All At Once (Completed) - Finding You Book 1

Camden

My eyes dart up to my rearview mirror, focusing on Harper in the backseat. She's as the gorgeous as the last time I saw her, even sweat soaked after a good run, but I can't tell her as much. Instead, the three of us ride in semi-awkward silence until we pull in front of Chase's school.

"Just so you know, this is never happening again," I call through the open window as he slams his door closed. "Got it?"

"Yeah, okay" he nods. He rests his hands inside the window and leans down so he can see her in the backseat. "See ya, Harper."

"Bye," she says sweetly, lifting her hand in a motionless wave.

The two minutes I spent alone with Chase in car gave me plenty of insight on Harper. She made him apologize. She's bolder than I thought.

Once he's gone, our eyes meet in the rearview again. I'm not gonna lie - I've been avoiding her for weeks on purpose, but now that she's here with me, I wish I hadn't. She confuses the hell out of me, but I still like her. More than I want to. Maybe too much.

"So are you gonna stay back there forever?" I ask, smirking. I catch her small smile as she makes her way to the front seat.

I squeeze my eyes shut and slide my sunglasses back over my eyes before putting the car into drive. Harper tucks loose strands of her blonde hair behind her ears. Her feet are bouncing. She's biting her lip. She's nervous.

With one hand on the steering wheel, I reach over and rest my hand on her knee. It immediately stops bouncing.

"So is this the part where you drive me home and ignore my calls again?" she asks softly, killing our moment.

"You tell me," I say. " If you want to go home and ignore me, then I'll go home and ignore you, Harp. It's that simple," I manage. "But if you're going to push me away then stay away, because right now you're fucking with my head. I'm done with these games. I can't play with you anymore," I tell her honestly. "You asked me to stop, so I did."

She stays quiet, so I continue.

"I've spent weeks away from you. Do you know why?" I press and she shakes her head. My hand stays put on her knee, her hand resting loosely close by.

"I've never been pushed away in my life, Harper. I don't like it. Women don't say no to me. People in general rarely say no to me, and when they do, I usually don't care. But I cared that you said no," I explain seriously, staring out the windshield. "So you better figure out what you want," I say, lifting my hand from her knee slowly, but her hand reaches up to stop me and her fingers thread with mine.

I swallow. What's she doing?

"I just wanted to be your friend and you wouldn't give me that. I've never wanted to keep a woman in my life for more than sex and you reminded me why I like it that way. You're confusing as hell, and I'd probably be bad at it anyway,"

"Camden..." she says softly, squeezing my hand. Her hands are warm and soft, and that feeling is swirling in my stomach again.

"I know what I said, but when you didn't answer my calls, I felt like shit," she tells me.

Her transparency surprises me. There was a time not so long ago I only knew the hot, sexy side of her. Now all she'll give me is this. Feelings. I don't know what to do with feelings.

"That makes two of us," I say.

"You're not used to caring and I'm not used to feeling," she admits. "This is different for me. Trust me when I say my baggage is heavy; even for me."