From the Top (Central State, #2)

by Jaqueline Snowe

The doors slid open, and Frederick Brady IV walked out.

AHHH FREDDIEEEE

“He loves me—he just doesn’t know it yet,” I said to her, giving what I thought was an easy smile.

I could be friends with her without falling for her. I had to or else…well…she’d just pull a Maddie and break my heart.

“Why are you here, Freddie?” “You’re upset, and we’re friends now. I shared my Skittles with you. That’s… a big deal to me. And friends don’t let friends be upset alone.”

“Please, don’t leave with someone else.” The tips of his ears turned redder than ketchup, and my stomach sank at his insinuation.

“No, wait.” He gulped. “You said you’d get a drink and come right back. I waited for what felt like an hour before I saw you leave the party with another guy. You were all smiles and using the same touches with him. It…sucked. I know we only talked for a bit, but I’d thought we hit it off, and to see you leave with him,” he paused, giving me a soul-crushing look that made me feel sick.

“You were with me.” She shrugged, like those four words didn’t make my world rock.

I tried to fall asleep as I listened to the sounds on the other side of the wall, and that was when it hit me. I liked Freddie.

I could deny it all I wanted, but I was getting feelings for Cami Simpson—which was the last thing I needed to be doing. But she was a light, and I was a moth, and I was so drawn to her.

I wanted to be with Freddie. Not just as a fling or flirting. I wanted him to be mine, a person I shared my ups and downs with. The person who cared about me despite the downs. I sniffed and let myself fall to the ground as someone pounded on my door. It could only be one person.

“When I kiss you, Cami, your eyes aren’t going to be wet from tears. You’re not going to be drunk or sad or naked in a dorm shower.”

“But you do want to kiss me?” There was a silent plea in her question, like my answer mattered to her. “Of fucking course I want to kiss you.”

We weren’t anything close to that, but still…If I was going to break my anti-relationship mindset for anyone, it’d be with him. Without a single doubt.

Because one thing I knew, without a doubt, was that I had feelings for Cami. Large ones. Slightly terrifying ones if I were honest with myself.

Confrontation was in my top three least favorite things in the world,

ME

She sucked in a breath as I ran my thumb over her bottom lip, the softness of it almost enough to ruin me. Such a strong, sassy woman who was so misunderstood. But I knew her.

He snapped his gaze to mine and flashed a grin before leaning close again. His breath tickled my inner thighs, and I shivered. “Can you be quiet?”

“You being yourself, unafraid or worried. This is my favorite Cami. Like I get a special part of you that no one else does.”

My pulse fluttered at the tenderness in his eyes when he looked at me. “Hi.” Oh, my soul wanted to live inside of his at how fucking cute he was. My lips curved up, his dick still inside me, and I replied, “Hey.”

Something about her stirred my blood and turned me into this horny bastard where I wanted to rip off this dress and lick every inch of her.

Then, Freddie. Ugh. I was worse than all the girls in high school who swore they found real love for ever and ever and ever. My heart was like a damn hummingbird in a sugar water buffet from the way he kissed me hard, fast, and desperate.

I winked at him, then he pounced. For a big guy, he made little sound as he backed me up against a wall and kissed me hard. His hand wrapped around my throat as he slid his tongue into my mouth without waiting for permission. He devoured me right there in public as he groaned. It was so fucking hot to see him unravel like this. I matched his passion, stroke for stroke, and he ran one hand up my side to pinch my nipple hard.

Like, maybe I did want to be monogamous and in a relationship. To be the person he told everything to and shared his Skittles with. To know what it was like to really be with someone through good and bad.

“Yes, wow.” He kept pulling my dress up my body, kissing up my stomach, and swirling his magical tongue over my belly ring. “You are…I’m struggling with how to express what I’m feeling with you right now.”

“My mind is a bit fuzzy right now but that was…I’ve never done something like this before, and I’m so glad it was with you.”

“This is a first for me too,” I said, brushing my fingers through his thick hair. He had the best head of hair, all dark and full with a little curl. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, like my touch did something to him, and I knew right then that when it came to my feelings for Freddie, I was in deep trouble.

I knew I was in trouble when I could tell the difference between her real smiles and the fakes. Plus, she rarely showed others the real one. Just me. It made my fucking heart soar to know that.

“I’m falling for you, Cami. Fast. It terrifies me, and I keep trying to put up roadblocks to slow down. You can say all of this to me, but I have baggage. I thought I was over it, but I guess I’m not.”

It wasn’t until we both got undressed and into her room that she kissed me softly with half-closed eyes and declared that I was her boyfriend. Me. The nerd. The dorky Skittle dude was Cami Simpson’s first boyfriend.

Their laughter and constant jabbering carried into mine, and I turned to find Camden staring at me with bug eyes. “Dude.” “What?” “You love her.”

I blinked at the way his words comforted me. Was it too soon? Probably. Did it scare me? Yeah. But was he wrong…? No. I knew it in the way my mood lightened every time she smiled. In the way she opened up with just me, showing her vulnerabilities. The way she pushed me to be better. The fierceness to her that made me want to do anything.

I kissed the top of her head, hating her pain. I was worried but not like her, not with my whole body on the verge of breaking down. I had to distract her, to help her. Trailing my fingers over her smooth skin, I wrote letters on her. I spelled out ‘I love you’ a few times, then all the things I loved about her. Her breathing slowed, and her muscles weren’t as tense.

He stopped sucking and pulled my thin bra out of his pocket. He wrapped it around my hands and pushed my arms above my head again. “Don’t move them.” Holy shit. I was going to combust. Freddie. Soft, sweet Freddie basically handcuffed me with my bra. It was so fucking hot.

“That wasn’t… too wild for you?” His face tightened with understanding before his eyes warmed. “You make me want to try everything. So no, this wasn’t too wild for me. Nothing is when I’m with you.”

“Freddie. I need a partner who includes me in their thought processes and trusts me enough for it to be real. I need someone to choose trusting me.” My voice broke on the last word, the utter weight of the truth causing my heart to crack. He plopped onto the stairs, holding his head in his hands and pulling his hair. “I messed up. I really did, just… how can I fix it? How can I make this better? I love you, Cami.”

I hated new places. I was an introvert and liked routines. Hell, I went to the same spot in the library every day because it was familiar.

ME

Bullet point list, here I come. I was so afraid of getting hurt that I ended up hurting you in the process. I’m happiest when I’m with you I’m staying here because my life is here I love you

“You look beautiful. It’s really hard to not kiss you right now. I should…get back there. Yes.” He ducked his head, a blush tinging his cheeks. It was so goddamn cute and reminded me why I’d fallen in love with him in the first place.

She was my best friend in the entire world, and despite us being so different, we fit together.

“Oh my God. Freddie, you arranged this?” She spun around in my arms, cupping my face with her slim fingers. “There’s ice cream and balloons!” I pressed my hands into her lower back, holding her tight against me. “If I’d known balloons would make you this happy, I’d stop getting you flowers.”

I lifted my chin in greeting, and once they broke apart, I immediately put my arm around her. Protective didn’t begin to cover how I felt of Cami. I wanted to slay every dragon she ever faced and fix every negative feeling she had.

“Move in with me,” I blurted out, saying to hell with the entire plan I had. It involved ice cream and a PDF of all the reasons why it was better for the environment. “I want to start a life with you, wake up with you every day, and do this… Cami,” I paused, swallowing as my heart beat too fast.

“We can still go slow if you want. This isn’t an ultimatum. Just know… I want to marry you someday. Have kids. Maybe little dancers? I’m in this for the long haul, and—” “Yes, to all of it. Oh my god.”

Right there. This was how I knew she was the one. My popular, dancing girlfriend who fucked me on the kitchen floor genuinely cared about me and my nerdy job. She bought a book called Engineering for Dummies so she could understand what I did more, and it wasn’t even fair how happy I was.

As I followed her into the shower, her smile still teasing her lips, I made a plan then and there. Six months, then I was proposing. People like Cami were once in a lifetime.