♕Harley Anderson♕

The next few days pass by uneventfully. I ended up covering more shifts for Allison since she's being having a rough week and when I wasn't working, I was either racing with Cameron or eating waffles at his house. The strange and hooded figure hasn't appeared anywhere lately and although I'm relieved, I'm still the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Cameron and I have also being rather... close lately. We touch each other a lot more, whether it be a hand lingering on my hip or mine on his arm, and cast lingering glances when we're both in the kitchen making waffles. It made me think that maybe, just maybe, he felt the same way. But then I realized I was insane to even think that- there's no hope for us. We're just friends, comfortable with each other. I'll admit that I feel a lot stronger towards him, my hand often itching to run through his hair or to wrap my arms around him and close my eyes. And it's beginning to terrify me because I cannot get involved with him. Every person I've ever loved, cared for, trusted, has kicked me to the curb, left me without a second thought. I don't need another person to add to the list.

I feel something flick my head and I turn to Audrey who is watching me with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" I ask, shoveling a spoonful of Fruit Loops into my mouth although I push the orange dusted ones to the side, hating the artificial flavoring those leave in my mouth.

"What's got you thinking so hard?" She asks and I shrug.

"I'm studying literature, Auds. My mind is always buzzing with new plots." I say, the words true but not in this precise moment. She laughs.

"You think too hard."

"Only you would say such a thing." I respond with an eye roll.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?"

I playfully roll my eyes. "I'm heading to work. I'll see you later for Cameron's race." I say and she smiles, pulling out her phone before scrolling on it aimlessly. I place my plate in the sink before grabbing my bag.

"Okay." She replies absentmindedly as I close the door to my apartment behind me.

When I arrive at Joe's Coffee Shop, the bell above the door lets out an annoying ring when I enter and Allison- in all her pale and ghostly state- looks up to me with a smile. I make my way around the counter, placing my bag on the bench before pulling my apron off of the rack hanging on the wall and pulling it over my head. I walk to Allison as I tie a tight not behind my back.

"Why are you here? You look like death warmed up." I ask and she playfully glares at me, resting against the counter tiredly.

"I'll be on maternity leave in the next few weeks so I'll be okay."

I cast her a sideways glance, picking up empty glasses littered across the counter. "You should take it now. Besides, I'm sure it's not good to be straining yourself while you're carry a little boy." I say and she waves a dismissive hand.

"I'm not straining myself Harley. I'm doing something constructive before I can't for the next five months."

I let out a laugh. "Alright."

After handing the dishes to our cleaner, I reach for my notepad and walk towards a familiar face who seems to come here quite often. Whenever I ask him why, he simply smiles at me and says: "I just love the atmosphere of this place." I would laugh and nod my head, agreeing with him wholeheartedly before taking down his order of ground black coffee and an apple tart. It's pointless to even ask what he wants at this point.

"Hello Officer Frank." I greet him when I reach his table.

He smiles at me, looking up from the newspaper. "Hiya Harley. How are you today?"

I smile. "All good and yourself?"

He beams brightly. "I'm alright."

I nod. "Are you trying anything new today or is it just the usual?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"The usual please."

I nod with a smile before turning on my heel and walking away to place the order before moving on to the next customer.

A few hours later, when the rush has calmed down and I only have thirty minutes left to the end of my shift, I'm busy handing a customer a chocolate chip muffin when a tall and sturdy boy steps forward. His green eyes stare back at me intensely and I feel myself grown uneasy from his creepy aura. His blonde hair is chopped to a short buzzcut while he's dressed in black from head to toe.

I push a smile onto my face. "Hello sir, what can I get you?" I ask politely and his eyes move to the cabinet of food, displaying various pastries.

"A milk tart." He responds blandly and I nod, sliding one of the doors open to reach for it. He watches what I do and I try ignore how uncomfortable I feel. "I like it when you put your hair into a bun."

I freeze my actions. "Excuse me?"

He cocks his head to the side. "Your hair." He states again. "I like it in a bun. Like how you had the other day in the grocery store when you were with your friend." He states and my eyes widen before they look back up to him. I narrow my eyes at him, glancing at him up and down.

"It's you isn't it?" I ask lowly "You're the guy who has being following me?"

His lips quirk into a smile and he just looks at me, not providing an answer. I clench my hands into fists and scowl at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I hiss angrily. "Are you some kind of psychopath?"

He chuckles. "I don't know who you're mistaking me for..." He narrows his eyes at my name tag "Harley. But I'm not following you." He explains monotonously and I shake my head.

"You're ly-"

"Is there an issue here?" A voice asks and I look to see Officer Frank standing next to the blonde buzzcut. I clench my jaw to keep from cursing out loud. Frank looks at me in a silent question and I shake my head, glancing at the boy one more time before handing him his order and taking his two dollar bill.

"It's alright thanks Frank. I guess just got him mixed up with someone else."

Frank nods. "Alright."

The boy looks at me one last time before stalking out of the shop and I purse my lips. Am I being paranoid about someone following me? Because it seems like I'm just accusing people of being the hooded figure every chance I get. I'll be accusing Officer Frank before I even know it and he's a cop for crying out loud!

"Are you okay?" Officer Frank asks and I nod, pushing a smile onto my face.

"Yeah. I'm just feeling a little on edge today." I explain, running a hand through my hair, and he nods understandably. "But thank you for lending a hand."

He smiles at me. "No problem Harley." His eyes then seem to darken slightly and I frown, his sober expression a little too sudden for me to be comfortable with. "Just remember that not everyone is who they say they are."

I watch him curiously; the way his mouth isn't curled into a smile but rather a frown, how his eyes aren't twinkling but are rather cold. It makes me take a step back because I've never seen this side to Frank over the couple of days I've known him. All I've ever seen him as is happy and jovial, not like this. This must be the cop side of him that makes criminals nervous.

I nod at him, "I know."

He leans back, his lips curling back up into a smile as if he didn't just go into complete cop-mode. "Have a good afternoon." He says and I smile, saying a quick 'thank you' before taking my apron off and hanging it on the wall, knowing how bad I need to attend that race tonight to finally relax and have some fun.

****

"So what are you betting tonight?" I ask Cameran and he glances at me from where he was watching a man observe a Bugatti.

"Money." He tells me and I nod in understanding.

"How much?" I ask and he looks down at me, pursing his lips.

"I'm planning on fifty."

My mouth falls open. "Fifty grand?" I ask and he nods with an amused smile at my reaction. I shake my head at him in thought before feeling a question sit at the top of my tongue. "Do you ever feel bad when your opponent gives you the money? Like, what if they needed to win?" I ask.

It's something I ponder over a lot. What if a father comes here to race, lays forty grand in the table even though he doesn't have it, in hopes of winning the race so that he can pay his month's rent and his family doesn't have to go live on the streets? Do you not feel bad taking the envelope of money from him as he is now worse than he was before?

I see Cameron's eyebrows pull together in thought and he purses his lips while staring at the floor. His shoulder that brushes against mine twitches and I wonder if I've maybe hit a nerve.

"Of course I feel bad." He eventually says. "But this line of business has no place for sympathy. If you want to race and bet, then that's the choice you make. I can't help you if you loose." He explains and I mill over his words that are laced with sadness.

"So it's like survival of the fittest?" I ask and he nods.

"Something like that."

Before we can continue our conversation any further, Mason walks up to us and greets Cameron along the way. I cast Mason a friendly smile but stand up straighter when I see Ryan across the lot. Cameron instinctively pulls me closer to him and I relax as he wraps his arm around my shoulder. Before either off them say anything, Audrey comes skipping over with a bright smile, Caleb being dragged by his hand.

As we exchange 'hellos' I see Audrey's eyes focus on Cameron's arm around me before she raises a brow at me in curiosity. I look away with a slight blush, knowing I'll be hearing a lot of questions and insinuations about it later.

"You need to head to the lane man." Mason tells Cameron, glancing at his watch. Cameron nods, checking his own watch before we notice the people walking towards the lanes in excitement of the races to come. Mason pats him on the back.

"I'll catch you later Cam."

Cameron smiles. "Later bro."

"We're going to go to the lanes. You can meet us there Harley." Audrey explains and I don't miss the naughty glint in her eye before she drags Caleb away.

I turn around to face Cameron, standing in front of him. He raises a brow at me and I wrap my arms around him. He's rigid at first before he relaxes and wraps his arms around my waist.

"Good luck." I say into his ear "Even though you don't need it." I giggle, pulling back. He smiles softly at me before dropping his hands.

"Obrigada Harley." He says, looking down at me once more before climbing into his car and pulling onto the road.

I smile to myself. I definitely love hearing Cameran talk his native tongue. It just sounds so natural and effortless- beautiful.

I jog up to Audrey and Caleb, casting her a smile, before grinning at the two cars besides each other on the lane, preparing myself to cheer for another one of Cameron's victories.

****

Audrey and Caleb decided to go for drinks afterwards however, Cameron declined the suggestion and I agreed with him. That lead us to him driving me back home, in utmost silence, while Audrey and Caleb got wasted.

Despite the fact that Cameron walked out victorious, no shock there, he seems awfully quiet and doesn't say anything to me the whole drive. I wonder if I said anything to upset him when I realize that I haven't. I've hardly spoken to him since his race ended but now that we're in the car together, his unusual quietness is obvious. However, I don't make a move to break the silence in fear of pissing him off more than he already is.

When he parks his car in my parking lot, I'm surprised when he climbs out of his car with me and walks me into the building. His face is contorted into a scowl and his posture is rigid, making me slightly concerned.

Is he PMSing? Because he was totally okay before his race.

The elevator seems to take a while to come and while we both patiently wait for it, I turn to him with a frown. "Is something wrong?" I ask, my voice laced with concern. Cameron seems surprised at my voice and looks up to me before shaking his head silently and I sigh, knowing that's as much a response I'm going to get out of him.

When the elevator door opens, we both step inside before I press the button for the second floor. Once again the elevator seems to take forever to start moving and I would be worried that it was about to get stuck if I wasn't focusing on trying not to suffocate from the tenseness and electricity in the atmosphere between us.

Why is there electricity anyway?

"Do you know what's wrong?" Cameron suddenly snaps and I jump slightly from being taken by surprise. His voice is harsh, desperate almost, and I raise a brow. He turns to face me, his eyes wide, and he runs a hand over his jaw. I don't answer him.
"I'm so tired of you making me feel things. I don't like it. I don't like having no control over my feelings because of you." He snaps coldly and I frown, confusion making my thoughts hazy.

What the hell is he going on? I don't even know what I've done.

"Make you feel what?" I ask, my annoyance rising due to his frustration that I have no idea about. He runs a hand through his hair in distress and I feel myself beginning to worry because he isn't answering me and I don't know what the hell I've done to piss him off so much.

His eyes snap up to mine and his Adams Apple bops up and down.

"You make me want to kiss you." He exclaims hoarsely, "And I can't- and it's so fucking annoying." His voice is angry but his words have me left me speechless.

He... he wants to kiss me?

My eyes are wide and my throat is dry. I can't seem to push any words out and when I finally do, I find myself frowning at my confidence.

"Then why don't you?" I ask, my voice soft and gentle. Why can't he kiss me?

His eyes snap to mine and I'm taken aback by the emotion in them. The atmosphere is filled with electricity, both of us silently daring the other to say something first. It feels as if I could combust with the way my eyes zero in on him and my breath hitches in my throat. We both stare at each other silently, waiting for something.

That is, until I'm suddenly pushed against the wall of the elevator. I let out a surprised shriek before Cameron looks down at me with wide eyes. Before I can protest, his hand is cupping my cheek and his lips are against mine while I wrap my hands around his neck. The kiss is gentle, tender, but also desperate- like we've both being holding back for so long. His lips are soft against mine and I relish in the feeling of them, the way he kisses so perfectly. I run a hand through his hair and I hear him sigh contently, his arm around my waist pulling me tighter.

Is this paradise? I think to myself.

When we pull apart, we're both breathing heavily and I glance up at him, his lips red. I lean my head against the wall, the door opening before Cameron blindly presses a button to make them close again. We don't say anything but he holds me to his chest, resting his head in the crook of my neck while I keep my hands tangled in his hair.

I've had a few kisses before but none compare to this.

"You're so beautiful Harley. And intelligent and strong and sassy and... and I like you so much." I hear him mutter and I take in a sharp breath, speechless at his words. My mind cannot recall the last time someone has made me feel so special, so... enough.

"I like you, too." I whisper and he pulls back to look at me. I open my mouth to say more when the door opens and an older lady stops in her tracks when she sees us tangled in each other's arms.

I awkwardly drop my hands to Cameron's chest and he rests his hands on my hips.

"Sorry ma'am." He apologizes politely and she casts him a sideways glance and a small smile before climbing in. We both let go of each other and when it opens for the second floor and I make a move to climb out, my body still on fire and my heart beating wildly, Cameron pulls me back and places a kiss just below my ear.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

I nod breathlessly, walking out into the hallway before glancing over my shoulder at Cameron just as the elevator door closes.

I'm still frozen in shock, my mind still processing what just happened until I finally wrap my head around it.

And my face breaks into a grin.

•••

I think this chapter deserves a comment and a vote as a celebration huh? :)
FINALLY! I'm so happy gaahhhhhhhhhh
I can't wait for you all to see what's to come! I assure you it's not going to be an easy journey ;) but how do you feel about Cam and Harley finally taking action?
Also, I'm sorry if this kiss was very short and sweet- as much as I love reading these scenes, I struggle to write them. However, there will definitely be more kisses to come :)

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