Oceans Apart (Ocean Dreams Book 1) (33 page)

“There. All done,” Cam said as he passed her back the tube.

Annie turned her head to look behind her shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Like I said, my pleasure.” Cam shuffled on the sand so he was sitting next to her. They sat there on the beach in silence, watching the water before them. The hubbub of the crowd had become just a murmur in their ears and each of them only aware of the other and no one else. Annie didn’t want to be the one who spoke first so she bit up and down on her bottom lip to prevent herself from saying anything. Just when she thought Cam would never utter a word, he spoke up.

“It’s great to see you again.”

Annie turned and smiled shyly at him. “You too.” Pausing briefly, she said, “I wasn’t sure if I was going to see you while we were here or not.”

“Oh?”

“I wasn’t sure if I should disturb you while you were competing. You’re doing so well. I’m so impressed, Cam. I mean I knew you were good, but …wow! You’re just a completely different surfer when you’re competing.”

He smiled a sweet and humble smile and nodded his head. “Well, thanks. I guess the tour events are a whole different kettle of fish to just going out for an a relaxing surf. Here you have to be choosey. You have to pick the wave you think will score you the best ride and help show your skills off the most to those judges watching.” He paused before saying, “Sometimes it’s just pure fucking luck that you pull it off.” He laughed which relaxed Annie and she giggled with him. The familiar feeling of them sharing a laugh and a good time washed over her and she didn’t ever want to let it go again.

“So,” Cam said, “I’ve got this afternoon off since I’ve advanced straight into the next round.” Cam started fiddling with the sand between his legs, grabbing a handful and letting it run slowly out of his hand like an hourglass.

“Yes. I know. That last wave you caught was sensational. You deserved that win.”

Cam scoffed a little laugh. “Cheers. Like I said, sometimes it’s luck.”

“Better to have luck than not, right?”

“Yeah.” He looked down and grabbed another handful of sand. Cam juggled it in his hand nervously before dropping it back down. “So anyway, I was wondering if you would maybe like to have dinner?” he asked before hastily adding, “Tonight? With me.”

Annie could feel her pulse racing again with anticipation. She had been hoping to get some alone time with him and now that it presented itself, she was nervous.

Her head nodded its agreement before she could say her response. “I’d love that.”

Grinning broadly at Annie’s reply, Cam quickly shoved up his sunglasses on his head and looked directly into her eyes.
“Holy shit!”
Annie thought.
“His smile still makes me weak at the knees.”

“Awesome. Where are you staying?”

“The same place as you. I’m with the Tour organizers.”

“Well that makes things easy then.” He bounced up and crouched next to her. “Meet me in the hotel lobby at six o’clock.”

“Okay. No problem,” Annie said just as Cam reached out and tucked a loose strand of her golden hair back behind her ear. He gently brushed his thumb over her cheek and raised her own sunglasses to sit up on her head. Annie was sure she stopped breathing in that moment. Their eyes locked on each other and her racing pulse was now charged and going at full throttle. Neither wanted to shift their eyes away from the other, each trying to read what the other was thinking. Cam and Annie were both roused from their intimate encounter by the applause and cheering of the crowd around them. Annie blushed with embarrassment and her hand quickly found her cheek to hide the red while Cam just smiled his half-cheeky, half-sweet smile.

“Okay. I better get going.” He stood up and replaced his glasses. The polarization made it impossible for anyone to see his eyes now.

“Okay. I’ll see you at six then,” Annie said.

“I’ll be there. See ya later, Nashville.” Cam walked back toward the surfers’ compound, but not before taking a quick glance behind him to look at her.

Annie’s heart was flip-flopping all around her chest. A few deep breaths and she was starting to feel a little more normal again. But how could she feel normal with Cam around? He made her feel like the only person in the world when he looked at her. Annie decided immediately that tonight would be either the beginning or the end of their relationship…and boy, did she hope it was the former.

Cam had arrived in the lobby ten minutes early, not wanting to miss seeing his Angel of Nashville. While milling around waiting for her, he had shaken hands and kissed cheeks of people he knew, taken photos and signed autographs with fans, and chewed on his fingernails to keep his mind off how nervous he truly was. He didn’t want to fuck up this night. It had to go smoothly if there was any chance of winning his girl back.

“CJ.” Cam heard his name being called from behind him. He turned around and saw Matt sauntering up.

“Hey. What’s up?” Cam asked as he ran his hand through his hair and rubbed it. He was a little worried at what Matt was going to say when he told him.

“Nothing, mate. You wanna go and grab a bite to eat?” he asked as he took a swig from a bottle of water.

“Uh…well. You see…” Cam stuttered his words.

Matt looked at him with a furrowed brow. “You all right, Cam? You look to be sweating a bit. What’s got you so tied up in knots?”

Cam blew out a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding in. “Fuck me. What’s with the twenty questions? I’m just hanging out.” He couldn’t look Matt in the eye in case he saw right through him. Matt was good at spotting a bull-shitter from a mile away, so the less he looked at him, the better.

“Yeah. Sure you are,” Matt replied.

“Why would you doubt me? I’m your best mate.”

Matt chuckled aloud. “Ah, for one thing, there’s a pretty blonde walking toward us who looks more than a little familiar.”

Cam spun around and looked in the same direction Matt was. Coming toward him was the most beautiful vision he had ever seen. Annie was wearing a long, strapless dress, which was a gorgeous shade of sea blue at the top and gradually paled in color and finished as a barely there sky blue. As she neared them, from the side split that stopped mid-thigh of the silky dress, he could see her tanned leg poking out with every other step she took. It made his cock stir from its resting position in his pants each time her long, sun-kissed leg exposed itself to the world. She was wearing simple flat sandals on her feet and next to no make-up on her beautiful face, but it was her free flowing golden hair, which made her glow. It framed her face and highlighted the beautiful smile she showed when she saw him. Annie truly was his very own Angel.

“Hey, y’all,” she said as she greeted the friends.

“Annie. Fancy seeing you here,” Matt replied with a look on his face that spelled out his displeasure at her appearance.

“Um…yeah.” She replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders. Annie looked at Cam, who had a stunned looking smile plastered on his face.

“Wow,” was all Cam could say.

Annie laughed aloud. “I hope that’s a good wow?”

Matt shook his head at Cam and scoffed in his direction. “Yeah, I’d say it was, Annie.” Looking at his watch quickly, Matt made his excuses. “I’ll leave you guys to it then. Not too late now. You’ve got quarter finals tomorrow.” He pointed at Cam, hoping the importance of tomorrow was sinking in.

“Yeah. No worries, mate. See you bright and early.” Matt slapped Cam on the shoulder as he smiled at Annie and left them alone in the lobby.

Cam couldn’t tear his eyes away if he tried. She was stunning. Maybe it was because of the time spent apart but he was sure he had never seen her looking so happy and full of confidence. Annie had a happy glow about her that made him smile and feel so proud. She had obviously made some positive changes in her life and had found out what made her happy. He couldn’t wait to reconnect with her.

“Shall we go?” Annie questioned him.

“You bet,” he said, holding his arm out for her to take. Her touch sent electricity shooting through his body. He felt more alive than he had in a long time and it was all due to the gorgeous woman on his arm.

Cam led her out of the lobby but not to the restaurant. Instead, he took her to the private beach the resort was situated next to. On the sand was a small but beautifully set table for two. Candles in small glass holders were flickering in the light evening breeze and four tall beach torches surrounded their table. Cam pulled out the seat for Annie to sit down, like the gentleman she knew him to be, and then took his place opposite her.

A resort waiter seemed to appear out of thin air and poured sparkling water into their glasses. As he finished serving, another waiter came up from behind him and placed two plates on the table. Chicken Caesar salad was on the menu tonight and Annie’s stomach made a cute gurgling noise as she inhaled the delicious aroma of her meal.

Giggling to hide her embarrassment, Annie said, “Sorry. I’ve been a little nervous about tonight so I forgot to eat earlier.”

“It’s no worries at all, Nashville. You’re not the only one that’s been nervous.”

“Really?”

Cam nodded at her. “Yeah. I’ve missed you so much. To tell you the truth, Mum and Sea have been telling me bits and pieces about how you’ve been and what you’ve been up to. I’ve wanted to come and see you so many times. It’s been so fucking hard not being with you for the last half a year.”

“I’ve missed you too; but unlike you, I don’t really have any idea about what you’ve been doing.”

Cam was shocked, and the look on his face matched his reply. “What? My family never said anything?”

Annie slowly shook her head. “No. I asked them not to say anything. I didn’t need what was going on in your life to cloud my judgment about what I needed to do in my own.”

Cam dropped his fork on his plate, threw his hands up into his hair, and rubbed vigorously. Frustration seemed to be suddenly pent up in his system and this confused Annie.

“What? What’s happened, Cam? What should I know about?”

He placed his hands on the table, either side of his salad and blew out a hard breath. He swallowed hard as he closed his eyes to control his emotions from boiling over. Reopening them, he focused on Annie and said, “I wasn’t the father.”

The statement took a few seconds to sink in. Annie wasn’t sure she had heard him right. “Pardon me?”

“Lana’s baby wasn’t mine. I wasn’t the father.”

It was Annie’s turn to drop her fork in her salad. She knew her mouth was hanging open and her eyes must have been bugging out of their sockets, but the news she had just received was kind of a bombshell.

“Annie? You okay?” a concerned Cam asked.

“Umm…yeah.” She paused a moment to collect her thoughts.

“You’re sure?” Cam wasn’t convinced at all.

“So…you’re not a father.”

“No.”

“And you’re not with Lana at all.”

“No. The father was her ex. She finally admitted it to me just before Christmas when she saw how excited my family was about the baby. She finally grew a conscience and told all of us.”

“Oh, my Lord.” Annie’s eyes were darting around but she couldn’t settle them on Cam. She was scared she might burst into tears if she looked at him.

“Yeah. I’ll admit, I was fucking relieved but so pissed off with Lana. I understand she was scared; but for her to use me and break us up was just fucking nuts, and bloody inexcusable.”

Annie was nodding her head, ever so slightly, showing Cam she understood what he was saying. She just didn’t know how to react to it. So she ate. She picked up her fork and stuck it into her salad. She kept eating until it had been completely consumed. Cam had watched her every mouthful with interest, all the while, eating his dinner. Annie leaned back in her chair and sighed.

“All good there, Nashville?” Cam enquired.

“Yeah. Thanks for dinner. It was great seeing you again, Cam. I wish you all the luck for tomorrow and the rest of the tournament.” She spoke calmly but quickly. She was embarrassed, shocked, and overwhelmed; and she needed to get away from Cam. Annie stood up and pushed her chair back, smiled at Cam, and started walking off. The further away she got, the more the tears started to trickle their way down her face.

Annie had almost reached her beachfront bure when she felt someone grab her arm from behind and swing her around. Cam pulled her into his arms and crushed his mouth to hers. He kissed her with a hungry urgency. He was showing her just how much he had missed her and Annie was accepting it with all she could give him. His tongue made long sweeping strokes, searching her mouth for the love they once shared. Their lips parted and both were breathing heavily, drugged by the passion of their kiss. Cam placed feathery, gentle kisses across her jaw and up toward her ear. Annie closed her eyes and dropped her head back, content just to feel his sweet touch setting her silky smooth skin on fire. He nibbled on her lobe before whispering, “I haven’t stopped loving you. Not for one moment.”

The tears were uncontrollable and falling like flowing water from a tap. Cam pulled her in to him and hugged her close. She held on to Cam’s back tighter and didn’t ever want to let go. She was back in his arms and never ever wanted to know the lonely feeling of not being there, ever again.