If I looked hard enough, I could actually see that his heart was never with me in the first place." I was his fucking therapist, just like he said. "Anyway, we started a relationship, and I thought it was perfect. He understood me, our time together was a blast, and..." I stopped when I remembered Tues was just sixteen. She didn't need to know Marcus was fine in bed. "...that's it." She raised her eyebrow. "Then, your bestie couldn't see the red flags, and here we are."

"That's it?" She asked in disbelief. "Why did you like someone who was still pining over his ex in the first place?"

That was a good question. "I don't know," I said. "Do you think it's weird?"

Tues shrugged, crossing her legs. "I don't have any experience with boys, but it sounds weird to me. Do you know why? It sounds like a dog peeing on a spot another dog claimed before."

"Can't see the analogy."

"I don't know what that means," she replied, slurping the bottom of her drink.

"I mean, you think everyone has only one shot at love?"

"No, but at least one should wait until the other moves on. Like until you can't find a trace of the other dog."

"So, I peed on the wrong territory."

"Yep."

I hated that it was the strangest analogy ever, but it made perfect sense. This sixteen-year-old girl knew better than me to pick the right guy.

"Is he hot? Your ex."

"Yes." I paused to think. "He is fine."

"Rate him out of ten."

"He's a seven, I think," I said.

"Okay, he's a seven, but he left you at the altar."

I smiled, knowing where she was going. "Which makes him a solid zero, right?"

"Exactly, bestie." Her soft grin grew into a smug one. "You know what? Cameron is a ten."

"Ten?"

Tues nodded with a beam. "I mean, look at him."

I whizzed back, following her gaze until I spotted Cam on the beach.

He was on the other side of the beach. He took his shirt off and started walking toward the ocean. Then, I remembered last night and—

"He's a ten, but he's driving me crazy," I muttered under my breath.

"Then, he's a twelve." I snapped my head at Tues in surprise. "I read that a relationship is more passionate with people who get on your nerves, it's sexual tension."

I frowned. "What kind of books are you reading?"

Tues blushed. "I'm sixteen, Amber, not six. I know how sex works." I raised my eyebrow. "Theoretically."

I stifled a laugh. Tuesday was the most colorful person I'd ever met in my life. She was both immature and mature, a perfect balance of everything. I watched her lie on her towel, bend her legs, and sigh.

"Shouldn't have eaten the last pancake," Tuesday mumbled regretfully. "I'm so full."

"You can never go wrong with pancakes."

"Mhm," she said. "You're coming over for dinner, right?"

I nodded. Then, I looked back again, instinctively, with no particular thought in my mind. And I saw Cameron far away, swimming. There was a pang in my heart, restless, leaving no room for the fuzzy butterflies in my stomach.

When was the last time you dreamed? My inner voice said. When was the last time you wanted something or someone so much that it made you breathless, restless, and panting?

I guess I'd never dared want something so much like that. Pops used to say, "The hardest part of loving is to let go, Berry, but you have to, one way or another." So, the rational part of me concluded if you never love someone that much, you never have to let go. I kept everyone at arm's length, building a tower for myself like Rapunzel, praying that nobody ever dared to climb up.

As the fog of anger and embarrassment cleared, I could see that I wasn't sad because Marcus had left me at the altar. I was sad that I'd spent time on our relationship, thinking it could bloom into something beautiful and worthy in the end.

Nothing beautiful blooms without love, I noted. And my tower was too tall now for anyone to climb up. I just hadn't thought I would ever want somebody to climb.

I didn't realize I was shamelessly watching Cameron walk out of the beach until Tuesday pulled me out of my bubble. He looked in my direction before I pulled my gaze away.

"Just go and talk to him."

I looked at her. "Tell him what?"

"Whatever you want to say," she said with a smile. "Tell him he's a twelve."

I laughed. "No need to boost his ego."

"Well," Tuesday said, looking behind me with a soft frown, "seems like you're late."

I wondered what she was talking about. Turning back, I saw Cameron sitting on the beach with a girl standing next to him. It looked like she was asking him a question, but then she laid her towel next to him and sat down.

"Who is she?" I couldn't recognize my voice asking the question.

"Olivia. Uncle Joe's granddaughter. She came for his birthday." The dreamcatcher girl? "She's twenty-three. We aren't friends, but she's nice. She comes for a week or two every year to visit her grandpa."

I was glad Tuesday gave me all the necessary information, so I didn't look nosy asking about her. Olivia was a gorgeous girl with tanned skin, long brunette hair, and a petite body. And it was perfectly normal for her to sit next to Cameron—for whatever reason it was.

I turned away from them and took a breath.

Tuesday was watching me as I was trying to calm down my senses. "Are you jealous by any chance?"

"Not at all."

She nodded understandingly. "You look like you're in the middle of a crisis."

"I'm not," I said harshly. "I just...it's too hot, isn't it? Let's head to your café. I need to work on my project."

Tuesday looked at me with a smug grin, and she didn't say anything. I was glad she didn't because I totally sounded like a lunatic. I had no right to feel a trace of jealousy because of this situation, but I was actually pissed. Because of last night. About what happened and what didn't happen.

I was angry at myself for actually wanting to kiss him, and I was angry at him for brushing it off like it was nothing. And he disappeared on me in the morning, making me feel like a fool. I absolutely didn't live the whole thing in my head, right?

In the café, I picked the table at the corner, ordered an iced latte, and started working on Cam's website. It wasn't the best way to take my mind off what just happened, but I wanted this website to end as soon as possible and move on. I hated this inconsistency—the zig-zag situation between him and me. I wanted to go back to normal, where Cameron was just a boy in the past.

My phone buzzed on the table and surprised me. I was so used to having it off that I forgot how a notification sounded, but it was time to slowly go back to my real life. I neglected it for too long. I checked the notification from Twitter, a new tweet from one of my favorite accounts.

Then, I focused back on my laptop.

I picked soft blue and brown colors as the website's theme, actually wasting one hour to find the HEX code of the color I imagined in ColorHunt. As I was benchmarking for the right fonts, Tuesday slumped down next to me and checked the screen.

"Are you making a website?" She asked.

"Yeah," I said, looking at the fonts. "For Cam. I promised to help him with it."

"How sweet of you, bestie," she said, patting my back. "I didn't know you had a bone of sweetness in you."

"Ha-ha." I leaned back and looked at her. "Help me pick a fancy font."

"Shouldn't you ask Cameron instead? It's his website."

"He'll have to like what he's got," I said through my gritted teeth.

"I think he's a minimalistic guy," Tuesday commented, scrolling through the fonts.

"Yeah," I confirmed. "I also need to ask him for his portfolio. I want to start with a set of colors, fonts, and a logo. Then, it'll be easier to make the website."

Tuesday paused as if her mind diverged from the point. "Do you think Cameron would ask Olivia to be his model?"

"He could," I muttered nervously. Why did she suddenly bring them up? "But I don't—"

"They are coming here, and Cameron's got his camera," she replied in a hurry, bolting up to her feet. I opened my work project files instead after the announcement, looking carefully at the lines of codes.

Olivia's laughter suppressed the ring bell as they entered the café, but I didn't dare look up at them. They walked toward the counter as Tuesday welcomed them, and Olivia had a small talk with her and her mom, telling them how much she'd missed them. I'd noticed Cameron didn't say a word since they entered, but I knew I couldn't just look in their way.

"You met Cameron," Tuesday said to Olivia, and I bet she looked toward me saying that.

"Yeah, we met on the beach. We agreed I'd take him to a fantastic spot I knew and pose for him." I didn't realize I was arbitrarily hitting the keys on the keyboard until there was just a bunch of ;'s and f's on the screen among the code. Shit. Take him to a fantastic spot and pose for him?

"Where are you taking him?"

"You know the blue cove? Grandpa used to take me there by boat. I thought Cam would be interested in that place." Cam? "I'll ask Grandpa to lend me his boat."

"Cool." Then, she said, "Oh, did you meet Amber? She's Cam's bedmate—I mean, roommate." What are you doing, Tuesday? I lifted my gaze from my laptop as Olivia and Tuesday reached my table and tried my best to fake my most charming smile at her.

"Hi," she said, extending her hand. "I heard a lot about you from Grandpa."

"Hey," I greeted her back. "Uncle Joe is the best." Then, I looked ahead, looking at Cam for the first time. He was paying for his coffee, uninterested in our conversation. Did he ignore me?

"I should head to grandpa's store," Olivia said with a kind smile. "I'll see you guys around." Then, she stopped midway and looked at Cam. "Call me when you're free."

"She's got his number," Tuesday muttered under her breath next to me, folding her arms.

"What was that?" I hissed. "Calling me his bedmate."

Tuesday rolled her eyes. "She's taking him to an isolated cove to do god-knows-what, and you are pissed that I called you his bedmate? You've got a lot to catch up on, girl." Then, she instantly plastered a smile on her face, looking ahead at Cam. "Cameron, we were talking about you just now."

What the hell?

Blood rushed to my cheeks as Cameron looked at me curiously. "We weren't—"

"—We need you to select the font for the website," Tuesday completed my sentence. I wasn't going to tell him about it yet, but of course, she chose to rain down on my parade.

"You already started?"

"Yeah," I mumbled. "We don't have much time."

Cameron checked his watch and pouted apologetically. "Can we go over it tonight?" Tonight. We were going to be alone in our room tonight. This fact sent shivers down my spine, but I nodded anyway. "I need to help Gerald now."

"Sure," I said curtly. "Whenever you're free." Call me when you're free. I wasn't Olivia—I wasn't going to wait for his call. "I mean, we can probably find a slot we are both free."

He huffed a laugh as he pulled out his phone and typed something. Then, my phone buzzed in my shorts' pocket.

Subject: Project Website First Session.

Location: On bed? :)

He'd set a fucking meeting for tonight's session from ten PM to midnight. "Scheduled."

I couldn't help but laugh at his invitation. Then, I hit accept. "Yeah."

Tuesday looked between us as he walked out of the café. Then, she grabbed my phone and gasped so loudly. "He's smitten."

"Shut up," I said, elbowing her, and took my phone from her. "Let's make some frappuccino."

New character, new drama.

Tuesday handles a crisis better than Amber, in my opinion, so she should definitely take private classes from Tues LMAO! Also, our Amberoni finally opened up to someone about the whole story (even if briefly), more importantly, she sees it differently and starts to realize it was doomed from the start. Do you think she will ever open up to Cam about it?

Also, the "meeting notification" part was an abrupt idea, but it can be one of my favorite details yet. As someone who receives many meeting requests daily, I never interpreted it romantically, but I think Cam made it work, huh?

Drop here your first impression of Olivia (in three emojis or three words!)

Question: Do you like the "sneak peek in the chapter on Sundays"?

I'm also streaming Midnights as I'm posting this! AHHHHHH. Please drop any songs that remind you of Camberoni.

See you next Friday,

Sev xx

SNEAK PEEK OF CHAPTER 12:

So, taking the deepest breath my lungs could take in, I answered his call.