truth or dare - game on series #1

Stella

Another night.

I had a feeling he was outside.

It was strange how quickly I had gotten used to the idea. The first night, I was surprised. The second, I was curious. But now? Now, I was expecting it. Looking forward to it, even.

And that was terrifying.

I had no idea what to do with this feeling, but even Bree had admitted that Cameron was serious about me. The guy is literally sleeping on a cold, hard floor just to make sure I'm okay. That had to mean something, right?

I took a deep breath, then walked to the door and opened it.

But he wasn't there.

I frowned.

It wasn't like I wanted him to keep doing this, obviously. He had to get tired of it eventually, and I should've been glad he finally gave up on it.

So why did I feel... disappointed?

This is ridiculous, Stella.

I sighed and was about to close the door when—

"Hey."

I turned at the sound of his voice and saw him walking down the hall toward me, pillow and blanket in hand.

Something in my chest settled.

"I thought you weren't coming," I said before I could stop myself.

His lips twitched like he was holding back a smirk. "Practice ran late. Big game tomorrow."

I nodded, trying to push away the weird sense of relief. Of course, he had a good reason. He wasn't actually giving up on me.

He reached his usual spot, dropped his pillow, and sat down, wrapping the blanket around himself like this was just another normal night.

I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms. "What kind of game?"

He tilted his head. "Championship qualifier. If we win, we make it to the finals."

I raised an eyebrow. "And you're seriously planning to sleep out here the night before a game like that?"

He just shrugged. "Yeah."

It was so simple for him. No hesitation. No second thoughts.

And before I could stop myself, the words left my mouth—

"Do you... want to come inside?"

Cameron froze.

His eyes snapped to mine, like he hadn't heard me right.

To be honest, I wasn't sure I'd actually said it either. My heart pounded as the silence stretched between us.

I cleared my throat. "I mean—Bree's not here, and you clearly aren't planning on going to your own bed. And I don't want your whole team to lose because you didn't sleep all night."

His lips slowly curled into a smirk. "You care if we win?"

I groaned. "That's not the point."

He grinned, but there was something softer behind it, something that made my stomach flip. "I didn't expect that."

"Yeah, well, me neither," I muttered, stepping aside to let him in before I changed my mind.

He got up quickly, grabbing his pillow and blanket. "Where do I sleep?"

I pointed to Bree's bed. "There."

"Noted." He walked in and set his things down, still looking like he couldn't believe I had actually let him in.