Off Camera (Love Through a Lens, #3)

by Chelsea Curto

Tired of guys who believe women are only allowed to occupy certain spaces in the world. I don’t know when common decency—like holding the door open and not making sexist jokes—became the bare fucking minimum, but gosh I hate it here.

A-fucking-men sister

The woman is gorgeous, with long brown hair that hangs down her back and big brown eyes. Her skin is tan, her smile is soft, and there’s this presence about her. Like she can light up any room she’s in without having to try.

“Avery,” he murmurs, and my name has never sounded so precious before.

She smiles, stuck in a haze, and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen something so beautiful.

I’m not a big believer of fate or divine intervention, but as I head out of his room with my heels in my hand and a final look over my shoulder where I find him watching me walk away, I can’t help but think Reid was sent to me for a very specific reason.

She’s fucking perfect.

It’s better than the alternative, I guess, which would be to stare at her. Our history of bickering and arguing tells me I can’t have her. So why the fuck do I want her even more than I did three nights ago?

My chest pinches tight. I don’t like the thought of her being here alone. Late at night and curled up on a piece of furniture that’s too small, even for her. I don’t like the idea of her working herself to the bone. I don’t like imagining a world where she doesn’t take care of herself when the season starts, putting others first instead.

Yeah, no… I believe you totally and utterly hate her… 100%

“Oh my god.” Maverick collapses to the floor. “That’s the longest I’ve ever gone without talking.” “How did you survive?” I ask.

LMAO

His laugh is a deep rumble. Soft, and a sound I hate myself for wanting to hear again. It echoes around us, and I laugh too.

The next I’m pressed against his door. His hand is tangled in my hair and his mouth is on mine. He’s kissing me like a man starved, and I’m not doing a goddamn thing to stop him.

I’ve tried to stay the hell away from her too, but I keep coming back.

“No.” I shake my head, and I don’t care how desperate that might make me look. She can have this win. “I don’t.”

“Jesus, Avery. You’re so fucking beautiful. I could look at you all night.”

We lose ourselves in each other. Maybe it’s five minutes. Maybe it’s five hours. Time seems irrelevant, because every second with him is complete and total perfection.

But that same feeling that struck me the night at the bar when we met strikes me again; I don’t want to go. I don’t want to be alone. I want to be with him.

I don’t think anything with Avery could be boring.

There’s trust there, and I realize I’m scared to hear what she has to say, because I think I’m going to care a little too much. More than I should.

The same sensation I felt the other night when he wrapped his arms around me and held me tight settles in me again. I felt it during the game too, when he went after Andrew.

“You don’t take up too much space, Avery,” Reid says around a shaky breath. “You should take up more. All of it, if you can, and the last place a person like you should ever be is in a fucking box.”

“You never take up too much space, Ave. Not with me,” he says. “I think I’d like you to take up more of it.”

“Fuck me,” I mumble. “You’re a good-looking guy, but you’re not really my type,” Maverick says.

LMAO PLS

“Sounds like you might be jealous, Sinclair.” I reach a hand up and brush my fingers down her cheek. “But you don’t have to worry about them. I’m only looking at you. I have been for a while now.”

“If I didn’t know any better, Duncan, I’d say you’re obsessed with me.” Reid is quiet on the other end of the phone. I check to make sure our call didn’t drop, and then he’s saying, “What if I am?” so quietly, I think I might have misheard him.

you’ve never taken up too much of my time.” Take up more of it, I find myself thinking. Stay all day. Tomorrow and the next day, too.

“Sounds pretty serious. Are you catching feelings for me, Duncan?” I am. Big, scary, terrifying fucking feelings. Now that I have her in my arms, I don’t want to let her go.

I’m still looking at her long after she falls asleep, and I think I’d like to find a way to keep her here for more than a year. I want to find a way to keep her here forever.

There’s plenty of room to sneak by without touching, but he touches me anyway. It’s always small, subtle gestures, but they make my heart skip a beat.

Because I like you more than I should. Because I’m breaking our rules, Reid. Because I think I might be falling in love with you, and it’s terrifying.

I glare at him. His grin is beautiful, a wicked display of happiness that pangs in my chest, and I know I could never be mad at him. Not really.

Reid is the embodiment of the perfect man. Calm and patient and good to his very core. He’s smart and funny and everything I’d look for in a partner if I were looking for one. Kind and full of hope. It would be silly not to love him.

I’ve been scared to admit it, but now I know with absolute certainty. If I let myself fall, Reid is the one I’m going to fall for. I think I’m already halfway there.

I felt it on Christmas Eve when she gave me my Millennium Falcon present. I wanted to hug her and not let her go. I wanted to tell her how much she means to me and how special she is. I needed to let her know her attention to detail is one of my favorite things about her.

I like her. A whole fucking lot.

I want, and I want, and I want so many things with her, and I don’t know how to ask for them.

I think I’d like it if she did. I think I’d be happy to welcome her home every night. I’d pour her a glass of wine and listen to her talk about work. I’d nod along to the new ideas she has, teasing her like I’m going to steal them, but, really, I’d be in awe of her creativity. Blown away by how big and how beautiful her brain is. Her sweaters could be next to mine in the closet. A toothbrush in the bathroom and the three pillows she insists she has to sleep with on the bed.

Mine. I want her to be mine. Totally and completely, in every sense of the word. I want to put a ring on her finger and maybe have a couple kids. I want to grow old with her and sit on a porch, talking about all the good things we’ve done together. I want to argue and fight with her and let her push me out of my comfort zone. I want to love her, and I want her to love me back.

I like him. I like him so much. I’d give him my heart if he asked. I’d promise to treasure his in return, if he let me. I think I might be a little in love with him too.

I’m falling for this man, and from the way my heart beats when he doesn’t let go, I know I’m tumbling head first.

He wipes away my tears with his thumb and smiles. He blows out a breath and touches my cheek. “God. You’re so beautiful.”

“I can’t believe I get to exist within a four-foot radius of you. You’re made of dreams, Avery, and I’m the guy lucky enough for even a few minutes of your time.”

“You’re my most favorite person in the world, Avery.”

“Five months ago, I hated you. I would’ve done anything to bring you down. Now I’m wondering how I lived so long without you.”

I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but whatever it is, I know it’s going to be perfect. Because it’s him.

“I couldn’t hate you if I tried.”

It’s love, and when he cradles my cheek against his palm, the softest look of adoration in his eyes, I know I’ll never be the same.

I’ve never loved her more. My eyes fly open. Love. Fuck, I love her.

“Promise you’ll still like me after all of it?” Avery asks, her lips falling into a cute little pout. “Even if you lose?” “At the end of the day, I still have you. That’s not losing.”

“I spent three years talking to someone I pretended not to give a damn about, but the thing is, I love you,” I say. “I love you a whole fucking lot, Avery, and it’s the one part of our bet I didn’t see coming. I planned for everything else except falling head over heels for you. And I still fell. Hard. I fucking smashed into the ground.”

I thought this would be hard to say. Difficult to find the words, but when I look at her, it’s the easiest thing I’ve ever fucking done.