After Alex Died by Dakota Madison Page B

leave then turned back again. Now I was the one who was grinning.
    “One more thing,” he said as he leaned down and gave me a soft kiss on the forehead. “Now I can go.”
    I was completely stunned. I was going on a date with Came ron Connelly. Cameron Connelly had just kissed me. Granted, it was a peck on the forehead, but it was still a kiss. The world felt like it had turned completely upside down, or at least on its side. If you would have asked me a year ago, or even a month ago, who was one of the least likely people I would ever date, Cameron Connelly would have topped the list.
    I glanced over at my photo of Alex. I wondered what he would think of me going out with Cameron. Would he unde rstand? Would he consider it a betrayal? Would he want me to be happy?
    Did the prospect of a relationship with Cameron make me happy? I wasn’t sure what I thought about it but I knew I felt something. And it was good to feel something other than numb or depressed. For the first time, in a long time, I was actually thinking about the future instead of the past.
     
    ***
     
    I couldn’t believe I was actually nervous while I was getting ready. My stomach was doing some major flip-flops. I told myself to breath and relax but my mind was racing. I hadn’t been on a date since high school—before Alex died. I ’d had a boyfriend, Mason Tucker, most of my junior year and the beginning of my senior year. He was my first (and only). After Alex died, I completely shut down and we drifted apart. I couldn’t blame him for wanting someone else. Who wants to spend their senior year dating a depressed recluse? He ended up dating Melissa McGee, who had been my best friend for the first three years of high school. I guess she felt bad about ‘stealing’ Mason from me because once they started dating, we were no longer friends.
    I hadn’t even considered dating until Cameron pushed his way into my life. And now here I stood looking at myself in my new white dress hoping that I wouldn’t make a complete fool of myself on my first real date in almost two years.
    This time, when I heard the soft knock, I knew it was prob ably Cameron. When I opened the door, my breath caught at the sight of him. He looked gorgeous, like the Cameron I remembered from high school. The one all the girls went crazy over. He wore black jeans that fit snuggly in all the right places and he had on a black buttoned-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His normally messy hair was a bit shorter and styled. He had gone all out in dressing up for the date. Best of all, his eyes were sparkling with a hint of excitement and they lit up even more as he looked at me.
    “You look amazing,” he commented as his eyes ran down the length of me. “I love that dress.”
    “You don’t look so bad yourself,” I replied.   
    We stood there taking each other in for several moments. I could feel the energy between us building and I immediately tensed. I still wasn’t sure I wanted to feel as much as I felt for Cameron. The intensity of the building emotions was a bit overwhelming.
    “Is everything okay?” he asked. I couldn’t believe how a ttuned to me he seemed to be.
    I nodded.
    “It’s okay if you changed your mind.” All the confidence he had when he entered my room seemed to be draining from his body.
    “Changed my mind about what?” I asked.
    He swallowed. “About going out with me.” His voice sounded like it was getting smaller.
    It pained me to see the anguish on his face. “That’s not it. I didn’t change my mind.”
    He gave me a soft half smile. “Good.” He leaned down and gave me a light kiss on the cheek, which sent a small wave a shivers through me.
    “Sofia and Antonio said they would meet us at the club. We’d better get going.”
    After I locked my door Cameron took my hand in his. He felt warm and I could feel that warmth move through my body.
    The walk to Bogey’s was quiet , as we both seemed to be absorbed in our