Chapter 7: Straightforward
1096 Words
Chapter 7
Cameron had that smile again.
The kind that didn’t ask for attention—but somehow took it anyway.
Confident. Effortless. Like he already knew the effect he had on people.
“Camille,” he said, recognizing her immediately as she approached.
Before she could even respond, he reached for her wrist.
His hand wrapped gently around it.
Warm.
Firm.
Real.
“Hey?” Camille blurted, her voice catching slightly as he guided her closer.
No one had ever touched her like that before—not like this. Not with ease, not with certainty. Her breath paused for a second, her body instinctively registering the contact before her mind caught up.
But strangely… she didn’t pull away.
Instead, she became aware of everything at once.
The warmth of his skin.
The faint scent of his body wash—clean, fresh, almost addictive.
She found herself thinking, I could smell this all day.
Cameron leaned slightly closer, as if nothing in the world was unusual about this moment. “I’m just being a gentleman,” he said, then added a wink like it was nothing.
Camille narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to regain control of herself. “Does your girlfriend know about this?”
That made him pause for half a beat.
Then he smiled.
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” he said simply. His gaze sharpened just a little. “Does your boyfriend know about this?”
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” she answered immediately.
For a second, something shifted between them—light, electric, unspoken.
Then Cameron laughed.
Not a forced laugh. Not a polite one.
A real laugh.
The kind that reached his eyes and softened his entire face.
It did something to her chest she couldn’t explain.
Butterflies. Definitely butterflies.
He pushed the café door open for her, stepping aside so she could enter first.
And Camille stopped for a moment.
The café wasn’t just a café.
It was like stepping into a scene designed for confession and possibility.
Soft golden lighting spilled from hanging chandeliers shaped like delicate glass petals. Warm fairy lights draped across the ceiling like a slow constellation. The air smelled faintly of vanilla, espresso, and something sweet—like baked sugar and melted chocolate.
Every table had soft velvet seating in shades of blush, cream, and deep wine red. Couples leaned close in corners, whispering, laughing quietly, some holding hands across candle-lit tables. In one far corner, a couple kissed without urgency, like time didn’t exist outside their moment.
The café hummed softly with romantic music—low acoustic melodies that felt like background to love stories already in progress.
Even the menu boards glowed with soft scripted phrases like “Made with love” and “For two hearts, one table.”
It felt intentional.
Like everything inside the café was designed to make people fall a little deeper into whatever they were feeling.
Camille swallowed lightly as Cameron led her to a couch-style booth near the window.
He sat first, then gestured for her to sit beside him.
Close.
Too close.
His arm naturally rested behind her—not fully touching, but near enough that she could feel the heat of him through the space between them.
“You’re too aggressive to bring me here,” she said, trying to sound composed.
Cameron tilted his head slightly. “Aggressive?”
“Yeah,” she insisted, though her voice lacked conviction.
Without hesitation, he looked at her.
“I like you, Camille,” he said.
Direct.
Unfiltered.
Like it was the simplest truth in the world.
Her brain short-circuited for a second.
“I—what?” she blinked. “I was just telling you you’re aggressive.”
He chuckled again, leaning back slightly like he enjoyed watching her reaction. “I’m being honest.”
The server arrived just in time, sliding menus onto the table with a knowing smile.
“You two look good together,” she said casually, like she was commenting on the weather. “Let me know when you’re ready.”
Camille froze.
Cameron didn’t.
He was still looking at her.
Still calm.
Still dangerously composed.
“I’m sorry,” he said lightly, not breaking eye contact with Camille. “Some people are more aggressive on their first day meeting. I just prefer being straightforward.”
Camille exhaled slowly.
He had a point.
She hated that he had a point.
“I’ll have the Love at First Sight coffee,” she said finally, glancing down at the menu, “and the Love lasagna.”
Cameron didn’t even hesitate. “I’ll have the Love at First Sight coffee,” he said, then added, “and She’s Beautiful spaghetti.”
Camille looked up immediately. “Of course that’s a thing here.”
He smirked.
Their orders were taken, and for a moment, there was a quiet pause between them.
Not awkward.
Just charged.
“So,” Camille said, breaking the silence, “have you been here before?”
“Once,” he admitted.
“And?” she asked.
“It wasn’t love at first sight,” he said casually.
Camille raised a brow. “So this time is it?”
That question landed differently.
Cameron didn’t joke this time.
“Yes,” he said.
Then he looked at her.
Really looked at her.
Dark green eyes locking in like everything else in the room disappeared.
Camille felt it immediately.
That shift again.
The kind that made her forget she was supposed to be careful.
The feeling is mutual, she thought, almost startled by how easily it came.
I like him too.
But her mind resisted it.
Is this really how love is supposed to come?
In a snap?
Her thoughts scattered when his gaze dropped briefly to her lips.
Camille bit her lower lip without thinking.
A reaction.
Not planned.
Not controlled.
Cameron noticed.
His hand moved.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
It rested on her waist and gently pulled her closer.
The world shrank instantly.
Camille’s breath caught—not in fear, but in awareness. Every nerve in her body seemed to respond at once, like it had been waiting for this exact moment.
She had been touched before in her life.
But never like this.
Never where she didn’t want to pull away.
Never where staying felt more natural than leaving.
Her heart raced, but not in panic.
In something else.
Something dangerously close to wanting.
I should stop this, she thought faintly.
But she didn’t move.
Not away.
Not at all.
Because for the first time—
she didn’t want to.
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