Wild Temptation

Chapter Seven: Guilty Heart

Riley Woods’ Pov

Riley sat at the table in shock and disbelief. She didn’t mean to push his buttons like that, and had no idea that his brother was such a touchy subject. There was an awkward silence that lingered over the group, before Riley sprang out of her chair. She didn’t know what she was doing, she just felt like she had to go after him to make sure he was alright. And to apologize. Prying into his life like that was wrong. Especially when she could see his discomfort.   

“Wait! Where are you going?” Jade called after her. 

“I’m going after him!” Riley teared up as she raced after Cameron. She had a hard time keeping up, but she had to keep up. To apologize. He had to know that she didn’t mean to hurt him. Her heart pounded in her ears and she gasped for air. Was he ever going to stop running? He seemed to be slowing down and eventually came to a stop. 

“Camron?” She gasped. His back was to her, but she could hear him sniffling and breathing hard. Was he crying? She really messed up. He turned around for a brief moment and she could see how hurt and upset he was. What did she do? Was this still about his brother?

“Camron, I’m sorry…” She tried again. He turned away from her without saying a word. This couldn’t just be about his brother, could it? She took a step closer to him, and was about to say something before Gavin and Jade showed up behind her. 

“Dude are you okay?” Gavin approached Camron and Riley took a step back, still at a loss of words. Jade stood by her side. 

“Did he tell you anything? Why is he so upset?” Jade asked her. Riley just shook her head and watched as Gavin talked to Camron. Whatever he said seemed to calm him down. 

“Why don’t you guys take off. I’m going to hang back with Cam for a bit.” Jade nodded and motioned to Riley for them to leave. She kept her eyes on Camron as they walked away, until he was out of view. How could she have messed up so badly? What was wrong with him? Why did he freak out like that? What was going on? Her head filled with questions and her heart felt heavy with guilt. 

Riley and Jade had walked silently back to their cars. Was Jade mad at her? She wouldn’t blame her if she was. She possibly ruined their chances at continuing to be Camron’s chefs. Well, ruined Jade’s chance. It was real for her, not just an act or a lie. Riley sniffled and glanced at Jade, who was looking at her with a concerned expression. 

“Are you okay? That was kind of intense back there.” Jade leaned against her car. 

“I’ll be fine… I just feel bad. I had no idea that it was a sore subject or that he would react like that…” Riley crossed her arms over her chest. 

“It looked like there was a lot more to it than just that. I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself Riley.” 

“I guess…” Riley stared at her feet. Riley couldn’t help but feel like she was to blame. Whatever Camron was going through, she triggered it by pestering him about his life. And for what? So she could publish a story about his secrets? Whatever he is hiding, or keeping to himself, seems tragic. Why else would he react like that? 

“Do you want to be alone right now Riley?” Jade interrupted her thoughts. 

“No, not really. She admitted with a small smile. Riley just wanted to forget about her article, and hide from the mess she made. “Wanna hang out at my place?” Riley asked. Jade nodded. 

“Have any ice cream? I feel like you could use some ice cream.” Jade beamed. 

“Actually, I do.” Riley smiled lightly. Even though they had only known each for a few days, Riley felt close to her. And it pained her to continue the lies and deception. Maybe she should just confess and come clean about everything… Riley felt relief at the thought. On the drive home, Riley thought about how she was going to explain everything to Jade. She wondered how she would take it. Would she storm out and never talk to her again? Or would she be understanding? 

Taking a deep, calming breath, Riley met Jade at her door. To her surprise, there was a bouquet of red roses on her doorstep. Were they from Camron? She shook her head at the foolish thought. 

“Have a secret admirer?” Jade questioned. Riley shrugged and picked up the bouquet. There was a note. 

Beautiful flowers for my beautiful neighbor. -Stanly. 

Riley shuddered. It was her neighbor, again. With everything going on, she kept forgetting about it. Jade gave her a questioning look. 

“Who’s Stanly?” 

“Ugh, that’s a long story…” Riley shook her head and led Jade in her apartment. She tossed the flowers in the trash can as she made her way to the kitchen. 

“I take it we don’t like Stanly.” Jade laughed. 

“Nope. We do not. He’s my creepy next-door neighbor.” She shuddered as she grabbed some cartons of ice cream and two spoons. “Hope cookie dough is alright?” 

“My favorite!” Jade and Riley sat on opposite ends of the couch with their ice cream. Riley thought about how to bring everything up while she twirled her spoon in her hand. 

“Can I ask you something?” Jade asked with a serious look on her face. 

“Um, sure.” Riley said hesitantly. 

“Are you sure you’re not a fan of Wild Division? With the way you’ve been bombarding Camron with questions, I would say you are.” Jade gave a little laugh. Riley was shocked at her question. Is that how it came across to everyone? That she was some crazed fan? At least that seemed better than the truth. Riley thought that this would be the perfect time to confess the truth. 

“Well… Actually, about that…” Riley stumbled over her words, when her phone rang. It was Rachel. “Um, sorry. I have to take this.” Riley left her ice cream on the table by the couch and she took Ashley’s call in her bedroom. Making sure to close the door behind her. “Hello?” 

“How’s the story going Riley?” By her tone of voice, she could tell Rachel was not in a good mood. Just her luck. 

“Um, well. Not well to be honest. I don’t think I can do this.” Riley confessed. What’s the worst that could happen? She could just go back to editing articles. 

“Not well?!” Riley could hear something being tossed around in the background and she flinched. “You better make it go well Riley. I took a huge risk on you and if you can’t give me the story I want, then you’re done here. You better have something by the end of the week or you can kiss your job goodbye!” The call ended and Riley could feel her hands shaking with fear. 

She needed this job. She couldn’t afford anything without it. Her apartment, her reputation. It would all be gone and she would be left with nothing. Riley clenched her fists. She would have to continue the lie. Could she live with herself after all of this? Remembering her friend in the other room, Riley pulled herself together. 

“Sorry about that. Just a spam call. What were we talking about before?” 

“Just how your major Wild Division fan.” Jade giggled. 

“Oh, right! You caught me.” Riley held her hands up in defense with a laugh. 

“I knew it! So you’re so totally into Camron right?” 

“Well…” Riley’s mind drifted to their banter and couldn't help but blush. 

“It’s not like you're hiding your feelings for Gavin.” Riley tossed a throw pillow at her, feeling embarrassed. She can’t catch feelings. That’s the last thing she needed. Jade laughed. 

“He is pretty cute…” 

“And pretty into you by the looks of it.” Jade frowned a bit. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“I don’t really have a stellar record when it comes to boys…” She shrugged. “They say I’m too energetic and not focused enough, I guess.” 

“But I love your energetic personality! To be honest you’re the first person I’ve been close to since I moved to this city, and I enjoy your company.” Riley smiled at her. She was finally able to be honest and genuine. 

“Aw, thank you Riley! I enjoy your company too. It’s been hard for me to make friends here as well.” 

“Why’s that?” 

“My family moved around a lot when I was younger, and that made making friends hard. It sucked always being the new girl. And then I went to college here and the Culinary Institute, and everyone treated it like a huge competition…” She sighed heavily. 

“I’m sorry Jade. That sounds tough.” Riley finished her ice cream and headed to the kitchen. 

“It’s okay. I got a job at that restaurant when I graduated and I got to meet you!” She smiled brightly. Riley couldn’t help but smile back. 

“Hey, I got an idea! Why don’t we make Camron some chocolate chip muffins for tomorrow? I feel like I owe him after my fan girly silliness.” Riley giggled. 

“Yes! That sounds like a great idea!” 

“I can even put on one of Wild Division’s albums if you want.” She smirked.  

“I knew you loved them!” Jade teased. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Riley tossed on some music and gathered the things they needed to make the muffins. Before long, the both of them were belting out the lyrics into their mixing spoons. Riley didn’t think she had ever laughed so much before in her life. After dancing, singing and mixing through all of Wild Division’s songs, they finally finished the muffins. 

“Thank you for your help Jade.” Riley said, looking at the basket of muffins they made. 

“Yeah no worries! Why don’t you take those muffins over tomorrow and make up with the boss eh?” She said with a wink. 

“Jade!” Riley laughed. 

“Look, I’m not saying you should kiss and make up, but you should definitely make up.” 

“You got a point.” 

“I want you to call me after and give me all the juicy details, alright?” Jade gathered her things. 

“You got it.” Riley smiled. 

“Have a good night girl.” 

“You too.” Riley walked her out and locked the door behind her. She sighed. That was the most fun she’s had since she could remember. Making her way to the mess in the kitchen, Riley sighed. She didn’t have the energy to clean up. That would be a task for tomorrow. Plopping on her bed, her thoughts drifted to Camron. Her heart ached.

He was a puzzle that she originally wanted to solve for her article. But that seemed less significant now. Her curiosity was getting the best of her and she wanted to get to know him better. If Jade was here, she would say it was because she was crushing, and hard. Could she blame herself though? He was rather attractive, and if she didn’t know better, he was rather attracted to her as well. 

She hoped that he would accept her apology, and her muffins, tomorrow. Riley would have to be more discrete for the future. For her future. She hated Rachel for giving her an ultimatum. Riley worked her ass off for Celebrity Scope as an intern to get the editor position, Making ends meet was hard enough. But without a job? There was no way she could ask her parents for help. She shook her head, and tried to think of something else.  

Camron plagued her mind. What was he hiding? Something about his brother set him off, and in a bad way. It seemed like they had a good relationship from that video call she spied on the other day. So what was up? Could she get him to talk to her about it? Maybe if they were closer he would? Just how deep undercover would she have to go to get to the truth? Riley shoved her face in her pillow and groaned. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.