Love & Geckos (multiple-author collaboration)

Chapter 14: Cammy

"Choice? If you fail, I fail, and I can't have that on my record." Mathias offered Cammy a hand up. "I'll have you know, I'm actually a straight-A student." Drenched by the fountain water, his navy button-up shirt clung to him – or rather his defined abs Cammy hadn't noticed existed before. She tried not to focus too much on his torso as she slipped her hand in his and gripped tight.

As she got back to her own feet, shivering from the chill of the water and the open air of the small courtyard they stood in, her teeth clattered when she tried to smile. "It's for a little girl, Matty. A little girl who sat here all evening crying on the inside 'cause she's lonely," a little girl who was me not too long ago – not that Cammy was going to admit to such things in front of him. For all Mathias knew, she was just another clumsy Cupid-in-training who thought she was human once.

"And that's the only reason you broke protocol?"

"What?" She shrugged. "It's her coin ... it could have easily slipped from her bag or pocket when she sat down."

"Is that what you're going to write in your report? Her coin magically fell into the well on it's own?" Matthias shivered, like a wet puppy, and the water clinging to him evaporated in an instant, leaving him bone dry.

"How did you do that?" Cammy gawked, slipping awkwardly on the fountain as she tried to step out of it, partly in awe of the wonders the boy could perform – and partly for him and how he made her feel, ooey-gooey on the inside.

Mathias' brows rose up. "'Cause we're gods?"

"Well, don't sound so narcissistic, please, or they'll hear you and offer you their first born!" Cammy had no idea where she was even going with it, but standing there next to him – dry – while she still dripped icy water from crevices she'd rather not mention, wasn't how she pictured she'd spend Valentine's Day. Perhaps a shared ice cream cone or a banter-filled tousle at the tenpin bowling they'd seen on their fly-by, or even the beach was one thing. In fact, Cammy wouldn't mind going back to that beach where Mr Sultan had given her her Cupid's bow.

"Here, let me, Miss Cranky-pants."

Before Cammy knew what was happening, Mathias retrieved her from the fountain, like she was a nuisance of a child, and enveloped her with his arms and wings. The heat from his body radiated like the scorching sun for a brief moment before he let her go. "There. Happy?"

Happy wasn't the word for it. Did he just hug me? OMG. He just hugged me.

"You're now dry." Mathias was saying when she tuned back in. "So? Are you gonna do something or stand there staring at me? 'Cause tapping into that part inside you is harder than flying, Cam, Imma be honest."

"What? No, that wasn't what I was–" Cammy shook her head, hoping if her cheeks were blushing she could blame them on being roasted by Mathias' heat. Cammy Kamdev, is that what we're thinking about these days? she could imagine her mother saying, and her cheeks heated further.

"Go do your thing, girl. You didn't just drop that coin for nothing and made me get wet. Who knows how dirty that water is..." Mathias eyed the boy by the pot, now staring towards the bathroom. Towards Sydney.

"Oh, right. Yes." Cammy squared her shoulder and started towards the kid.

"And don't forget to enunciate properly!" Mathias warned her. "Or you'll turn that boy into something else and we'll have to call Mr Sultan again."

"Not funny!" Cammy yelled back, trying to focus on the boy in front of her. "Right, let's do this. You there," she called, knowing the boy couldn't hear her voice while she was in her Cupid form. "You like that girl. So go ahead and tell her, make her night. Do something." She leaned in, close enough to smell the sweet sugar in his breath from the one handful of cotton candy he'd stuffed in his gob before he'd noticed Sydney sitting alone and stopped in his tracks.

"Please work!" Cammy crossed her fingers and whispered the incantation into the boy's ear, making sure she enunciated properly. Part of her didn't want a repeat of her last incantation mistake – Don't turn into a toad, like that poor girl in school. Don't turn into a toad –

A moment later she stood back, fingers still crossed when Mathias made her jump.

"Well?"

"Well what?" she asked, hiding her hands in her jacket pockets.

"Why is he just standing there? Did you fry his brain?" Mathias hovered over her shoulder eyeing the boy chewing on his lips like he wanted to eat them. Nerves. Cammy could recognise that anywhere.

"He's just nervous," she said, hoping she hadn't truly fried his brains. "He'll go after her any minute now, you'll see."

"If you say so."

Come on, kid. Do something! Cammy nervously chewed her own lip, eyeing the kid. I've failed again. When Mathias stepped forward, she held him back. "Just give him a moment." Arms crossed, her partner in crime stood beside her, a look of boredom already on his face. "Come on, kid!" she yelled, not meaning to and the kid startled.

"Did he just?" Mathias turned to her in awe for once. "How? That's impossible when we're–"

Cammy shrugged. How the hell should she know, but alas the lanky boy moved. He pulled in a breath, puffing out his chest, and walked over to the fountain to retrieve Sydney's bag.

"Oh, that's a return-her-belonging move. Nice!" Mathias commented, and they watched the boy march forth towards the bathrooms with his head held high and a smile on his face just as another teen, a girl this time, came running towards them. Her arms stretched out as if she were chasing after something low on the ground.

Just then, something green, then gray skittered across the floor, heading straight for the fountain.

"Is that a gecko?" Cammy asked, suddenly too distracted to stalk her mark and see if he needed more help tonight to declare his love.

Mathias pulled her aside just in time to see the gecko-chasing girl with frizzy black hair run past them and accidentally topple head-first into the teal fountain, splashing water on the unsuspecting duo of boys too engrossed in their own love story to notice what was happening about them.

"I got you now, buddy." She slapped the water trying to catch the gecko in her hand.

"Shit, where is Sydney?" The raven-haired boy stood to his feet, his jacket drenched and his hair dripping fountain water when he finally noticed his sister gone.

A second later, more animals crawled out of the woodworks. A snake slithered over Cammy's feet, making her jump while somewhere inside the food court, yelping puppies could be heard.

"Right, the humans have officially entered the chaos phase tonight. That's our cue to skedaddle." Mathias grabbed her shoulder and steered her towards the food court. "Shall we grab some food since we're done here?" His eyes were glued on something in the food court.

Cammy assumed he was looking at food, but when she followed his gaze, she saw something that made her heart swell with pride. Sydney was walking into the food court with a smile on her face and an equally happy boy striding beside her, chatting. "Yeah, food sounds good. What were you thinking?"

"I could demolish a burger or two."

I bet you can. Cammy smiled, feeling Mathias' energy ripple next to her as he turned back into his human form. His glossy wings, out of sight. She copied the move, changing back to her human form. "I can eat a burger." 

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evacharya
Eva is a Nepali-Australian who has been making up stories for a long time. As a two-time Watty winner, she has a lot to offer readers. She mostly writes adult contemporary romance, with realistic MCs, but also loves tinkering with other genres, such as sci-fi and retellings in YA. Cammy and Mathias are characters from her 2021 ONC attempt, Love Bound. Do check it out if you like them here!