Color Blind Read online

  Her eyes widen. “You’re going to see him again?”

  “Probably. If he wants to.”

  “Okay. What happened to your big plans about running away after graduation to be a star? How does a boyfriend fit into all that?”

  I close my eyes. “It doesn’t. Luka isn’t my boyfriend. But I like him, and we can hang out again if he wants to. That’s all.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Mom says. “Go to bed, Camryn.”

  When I start toward my room, my mom’s voice reaches my ears.

  “You look good standing next to him,” she says softly. She says it like her mind is farther away than the next room.

  Closing my bedroom door behind me, I lean against it and heave a deep breath. I let it out slowly. I’ve never been on a date in my life, and my first one hits the romance jackpot. Luka was been so nice.

  Chivalrous, even.

  I pause. Why had he been such a gentlemen? Weren’t teenage boys supposed to be hormone-driven sneaks with no manners? That’s what I read in books, anyway. Luka is as perfect as they come. And my mom’s words haunt me.

  You look good standing next to him.

  Based on the approving looks we are receiving from our classmates when we walk down the hallway together at school, that is a popular sentiment.

  A relationship with Luka would be so simple. But my life isn’t simple. It never has been.

  I take my phone out of my purse and sit on my bed. I hadn’t wanted to be rude during dinner, so I placed it on silent.

  Two missed calls and a text greet me when I check the screen. I glance at the call log, and notice that both missed calls are from Dara. Her accompanying voice message tells me that she wants to know how my date went, and to call her tomorrow. I smile, thinking of how excited she’ll be to hear about my great dinner and walk on the beach with Luka.

  The text message is from an unfamiliar number.

  Meet me tomorrow morning at Sunset Marina.

  A shiver rocks my body.

  Should I text him back? Because even though I’m not a psychic genius, I know this text came from Cooper.

  My fingers fly across my phone’s keyboard.

  Camryn: Should I bring my swimsuit? :)

  I wait a moment, turning my phone over and over in my hands nervously. My heart is thumping heavily in my chest, and moisture is seeping from my palms which makes it difficult to keep hold of my phone.

  My phone buzzes with an incoming text.

  Cooper: Hell yes.

  I lay back on my bed and stare at the cracked white ceiling. Two dates in the same weekend.

  Incredible.

  I ‘ve never even had two dates in the same school year. Maybe this is the new era Camryn. I think I like her.

  Chapter 6

  Jet-Skiing

  The morning arrives clear and bright; it’s a perfect setting for a day at the marina.

  After breakfast, I dress in my yellow and white striped bikini. I pick it for the way it flatters my skin tone, causing my color to glow almost bronze in the sunlight. I study my body in the mirror, trying to see it from Cooper’s point of view. I definitely have a dancer’s body; flat stomach with defined abdominal muscles. Long, sinewy legs. Graceful arms and neck. I usually compare myself to other girls and think I don’t appear curvy enough. Today, I decide I don’t care. Cooper Goode can take me or leave me as I am. Although I definitely wish my boobs filled out the top a little more fully. Okay, a lot more fully.

  A flash of shame suddenly washes over me. Last night, I had a great time on my date with Luka. Today, I am going to hang out with Cooper. Should I feel bad about that? I push the thought into the back of my mind.

  I pull on a pair of cut-off jean shorts and my flip-flops. Then I grab my sunglasses and place them on top of my head.

  “Where are you off to today?” Mom leans casually in my doorway. Sunday is her day off.

  “Um,” I answer. “Actually, I’m going to the oceanfront today to hang out with a new friend from school.” I cross my arms defensively, although I don’t know why I suddenly feel the need to defend myself.

  “Oh yeah? I take it this friend is someone I don’t know?”

  “Yeah. He’s new at school, so I don’t really know him yet either.”

  “Well, be careful, baby. And have fun. It’s nice to see you branching out a little this year.” She continues up the hallway toward her room.

  I snatch my keys off my nightstand and pull my beach bag over my shoulder and leave the house.

  I spend the quick drive to the oceanfront building a wall of anxiety and nervousness in my chest. Why Cooper Goode makes me feel so tied up in knots inside, I don’t know. I’ve met cute guys at school before. Every year, actually. None of them ever make me second-guess myself as much as I’m doing right now. It’s new territory for me. I definitely don’t know how to approach this.

  When I arrive at the marina, I punch my car into a spot in front of the glass-covered building. I get out of my car, smoothing my shorts and tank top nervously.

  “Camryn,” Cooper’s voice came from the marina steps, immediately freezing the blood that’s flowing through my veins. I look up, shielding my eyes from the obtrusive sun with one hand. And as I spot him, I very nearly drop my bag, my keys, and my lower jaw.

  He looks mouthwatering. I mean, just pure, unadulterated handsomeness. I have never seen anything like him, and I almost live on the beach in the summer. Hot guys in swim trunks are kind of a normal thing around here.

  He is wearing navy blue board shorts covered in white anchors. Very preppy, and a direct contrast to his shaggy brown hair glinting in the sunlight and the sexy stubble that grazed his chin. Also a direct opposite to the tattoo that stretches over his stomach. Old English letters that I’m currently too far away to read. I also see a tattoo peeking out from under the shirtsleeves right at each sinewy bicep. His graphic t-shirt hugs his well-defined chest and rippling stomach. Something makes me wonder exactly what that chest and stomach would look like without the t-shirt.

  Holy shit. He’s putting every other high school boy to shame in his swimming gear. Maybe with the exception of Luka, but Luka’s a freak of nature. So is Cooper as it seems.

  He descends the brick steps leading down from the marina office doors.

  “Hey,” he said. That one word reaches my ears as if he’s practiced the exact way to say it in order to send chills running up and down my legs with the effort.

  I don’t know how I find my voice, but somehow I do, and a very small “hey” squeaks out.

  This is absurd. Really ridiculous, the effect he continues to have on me. I have to get it together.

  “Thanks for the invite,” I say, with more enthusiasm. “What are we doing today?”

  “Come with me, and you’ll see.” He holds out his hand for me to take.

  I hesitate before I do, and touching his hand is like placing my palm into a pool of lightning. The only word for it is electrifying. I glance up at him to see if he shows any reaction. He’s staring at our hands through the haze of those long, dark eyelashes, and the look in his eyes is confused and fascinated at the same time.

  I drop my eyes as those warm green ones meet mine, and he tugs me gently up the steps and around to the back of the building.

  The back of the office building opens up to a wide vista of ocean. The view is breathtaking, peppered by sailboats drifting into the horizon. Docked at the marina are a wide variety of boats and other watersports vehicles. Cooper leads me to a pair of jet skis tied to a lonesome dock at the end of a long row of motorboats.

  I squeal with delight. “We’re jet-skiing?”

  He laughs, a deep, raspy sound low in his throat. His laugh is causing funny things to happen to my vision, and I place my hand on his arm to steady myself.

  “I take it you like jet skis?”

  “I do! I’ve only been one other time, but it’s so much fun! I love the rush of it, the only other time I have that feeling is when I’m onstage.”
<
br />   “Onstage, huh?” he asks, gazing at me like he has a secret.

  “What?” I asked suspiciously. They mysterious look in his eye makes me slightly nervous.

  “I’m just picturing that. You, onstage, dancing…” he pauses, and my eyes drop to his throat. I watch, fascinated, as he swallows hard. His Adam’s apple bobs with the motion, and I can’t recall another example of me studying someone’s Adam’s apple. It’s new. And sexy.

  “And?”

  “And….nothing.” He swallows again. “So you know how to operate one of these?” He bends down and began untying one of the skis.

  I can’t be sure, because he looks away so quickly, but I think I see Cooper blush. Something I said or did has caused this sexy, controlled, cool guy to feel embarrassed.

  Unbelievable.

  I shimmy out of my shorts in preparation to board the wave runner. I walk over to the row of lockers set up near the door of the marina building, place my things inside one, and walk back over to my little vehicle, which is bobbing softly in the lapping waves.

  “Okay, you ready?” Cooper asks, turning around.

  When Cooper’s eyes make contact with my bikini-clad body, he drops the rope tying the ski to the pier. Picking it up quickly, he eyes me appreciatively. He lets his eyes rove from my feet up my legs, passing at the swell of my hips before landing on my stomach.

  “You have a tattoo,” he says incredulously.

  “Yeah,” I say shyly. “It was a spur of the moment decision on day over the summer.”

  “Can I see?” He steps closer to me. With each step he takes, my heart picks up speed, and by the time he arrives in front of me I’m wondering if it’s possible to experience a heart attack at seventeen.

  He reaches out and traces the curly vines peeking out from under my bikini bottoms with his index finger. I close my eyes briefly, and when I open them again his stare is holding mine.

  “This is beautiful,” he remarks softly, still touching my lower abdomen with his fingertip. He drops his eyes down to my stomach. “Is it meaningful?”

  “It signifies the fact that my mom’s love reaches out to me wherever I am.” I pull down my bottoms the tiniest bit, showing him the rest of the tattoo. The vines of ivy wrap themselves around a lone red rose.

  “Beautiful,” he says again.

  “You like ink,” I say. It’s an observation rather than a question. I shoot my eyes to his arms and then look at his stomach where I know his other tattoo is hiding.

  “Yeah,” he smiles. “We have that in common. I wonder what else I’m going to discover about you, Cam? You’re one big surprise after the other, aren’t you?”

  I smile, feeling coy and seductive, a feeling I have literally never before experienced. It feels…powerful.

  “Uh…Cam?” he asks.

  “Yeah?” I replied.

  “Are you aware of how devastatingly gorgeous you are?”

  Cooper

  I can’t believe I actually just said that aloud. The words just upchucked themselves out of my mouth. I couldn’t help it.

  This girl takes my breath away.

  She stares at me. “What’s your type, Cooper?” The sudden question throws me off guard.

  “Type of what?”

  “Type of girl. Haven’t you noticed that we’re kind of different? I mean, am I the kind of girl you usually date?”

  “I don’t have a type.” I shrug. “I really haven’t dated much. Haven’t had the time. I mean, there have been girls. You know. But…” I trail off, confused. What is she asking me? It seems like this question goes deeper than I’m understanding, and I want to make sure I’m giving her the answers she needs. I don’t want her to have any lingering questions. If it comes down to me or Luka, I want her to be well-informed on what kind of guy I am, and what I intend to do for her.

  She takes a deep breath. “Cooper, have you ever dated a black girl?”

  My mouth drops open. This is about her skin color? Shock and understanding take turns presenting themselves across my face. I reach out and take her hand in mine. “No. I’ve never really thought about it, but I haven’t.”

  She pulls her hand away. “That’s what I thought. So why are you throwing all of these lines at me?”

  “Throwing lines at you? Cam, I’m just telling you how I feel. And to be honest, I haven’t thought of you as any different from me. So you’re black and I’m white. Is that a big deal?”

  She looks dubious. “To some people, it may be.”

  “Not to me.” I take her hand back.

  “Are you sure?”

  I pull her hand to my mouth and kiss it softly, feeling her body freeze. “I’m colorblind.”

  She clears her throat. Nervous energy rolls off of her, and I drop her hand. “What’s the, um, plan here?”

  The fact that I make her nervous is giving my ego a major boost. It gives me hope that she’ll give me a chance.

  God, I hope so.

  “Let’s ride to the 21st street pier and back again,” I answer her question.

  “Then we can grab some lunch. Sound good?”

  She boards her jet ski, starts it, and shoots forward into the gently lapping waves. A shriek of laughter escapes her as she rockets away.

  Oh, hell no. I can’t let her beat me. I climb onto my jet ski and take off right behind her. Even though she has a head start, I know I can catch her. Literally speaking. Metaphorically speaking, the jury’s still out.

  As I pull up next to her I see that she’s laughing, her eyes crinkling at the corners.

  Damn, that’s cute.

  She makes a “where to?” gesture with her shoulders. I point straight ahead, toward the buoy about a mile away. I want her to round the buoy.

  We race, water spraying the salty air around us. Around the buoy she goes, but I’m on her tail. I focus on the pier where our skis were previously tied, and she ends up finishing a split second ahead of me.

  I let her win.

  Camryn dismounts her jet ski, dripping wet but hardly noticing. She looks at me and grins, obviously proud of herself. Seeing her happiness makes me clutch at my chest, because the ache there takes me by surprise.

  “What do I get for coming in first?” she asks, looking up at me through her lashes.

  She’s flirting with me, and I freaking love it.

  “A picnic lunch. I have one set up at the picnic area behind the main office building.”

  I take her hand and lead her down the gravelly path. I tilt my face up as we walk, absorbing the warm breeze that lifts tufts of my hair. I am only one state away from Maryland, but it seems so much warmer here than it was there at this time of year.

  “That was fun,” she comments as we stroll.

  “Yeah? I’m glad you liked it. I thought when I texted you last night, that you may shoot me down. It took you forever to text back.” I look at her sideways, not wanting to ask her where she was and what she was doing, but wanting to know those things so damn bad.

  “I was out. With Luka.”

  I sigh as the words punch me in the gut. “So, is that like a thing? You two?”

  She turns her head in my direction, and I try not to look too downcast. Wounded puppy won’t not work in my favor here.

  “Well,” she replies. “I’m not sure. Last night was our first date. Luka’s made it clear that he’s interested, though.”

  “Of course he’s interested, Cam,” I reply. She’s been honest with me. Now it’s my turn.

  I stop walking and look directly into her eyes. “He’d be crazy not to be. But he’s not the only choice you have, you know.”

  My breathing increases, coming in quick little gusts, keeping rhythm with my speeding heartbeat.

  “He’s not?” she whispers.

  She is affected by my words. I can tell. I’m not sure if it is because I’m making her nervous and uncomfortable, or because she likes what I’m saying.

  “No,” I answer, reaching out and tilting her chin so she’s lookin
g up at me. “He’s not.”

  She averts her eyes. I watched her profile, her skin almost sparkling in the sunlight. Out here, under the cover of the trees she seems more exotic and mysterious than she did in the fluorescent lights at school.

  I can’t believe I’m getting this time with her, just the two of us. I reach out to touch her face, but drop my hand quickly when she begins walking again. She’s avoiding the closeness, and I can’t help but wonder how close she and Luka got the night before. The thought fills me with panic. I don’t want her getting too close to Luka. The closer she grows with him, the further she may drift from me. I can’t let that happen.

  Meeting Camryn has given me a sense of need. I’m going to need her to get through my last year of high school and the transition from my life with my mom to my life with my aunt. I’m going to need her for a lot of things. And although I don’t know Camryn or her life, I know she’s going to need me too. I don’t know how I know it, but I do. It’s an innate sense of knowledge that swallowed me up the moment I met her, and I can’t imagine that she doesn’t feel it, too.

  “Lead the way to lunch,” she demands. “I’m famished.”

  Chapter 7

  Mamma Mia!

  Camryn

  Dara screams. Loudly.

  “Two dates? You had two dates this weekend?”

  I burst out laughing and rub my temples with my index fingers. It is my morning to drive to school. Fall has approached stealthily, and burnished leaves flutter around the car as I drive.

  “Girl. Spill!” Dara’s voice is overflowing with curiosity and disbelief. She has barely ever known me to go on one date, much less two dates with two different guys.

  “Well,” I begin. I’m not sure where to begin.

  “Friday night I had dinner with Luka. It was very nice. He planned a beautiful date at a really nice restaurant. I had lobster. We walked on the beach afterward, and it was all very RomCom ”

  “Camryn Rae Grimes. I so do not care about what you ate. How was Luka? Did he kiss you? Do you just love him? I mean, those eyes of his. Didn’t you just stare at them all night?”