𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑳𝒊𝒏𝒆

15. 𝑭𝑨𝑳𝑳𝑶𝑵

After my last class, I met Camille at the Quincy campus cafe and we took a quick trip to a local pet shop with our iced drinks. I bought little Dorothy some food and a litter box, and even though Jill gave me all her little toys and bowls, I found cuter ones and couldn't resist buying them.

    Especially since Dorothy didn't exactly have a peaceful night with me. She kept crawling around in the dark, I don't think she got an ounce of sleep.

    Blake only has morning classes on Tuesdays, so his truck is already parked in the driveway when we get home.

    "So how're things going with that girl you matched with?" I throw out the question just as we enter the front door.

    "Mm, what girl?" Camille asks, but the pink on her cheeks and ears is very telling.

    I was hoping she'd bring her up at some point, but seeing as that didn't happen, I say, "The one you've been texting and calling for the past few days? I hope you weren't trying to keep it a secret because we've all noticed."

    Camille smiles shyly, which isn't typical for her. She flaunted her last girlfriend around so much that the entire house knew they'd broken up after a few hours of her simply not bringing her up into every conversation.

    "All of you?"

    "Honey, you weren't exactly discreet about it." I burst her little bubble and she throws herself on the couch after setting her drink on the coffee table.

    She huffs and gestures for me to scoot in next to her, so I set my bags down and go to her. "Here's the deal." Camille breathes out. "Her name's Kenya, she super chill, funny, and so completely different from everyone else I've ever dated."

    "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I ask.

    "Good. Definitely good." Camille sounds completely destroyed by that. "She's perfect, Fallon. Like...you don't understand. But, she wants to meet in person and I'm kind of freaking out."

    "I'm pretty sure the meeting in-person thing is kind of inevitable in these situations." I stroke her hair as a way to comfort her.

    "I know but... what if she doesn't like me in person?" She asks softly. "My profile picture was a shot of me posing in a casual outfit during our beach trip last fall, remember? It was super cold so you lent me your cute cardigan to cover up my open dress."

    I do remember that. It was the weekend Blake's favorite underground band had booked a gig at a pretty big venue near Venice Beach, so we all made the three-hour trip together. Camille and I spent the day on the boardwalk and going through the shops while Blake, Steph, and Jase all went to the concert.

That was my first and only time at the beach, and it wasn't what I'd expected at all; gloomier than I'd like, and way too cold.

It also didn't help that I'd just been getting over a fever that day. Honestly, most of my memories are a bit fuzzy. I was just barely surviving off of over-the-counter medication that made me feel drowsy and tired the entire time.

All I know is that sometime during that horrible and ill-timed trip, I'd bought my favorite hoodie; the one with the lopsided anchor printed on the front. So at least something good came out of it. I can't remember when exactly I coughed up the money for it, but it must've been at one of the pop-up shops.

"You think she won't like your style?" I ask Camille. "Just because you like to look expensive and untouchable and flawless?" I try to make light of her insecurity by throwing in a compliment. It seems to work because she smiles.