Chapter 7, Cameron's Surprise and Nathan's Admission
Cameron
"In case you missed it, this is the guy's locker room," Nathan informed me. He straightened to his full height, as the two of us squared off in between the two walls of green lockers. The strands of his hair was wet and he was using another towel to rid himself of the excess moisture and his feet were bare. "Shouldn't you be showering in your own, Cameron?"
I stood nearly stock still afraid of making any sudden movements. His voice had echoed against the shower walls and I belatedly realized that he recognized me.
For the second time that day I felt embarrassment course through me. Nathan just pointedly glanced at me, amused. His lazy smile showed off exactly what he thought of my predicament and I bristled with some annoyance as he had no idea why I was here.
I was tasked with the wonderful gift of stealing Nathan's boxers. Simple enough, if I had time to plan and execute this, but they had wanted me to steal it now, right after Chelsea had gotten a text from Thompson confirming that Nathan was in the shower.
"I suppose," I said vaguely. His light caramel hair was darker from the moisture that still clung to the silky strands and something on the side of his jaw ticked. His biceps were corded in muscle and I had an uninhibited view of the rigid contours of his abs. The man was tall standing nearly at six feet five and could easily play college football, but lacrosse was what he chose and why, I would never know.
It occurred to me that I could simply ask him for his boxers, but I doubted somehow that he would lend them so easily to me. I was feeling too embarrassed to straight up ask him for them. That would be the height of stupidity on my part. He would no doubt cast me as a pervert in his mind.
I glanced around realizing how alone the two of us were. My eyes darted to the pile of clothes that sat atop the skinny wooden benches.
"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked. His deep voice carried over me and I felt a shiver of awareness course through me.
"I need something," I said nearly breathlessly.
This seemed to ignite and interest in his green gaze as he roamed the length of my body, perusing them back up in a leisurely pace. Hot heat crept up the back of my neck at his blatant gaze. I somehow felt like I had walked into something, but what it was, I was not quite sure.
In two strides, he was on me. His gaze was notched onto my neck and he tilted my chin to the side. "Is that a hickey?"
Stunned by his proximity and its effect on my pulsating heartbeat, I stepped away from him hurriedly. He dropped his arms waiting, expectant. "No," I denied, my eyes focusing on his face once more. Crap. I hadn't bothered to check how much damage Luke had done to my neck. I was going to kill him when I saw him.
Nathan wasn't buying it clearly and he narrowed his gaze. "Who gave that to you?"
Out of nowhere, a thought struck me. Two, actually. One, why he cared and two, what he was willing to do for it to find out?
"I'll tell you if you give me something in return," I commented. "I have a mission to undergo."
"Ah," Nathan said in understanding. He leaned back on his haunches and leaned one shoulder against the lockers in a casual pose. "The girl's lacrosse initiation ritual? If that's what it is, I don't think you're in a position to negotiate the rules here, Cameron."
"I need your boxers," I said.
Nathan raised his brow. "You think I'm going to just give them to you?"
"I don't know. How badly do you want to know where this came from?" I asked tilting my head. My blue eyes pinned his green ones challenging him.
Nathan's face contorted into one of anger and irritation. He crossed his arms, emphasizing the further breadth of his shoulders and muscled arms. "Are you fucking Luke?"
"That's none of your business," I repeated. I clenched my fists by my side and narrowed my own eyes towards him.
"You shouldn't be screwing him," Nathan said. "He's not exactly the kind of guy to stick around."
"How do you know I'm not using him for sex?" I asked him. "Last time I checked, it's not him who calls the shots." Although it sure felt like it was. Luke was on a whole other category of his own. I found myself oftentimes feeling entirely lost in the heady sensations and provocative feelings he made me feel. Even as I glanced around at the guys in our school, I found myself thinking back to Luke. He was a dominating force onto himself and there was that aura of danger that clung around him. He commanded those around him and it wasn't without notice that he seemed to attract copious amounts of attention.
"You're not that type of girl," Nathan asserted. "You don't sleep around."
Anger exploded around me. "It's the goddamn twenty first century, Nathan. A female has every right to sleep with whoever she goddamn pleases without judgment. It's her personal business. At least I didn't cross the line, like you did several months ago."
Nathan stood stock still and his eyes narrowed down at me. I knew I had hit a sour point and I had intended for it to stick. "What are you talking about?"
"You're going to pretend to play dumb and not act like you hadn't slept with Mrs. Hudson, the married, school guidance counselor?" I voiced. His face remained neutral, unchanging in its characteristics. "Mrs. Hudson dropped her keys out in the parking lot. I went back in after school to give them to her. I caught you two in the room through the window and...well, you can guess."
I watched Nathan's face as it remained locked on mine and I knew that he was recalling the memory. "We're not fucking anymore."
"It still doesn't excuse the fact that it happened."
"What's your point?" Nathan asked irritated.
"You don't get to judge me on my sleeping partner when you haven't exactly been all that saintly, either Nathan," I stated. "We may act civil towards each other in public, but it is only out of respect and social convention that I do so. Otherwise, don't piss me off."
"Is that your way to incentivize me to hand over my boxers?" Nathan asked amusingly. "I have to say, Cameron, you're really on a hot streak here."
Nathan was really pushing a nerve and I had no idea why. It bothered me that he was making a point of me sleeping with Luke, but with Luke I hadn't figured everything out yet. There was something there and an inexplicable connection was hard to explain to someone, when I myself, wasn't entirely confident on how to describe it. It seemed irrelevant in the grand scheme of things here, but Nathan was evidently curious about it.
I knew Nathan and Luke were friends, but how far that friendship went was a mystery and I didn't know if Luke going away had closed that chasm. Maybe, things had changed, but how much I was going to tell Nathan was still up in the air. Guys talked, didn't they? Maybe, Luke had already told Nathan everything there was to know about it.
"If you give me your boxers, I promise to keep your secret about Mrs. Hudson, just that—a secret," I negotiated. I needed the boxers and I wasn't sure how long the girls were going to wait. This was supposed to be a quick mission, but it was turning out to be a lot more complicated than I had anticipated. I was to infiltrate the boy's locker room, steal Nathan's boxers, and then bolt.
"Are you blackmailing me?" Nathan smiled at me.
"You know if this gets out, not only will Mrs. Hudson get fired, but you'll be expelled from school and you can kiss any chance of a scholarship goodbye. I'm pretty sure Couch Hudson—you know, the big burly guy who coaches the football team?—isn't going to let you waltz off school grounds with your ass intact," I threatened.
