Chapter Eleven
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Cami
I've been standing here staring at the same bookshelf for the past ten minutes. It's been like this all day. I just can't make my mind focus on anything other than what happened this morning and Rayne. It always goes back to Rayne.
What did he mean when he said everything was going to change? I understand he was talking about us being...well, an 'us'. But was there more? We've not been together very long but I really liked last night. I liked this morning pretty darn well too. I could get used to it.
"You trying to move that book with your jedi mind powers?" I jump when Lisa, a librarian I work with, walks up on me. "'Cause if it works you so have to teach me."
Everyone at the library is super cool and made me feel like I was somewhere I belonged right from the start, but Lisa still makes me a little nervous. Sometimes I'm not sure how to take her jokes.
"No," I give her a little laugh, "I was just, um..." Shit, I don't have an excuse to give her.
"Oh honey, I know that look. That's about a man."
"Mary Beth!" Lisa screams across the whole library. For a librarian, she isn't a stereotype at all. She's very loud. "Get your booty over here. We got man trouble."
Oh Lord! This is the last thing I want. Mary Beth, the other librarian working today, comes waddling towards us. She's about to pop a baby out any day now. I swear she makes me so nervous every time she sneezes because I'm afraid I'm going to have to deliver a baby. "Lisa! This is a library for goodness sakes. Can you please be a little quieter?"
"Not really. You know that Mary Beth." Mary Beth smiles at Lisa. She's very aware of Lisa's propensity to joke and be loud. She's used to her.
"So I caught our Cami standing here staring off into space and when I asked she got all flustered. I know that look. God knows Randy puts it on my face enough times. We’ve got to help her out."
"Lisa, have you ever thought maybe she might not want our help."
Lisa stands in front of Mary Beth for a moment and then puffs out a breath of air and waves the comment away, "No."
For the next thirty minutes, we sit around talking about men and what I should do next. Mary Beth says to leave it alone - he'll tell me what he means. And Lisa says to take 'the bull by the horns and find out what exactly he meant when he started talking in man code'. When it's finally time to close up I'm not really surprised to see Rayne waiting for me outside leaned up against his truck.
"Oh Cami, you didn't tell me your man was the hottest firefighter in town. Oh la la. The two of you are going to make some beautiful babies."
My cheeks light up like a Christmas tree and I can't look Rayne in the eyes. God, Lisa has a big mouth. He tilts my head up with his fingers under my chin and pulls me in close, a big smile on his face. "Hello Bunny. How was your day?"
I blush harder. I know he heard Lisa - the dead can hear Lisa and when I move my eyes over to her I can tell she heard him too. Now the whole town will know Rayne calls me Bunny. I give my attention back to him and he leans down to press his lips to mine. The kiss takes my mind off Lisa and the things I've been mulling over all day, and...well, everything but him and how good his mouth feels on mine.
He has me buckled and the truck started when I finally get my wits back. I open my mouth to tell him we have to talk but he reaches over and places his hand on my knee. It's only then that I realize I'm jostling my knee up and down...again - like the first time I was in his truck going home with him.
"We'll talk when we get home. For now, tell me about your day."
I do what he asks even though there isn't much to tell. I talk about the girls I work with and all of their families. By the time we get home, Rayne is laughing about something Lisa did earlier in the day and lifting my mood in the process.
"You have a wonderful way of telling a story. You're damned funny, Cami."
He takes my hand as we meet at the front of his truck and walk up the porch stairs together. "Thank you. I don't think anyone’s ever got my sense of humor before. It's nice to have that."
"Better than nice, I hope."
I give him a big smile and look away. He takes my hand and leads me into the living room but we don't sit down. Instead, he leans up against the back of the couch and pulls me into him. "Now, let's talk so you won't spend the entire afternoon worrying about stuff that you don’t need to worry about."
"How can you tell I worry?"
He gives me a chuckle. Not a mean one. One that tells me he might just know me better than I know myself. "Because that's what my girl does. It means you care and how much you care is related to how much you worry."
Is that true? I think it is. Damn, what does that say about me worrying about him all day long?
"I told you things would change. I'm a possessive man. I didn't realize I was because I've never really cared enough to be that way before. But I knew I would be that way with you, especially if I got a taste of you." My cheeks flush thinking about what he did this morning. What we did. I mean it isn't like he was alone in doing it. I practically begged him to do everything he did.