20. Have you heard...?
Cameron's heart sped up as he listened to Angie confess her feelings. He could tell it wasn't easy for her to do, and he could hear the nervousness in her voice.
If someone, even his closest friend, had asked Cam an hour earlier how he felt about Angie, he would have undoubtedly stammered, looked down, hemmed and hawed...and eventually told them he liked her. In fact, Cam had occasionally thought about doing what Angie had just summoned enough courage to do: pick up his phone, call her, and ask her for a date.
Cameron didn't hesitate. "Of course! Let's go on a date!" he replied.
On her end, Angie giggled with relief. "Yes, let's! Oh, I'm so glad you're...well, that you..."
Now the young doctor's nerves got the better of her. Cameron smiled. "I have a crush on you too, Angie. I have since the night we accidentally met at the park."
"That might not have been quite an accident," Angie confessed. "After all, it was the last place I'd seen you..."
"There's a really nice park in Brindleton Bay. If all I wanted to do is hang out at a park, I'd go there. There might have been a reason why I went to the Willow Creek park instead."
Angie and Cameron chatted for a bit longer. They didn't set a time and a place for their first date--Cameron wanted to think about the specifics a bit more--but things between them had certainly moved to a new level.
Invigorated and happy, Cameron was in the mood for a workout. Perhaps he also wanted an opportunity to talk to a trusted friend or two about what had just transpired, and he knew he would be more likely to find them in the WC.
He sat down at a workout machine and began to pound out the reps.
https://i.imgur.com/SKvWk3K.png
His workout completed, Cam showered and changed clothes. As he was heading back upstairs, he was intercepted by Kaitlynne Blanton.
"Hey, Kait. I haven't seen you in a long time. How have things been going?"
Kaitlynne smiled. "Pretty well." She was dying to ask Cameron if he had spoken to Angie, but she didn't dare be quite so direct. She studied his face for clues to his emotions, a process Kaitlynne was quite good at.
Then a smile broke across her pretty face. "I've been really busy. I feel like the only way I know what's going on with people is through Simstagram. Have you caught up with anyone from here lately?" The fact that two or three people who would fit that description were currently in the room with them made the intent of her question only a little less suspicious.
https://i.imgur.com/aeTpA1H.png
Cameron took the bait. "I hung out with Angie Reynolds the other day."
Kaitlynne blushed. Busted, she thought. Then she blushed. "Oh, really now?" she giggled.
"Yeah, we've been talking."
Kaitlynne read everything into those four words that Cameron intended her to read. Her smile warmed, growing less mischievous.
"Cam, this might be absolutely none of my business, but...well, you and Angie have both been friends of mine for a long time. I really think the two of you ought to pursue this, whatever 'this' is. I think you two would really enjoy spending time together."
Cam and Kaitlynne's conversation had now captured the attention of Tim Horton, who was finishing up a workout nearby. He could not resist joining in.
"Is Cameron pursuing something?" he asked. "Cam, are you pursuing something? Or someone?"
This question, delivered in Mr. Horton's typical enthusiastic style, was loud enough for Harry Bailey to hear. Harry was on duty as an instructor, but since he wasn't mentoring anyone at present, he was free to join in.
https://i.imgur.com/AB4cqoS.jpg
Cam, Kaitlynne, Tim, and Harry
Now Kaitlynne knew Angie had spoken to Cameron, and that Cameron was perhaps as smitten with Angie as Angie was with him. And she'd been able to express to Cameron her hopes that he would give her dear, shy friend a chance. Kait wouldn't call what she was doing "meddling," because she felt she had the best interests of everyone concerned at heart. Besides, thinking about Cam and Angie distracted her from her muddled thoughts about a possible crush of her own...
"While this is quite a lovely gathering, I need to get going," she admitted. "Y'all have a wonderful day." Kaitlynne smiled, and headed out the door.
"I can't say I'm surprised by this," Tim told Cameron. "I've seen the way you two look at each other."
"Who is Cameron looking at?" Harry had arrived a bit too late to have all the relevant facts.
"Angie Reynolds," Tim announced, as he began another set of leg lifts. Meanwhile, Cameron felt himself begin to blush a bit.
"I don't know her well, admitted Harry. "She seems cool, though. She's been coming here more often lately."
"She's looking for Cameron." Tim was apparently very sure about Angie's intentions, and he couldn't resist teasing Cameron.
"He's not being too hard to find," Harry added.
https://i.imgur.com/jraB90F.jpg
Deep inside, Cameron really didn't mind being teased about Angie. Not one bit.
