Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
He was completely fried. His brain felt like it had just run a marathon. Honestly, studying was more exhausting than basketball, and he really needed to chill out tonight.
Cameron nodded. “Alright.”
Xander headed out. Cameron was just about to go over to Bradley’s place when she got a WhatsApp message from Elijah.
Elijah: [Cameron, you promised to treat me to a meal. How about tonight?]
Cameron: [Let’s have lunch tomorrow. I’ve already got plans tonight.]
Elijah, being Elijah, didn’t ask who she was meeting. He just replied: [Okay.]
That night, Cameron and Bradley went to a cozy, well-reviewed Italian restaurant. The smell of cheese and mushrooms filled the air.
Bradley slid the menu over to Cameron. “It’s on me,” he said. In other words, she could order whatever she wanted.
Cameron picked out two dishes, then Bradley added three more dishes and a soup. Then, he poured Cameron a cup of juice and asked, “Were you tutoring Xander this afternoon?”
Cameron nodded. “Yeah.”
Bradley asked, “How’s he doing with his studies?”
Cameron said, “He looks pretty focused. We’ll see how he does on the next mock exam.”
The two of them chatted casually over dinner. In the middle of their meal, Cameron got another WhatsApp message from Austin.
Austin: [Cam, are you free tomorrow? I want to invite you to a musical recital.]
Cameron put down his fork and replied: [Sorry, Austin. I have to tutor Xander in the morning, and I need to head back to school in the afternoon. I probably can’t make it.]
Austin replied with a sad emoji.
Cameron: [Sorry, Austin. Let’s hang out next time.]
Austin: [Cam, next time, can you not turn me down? I feel like we really vibe.]
Cameron was confused, thinking, ‘We vibe? On what?’
Cameron replied: [Let’s plan for another time when I’m free.]
Bradley chuckled. “You’re pretty busy, huh?”
Cameron put down her phone. “Austin just invited me to a musical recital.”
Bradley asked, “Are you free for that?”
Cameron shook her head. “Nope, I turned him down.”
With that, Bradley let out a soft laugh, which puzzled Cameron. “What’s so funny?”
Bradley said, “You know, for the past three years, Austin’s always kept his distance from everyone in the dorm. I didn’t expect him to invite you to hang out.”
Cameron said, “He said he thinks we vibe.”
Bradley just smiled and didn’t say anything.
The next day, Cameron spent another three hours tutoring Xander in the morning. With that, the last 100 thousand dollars landed safely in her pocket. Her total savings now hit a million dollars.
Around noon, she grabbed a cab to the BBQ place Elijah had picked.
By the time she arrived, Elijah had already been waiting for half an hour. He wore a plain black T-shirt that made his frame look leaner and enhanced his cool, aloof aura.
Successfully unlocked!
A few young women in the restaurant kept sneaking glances at him, but none of them dared to approach him for his phone number.
Spotting Cameron, Elijah waved her over. “Over here.”
Cameron sat down. “Sorry, I’m late. I was tutoring Xander this morning.”
Elijah waved it off. “No worries.”
“Wow, they’re so hot. I guess good-looking guys really do stick together.”
Skyler and her older sister, Avery, came to this place to have a barbecue. When she heard someone mention a handsome guy, she stretched her neck, looking all around.
And then, she spotted Elijah, and her eyes lit up, thinking they must be really fated to run into each other even at lunch.
But the moment she saw Cameron sitting across from him, her whole mood tanked. She wondered, ‘What the hell is Cameron doing here? He’s really doing everything to cozy up to Elijah.
‘If I’d known Cameron would cling to Elijah like this, I’d rather he went and bothered
Amelia instead.’
“What’s up?” Avery asked, noticing Skyler’s changing expressions.
With a grim face, she said, “Avery, see those two over there? One’s my ultimate crush, and the other is the guy I can’t stand the most.”
Avery’s interest was piqued. “Who? Which one’s your crush? What does he look like?”
She stretched her neck to get a better look, and her expression changed too. “Oh my goodness. Them?”
Skyler looked totally confused. “You know them?”
Avery said, “You remember that night at the hotel I told you about? Two hot guys checked in and booked a room with just one bed?”
Something went off in Skyler’s mind for a second, as she thought, ‘What? They booked a room together?’
When Skyler heard her sister Avery say that, her mind spun in chaos. ‘They actually slept together on a king bed? What the heck is going on?’
Back then, Skyler gave Amelia a suggestion, which was to have Cameron take pictures of Elijah, then twist the story to make it look like Cameron had a crush on him. That way, Amelia would have a perfectly legitimate reason to call off the engagement.
But now, was there really something going on between them?
She couldn’t care less about Cameron, but she refused to believe Cameron was into guys.
“Yeah, it was definitely them. They’re both so good-looking I’ll never forget what they look like.” Avery kept going.
Skyler’s expression turned grim. She shook her head, refusing to believe it. “Avery, are you absolutely sure you didn’t see wrong?”
Avery shook her head and answered confidently, “Nope. I’m sure. It was them.”
“But what if you did see wrong?” Skyler pressed.
Seeing Skyler’s disbelief, Avery got even more fired up. “You still don’t believe me? I’ll have my coworker at the hotel pull up the security footage for you.”
Skyler’s hands clenched under the table. Her heart raced as she prayed silently, ‘Please let it be anyone but Elijah. Anyone but him.
‘Elijah really didn’t seem like he swung that way at all. But if he was actually into men, I’ m not sure if I can handle it.’
Avery picked up a piece of pork belly and put it on Skyler’s plate. “Come on, eat something. I already texted my coworkers. They’ll send the video soon.”
But Skyler had no appetite at all. She kept sneaking glances over at Cameron and Elijah.
They sat on the other side of a potted plant, talking and eating, unaware they were being watched.
Honestly, with looks like theirs, it was no wonder all the young women in the BBQ place kept stealing glances at them. But they didn’t seem to care.
After a few painfully long minutes, Avery’s coworker finally sent over the surveillance video from that night.
She handed her phone to Skyler. “Look, aren’t these the two hotties?”
Skyler stared at the blurry footage. Her eyes locked on the screen, then widened in shock.
It really was Elijah and Cameron. On top of that, Elijah was actually holding Cameron up.
Skyler wondered, ‘Was Cameron…drunk? So, they’re both into it? Or maybe…was Elijah the one calling the shots?’
Skyler’s whole body froze. She stared at the phone as tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over, running hot down her cheeks before she even noticed.
Avery was caught off guard by her reaction. “Whoa, Skyler. Why are you crying? Do you really like that guy that much? But he likes guys, you know. There are plenty of cute guys out there. Come on, don’t cry over him.”
But Skyler just covered her mouth and sobbed, unable to stop. It hurt so much. It felt like everything she believed in had just been turned upside down.
****
Meanwhile, Cameron and Elijah sat comfortably, chatting over barbecue without noticing what was going on with the other people in the restaurant.
Cameron said, “This place is pretty good. Do you come here a lot, Elijah?”
