♕Harley Anderson♕

I rest my head in the palms of my hands as I groan.

"Don't you think we've attended enough of these parties?" I ask incredulously, looking up to see Audrey giving me a deadpan look.

Audrey, once again, is trying to drag me to another party tonight. However, this time I more adamant not to go simply because I'm exhausted and the last time I went to a party, I got myself wasted and had a shitty hangover. But then again, I would also love a distraction.

"Oh come on!" She whines, sitting on the chair opposite me. "Please come!"

I shake my head. "I plan on binge watching Friends tonight." I state, scraping my chair back and placing my plate in the sink. I begin washing it, assuming that our conversation is over from the silence.

"Cameron will be there." She adds hopefully and I pause my actions, the temptation growing ever so slightly. I rinse my dish off.

"Why would that change anything?" I ask with a laugh.

"Oh come on. We both know you like spending time with him."

With my back towards her, I don't have to keep up a mask so I let my eyebrows furrow. "Maybe so, but I'm not going to go to the party just because he's there."

I place my plate on the rack and turn around to see Audrey pouting at me.

"Please," she whines again and I roll my eyes, pinching her cheeks on my way to my room.

"Nice try but this time I'm not budging." I laugh, closing my bedroom door and jumping onto my bed to lay down.

Twenty minutes later, when I'm busy painting my toenails, my phone begins to ring and I awkwardly reach for it on my bedside table while trying not to smudge the paint on my toes. My heart involuntarily picks up speed when I notice the name and I scowl at myself before pressing the phone to my ear.

"Hey Cameron." I greet.

"Morning. How are you?" He asks, his voice still raspy from sleep and I try not to drool from the sexiness of it.

"I'm fine. You?"

"All good. Look, I'm not going to be able to teach you today." He starts and I pout with disappointment "Emery needs me at the tracks and since we have a party tonight, we can't do it later."

"Wait, you're going to the party?" I ask with a frown. I thought Audrey was just baiting me.

"Yes? Aren't you?" He asks, his voice confused and I purse my lips.

It's not like I'm going to sleep tonight anyway so I might as well go out and enjoy myself. I do need a distraction after all...

"Obviously." I respond.

"Well I'll see you tonight then." He says and I smile, bidding him goodbye before cutting the call and letting out a sigh.

"Audrey!" I call out and she comes bouncing into my room a few moments later.

"Yep?"

I roll my eyes. "Help me straighten my hair?" I ask, a small smile on my face. Her face lights up before she squeals and throws herself onto my bed.

****

Like usual, the party is crowded with people and has R&B music blasting through the speakers in the makeshift dancefloor and like usual, Audrey is already downing a bottle of vodka just as we walk in.

"Relax babe." Caleb tells her and she rolls her eyes.

"I'm fine!" She waves him off and I laugh into my cup of water, Cameron glancing at me. Sometimes I honestly worry about Audrey- how can her body consume so much alcohol without failing in the process? Because damn can she drink.

"Audrey." Caleb starts and they both start bickering with one another, Caleb scolding Audrey for drinking and Audrey trying to convince him that he's just being a buzzkill.

I return my attention to Cameron and roll my eyes. "I'm surprised that they still have these arguments." I mock and Cameron lets out a breath of a laugh.

"No kidding." He takes a sip of his beer.

"Is everything okay at the tracks?" I ask and Cameron nods.

"Yeah. I'm racing tomorrow night."

I nod, the excitement bubbling up inside me as I lean my back against the kitchen island. "Can I come watch this time or are you going to tell me not to and then I have to do it behind your back again?" I muse and Cameron rolls his eyes, one side of his mouth twitching up into a smile.

"What's the point in asking permission then?" Cameron asks in amusement, taking a step closer to me so that I can smell his scent of lemongrass. My eyes move up to his own, them wide from his movement. "I know you aren't going to listen anyway."

I let out a laugh, shaking my head. "You know me so well." I joke and his lips curl upwards before he looks at the length of my body. I switch my weight from one foot to the other from his intense gaze. He notices my discomfort and takes a step back, giving me some space to breathe.

"I forgot to tell you that you look nice." He says and I feel a blush creep up my cheeks. Today, I straightened my hair and clipped the front pieces back while I went for natural makeup- trying to hide my exhaustion. Then I simply pulled on a pair of skinny jeans, a black off the shoulder top and a pair of boots. It's simple but I feel pretty.

I lick my lips. "Well you look handsome." I say, fixing the collar of his black flannel shirt that exposes a plain white one underneath it. "Not that you don't every other day." I add before slapping a hand over my mouth with realization of what I just said. I look up to Cameron's eyes to see them twinkling in amusement and I feel my cheeks redden.

I can't believe I just said that.

Even though it's true- he always looks good- he doesn't need to know that I think that.

The sound of Audrey cheering is heard and I glance over my shoulder to see her dragging Caleb to the dense dance floor. The song 'Evacuate the Dancefloor' by Cascada starts to play and I stare at the people who are all dancing to the beat, smiles on their faces and their hips moving to the beat. Of course you have the couples who grind up against one another but most of the people seem to just dance and enjoy the music. There's something about music that can just bring anyone together.

"You want to dance?" Cameron asks me and I snap my head to him, my eyes wide in surprise.

"Y-you dance?" I ask in shock. I'm not saying that he can't because he probably can, but rather that I never thought he would actually do it out of enjoyment.

He cocks his head to the side in an almost challenging way while his lip forms into a smirk.

And damn is it one hell of a smirk.

He places his beer bottle that's half empty onto the counter and grabs my hand. I'm not able to focus on the way his soft hand, that I thought would be calloused from gripping the wheel, is a perfect fit for my one when he pulls me into the sea of dancing bodies.

Cameron pushes us into the very center of the bodies and I try to avoid the elbows thrown my way from the adrenaline-high people bouncing up and down to the beat. He turns me around so that I'm looking at him by gripping my waist.

I've never being one to shy away from dancing but now that I'm standing in front of Cameron with him watching me, I don't feel too confident in dancing like I usually do. However, when he starts moving, I can't help but gape at how good he is at it. He dances perfectly in time with the music, moving to the beat and putting everyone else around him to shame. I giggle at him, completely amazed at his ability.

Cameron is full of surprises.

Soon enough, I'm dancing too, moving my hands above my head and swaying my hips to the music while he holds them. I laugh as we dance together, the moment feeling so carefree and spontaneous but all together wonderful. Cameron chuckles as we dance and I giggle as he twirls me around before I wrap my arms around his neck and continue dancing.

To see Cameron smiling like this- the skin around his eyes crinkling and his eyes twinkling while he shows his perfect teeth- makes warmth spread up through my body as I realise he's smiling because of me.

And I don't think it can get better than being the reason that Cameron Dawson is smiling.

****

"Here," Cameron says before handing me a cup of water. I take it from him gratefully and down it in seconds from being so thirsty from dancing.

Cameron and I danced for a long time before we both started losing our breath and slowing down to which we both decided it would be best to get a drink and go outside to cool down.

I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand and place my cup down, pushing my hair out of my face and taking in a deep breath to try and steady my breathing. I watch Cameron down his own cup of water and see how his breath is also rising and falling heavily. When he places his cup down, he runs a hand through his hair.

"So the Cameron Dawson can dance?" I muse to myself and he looks at me, his eyes holding a kind of mischief to them while he shrugs smugly. "Can you Latin dance too?" I ask curiously. Given that he's Colombian, it would make sense if he did.

He smirks at me but doesn't reply and I gasp, smacking his shoulder.

"So you can! I totally want to see this." I laugh out loud and he watches me as I do so. After I calm my laughter, he cocks his head to the side.

"Do you like dancing?" He asks me and I shrug.

"I do. But only if there's good music." I explain and he nods in understanding. "Why?"

"Just asking." He shrugs and I roll my eyes at his vague and rather bland answer.

We're interrupted from continuing our conversation any further when a guy with a blonde buzzcut comes bouncing up to Cameron, a broad smile on his face and his hands in the pockets of his shorts. Cameron's previous smile sobers up slightly as he glances at the guy in question.

"Wassup guys?" The boy asks, too enthusiastically. Cameron frowns.

"Do you need something?" He asks and the guy looks between Cameron and I.

"The question is- do you need something?" He smirks and Cameron raises a brow at the guy, irritation and confusion clear on his face. The guy is probably drunk, no wonder what he's saying makes no sense. "I got it all man. From the light to the heavy, the cheap to the expensive." The blonde guy smiles smugly at us and I frown at him. However, all previous humour is wiped from Cameron's face suddenly and he stands up straighter, his rigid posture showing his tenseness. My eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"We're not interested." Cameron confirms, his voice stern- cold.

"Oh come on man. I got some green stuff on me right now and a kilo of Coke in the back of my car. Give me a price and we can negotiate." The guy tries to persuade Cameron and only then do I understand why he's angry.

He's offering us drugs.

With absolutely no shame.

"I said," Cameron starts, his voice low "we're not interested." His voice holds a warning tone and I squirm uncomfortably as he stares at the guy in disbelief but mostly anger. "That stuff fucks up way too many people's lives."

The guy laughs as if Cameron's joking and I want to smack him for being so stupid. He's pissing Cameron off and I think that's a very dangerous chance to take.

"Man, c'mon. It's good quality."

Before I can even register it, Cameron is gripping the guy by the collar. "You're making me lose my patience and that's a very dangerous thing." He hisses lowly and the guy gulps, holding his hands up in surrender. Cameron lets go of him and the guy straightens his shirt before hastily walking away, fear running rippling from him.

When Cameron turns back to me, my eyes are still wide and my lips pursed from seeing Cameron so angry. Sure I've seen him annoyed, agitated, and everything in between but like this? Where he looked about ready to bash the guy's face in? No.

Cameron's face softens when he looks at me. "I'm sorry... I just don't like it when dealers don't know what 'no' is." He explains and I frown at his statement. It's as if he's had more than one encounter with a dealer. "I think I'm going to head home. Want a lift?" He asks and I try not to show my disappointment.

I should go find that guy and give him a few words of my own for putting a dampen on Cameron's previously good mood.

I nod my head. "That's probably a good idea since Audrey is definitely wasted." I add and he nods, his previous party mood vanished- as if it never even happened.

We leave the party soon after and the drive back to my apartment is silent, Cameron seemingly in deep thought and my mind drifting to how fast Cameron can put his walls up. Just when I think he's finally opening up to me, something happens and he closes up again. But who am I to talk, right? It's not like I'm the most open person either.

When we pull up outside of my apartment, Cameron doesn't just drop me off but instead walks me to my door. It's done quietly though and I can sense that we both want to say something, we just don't know what. As we approach the door, I slip my hand into my bag to find my keys. However, my eyebrows draw together when I come up empty.

"What's wrong?" Cameron asks me and I glance up at him before bringing my bag to the front of my torso and digging through everything. I fish through my stuff and come up empty once again.

I let out a groan.

"I don't have my keys with me." I scowl and I try and open the door with false hope that it was actually left open. I run a hand through my hair. "Can you take me back to the party, please?" I ask and Cameron looks at me intensely before shaking his head.

"You can crash at my place because we both know Audrey is not going to know where her keys are either in her drunken state." He explains and I kiss my teeth.

Staying at Cameron's place? Sure it sounded tempting because I'll get to spend more time with him but all I've being having is restless nights and I'm not too sure I feel comfortable with taking the chance of having a nightmare or anxiety attack in front of Cameron. He's seen it once and I don't want a repeat.

But then again... what choice do I have?

I glance at him strangely. "Are you sure you don't mind?" I ask again and he rolls his eyes.

"Do you really think I would have offered if I did?" He deadpans and I kiss my teeth.

"Come on." He says, getting up from off the wall and stalking towards the elevator. I let out a sigh as I follow him.

"Okay."

•••

I love getting feedback so don't forget to vote and comment! :)
So Harley is staying at Cam's place tonight... what do you think about that? And what about the cute moments that they both had during the party?
I hope you enjoyed!
Ps- there's a major hint in this chapter about Cam :)

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