Filed to story: That Campus Prince Is a Girl
He texted: [70 thousand dollars an hour.]
Cameron replied: [30 thousand dollars.]
[Are you nuts? Double the cash!]
[I don’t rip people off.]
Stunned, Xander texted: [Fine. Library, noon tomorrow.]
[See you then.]
Cameron had barely set her phone down when Bradley swung the door open.
“Hey, Brad, you’re back early today,” Austin remarked.
Bradley just grunted and gave a small nod.
Meanwhile, Elijah was buried in his books. Solving problems always put him in his element. He glanced up and acknowledged Bradley with a quick nod.
Bradley’s eyes landed on Cameron, and he smiled. She was oblivious, but Austin caught every second of it.
Austin’s brows shot up. He thought, ‘What the hell? Why is Brad smirking at Cam like that?’
It was seriously creeping him out. Austin rubbed his arms, feeling goosebumps prickle his skin.
Without a word to Cameron, Bradley dropped his stuff and headed straight for the bathroom.
Austin sidled up behind Cameron. “Cam, you saw that, right? Brad totally gave you this weird smile.” He exaggerated a full-body shudder.
Cameron was confused. “Seriously?”
Austin nodded.
Cameron frowned. “No way.”
“Swear to god, I’m not making it up.”
She just shrugged it off and got up to wash a towel.
In the bathroom, Bradley stood at the sink, toothbrush in mouth. His top button was undone, revealing a hint of his sexy collarbone. Cameron looked up mid-step and froze.
“Brad,” she blurted, quickly busying herself with the faucet.
He mumbled something around the toothbrush, and the silence between them stretched thin.
Bradley scrubbed his teeth while Cameron wrung out the towel.
The wide sink gave them plenty of space to stay out of each other’s way. Right as she hung the towel to dry, he rinsed his mouth.
“Night, Brad,” Cameron said.
“Good night,” Bradley replied.
Cameron hoisted herself onto the top bunk and yanked the privacy curtain shut.
Austin’s cheerful “Good night, Cam!” came with a smile. He couldn’t help feeling bitter, thinking, ‘Figures she’s closest to Brad. She only said goodnight to him.’
Cameron just nodded. “Night.” Then she pulled the curtain all the way closed.
The room plunged into darkness as the lights clicked off.
Elijah stowed his books and crawled into bed, while Bradley flopped onto his mattress, angling his pillow toward Cameron’s side.
The next day after lunch, Cameron grabbed her backpack for Xander’s tutoring session.
Austin shadowed her out the door. “Mind if I tag along?”
She stopped short, eyeing him, thinking, ‘Since returning from Fraser Villa, he’s been glued to my side.’
Elijah jogged up. “Can I join too?”
Cameron was at a loss for words.
The moment Xander spotted Elijah and Austin hot on Cameron’s heels, his eyebrows knitted together. “What are you two doing here?”
Elijah plopped down across from him. “Since when is the library off-limits to me?”
Xander gritted his teeth, thinking, ‘Fine, I’ll let it slide since I got the info about Cameron from him yesterday!
Austin squeezed in beside Elijah while Cameron settled next to Xander. Without a word, she flipped open the textbook and got straight to tutoring,
Xander stared at her, then stared some more.
Cameron scowled. “Quit gawking. What’s your problem?”
He propped his chin on his hand. “Nothing to fill me in on?”
“Like what?”
Xander was speechless.
She rapped her knuckles on the page. “Eyes on the book. We’ve got work to do.”
With a huff, he dropped his gaze.
Senior year was a non-stop slog through endless worksheets and practice tests. One minute they were buried in textbooks, and the next, Friday rolled around. the 1
Cameron had been counting down the days. Finally, she’d get to visit Pearl.
She wondered how it was holding up at the zoo.
The second Cameron stepped into the dorm, Bradley’s text popped up: [Meet me. We’re heading home together.]
She replied: [I need to swing by the zoo first.]
Bradley: [I’m coming with you. Downstairs in the parking garage. Don’t move.]
Cameron: [Got it.]
She stuffed essentials into her backpack and turned to leave, nearly bumping into Austin on his way in.
“Hey! Visiting Pearl today?” His grin was infectious. “Mind if I tag along?” That smile was impossible to say no to.
“Brad’s coming too,” she said.
Austin’s smile faltered for a second, then he nodded. “Sure thing.”
Once he grabbed his stuff, they headed for the garage.
As the class monitor, Elijah had to stay behind for teacher stuff. When he finally got back, the dorm was deserted.
“Everyone bailed?” he muttered.
Right on cue, Bradley walked in.
“I thought you left,” Elijah said.
“I’m grabbing my bag.” Bradley walked to his bed and slung his crossbody over his shoulder. “See you later, Eli
Elijah just stared as he left.
Bradley entered the underground parking garage and immediately spotted Cameron and Austin standing by his car. Austin was grinning ear-to-ear, chatting animatedly with her.
That sight made Bradley’s brows twitch. He strode over. “Austin, why are you here?”
“Brad, he’s coming with us to see Pearl at the zoo,” Cameron explained.
Bradley was stunned.
Austin turned to him with a hopeful look. “Hey, mind if I hitch a ride?”
With his hand on the car roof, Bradley shook his head. “Not really a good idea.”
Austin and Cameron blinked in confusion.
“We’ve got other stops after the zoo, so we can’t bring you,” Bradley said.
“Where are we going?” Cameron asked.
