Camille: “I…I…” I stammered, unsure of exactly what to say. Was I supposed to apologize for my status? “Are you a freaking virgin?” He asked me in a sharper tone this time, pulling every part of his body away from me. “I am…” I finally answered. “Shit,” he groaned before running his hand through his hair. “And you never seemed it fit to tell me before anything happened?” I studied his face which was a mix of anger, frustration and disappointment. I still didn’t understand why finding out I had never had sex would elicit such reaction from him. “I didn’t think it mattered,” I said. “You didn’t think it mattered? Seriously?” He snapped, standing up from where he had been kneeling to eat me out. “Tell me. What did you think was going to happen?” To be honest, I didn’t fully understand why he was making such a big deal about this. What did it matter if he was the first or not? I was tired of waiting to make it special. Since when did he make a distinction about who
Camille: “Daniel, just leave me alone,” I screamed before pulling away from the man who had grabbed me by my shoulder. I felt dumb. After my tactical escape, he had still managed to find me out here. It didn’t matter though. I wasn’t going down without a fight. I rolled my eyes as I walked away, waiting for him to apologize for what he had done to me. He rarely did, but recently, he had become more sensitive to my feelings. A part of me was hoping this would happen. A part of me had left the apartment, hoping he would come after me, but I was too proud to admit that. When the man pulled me back so roughly, I swear I heard my wrist crack. My eyes widened as I looked very well at him, realizing he wasn’t Daniel. This man was way bigger and scarier. I couldn’t make out his face in the dark, but all I saw was the faint glow coming from a stick in his mouth, a cigarette, and the stench I had assumed was coming from the alleyway, but was actually from this man. My heart started to po
Camille: Daniel held my hand all the way back through the tunnel. I didn’t breathe until I was back inside our apartment building. My entire body was shaking, as I imagined the several horrific things that crazy man in the alley could have done to me if Daniel hadn’t shown up when he did. Daniel let me go once we were in the elevator, but immediately started turning me around and checking for any signs of violence on my body. “Did he hurt you?” He asked with a voice that was a mix of tenderness and anger. “Not physically,” I answered, not trying to stop him when he raised my cheek slightly to check for any bruises on my neck. When he was sure I was in good condition, he finally let out a deep breath and relaxed against the wall. The rest of the ride went on in silence until we got to our floor. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He asked me when we got out. I stood awkwardly by his side with my head facing the floor and my hand holding my elbow as he unlocked the d
Camille: If it had been Daniel’s intention to make me speechless, he had succeeded. My knees immediately felt weak and my eyes were screwed shut. As if he hadn’t tormented me enough, he remained in the same position, his lips by my ear, but the rest of his body wasn’t touching any bit of mine. “Is that why you went on this little adventure?” He asked. “Did you run out because you knew I’d come after you?” I crossed my arms over my chest, with my closed eyes facing the floor, and tried to steady my breathing. I couldn’t walk away. He would simply pull me back and force me to listen to this speech of his. I didn’t know where he was going with this. At least he had moved on from talking about our little make out session… “I want to go to bed now,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around myself. Something about him by my side made me really self-conscious. Silence. I could imagine him watching me, but I couldn’t imagine the thoughts going on in his head while he did.
Camille: “You look so beautiful,” Reggie said when he saw me. I smiled as I slid into the seat in front of him, but it didn’t quite reach my eyes. I had just put on an old Jean dress that wasn’t even normally appropriate for a ‘date’, so I knew his compliment was just his way of buttering me up. “Thanks,” I said off-handedly, lifting the menu that was on the table and glancing through it. “So how have you been?” He asked. “Fine,” I replied without looking up. “Okay…” he muttered. At that time, the waiter got to our table and asked us if we had made a decision on what to eat. I gave him my order and so did Reggie. After he left, I dropped the menu and started to scroll through my phone. From the corner of my eye, I saw him fidget with his hands and look around, clearly unsettled by how uninterested I was acting around him. That had been my intention and I was glad it was taking place. “Look, I’m sorry,” he said finally, hitting the nail on the head. “I shouldn
Camille: As I walked home that evening, I kept asking myself the same question. ‘Why did I tell Reggie I liked him?’ I mean, I kind of did like him, but still, telling him outrightly that I did, and then taking his hands in mine had made me seem too desperate, which was far from what I was. I still remember the smile he had given me as he squeezed my hands back. It was an assured smile, like he was a hundred percent certain we were now a couple. I felt a chill run down my spine. Why exactly did I feel so weird? I didn’t want to say it, but I knew why. It wasn’t the countless excuses I had given myself about why I couldn’t go out with Reggie; like how awkward it would be to have to meet Miss Winston’s knowing glances each time I came to work and having to answer the questions I knew she would definitely ask about me going out with her son. It wasn’t because I wasn’t completely sure how I felt with him either. I mean, I had almost forgotten all about him after he
Camille: Eons seemed to pass since Lucia asked me that question. My eyelids fluttered as the meaning of her question settled on me, and slowly, a scowl resembling Daniel’s covered my face. “I’m not even going to dignify that stupid question of yours with a response,” I said quietly, with a voice that was laden with a lot of anger. I couldn’t believe she would just ask me if I was sleeping with Daniel. “Sorry, I just…” she mused, looking down. “I don’t know why I said that.” I relaxed a little. She had just been making a speculation. She didn’t know for sure that we had come really close. I switched off the cooking stove completely and led her to sit on the stool while I squatted next to her, making her feel I was no longer mad at her but really wanted to help. “What’s really going on with the two of you?” I asked her, deeply concerned. She stared at me for some moments without speaking, something she had started to do that pissed me off. “I really wish I cou
Camille: Breathe. Just breathe. Why did I always have to make things so obvious? Daniel could manage to appear stoic and in complete control of his emotions, constantly revealing his ability to change from really angry to playful at will, but here I was, standing like an open book with my mouth agape just because he was standing in front of me. I cleared my throat and crossed my arms over my chest, hoping I looked as unperturbed as he easily did. “You flatter yourself,” I mused. “I wasn’t talking to you.” That seemed to interest him. He took one more step forward; an exaggerated movement that brought him right in front of me. It took everything in me not to cower and step back. I could feel the warmth of his bare chest so close to me, and even though I kept my eyes glued to his gray ones, it was hard to concentrate because all I could breathe in was him. “Who were you talking to then? Alone in this kitchen with Lucia away in her room,” he muttered, squinting like