CAM SPENT THE DAY CATCHING UP ON CLEANING THE HOUSE AND WATCHING LIAM.

Luckily, Jackie had called the previous night, asking to switch shifts so now Cameron had the dinner shift. Which means she had the house almost to herself,

She was working on laundry, keeping her foot against the door of the washing machine to keep it from spilling out, when there was a knock on the back door,

With a sigh, she set down her coffee and opened the door, revealing Steve from the night before, "Hi." He smirked, "Wondering what your schedule's like on Friday."

Cameron stared at him for a moment, "Working."

"Cancel." He responded,

Cam rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen to work on Liam's lunch, "Look around. Does it look like I can afford to miss a shift?"

"When's your day off?" Steve asked,

She shook her head, "Trust me, you're not that desperate."

"Wanting to see you again is desperate?"

Cameron grabbed some chicken nuggets on a pan and put it in the oven, "No, feeling like you have to... that's desperate." She let out a small laugh, "Come on, you can get laid anywhere."

Steve raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so I'm only here for a fuck?"

"Never crossed your mind?" She crossed her arms and leaned her hip on the counter,

"Just when you think you've collared your dream girl, her incontinent, alcoholic father appears, wrecks everything, and she's blaming you?" Steve ranted, his eyes glancing towards the noisy washing machine,

Cameron smiled, "Your dream girl? We had drunk sex in my kitchen."

"Quit pretending you don't even know me." He stepped towards her, "You weren't that drunk." They heard footsteps and turned to see Lip entering the living room, "Hey, it's Phillip." Steve greeted,

"Hey, it's, uh, dead man walking." Lip replied, "Jimmy Clifton called today looking for you."

"No school?" Steve asked,

Cameron rolled her eyes and went to grab Liam to put him into his high chair. No one night stand has ever showed up to her house the day after, wanting to go on a date.

"Nah, I got some teeth pulled today." He answered, putting his plate in the sink and going into the fridge, 

"Wisdom teeth?"

"Sugar rot." Lip corrected, grabbing an energy drink,

"Ah. You know, little known fact: don't just chew your food on one side, 'cause it can buckle your jaw, which will buckle your hips and affect your posture." Steve commented,

"Oh, that's a fact?"

"Skeletal fact." Steve replied,

Once Cameron buckled Liam in, she moved to grab her coffee, "Lip, fuck off." She whispered to her younger brother,

"Hey, um, talk out of your ass with that much conviction, you end up needing a much bigger toothbrush. That's an anal fact." Lip smirked before leaving the kitchen,

 Cameron sighed, "Listen, thank you for trying to get my sister's purse back and, uh, stuff. But, uh..."

"Stuff?" He smirked at her,

"Look, I'm sure you're a great guy, a real catch. But I'm majorly complicated and I'm not looking. Not right now." Cam stated,

Steve stared at her for a moment before nodding, "Okay. Is it all right if I leave my number for when you might be?"

Cameron shrugged and he moved towards the board and wrote his number on the calendar, "I'll be expecting your call soon." He told her before leaving the house,

"Yeah, right." She muttered before turning to Liam, "What do you think? Should I call him?"

Once Fiona got home, along with Debbie and Carl, Cameron got ready for work. 

"Thought you didn't work till four?" Fiona asked as she dumped the dry clothes into a basket,

"Stressful day. Gonna hit a meeting." Cameron elaborated as she grabbed her purse and put the strap over her head, 

"Did something happen?" Her older sister asked,

"It's nothing really." She kissed the top of Liam's head before heading towards the front door, "See you tonight."

Cameron took the L to go to an NA meeting near the diner. She spotted Sean near the back and took a chair next to him,

"You okay?" He asked as she took off her purse and set it on the floor next to her feet,

"Fine." She mumbled, turning her attention to the person at the podium,

Steve was obviously some rich kid who didn't take no for an answer. She didn't want to give into him. But boy was he good at laying it on thick.

He seemed like a total catch... right? Rich, funny, sexy as hell, and he liked her.

"You wanna tell me what's bothering you?" Sean asked as they walked towards the diner after the meeting,

Cameron shook her head, "Just guy problems."

Sean raised an eyebrow, "There's a guy?" He asked as he opened the door for her and they entered the restaurant,

"No..." She sighed, clocking in, "I don't know. Maybe." Sean followed her into the back room as she stuffed her bag into her locker, "It's complicated."

"When isn't it with you?" He leaned against the doorframe, "He a jackass?"

"I only met him last night." Cameron answered, "But... he seemed nice? I don't know."

"Is he the one that did that to you?" He asked, motioning to her neck and Cameron went to check the mirror,

"Ugh, I thought I covered those up." She groaned, moving back towards her locker to grab some concealer,

Once she covered the dark bruises up, she went into the front of the house and tied her apron around her waist.

She brought menus out to a few tables before moving back behind the counter to refill the decaf coffee, "Yo, Cam, your sister is on the phone for you." Jackie commented, standing on the other side of the counter,

Cameron sighed and went over to take the phone from Jackie, "Fi?"

"Your boyfriend left you a present." Fiona stated on the other line,

"Boyfriend?"

"Steve? From last night?" She clarified,

"Shit." Cameron ran a hand through her hair, "Lemme guess, a dozen red roses? A box of chocolates?"

"Roses, yes, but it came with something much bigger than that." Fiona replied,

"Fi, I'm working, can you get to the point?" Cameron asked,

"He bought you a brand new washing machine." Fiona stated, "It's being hooked up right now."

"What?!" Most people in the diner paused and turned towards her, "Um, sorry, carry on." She smiled at them, "A washing machine?" Cameron whispered,

"Uh, yeah. You must have the best pussy in the world to get him to buy you a washing machine." Fiona laughed,

"Whatever. I'll call him to pick it up tomorrow..." Cameron glanced around, "Get as many uses out of it as you can."

She quickly hung up and sighed, "Jesus Christ." Cameron mumbled before getting back to work.

The next day was the beginning of the weekend and Cameron was needed for a double shift. She helped Fiona with breakfast before leaving for work.

She showed up a little early to help open, stopping by the phone first. Cam pulled out the ripped piece of paper that contained Steve's number before dialling,

He picked up after the first ring, "Hello."

"How much you pay for it?" Cam sighed, leaning her elbows on the counter,

"I'm not telling you that. It's a gift." She could just imagine the smirk on his face, "So, you'd remember the phone number, which obviously worked."

She rolled her eyes, "Your washer's in the yard, okay? We don't need it, I don't want it. So you got to come pick it up before it starts rusting."

"Oh, is it?" Steve asked,

Cam hesitated, "No."

"Did the guy connect it?"

"Yes." She mumbled,

"It's working okay?" He questioned,

"It's not my favorite color." She joked, standing up straight,

"Oh, so you've tried it."

Before she could reply, a hand tapped her hip, "Off the phone, Gallagher."

She quickly hung up, "Sorry, Charlie."