Wild Temptation

Chapter Eight: Make Up Muffins

Camron Reed’s Pov 

“Dude what the hell was that?” Gavin had followed Camron home to make sure he was okay, but he just wished everyone would leave him alone. 

“I’m fine Gavin. Thanks for making sure I got home okay, but…”

“That was not fine! It was clearly more than just Riley getting on your nerves with her questions. You can trust me Cam. We’re friends.” Camron turned away from him. If Gavin knew the truth, there was no way they would still be friends. Hell, the whole band would turn on him. Just like everyone else did. 

“I don’t want to talk about it. Alright? Can you just drop it already?” Camron faced him, only to watch him head for the door. 

“Fine. Shut me out like you do to everyone else.” Gavin slammed the door behind him and Camron flinched. He paced around the living room, his head swirling with thoughts. He thought about calling his brother and having him cancel his trip. But that wouldn’t be fair to Jake. Camron collapsed on the couch with a heavy sigh. 

Why was Riley always pestering him with questions? It honestly reminded him of his interactions with fans. She could have lied to him and really been a fan all this time. Camron thought about just cutting off all ties to Riley and Jade. It was becoming a lot more trouble than it was worth. His phone buzzed and Camron pulled it out of his pocket. 

Riley: “Hey, I’m really sorry about earlier… I made you some muffins as an apology. Could I bring them over tomorrow morning?” 

Camron thought for a moment. He could just fire her and forget the whole thing, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to do it. There was something about her that he was just drawn to. Her smile? Her laugh? Her curves… 

Camron: “It’s not a big deal. Muffins sound great. See you then.” 

With a large sigh, Camron looked around his large and empty home. Gavin was right. He did tend to keep people at a distance. After losing everyone he cared about back home, he was scared of losing anyone else. Camron thought about calling his brother, but didn’t want to bother him. He had his own problems and he didn’t want to add any extra stress or worry to him. He looked down at his phone at Riley’s messages. He could text her… 

Camron shook his head. That probably wouldn’t end well. When he starts feeling numb like this he would go out and drown himself in liquor and women. But no more. He wanted to grow from this feeling. He didn’t want to push his friends and bandmates away. Camron kicked off his shoes and got comfy on the couch. He turned on the tv and dozed off to the sounds of his favorite show. 

  A knock at the door woke him up. Groggily, he got up and went to the door. Who would be here this late? Didn’t he close the gate? Opening the door, a familiar face came into view. Large blue eyes, rosy cheeks, blonde curls cascading around her neck. What was she doing here? His heart skipped a beat. Camron blinked in confusion and fear. What was she doing here in his new home? How did she find him? 

“Cassie?” He choked out her name. 

“Yes love?” She beamed at him, innocently. Only there was nothing innocent about her. 

“What are you doing here?” He shook his head, trying to remain calm. 

“I could never let you leave me like that Cammy.” She tossed her arms around his neck and tried to kiss him but he pushed her away. 

“No. No. No! I won’t do this again. I can’t do this again. Leave Cassie! Leave!” He tried to shout, but he could barely hear himself. He saw her grin. That devilish grin… He wanted to forget more than anything. 

“I won’t ever leave you Camron. I will always find you and you’ll always be mine.” No. This couldn’t be happening. His skin was on fire, and his body ached and trembled. Camron shut his eyes tightly wanting it all to go away. 

“Camron?” A sweet calm voice rang in his ears. Was there someone else there? Everything melted away around him. “Camron?” The voice called for him again. He opened his eyes to find Riley leaning over him. He was dreaming? “Are you alright?” She looked concerned. What was she doing here again? 

Camron sat up slowly and looked around. He must have fallen asleep on the couch last night. His clothes stuck to his sweaty skin. Not another one… He hadn’t had a nightmare like that in a while… Riley’s bright green eyes lit up concern. “I’m sorry. I must have dozed off. I honestly forgot you were coming over this morning.” He tried to shake off the awkwardness. 

“That’s alright. Are you… Okay? You sounded like you were having a terrible dream. I didn’t mean to wake you… But I didn’t know what else to do.” Riley sat on the couch next to him. He noticed a basket full of muffins on the table and his stomach rumbled. He forgot to eat dinner last night. 

“I’m alright. Don’t worry about it. I watched a scary movie last night and it must have snuck into my dreams. Sorry to worry you Riley.” He gave her a half smile and hoped she bought it. 

“Who’s Cassie?” She asked after a short silence. s**t. Did he talk in his sleep? He had to think of something fast. 

“Uh, I think it was the name of a character in that movie I watched!” 

“Oh. Okay. Well, I just wanted to give you these muffins. Jade helped me bake them last night.” Riley smiled at him and he took a relieving breath. 

“Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you stick around for a bit? I probably need a shower, but then afterwards we could have breakfast out on the porch.” Camron wasn’t really sure why he had offered for her to stay. Maybe he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. Especially after that nightmare. 

“Sure. I can whip up some breakfast while I wait.” Riley stood up and headed to the kitchen. “Any preferences?”

“Make whatever you want. I’ll be right down.” Camron gave her a wink and headed upstairs to his bedroom. His heart was still beating fast and his head spun in circles. He was thankful Riley woke him up, but he felt guilty for lying to her. Only his brother knew the truth, and even Jake didn’t believe him until he saw it with his own eyes. Why would anyone else? Shaking his head, he took a quick and steamy shower. 

Camron pulled a dark blue shirt over his head and slipped on some jeans. His dark, curly hair remained a mess and he ran his fingers through it to get it out of his eyes. Jogging down the stairs, the smell of bacon filled his nose. He poked his head in the kitchen, but Riley wasn’t there. That was strange. Camron made his way to the back porch and found her setting up the table out there. 

“There you are.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and gave her a small smirk. 

“Perfect timing. I just finished getting everything ready.” She smiled back at him. He could have sworn he saw her blush. Camron took a seat and took everything in. Riley had set up two cups of coffee, a plate full of blueberry pancakes, bacon, sausage, cheesy scrambled eggs and the muffins she had made the night before. He thought he was drooling from how good everything looked. 

“Well? Dig in.” Riley took her seat and sipped her coffee with a small giggle. “I told you breakfast food was my favorite to cook.” Camron felt like he died and went to heaven. Everything tasted so good. He noticed that Riley wasn’t eating anything. She seemed to be in daze as she took in the scenery. 

“This is so good. Thank you.” She turned to look at him and gave him a small nod. 

“Of course. It’s the least I could do.” There was a small pause as Riley looked down at her coffee cup. “I really am sorry about yesterday…” Camron cleared his throat. 

“Look. It’s okay. My family is a bit of a touchy subject for me. You didn’t know that.” He shifted in his seat.  “Do you think we could move past this? I really enjoy your cooking.” He chuckled. Riley gave a small laugh and nodded.

“My family is kind of a touchy subject for me too.” She glanced back down at her coffee. “So, I get it.” Camron fiddled with the food on his plate. He didn’t know what to say to her. Especially after the morning he had. A cool breeze brushed their skin as they sat in a strange silence. “My family always wanted me to follow in their footsteps and help run their business.” Riley was staring off into the view of the forest. 

“Are they chefs too?” Camron asked, his interest peaked. 

“Actually, yes. They are. They own a pretty popular restaurant in my hometown.” 

“So why did you leave? You’re clearly very talented.” Riley paused, and Camron hoped he didn’t push his luck. She did say it was hard to talk about. Why was she sharing this with him then?

“I wanted to make a name for myself that was separate from my parents. If that makes sense? I wanted to prove that I was talented without their help or influence.” She sighed and took a sip of her drink. 

“I did something pretty similar. I left my hometown to make a name for myself with my music.” He gave her a small smile. There was a lot more to it than that, but they had something in common and he wanted to show her that she wasn’t alone. 

“Oh?” Riley faced him, a small smile played on her lips. 

“Yeah. I miss my brother a lot though. I’m glad he’s coming for a visit.” He smiled back. 

“It would be great to meet him. I bet you two are a lot alike.” She giggled softly. 

“We look alike, that's for sure. But we are very different.” Camron chuckled. “Do you have any siblings?” 

“No. It was always just me and my parents.” Riley shrugged. 

“That sounds lonely…” 

“It was alright. I got to eat all the experimental treats my parents would whip up for the restaurant.” Riley gave a small smile and turned her attention towards her coffee again. 

“That sounds pretty nice.” Camron ate a few more bites. “Thank you for this Riley. It was really great.” 

“Of course. I’m glad you liked it.” She glanced at him and their eyes met for a moment before she looked away shyly. Camron smiled at her. He felt strangely calm with her there. Was it because she sort of rescued him earlier? Camron shook his head and ate the last few bites on his plate.  

“You’re really talented. I think your parents would be proud.” Camron checked his phone for the time. He really didn’t want this moment to end. It was relaxing just sitting there on the porch with her. But the dudes would kill him if he was late to practice. Their big gig at the Velvet Skyline was in a few days, and everyone was a little nervous. 

“Thank you...” Riley interrupted his train of thought. 

“I hate to cut this short, but I really should be getting to practice…” He said awkwardly. 

“Oh. No worries. I had plans with Jade anyway.” Camron stood up and started gathering the dishes, Riley stood up to help him. “I can clean up if you have to go?” She offered.

“How about we do it together?” He chuckled. “We can get everything cleaned up and then head out together. How’s that?” Camron smirked. 

“Sure.” Riley giggled and walked back into the house with some dishes. Camron followed behind her. He watched as Riley made herself at home in the kitchen, filling up the sink and starting to wash the dishes. For some reason it comforted him, seeing her in his home like this. It was like she was replacing the images of Cassie in his head. “Are you just going to stand there and watch? I thought we were doing this together.” Riley smirked and flicked some water at him. 

“Here, I’ll dry them and put them away.” He chuckled, standing next to her. Riley rinsed off a plate and handed it to him. There was a strange silence between them, like they both wanted to say something but didn’t know how. 

“You know, Jade is pretty smitten with your bandmate Gavin.” Riley broke the tension as they continued to do the dishes. 

“Is that so?” Camron raised an eyebrow. 

“Yes, but don’t tell him I said anything. I’m kinda new to this whole girl code thing.” 

“Girl code thing?” Riley giggled at his response. 

“Yes! It’s a real thing, okay? At least I think it is. I’ve never really been good at friendships. Or relationships for that matter…” Camron could see her smile fall, and he bumped her shoulder with his. 

“Hey, for the record, I’ve never been too good at that stuff either.” Camron put the last cup in a cabinet. “But how about we all go out to dinner tonight? My treat?” He turned to look at Riley, studying her reaction. 

“Dinner?” 

“Yeah. You, me, Jade and Gavin. After practice. I can pick you guys up.” He was really hoping she would say yes. It would make being late for practice worth it. 

“Aright, sounds like a date.” Riley giggled. “Text me when you guys are done?” She grabbed her purse off the counter. 

“A date, huh?” Camron smirked. “If that’s the case, you better wear something nice. I’ll take you guys out to someplace fancy, and we can make it a double date.” He winked. 

“A double date, huh? Alright. I’ll let Jade know. See you later, Camron.” She smiled and headed out the door. Camron’s head spun. Did he just really ask Riley out on a date? His pocket buzzed and he pulled out his phone. 

Gavin: Dude you’re late. Get your ass over here. Now. 

Camron: Chill. I’m on my way. 

Camron ran his fingers through his hair. He was hoping he could smooth things over with Gavin during practice. He was really looking forward to that dinner. Having Gavin and Jade there might help break up the awkwardness that tends to fall between them. Camron grabbed his keys and locked the door. He checked twice to make sure the gate closed and locked behind him.