Camilla's Place
"Card number one and four should kiss."
Liam looked at the card in his hand and saw that he was number four this time.
He glanced around the room, and his eyes rested on Camilla.
He didn't need a word from her to know she was the one holding the number one card.
Eric smiled when he saw the discomfited look on their faces and glanced at Briana, who laughed.
"Come on, you two. Don't be party poopers, just do it," Briana said.
Camilla glared at her friends in disapproval.
She should have guessed this was their intention when they suggested playing a dare game.
"Is this your idea? I told you to stop trying to pull this shit with us," Camilla said, but Eric didn't seem to care.
The four of them had been friends since they were little, but Camilla and Liam had known each other longer, which made it difficult for others to believe there was nothing between them, including their close friends.
"You don't have to have feelings to kiss. Briana and I aren't dating either, but we've kissed a few times," Eric insisted.
"You know that is not going to happen," Camilla declared and turned to Liam, who remained quiet.
Liam and Camilla were almost switched at the hospital due to a nurse's mistake, and that had led to a friendship between their parents, which extended to them.
They became even closer when Camilla's parents moved into the villa beside Liam's.
"Aren't you going to say something to stop them?" Camilla asked, pulling his shirt.
"We'll take the punishment," Liam stated in his deep, sexy voice and stood up from the chair to get the bucket of ice from the fridge as punishment for failing the challenge.
"Okay…" Eric shrugged, knowing he couldn't argue with him, and stood up to get the bucket filled with ice.
"Hey, Camilla, get yourself here," he called to her.
She stood up from her seat and got ready to be drenched with a bucket of ice.
Liam pulled Camilla closer to himself and used his body to cover hers completely as the cold ice poured down on him.
"I'll get you a towel," Camilla said as water dripped from her hair.
She hurried to get one for him and handed it over without bothering about herself.
"Should I get you some clothes to change into?" Camilla asked, then immediately turned back to get them from her room, but he stopped her.
"I know my way around," Liam said and made his way into the room to grab some clothes for himself among the ones he had left behind whenever he slept over at her place.
Liam opened her closet and found it disorganized as usual.
He moved her things aside and picked a black shirt for himself, then searched for his green favorite shorts.
"Cam! Where is my short?" he called out when he couldn't find it.
"Used and dirty," she answered from the door as she came inside.
"That's why I offered to bring you clothes myself," Camilla said as she sat on her queen-sized bed.
"I told you to stop wearing my clothes," Liam replied as he found another pair of trousers he could put on.
"You can also wear my clothes, and besides, your shorts are so comfortable. I just can't help wearing them," she replied nonchalantly.
"I need to change my pants," he told her.
"Go ahead," Camilla said and continued staring at him, then realized what he meant.
"Nothing I haven't seen before, dude," she said, laughing, but Liam wasn't finding it funny.
Knowing she wasn't going to listen or leave, he made his way into the bathroom to change his clothes.
He returned with a small towel in his hand and walked up to Camilla, who was busy on her phone.
"You're done..."
Liam held her shoulders, stopping her words, and helped wipe her hair with the towel.
Camilla smiled and dropped her phone.
She took in his scent as he continued drying her hair, and the two remained silent for the next minute.
"What do you say we kiss and clear everyone's doubts about our relationship?" Camilla said jokingly.
Liam's arm dropped, and he frowned, wanting to be sure he heard her clearly.
Camilla usually said things without thinking, but not him.
He was always serious with his words, and most importantly, he felt more than friendly affection for her.
"Don't you need to change your clothes?" Liam asked after a few seconds, deciding to ignore her words.
If he joked about it, she might actually kiss him.
"You don't have such feelings for me, right?" Camilla threw another question at an unprepared Liam, and the towel in his hand dropped.
Their parents had begun shipping them together as a couple since they turned thirteen and often joked about it.
Camilla hated the idea, but Liam felt the opposite.
He had always been careful with his interactions with her ever since, but it seemed she was pushing him tonight, and he didn't feel comfortable about it.
He had kept his growing feelings to himself for the past two years and didn't want to give himself away—not now that they had just been admitted to the same college.
"What nonsense are you going on about? Change your clothes," he said, moving farther away from her.
"I don't need to. I'm fine," Camilla shrugged and gave up on teasing him.
"I'm not. You might catch a cold," he said and went to fetch another dress, then handed it to her.
Camilla threw the dress onto the bed and suddenly wrapped her arms around him.
Liam was taken aback by the sudden intimate contact and tried to pull away, but Camilla held on tighter and rested her head just below his abdomen, causing a pleasurable flutter in his heart.
"What are you doing?" he managed to voice out before he lost it.
Camilla raised her head and stared at him with her beautiful green eyes in a cute way.
Liam composed himself, realizing she just wanted something from him, and calmed down.
"Do you want to go with me for a..."
"No, I don't," he immediately rejected, realizing it was one of her tricks to convince him to go to the amusement park with her.
"Why do you hate going to the park?" she complained.
"Camilla," Liam called.
He had been debating telling her about his feelings for so long.
Maybe he could use this chance to go to the park with her and finally confess.
"What is it? Why do you look so serious?" Camilla asked.
Before Liam could say anything, her phone started ringing.
She picked it up and saw it was her dad.
"Hi, Dad. I'm at home with Liam," she said, and her countenance changed the next second.
"Okay, Dad. I'm on my way," she said and ended the call, then hurriedly stood up from the bed.
Liam grew curious about what had happened and why her mood had changed so suddenly, but Camilla didn't want to explain.
She bolted out of the room to get her car keys downstairs.
He followed her into the living room, where Eric and Briana were still having fun, and stopped her just before she opened the door.
"What happened?" he questioned, feeling more anxious when he saw the worried look on her face.
"Nothing. I'm going to meet my dad."
"Should I come with you?" he offered, but she declined.
Her father had already told her to come alone and not bring him along. Like he knew he would offer.
"I think he wants to discuss something important with me," she said and left.
Liam was very worried but didn't follow her.
He went back to the living room, where Eric and Briana came up to him and asked what had happened.
"Nothing. Her dad called," he answered, then went to get a bottle of water and received a message from his sister, which he ignored.
"What have you two been doing inside?" Eric asked mischievously, but Liam shooed him away.
He sat down and pondered over his thoughts about telling Camilla how he really felt.
It seemed she had no such feelings for him, but he couldn't stop his own.
"Come over here," Eric and Briana called, ready for another game.