22. New Man

I heard the voice come inside and say hello. Then all I heard was silence and my mother say come and meet someone. I did not get up. Who in the world would want to come over here? This is the Nicholson hotel as I like to call it. Devon came up a minute later. "Carr mom wants you to meet someone." I went downstairs and he followed I squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.

"Oh there you are. David this is my youngest daughter Cambrey." My mom introduced me.

"Hello Cambrey I have heard a lot about you and your brothers and sisters." David said and held out his hand. I shook it. I wasn't going to be completely mean to him. "When your mom told me about her youngest daughter I was expecting a twelve year old, but you are a beautiful young lady Cambrey." He said after shaking my hand.

"Thank you. Let me let you in on a little secret David." I told him and he leaned a little closer as if it was a real secret I wanted no one else to know. "Flattering will get you nowhere in this household." I said and faked a smile.

"Cambrey!" mom exclaimed. This guy needed to know some rules around this house.

"I'm just saying." I replied back.

"It's ok Tasha. Cambrey I get that you don't want anyone to replace your dad. I am not going to try." He explained to me. Whatever. He was not here five seconds and I already don't like the guy.

Two weeks later found Tanner and me on the beach. We were officially an item now. Ha ha. Jace said he needed to talk to me later. I totally ignored him. Nothing he said could take me away from Tanner. I liked him and I was over Jace.

"What are you thinking about?" Tanner asked at my silence. Two weeks that was all it took for him to know what made me tick. How to know if I am sad. Everything and I knew all of that to and more.

"Just that the sunset is so pretty." I lied to him. I wasn't going to tell him what I was really thinking. Every one of my family members loved Tanner. Actually they liked Tanner even more than Jace.

"Are you ready to go home it's getting late? Your mom will be worried." He held out his hand for me to grab and pulled me up to my feet.

I kissed Tanner goodnight and went inside my house to find a loud giggle. My sisters were not home at all as far as I knew. So it could only be one person. Mom. I walked into the kitchen to find David tickling my mom's sides and her laughing. This should be illegal. Especially for adults. "Hi mom. David." I told them and they immediately stopped. David had been around a lot lately these past couple of weeks.

"Hello Cambrey. I was just…" he didn't finish. I just nodded. I went up the stairs to my bedroom. I opened my door and turned to my bed. I flopped down on my bed when something caught my eye by my balcony door. I turned to look at the dark shape in the moonlight now. I opened the door.

"Hello Cambrey." Jace said to me.

"What are you doing?" I almost yelled.

"Waiting for you to get home. Cambrey I need to tell you something." He stated. I gave him a go on look even though I didn't want to hear it. "Cambrey I am only dating Hannah because she looks like you. And you broke up with me I had to find someone as close to you as I could get," he said as I looked at him, "but I can't." he finished after a long silence.

"That's the line they use in movies Jace." I retorted. He was so...so... I can't even think of the word.

"Cambrey you still like me."

"No I don't." I shook my head as I spoke.

"Yes you do Cambrey. I know almost everything about you. We dated for almost two months."

"Tanner knows everything about me and we have been dating for two weeks." I claimed.

"Yes but does he know that you laugh a certain way when someone tickles you in a certain place?" he asked and tickled under my chin and a girly shriek came out of my mouth. "Does he know that you scrunch your nose up when you smile?" "Or that you are terrified of thunderstorms and have to have someone be with you all night?" "Does he know that you bite your lip when you are nervous? Or that you shake every time you hear the color gold because that is what you named your fish when you were ten and the next day you accidentally killed it?" "Does he know all that?" he asked. I just stared at him in awe. He knew so much. No Tanner didn't now all that. He knew nothing close to that. "I am going to take that as a no." he said and his lips were on mine and fireworks erupted through my body.

"I forgive you." I said. Only Jace could make fireworks erupt in my body like that. Tanner I'm sorry but you are going to get dumped.