"Eddie what happened, happened. We are finally friends again. Let's not have what happen ruin that."

Eddie chuckled at her words and stepped closer to her. Loren's back was once again against the railing and Eddie's entire body covered hers. "You think you can be just my friend after what happened?" Eddie had never been this forward, but something about Loren brought out his animalistic side. "I'm not so sure I can." He admitted as he leaned in showing her how serious he felt. "Every time I'll see you images of last night will come to mind." Loren's whole body shivered, but she remained silent. "Every time I hear your sweet voice I'll hear you moaning my name over and over."

Eddie gazed at Loren as she smiled slightly. Just as he thought he was getting to her, the small smile turned into a sly smirk. "Sounds like your problem, not mine."

Before Eddie could reply the back door swung open and Ian walked out. He eyed his two friends up and down and a grin appeared on his lips. "Sorry to interrupt."

"You're not interrupting anything." Loren pushed Eddie off of her and quickly gained her composer. "Uh huh sure." He laughed as Eddie cleared his throat. "Love, there is someone at the door for you."

Loren looked at him questioningly. "Who?" Ian shrugged his shoulders. "Didn't say, he just asked for you and said he was an old friend."

"He?" Eddie mumbled. Loren rolled her eyes and went inside the boys following suit. They stopped in the living room and watched Loren head to the front door.

She peeked out the window and was stunned at who was at the door. "Oh my god." She swung the door open and squealed. "Cam." The tall blonde guy engulfed her in a hug. "Lolo." He picked her up and Loren swiftly wrapped her legs around his torso.

The boys stood there looking at what was happening in front them perplexed. Mel made her way down the stairs and saw who her friend was embracing. "Cameron?" She couldn't believe it. They hadn't seen him in years. "Oh my god."

Eddie looked towards Mel. "Who is Cameron?" He asked harshly. Melissa smirked. "Loren's high school sweetheart."

"You've gotta be kidding me." Eddie groaned as he watched the girl he just made love to the night before wrap her legs around some other guy.

"It's actually you." Loren squealed hugging him tighter. "It's me babe."

"What are you doing here?" She unwrapped her legs as he gently put her on the grab, but his hand never let go of her. "Don't you remember? My parents have a beach house in the next town over."

"Trust me I remember." Loren blushed. "I could never forget that place." How could she? It's where she lost her virginity. "Me neither." He winked.

"I meant what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

"Your mother." Loren rolled her eyes. "I should have known."

"I ran into her in town shopping. She insisted I come over to see you." He smirked. "Of course she did."

"And even gave me an invite to the wedding."

"Of course she did."

"Insinuated it would be as your date if I came." Wow was her mom good. "Of course she did. I am so sorry."

"Are you kidding me? I was thrilled hearing you were in town." He smiled and for a moment Loren felt like she was sixteen again. "It's amazing that you're here. How long are you here for?"

"Just got my discharge papers. Deciding whether or not to reenlist again."

"Again? You're still in the army?" That wasn't his plan.

"Yeah, I reenlisted after my first two years were up." She was so confused. "What?"

Cam sighed. "Do you want to go grab some lunch and catch up? That little pizza joint we use to go to is still around."

"No way Fat Tony's is still open? I haven't been there since-"

"Junior year, spring break."

"Oh my god, yes! With the guy-"

"And the lady."

"Yes." They laughed. Eddie grunted in disgust as they finished each other's sentences.

"So, what do you say? For old time sake." Loren couldn't say no to him.

"I say hell yeah. Let me just go grab a quick shower. Make yourself at home while you wait." Loren turned around and realized she had an audience. "You remember Mel."

"Of course I remember Mellie." He gave her a big bear hug. She pushed him away. "Call me that again G.I Joe and I will take you down."

"I've missed you to." He kissed the top of her head.

"This is Ian, Melissa's boyfriend." They shook hands. "Nice to meet you."

Loren hesitated before introducing Eddie, who was glaring at her. "And this is my soon to be step brother, Eddie."

"Loren use to be a big fan of your when we were dating." They shook hands, but Eddies eyes never left Loren's. "Use to be? I'd like to think she's still a big fan of mine."

"I'm sure she is." Mel chuckled and Loren shot her a look that quickly silenced her.

"I'll be right back. How about you catch up with Melisa?"

"Sure sounds good."


Loren walked out of the shower, with nothing but a towel on. As she walked out of the bathroom, she almost screamed. There he was sprawled out on her bed, petting her dog. As if he belonged there. What freaked Loren out more is that the sight in front of her was something she could get used to.

"Eddie what the fuck." Why the hell was he sitting on her bed? And why the hell is he watching her as if this was some kind of porn scene.

"Hey there." He smirked. "You scared the shit out of me. What the hell are you doing in here?"

"You mean this isn't my room? My bad." He half smile appeared and Loren wanted to slap him and kiss him all at the same time. Instead she rolled her eyes at his arrogance. "Your bad? My bag is on the dresser, you had to have heard the shower running and not to mention you're in bed with my dog."

"Want to join us?" Loren screamed in frustration. "Get the hell out Eddie."

"I'll take that as a no." He got up off the bed, but he wasn't leaving. "So, who's Cameron?"

"An old friend." She started to grab clothes out of her bag. "Just an old friend?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't start acting like my boyfriend. You have no right to." He wasn't going to do this to her.

"I'd say after last night-"

"Last night was last night. Stop trying to make it more than what it was. Let's not forget that less than forty-eight hours ago we hated each other." As the words left her mouth she could see the hurt in his eyes. "I never once hated you."

Loren looked away, she didn't mean to hurt him. "Eddie—I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you felt it too." Loren met his gaze and for a second it was as if she was looking into her soul. "It was more than just sex. We connected. You felt it too."

Eddie left. Loren expected to hear the door slam, but instead there was just silence. She sighed. There was no way what happened could be any more than a one night stand. She looked over at the bed where he was sitting. Skeeter was still there looking depressed now that Eddie had left his side.

"Stop giving me that look."


Loren and Cam were sitting on the patio outside of Fat Tony's. Loren was wearing her hoodie and sunglass in hopes no one noticed her. She didn't want Cam to be slander in the tabloids if they were spotted together. She hated those things about being famous. Always being watched. Today though she was going to forget about all of that. Today she was going to have lunch with an old friend like any normal person.

"Mmm, it taste so good. Just like I remember. Nothing about this place has changed."

Cam nodded in agreement. "Just goes to show you, not everything has to change."

"I don't know about that. You've changed a lot." He looked and chuckled. "Says the quiet, shy girl gone rockstar."

"I'm still the same girl you knew back then." She protested.

"Are you telling me the fame hasn't gone to that pretty little head of yours? With the lavish lifestyle and fancy L.A parties."

"Not a chance." She laughed slightly. Cam looked as if he didn't quite believe her. "Okay, yes I have a nice apartment. That's mainly so I don't have to worry about the paparazzi." He raised an eyebrow. "And as for the L.A nightlife I'm not into it. When I do have a night off I'm usually in my yoga pants on the couch with a beer."

"Watching horrible Netflix movies." She laughed at him remember her horrible taste in movies. "Only the worse."

"Wow, what a party animal you've become." He said in between bites. "I'm not surprised though. You've always been a home body."

She pretended to be offended. "What? I use to go out all the time. I just haven't since—since the breakup." She look down at her plate. They both grew quiet for a moment. Cam was the first one to break the silence. "I uh, I read about that. Is it true what the tabloids said? You walked in on them?" Loren took a deep breath.

"Y-yeah. TMZ reported a photo of them together that morning. I went to his place, to ask him about it. Thinking it was just another tabloid lie. When I got there though, I heard a noise coming from his bedroom. Opened the door and there they were." Cam reached across the table and placed his hand over hers. "When I left his place paparazzi were outside. They saw me crying and questioned why I was so upset. Right then Tyler came barreling out the doors after me, pulling up his pants. I could see her lipstick on his neck. I saw red, I was so angry. I told the paparazzi to ask my cheating boyfriend why I was so upset. They swarmed him and I ran to my car. Been keeping a low profile ever since." She laughed a humorless laugh.

"I'm so sorry that happened to you. If I ever see that guy, I swear I'm going to kill him" Loren knew he was probably serious. He was always so protective of her. She decided it was time to change the subject. "Enough about me, tell me about you solider."

"What do you want to know?" He leaned back and took another bite of his food.

"You disappeared on me after you left for training camp. Where have you been these past few years?"

He sighed. "I've been in the army this whole time."

Loren rolled her eyes. "So you've said. Want to expand on that?"

"I just finished my third tour overseas."

"Three tours?" Cam nodded. Loren was surprised hearing this. "Where were you stationed?"

"The first one was six months in Afghanistan. That was right after training camp. I came back for a few months then we got shipped out to Iraq for eight months." He said it so casually.

"Wow."

"When I reenlisted I almost immediately got shipped out. I just finished my third tour which lasted sixteen months in Afghanistan again." Loren shook her head in shock. "You seriously reenlisted?"

"Yeah-yeah I did."

"What happened to your plan?"

"What plan?" He looked at her perplexed.

"Go for two years then go to UCLA for engineering. The plan you told me the night you came over to tell me you enlisted." It was his turn to be shocked. "Wow, you remember that?"

"Of course I do. I remember everything about that night." He shook his head in disagreement. "That was a long time ago Loren. There's no way you remember everything."

"You came over a little after eight that night. We went and sat on the steps of my front porch. It was chilly, so you gave me your hoodie. The green one with the rip in the sleeve." She actually still had that hoodie in her closet. "You were really quiet. I knew something was wrong. Finally after what seemed like a lifetime you told me you enlisted." She remembered how angry she felt in that moment. "I was, so upset with you for not talking to me about it first. I tried to get up but you pulled me back down. You explained how you enlisted for two years. Then the army would help pay for college. That this was the only way you could afford to go." Cam was left speechless for a moment.

"That—Loren that was over four years ago. How do you remember it so well?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I knew it was over that night. That we were over."

"We didn't break up for another a couple months. When I was half way through training camp." He wrote her a letter. Reading that was more painful than seeing Tyler in bed with Chloe.

"Yeah, but nothing was the same after that night." He nodded.

"No it wasn't." He looked into her hazel eyes. "Do you ever wonder?"

"Wonder what?" Loren asked curiously.

"If we'd still be together if our original plan would have worked out."

"I-I don't know." Truly she didn't know. "If I've learned anything the past few years is that, nothing will ever work out as we plan."

"Yeah, I guess." Loren wasn't sure if that's what he truly wanted to hear.

"I mean look at us. You were going to be an engineer and I was going to be a lawyer."

"And we were going be together." She was about to say something, when a thought popped in her mind.

"Why did you reenlist?" It wasn't his plan. She couldn't get over that.

Cam exhaled. "I'm not going to lie to you, I saw a lot of horrible things over there. Things I still have nightmares about."

"So why choose to go back?" It made no sense to her. Cam was silent for a moment. And then he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He grabbed a photo out and slid it face down towards her. She looked at him as she picked it up. "What's this?"

"It's a photo of me and my buddy Mark. We met in training and ended up getting stationed together. I don't think I could have gotten through my first tour without him." Loren smiled softly. "It's a good photo of the two of you."

"It was taken two days before we were hit by a suicide bomber." She looked up from the photo.

"What?"

Cam looked away from Loren. "We were doing patrol in a small town in Iraq. Mark must have noticed a guy acting suspicious, because all of the sudden he screamed for everyone to run. We ran for it gathering anyone near us and getting them to safety. I looked behind me expecting to see Mark, but he was running right towards the guy."

"Why would he do that?" She practically whispered, knowing this story wasn't going to end well.

"There was a child near the man. A little girl, she had to be no older than six." He physically flinched at the memory. This time Loren reached out for his hand. Trying to bring comfort to him. "As soon as he had the girl in his arms he ran for cover, but it was too late the bomb went off I tried to run after him, but another guy held me back. Which was a good thing he did, because shrapnel was flying everywhere. I got hit in several places." Loren squeezed his hands. "Mark, he-he covered the girl with his body trying to protect her from the explosion. She-she survived by a miracle of God, but Mark—he didn't stand a chance."

"I'm so sorry." She watched as he fought back the tears.

"You asked me why I reenlisted." She nodded silently. "Mark had a family. He had a wife, and a four year old daughter and a new born baby boy that he never got the chance to meet."

"That's awful." And she thought her problems mattered.

"He had everything to lose and he didn't think twice about saving that little girl."

"He's a hero." Cam nodded. "Men and women who have a hell of a lot more to lose than I do are risking their lives every day over there. Who am I to start my civilian life when there is still things to be done over there?"

"You felt like you had to reenlist?" She was starting to understand what he was trying to say.

"Something like that."

"You have a life worth living too you know." To live out his plan.

"And I will. Eventually."

Cam went on to talk about how he visits Mark's family whenever he is on leave. The little girl Becca was almost seven and a huge fan of Loren Tate. The little boy, MJ for Mark Junior is now three and looks just like his dad. As Loren was listening she kept thinking about how he had been hurt. Shrapnel—metal hit him several times. He had to of been badly injured.

"I didn't know." She blurted out.

"What are you talking about?" He chuckled slightly.

"I didn't know you got hit by a bomber—if I did I would have called. I would have come and seen you." She really meant that. She would have found him.

"I know you would have." He grabbed her hand. "Enough with the serious talk though."

"Agreed." She laughed.


Loren had been gone with that guy for hours and it was driving Eddie crazy. He needed answers and he knew where to get them. Or more like who to get them from.

Mel and Ian were in the living room, when Eddie walked in and sat down in the chair next to them.

"So who is this Camren guy?" He asked trying to act causal. Mel smirked calling his bullshit.

"What's it to you?"

"He just appeared out of the blue and took off with her, it's sketchy."

"Someone's jealous." She said in a sing-song voice.

"No I'm not." He grunted.

"Yeah, right." She laughed.

"I'm just curious is all." Ian even had to scoff at this. Eddie didn't hid his feelings well.

"Well if you must know, Camren is Lo's high school boyfriend."

"So you've said." Mel shot him a look and he quickly put his hands up surrendering. "They met when we were freshmen. Camren was a sophomore. They started dating shortly after. They made an adorable couple. Everyone thought they'd be that high school couple that get married."

"Get to the part where they break up." Before Mel could react Ian jumped in. "What my mate here is trying to say is, why they are not together anymore." #$ "As a curious friend."

"Yes, exactly." He said a little too loudly.

"Uh huh." She rolled her eyes at them. "They dated all through high school until the end of his senior year. The plan was for him to go to UCLA. That way he could still see Loren on a regular basis. After graduation Loren was going to join him at UCLA and they'd find an apartment."

As the three talked they didn't realize Loren and Cam walking in. Loren motioned for Camren to stay quiet. She wanted to see what they were talking about.

"I thought she wanted to go to Brown?" Eddie remembered her getting accepted and everything back when they were friends. Mel nodded. "She did, but she was willing to go to UCLA for Camren."

"Why didn't they go through with the plan?" Ian asked now just as curious.

"Camren's dad lost his job the fall of his senior year, so the only way he could afford college was to get a scholarship in lacrosse."

"Lacrosse. Not even a real sport." He muttered. Ian shook his head. "Lacrosse is an amazing and brutal sport mate."

"Whatever." He was practically pouting. Mel couldn't help but to think how he had it bad for her friend.

"Anyways, the scholarship never came through. Camren felt like he was backed into a corner. He did the only thing, he thought he could do."

"Which was?" She smiled sadly. "Join the army."

"Wow that takes balls." Ian said as Eddie sat silently.

"What took balls is that he did it without telling Loren."

"He didn't talk to her about it first?" Eddie was surprised by this. "Is that why they broke up?"

"No. We broke up because I didn't want Loren to live the life of an army girlfriend her senior year of high school." The three looked at each other wide then slowly looked behind them only to find a ticked of Loren and smiling Cam behind them.

"Camren, Loren your back? How long have you been standing there?" Mel asked laughing nervously.

"Long enough to know you are telling my life story." If looks could kill Mel would be a dead man right now.

"Only the Camren chapter." She offered an innocent smile.

"Glad to see you haven't changed Mellie." He chuckled as he patted her head, messing up Mel's hair. She smacked his hand away. "What did I say about that nick name?"

"You know you love it." As the two started bickering Loren couldn't help, but to laugh. "I forgot how ridiculous you two were."

"All we need is Adam here. Too bad he's in New York." Mel grow quiet.

"He'll be at the wedding."

"He will?" Mel asked surprised. Eddie and Loren both noticed Ian become tense.

"Yeah my mom invited his family. He decided to fly out for it."

"Awesome, we all will have to go out for drinks one night."

"Yeah, maybe." Mel mumbled.

Camren's phone buzzed. When he looked at it he cursed quietly to himself. "Damn, I got to go." He looked at Loren. "Are we still on for tomorrow morning."

"Absolutely." He kissed her cheek. "Perfect. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah I'll walk you to the door."

"Bye Mellie." He gave her a hug and the waved to guys. "Nice meeting you guys again."

"Bye." Everyone yelled back, except Eddie who was storming off upstairs.

As they got to the door Cam gave Loren a big bear head and they made plans to meet at nine tomorrow morning. Loren shut the door and then swirled around pressing her back against it. She sighed thinking of the events of the day.

"Well, you've had quite a day." Mel said with a smirk. Loren rolled her eyes. "Ya think."

The day may have finally been over, but she still had six days to go before the wedding. What else could possibly happen?


Hey guys! So I'm sick at home and it finally gives me plenty of time to write! Sorry for the delay, but my life is crazy. I work around a hundred hours a week. I'm sorry for the wait, but I do plan on finishing these stories eventually. One day…

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me and kept asking me to write. I probably wouldn't of if it wasn't for ya'll.

I am working on TYL. Hoping to have it up in the next couple weeks. Thanks again for the love! PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!