Wild Temptation

Chapter Six: Reliving the Past

Camron Reed’s Pov

Camron’s alarm blared through his room. Groggily, he hit the snooze button to try and catch just a few more minutes of sleep. He was up all night tossing and turning. HIs mind kept drifting back to the reason he left home. Riley also popped in his mind. Her soft smile, and quiet composure. He knew there was a fiery, wild spirit just waiting to erupt in her, and for some reason, he wanted to be the one to bring it out. The alarm rang through his ears once again and Camron gave up on getting more sleep. 

He crawled out of bed and slipped on his jogging shorts and shoes. A run always seemed to clear his head, and he was hoping it would do the trick this time. Camron went out through his backyard. There was a gate that led out to a large field. Behind it, was a forest with different hiking paths and trails. Camron enjoyed running through the winding trees and often saw a lot of deer and wildlife. 

A cool breeze hit his face and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Camron tried to focus on his breathing and the path in front of him. But no matter how hard he tried to focus, Riley kept creeping up in his thoughts. The way her long auburn hair framed her face and how her bright green held so much mystery… Camron’s foot caught a tree root and fell to the ground. 

He sat up slowly, making sure he didn’t sprain his ankle. The guys would kill him if he couldn’t play. After moving around a bit, he came to the conclusion that he was fine physically. He decided to walk back home to get ready for practice. Camron pushed his damp, sweaty hair out of his face as he got ready to shower. He noticed a cut on his jaw. He must have hit the ground harder than he thought. 

With a shrug he got in the shower and then dressed in dark jeans and gray bro tank. He slipped on a pair of Vans and called it good. Camron left his dark curly hair a mess, and pulled out his phone. He completely forgot about breakfast and was starving. But the guys would kill him if he was late. He decided to text Riley to see if she would make them lunch. To his surprise, she was all for it. 

A part of him was excited to see her again. However, he tried to convince himself that she was just another hot babe that he wanted to crawl into bed with. Nothing else. He couldn’t get attached to another girl. Not after what happened last time. Camron clenched his hands into fist, then took a breath. He had to let it go. Eventually. Grabbing his keys, he headed to the studio to get ready for practice. 

Tapping on his steering wheel, Camron watched as his surroundings slowly changed from the winding wilderness to the bustling city. Finding a spot close to the studio, he parked and put on a black cap and sunglasses. Avoiding the press was a job in itself. Camron walked in the studio. To his surprise, the guys were already there setting up the equipment. 

“Hey Cam!” Gavin greeted him with a fit bump. “Dude what happened to your face?” Camron touched his jaw, remembering his fall earlier. 

“I took a little tumble on my run this morning.” He sheepishly admitted. 

“Dude, I told you running through that forest back there was a bad idea.” Gavin had his bass in his hands, already tuning it. Camron just shrugged in response and started setting up his drums. 

“Oh. I’m having some food delivered for lunch later. Hope that’s alright.” 

“As long as it doesn’t distract from practice.” Austin scolded, chugging an energy drink. Austin and Ross looked a little rough around the edges. 

“Did you guys stay out all night partying again?” Camron asked, rolling his eyes.

“Not all night.” Ross chuckled. 

“You should come join us sometimes, you party pooper.” Austin teased. 

“Yeah? Well maybe I will…” Camron thought about the hot bartender he ended up taking home the last time they all went out together. She definitely took his mind off things. Maybe another hook up would do the trick. 

“You guys ready?” Gavin asked. 

“Sure.” Ross replied, adjusting a few things on his guitar. Austin nodded in reply, taking a swing of water. Camron gave a countdown with his sticks and they started into their set list for their next gig. 

Camron got lost in the beat of the song. He could feel the bass in his chest and everything around him melted away. Music was the best escape. The four of them were almost always in sync, and they worked pretty well together for the most part. Camron didn’t even notice Jade and Riley were watching them play until they were almost finished with the song they were playing. 

“And I’m so tired of this city. But you’re over there looking so pretty.” Austin sings the last verse and the band jams out until the end. Camron met Riley’s eyes and  messed up the ending of the song pretty badly. He hoped no one noticed. 

“Damn! Camron, you didn’t tell us you were having the hottie squad bring us food.” Ross just about tossed his guitar aside to great Riley and Jade. Great. They were all too distracted to notice he screwed up. Camron thought. 

“We brought you pulled pork sandwiches and homemade lemonade.” Riley set up the food on a side table and the guys gathered around her. To Camron’s surprise, Gavin and Jade seemed to hit it off and were chatting off to the side. 

“Did anyone ever tell you how amazing your eyes are?” Austin just about threw his arm around her. 

“They shine like little emeralds.” Ross piped in. 

“You better not be hitting on my personal chef.” Camron joined them and glared at his bandmates. “Sorry if they were bothering you.” 

“It’s okay.” Riley giggled. “Here… Try a sandwich.” She handed him one with a napkin. 

Camron took a bite and juicy barbeque sauce dripped down his chin. He tried to clean it up with a napkin, but found Riley giggling at him. 

“Let me help you.” Camron felt his face get warm as she got closer to him. His skin felt electric under her touch and she wiped his chin. 

“What happened here?” Her finger lightly grazed his cut on his jaw. Camron was at a loss for words. He had never felt this mesmerized before. 

“He tripped while running through the woods like an idiot.” Gavin interrupted. Riley laughed and Camron felt his face get hot with embarrassment. 

“Hey, is it cool if we call practice short today? Ross and I just got invited to coffee with our hot baristas.” Camron and Gavin groaned almost in unison. 

“Fine. But we have to actually get through our set list tomorrow. We got that gig at the Velvet Skyline at the end of the week.” Camron retorted. 

“Dude, relax. We got this. No sweat.” Austin shrugged off his comment and gathered his things. 

“Well maybe you got this, but Camron totally botched the end of that song.” Ross chuckled. 

“He was probably just distracted. I mean, who wouldn’t be?” Gavin responded, giving Jade a wink. Camron could see Jade giggle and walk over to Riley. 

“You know, some coffee actually sounds great!” Jade mentioned. 

“I know of a good place near here if you guys want to join?” Riley motioned to Camron and Gavin. 

“I’m down!” Gavin grabbed his hat and keys. Camron hesitated. He wanted to go with them, but he felt uneasy around Riley and he couldn’t figure out why. Usually he had no problem sweet talking to the ladies. But she was different. “You coming Cam?” Gavin asked. 

“Yeah, sure. Sounds good.” Camron grabbed his hat and sunglasses, not wanting to be recognized on their outing. 

The group left the studio and Camron and Gavin said goodbye to Ross and Austin. The coffee shop was close by, so they decided to walk and take in the fresh Spring air. Riley and Jade giggled as they walked in front of them, and Camron caught himself eyeing Riley as her hips swayed while she walked. 

“What’s been with you dude? You seem out of it recently.” Gavin asked him. 

“My brother Jake is coming for a visit and I just get nervous about him being around all the press and everything here.” Camron and Gavin had shared bits of their pasts with each other over beers now and again. He trusted him. Well at least he hoped he could. Camron held a secret that he hadn’t shared with anyone. It could ruin his career and his bandmates. He couldn’t risk it getting out. 

“You have a brother?” Jade asked excitedly. Her and Riley turned their heads back at them. 

“Uh, yeah.” Camron grabbed the back of his neck nervously. Thankfully they reached the coffee shop and grabbed a table outside. An umbrella shaded them from the sun as they took their seats. Camron and Gavin sat across from Riley and Jade. He gave Riley a small smile. A girl came by to get their orders and Riley picked the conversation back up. 

“So your brother is coming to visit?” 

“Yup. That’s what we were talking about.” Camron gritted his teeth. This was exactly what he didn’t want to happen. The more people that know, the greater the risk of everything falling apart. The waitress came back with their coffee and a short silence fell over the group. 

“I can’t wait to meet him! What’s his name?” Riley pressed. 

“Jake.” Camron responded shortly. 

“Let’s talk about something else, shall we?” Gavin attempted to change the subject. He probably picked up on his rising temper. 

“Aw, but I want to know more about Camron and his brother.” She probed again. Camron was getting agitated and started bouncing his knee. Why was she so concerned about his brother? Was it because she overheard him talking to Jake the other day? Why was she so fascinated by him? Could she be a crazy fan? Or worse…  

“Just talk about something else, alright! I’m out of here.” Camron pushed his chair away from the table and got up to leave. 

“We’ll talk about something else, Cam. Come on, just sit back down?” Gavin tried to reason with him, but he wasn’t having it. The past came flooding back and he couldn’t contain himself anymore. He just kept walking. It felt like he was running. Camron held back tears as memories flashed in his mind...

Doors slamming. Yelling. He couldn’t do anything right. He can’t do anything right. Nothing he did was enough. Stuff being thrown. Fists hitting his chest. Feet kicking his shins. The tears. The threats. Everything swirled around him and was reliving it. The nightmare he tried so hard to forget. He tried so hard to forget. Camron couldn’t catch his breath and had to stop running. 

He didn’t know where he was. His heart was beating  fast, and his ears were ringing. Gasping for breath, he tried to calm down. His face was wet. From sweating? Camron wiped his face with his shirt. It was then that he noticed he had been crying. He sucked in a shaky breath. 

“Camron?” 

He whipped around to see Riley standing behind him. She looked like she was out of breath from following him. He turned back around so his back was facing her. He couldn’t do this right now. He could barely keep himself together as it was. 

“Camron, I’m sorry…” Her voice sounded pained, like she was holding back tears of her own. 

Camron didn’t know what to say. He felt like his whole world was crumbling in front of him and all he could do was stand there, helpless. His head was spinning like a top and it took everything he had not to collapse right there on the sidewalk. Why now? After everything seemed to be going perfectly. After it seemed like he was finally moving on. Why now...