Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

BELLA

Amber and Brie have been trying so hard to get me to socialize more and also to start dating. I have made a few friends, but I just wasn't ready for the dating part. There are a few young men who regularly attempt to get my attention, but I just ignore it. The thing is, I put on a brave and happy face for the public, but on the inside, I am still fighting hard against my demons. I am too scared to allow myself to trust any guy. When I am alone, memories of my past life flood my thoughts, and I cry buckets of loads of tears. But then, I remind myself of all the things that I am now thankful for and forcefully pull myself together. Amber's niece Pearl had set me up on a date with Cameron Jones, her boyfriend's best friend. Pearl and I have become good friends. She works part-time at the B & B. I agreed to the date even though I didn't want to go, just to get Amber, Brie, and Pearl to stop nagging me. Cameron is from one of the richest families in town and looks like a SUPER HOT model! You know what I'm talking about, right? He looks like the eye candy on the front covers of magazines. He also has gorgeous ocean blue eyes, and I just could not understand why he is still single! Pearl helped get me all dolled up for the date. She did my hair, touched up my face with a little bit of makeup, and had chosen one of her dresses for me to wear. I couldn't believe the transformation when I saw myself in the mirror. I could barely recognize the beautiful young woman staring back at me. I suddenly felt so much more confident in myself. Cameron took me to the finest restaurant in town, and I silently thanked Pearl for encouraging me to get all dressed up. My normal dress code of jeans and tees would definitely have been embarrassing at a classy place like that. During our date, I found out that Cameron had a few relationships over the years but now chose to be single cos he figured that most of the girls in town wanted him for the 'wrong' reasons. He said that he got tired of the fakesters and decided to focus on his family business and planned to travel the world in a couple of years. His dad is the town's mayor, and his mum, when not assisting his dad with events, heads up the town's Charities Organizations and Ladies' Committees. He has an older sister who is a successful fashion designer and lives in the city. She is currently in Paris, preparing for a fashion show. Hearing him speak about his lifestyle and family affairs made me feel very uncomfortable. There's no way I could fit in his world. I am waaày too broken and come from a totally different world. I listened to all he had to say attentively and was so relieved that he didn't ask questions about my life or anything about me. Cameron clearly was a talker, and well, let's just say that he loved talking about himself. Which is not really a bad thing, right? As the night came to a close, I was taken by surprise when Cameron apologized to me. He apologized for making the night all about him and promised that on our next date, all attention would be on me. I decided to come clean and told him the reason I agreed to the date and am not interested in dating anyone and could only offer him friendship. He gave out a cute laugh, and I could see his cheeks redden as he said, "There's something really special about you and especially the way I feel in your presence. I can't quite explain it in words. Tell you what, I accept friendship for now, but can I at least try to change your mind about us being just friends?" I just smiled back at him as sweetly as I could and then said, "Trust me, not you or anyone else is going to change my mind. I am not interested in dating anyone, and I am definitely not interested in committing to a relationship" He just gave me a mischievous look and said,"We'll just have to see about that! Time will tell Bella."

After our not so successful date, Cameron started visiting the B & B more often, and we always seemed to be bumping into each other in town. He started calling me "Friend" instead of my name, and as time went by, we hung out a few times with Pearl and her boyfriend, which I did enjoy. I wanted to introduce him to my bestie and get her opinion about him. I didn't want to tell her about him over the phone and decided to wait till she came to town, which will be in a few weeks. I only told her I had a surprise for her. She would try and guess what it was every time we talked. It was Saturday, and surprisingly, the B & B was not as busy as the previous weeks, so Pearl and I decided to go out for a late lunch at our favorite diner. As we were leaving the Diner, we heard the sound of a bike, which then came to a stop really close up to us. We couldn't see the biker's face because he had a helmet on, but the body was all too familiar, I mentally guessed who it was. I turned to look at Pearl only to find her wide-eyed and clearly drooling. "Close that mouth of yours, girl, you're embarrassing us," I told her. Just as I guessed, Cameron took off the helmet, and then in a deep voice I hadn't heard him speak before, said "Hey there you Beauts, hope y'all having a splendid day" Pearl and I just stared at each other, wide eyed, in total shock and then back at Cameron. He looked so sexy in a body fit white tee shirt, black leather jacket, and black leather pants. The outfit did wonders in flaunting his muscular body. This dress code was not what we were used to seeing Cameron in. He was always attired in smart, designer casual wear. As we stood staring at him, probably looking pretty foolish in doing so, he just gave back a bad boy smile and looked like he was enjoying our reaction. I managed to give him a slight nod as a sign of greeting and then said, "Nice seeing you again Cameron but we have to rush off now, lots to do" Pearl, started speed walking towards her car as though she was trying to get away from some one chasing her and I followed suit until I felt someone gently grab me from behind. "My beautiful Bell, I did all this for you, don't you like it? You see, I figured you out. You go around looking all sweet and angelic, but I know you are into Bad Boys. Can you feel that?" How could I not feel his rock-hard boner pressed into my back as he whispered in my ear! "This is what you do to me, and it is driving me crazy! We cannot be just friends. I will change my look or anything you want just to make you mine. Just tell me what it is you want of me, and I'll make it happen." Cameron has lost his freaking mind! I managed to get out of Cameron’s grip and quickly moved away from him. I turned to face him, and with great difficulty getting words out of my mouth, I managed to tell him that he's got me all wrong. He doesn't know me at all, and I am not into the whole bad boy thing he's talking about, and then without waiting for him to respond, I sped off towards Pearl. "What the hell came over you? You were shamelessly drooling at the sight of Cameron in public. He's your boyfriend's best friend Pearl, and you know how word gets around in this small town," I scolded. "Ohhhh, please, Bella, no harm in window shopping and just admiring from afar" she responded while rolling her eyes at me. I made a decision to try my very best to avoid Cameron. Truth is, all the things he whispered to me scared me. Did he think I would find his words and actions flattering!?