Coppertone

Taylor was not quite at the point of regretting the idea of coming down to her front lawn, but she was getting dangerously close.

The first cat-call had been exhilarating. Almost empowering.

As they had set up their lawn chairs, Taylor had turned to bend over and adjust her seat. As she stood and pulled the strings on her waist up to sit on her hips, the first, "Goddamn!" shot through the formerly quiet air of her suburban neighborhood.

She rolled her eyes but noted her friend Gina's giggle.

"I don't know how you talk me into doing shit like this."

"Stop being annoying. This is fun." Gina threw her towel over her pool chair and languidly and dramatically laid stomach-down.

Fun? Gina had suggested they go and get some sun on her front lawn. "Let's take the pool chairs out front," she had said. "There is much more sun. And better people watching."

Taylor sat back and adjusted her sunglasses. People watching. She should have known. Her beautiful tan blonde friend was the eternal exhibitionist. So of course, her ideal "people watching" was done in a tiny bikini in front of a large crew of landscapers that was working in her neighbor's yard.

"I swear if one of them actually comes over here--"

"You'll say hello." Gina gave a quick smile cutting her off. "Relax and get some sun. You've spent this whole summer memorizing your organic chem books."

Memorizing was a tad bit dramatic, but yes, she had chosen to spend her time away from college preparing for the new school year. Only Gina could make being academic sound like a negative quality trait.

"And that's why you'll be a second-year freshman, and I'll be in law school."

Gina shrugged. "I'll prefer bad grades over being boring." She smiled and laid back, shimmied her bikini bottoms impossibly lower on her waist, exposing more of her stomach.

Taylor shook her head and focused her eyes on the group of men across the street.

She did have to admit that they were a shockingly attractive and young group of landscapers. From what she guessed, they were probably all just a little bit older than she and Gina. Maybe this was a summer job for some of them? They all seemed friendly with one another, and openly joked like they were familiar.

"It's like Ms. Ayala hired a frat to do her landscaping."

"It's kind of ridiculous, right?" Gina sat up and leaned forward. "I swear that one all the way to the left looks so familiar." She pointed across the lawn. "Yeah, that one over there by the garage. Where do I know him from?"

Taylor looked over to where her friend was pointing. The man she was signaling to was facing away from them, but she was certain had she ever known anyone who was built like that she would have remembered.

He was tall and muscular with a mop of long blonde hair tied back into a loose ponytail. Wearing a gray sweat soaked cut-off shirt and tight fitting mud-splattered jeans. A myriad of tattoos covered his arms from wrist to bicep-- biceps that were currently unreasonably flexing as he tried to manipulate a water hose into a sprinkler

Taylor hadn't even seen his face yet, but she was pretty sure she wanted nothing more than to be manhandled by him like he was handling that sprinkler hose.

She stared longer, admiring his back muscles going taut as he pulled the sprinkler unit across the lawn. He still had not turned around, but she was sure she had no idea who he was and had never seen anyone like him before.

Taylor opened her mouth to answer her friend but snapped it shut as the man turned around to face them.

Fuck. She knew exactly who he was.

And she really should have recognized every part of him. Especially his back, as she had spent a huge portion of her high school experience staring longingly at the back of his head.

He looked a little different now; definitely way more muscular, bearded and tattooed. But it had been almost two years since she had seen him. He had graduated a year before her and had pretty much fallen off the grid since he walked across the stage.

"Cameron Goode, Gina. It is fucking Cameron Goode."

Gina all but tore her sunglasses off. "Holy shit... it sure is."

Taylor had not been the only girl in their high school who had a crush on Cameron. He was one of those loveable quiet bad-boy types that everyone, regardless of their social circle, was intrigued by. But outside of attending a few parties, he had mostly kept to himself.

Gina was now noticeably giddy. She was standing now, with all of her attention focused across the lawn. "Cameron!"

"Gina, what the fuck!? What are you doing?"

"I'm calling him over. Duh. I haven't seen him in forever." She grinned back at Taylor. "Just saying hello."

She watched as Cameron looked over and began approaching them slowly. And just like it had in high school every time he neared her, her heart started beating rapidly. She could almost feel it in her throat as he stepped onto her lawn.

Gina had been somewhat popular back then, so, of course, she knew Cameron well enough to just casually call him over.

But Taylor was almost the polar opposite. She had fit completely into the archetype of the "nerdy friend" all throughout high school. While Gina was every bit of the tall blonde wavy-haired Tumblr model that everyone wished they were, Taylor was almost her complete opposite; with her long dark frizzy curls constantly tied up in a bun and her glasses perched at the end of her mocha-colored button nose.

Where Gina was all creamy skin, freckles, hip bones and thigh gaps, Taylor was caramel, wide hipped and curvy with a still enviable taut stomach. But no one would ever have known that. She wore a constant uniform of sweats and Mathlete t-shirts that kept any glimmer of a body well hidden.

But in her boring, white-bread town, her brand of beauty wasn't terribly marketable anyway. She didn't let it bother her, though. She had gotten a fair amount of attention when she moved to the city for college.

And the new found confidence she found there had still been intact, until this moment.

As Cameron neared them, she was reduced to a slack-jawed mute.

Cameron stood before them and smiled politely. "What's up?"

Up close, he was even more ridiculously attractive than Taylor had remembered. Even sweaty with grass clippings and soil clinging to his skin, he was unreal. The surfer-boy swagger her had embodied in high school had definitely evolved into something way more rugged and virile.

Gina smiled with more force than necessary. "You went to Lakewood High School, right?"

He crossed his arms, with an obviously skeptical look. "I did."

"So did we. I think we were a few years below you. My name is--"

"Gina." Cameron smiled. "I remember you..."

Taylor's stomach wretched, and she wanted to smack the now ridiculously large grin off of Gina's face.

"Yeah," Cameron continued. "You were that girl who passed out in the middle of the driveway at Tyler Roden's party. Nobody could back out when the police came." He laughed. "We all had to drag you out of the way."

Taylor couldn't help but giggle at his memory of her friend. Gina's smile faltered a bit, but she didn't let it phase her. "Yes, I'm that girl... I drank so much that--"

"But you said, we... right? So you both went to Lakewood?"

It took Taylor a few seconds to realize that his question was directed at her. She looked at him and was stuck. She was unprepared for his gaze. She had honestly not ever looked him directly in the eye, and the way his sage green eyes obviously danced over her body her was almost too much for her.

"Yeah, I did." She was barely audible and suddenly very aware of how much skin she was showing in her green crochet bikini.

Cameron squinted and shook his head. "Are you sure? Because I feel like I would have remembered you." He punctuated this statement with another head to toe scan. Even as he spoke, his eyes were far from hers.

Was she sure? Her secret lust for him was being quickly replaced by not-so-secret annoyance. "I'm pretty sure... in fact, I was in your English class three years in a row."

"No way... seriously?"

"Yes. Seriously."

"She never really hung out much either, or went to any parties," Gina suddenly felt the need to disclose. Attempting to refocus the attention back on herself. "She was such a bookworm, just studied all the time and never had any fun."

Taylor cut her eyes at her friend but was actually fine with her taking the attention away from her. She was more than blown that Cameron could not even remember her after three years of walking through the same halls. It's not like their town was huge, and their high school was small. And fuck him anyway-- back at school, she was sure there were plenty of guys who did remember her.

"Nothing is wrong with studying." Cameron gestured at his surroundings. "Maybe had I done a little bit more studying back then and I would hanging with you guys instead of landscaping all summer." He grinned, and Gina laughed, but Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Maybe," Taylor said sarcastically. She tilted her head and smiled sweetly. "But I'm sure you're busy. Maybe you should get back to work."

"Taylor! Don't be rude." Gina sat up on her chair, flipping her long blonde locks back. "Don't mind her. She's just upset you don't remember her." She made a face a Taylor then turned back to Cameron. "Maybe we should all get together and do something before we go back to UGA... you know, celebrate this mini Lakewood reunion... are you busy tonight?"

Taylor did not miss the fact that Cameron had not taken his eyes off of her until Gina asked him about his plans for the evening. She assumed he was still half-heartedly trying to place her in his memory. But as far as she was concerned, he could stop. Her crush, like most, was based on her idea of Cameron-- but it quickly faded when she realized like most beautiful boys, he was as deep as a kiddie pool.

"Actually, yeah... I do already have a few plans tonight." Taylor watched him look back across the street at Mrs. Ayala's yard. "And your friend is probably right, Gina... I should head back to work."

"My name is Taylor, not her friend." Her annoyance had peaked awhile ago. At this point, she was done with this entire situation.

Cameron smiled at her. And Taylor was sure it was a smile that had gotten him out of a lot of trouble. But fuck him and his gorgeous shit eating grin.

"Right. Taylor." He stepped forward towards her and kneeled down next to her chair. Taylor was trying to keep her resting bitch face intact, but at this proximity, all she could think is how amazing sweat, soil, and cologne smelled combined. He put his hand out to her. "Taylor, forgive me for my shitty memory?"

She didn't move. She was too focused on his blonde lashes and breathing. He waited a moment for her to shake his hand, but when she didn't he dropped his hand, letting it rest on her thigh.

With his thumb, he softly trailed a small circle on her inner thigh. "I promise I won't forget again." Another light squeeze to her thigh made her jump, and he stood.

"Maybe I'll see you guys around before you head back to school." He looked directly at Taylor. "We'll be out here all week." He gave them a quick wave and headed back across the street.

**********************************************************************

After their encounter with Cameron, Gina had suggested they head inside. Her mission was accomplished, after all. She had gotten the attention she needed.

She was packing up her things as she readied herself to leave Taylor's house. "You really should consider being a little more outgoing. It's summer. Have fun."

"I went out there today with you, didn't I?"

"Yeah, and you were so super friendly," she laughed. "Imagine how much different things would have gone if you hadn't been so uptight." Gina gave her friend a quick hug and headed outside.

Out the window Taylor watched her yell over to Cameron and wave before she hopped into her car. She couldn't help but feel a little jealous that she was getting to have more contact with him.

Despite her best efforts to remain annoyed, she couldn't help but melt when he had touched her.

And since then, she had been buzzing. Something about that small touch had reignited a million daydreams and fantasies in her head. Fantasies that she had had in high school, but now, after actually feeling his hand on her thigh, her mind was racing.

She spent a few minutes watching him from her window. The sun was close to setting and it was obvious they were coming to the end of their work day. He was now dragging a few bags of mulch back to their truck. Even now seeing the tenuous muscles in his arms work only made her think wicked thoughts of herself pinned down--

"Taylor!"

She was smacked out her her reverie by her mother loudly calling her name from across the house.

"Yes?" This was her least favorite part of being home for break.

"Please make sure you take those letters out the mailbox for me. They need to go out tomorrow."

Taylor's stomach dropped.

She looked at the table near the front door and realized she had neglected to postmark a bundle of letters her mother had asked her to earlier. "Fuck."

She grabbed the letters and peaked outside before opening the front door. She searched the everywhere but did not see Cameron across the street. Maybe he had already gone home? Hopefully.

She carefully slid out the door and onto her front porch, all but leaping down the stairs to the mailbox. She probably looked insane, shoving letters into the box at lightening speed, but that was the least of her concerns.

As she finished her eyes darted to the side of the house. She decided she would enter through the side door instead, just in case Cameron was still lurking around, she would be sure to avoid him.

She walked quickly across the lawn and nearly burst into a sprint as she neared the corner of her house. She had almost made it to her garage when someone grabbed her wrist, pulling her back against them.

"What the fuck?!" She screamed, quickly turning around to face whoever it was.

"Whoa whoa, relax." She turned to come almost nose to nose with an obviously amused Cameron. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"Obviously; hiding people and grabbing them in dark corners isn't scary at all." She realized he was still holding her wrist. She tried to twist it out of his grip, but he stilled her.

"Hold on. Wait." He loosened his hold but pulled her towards the garage until his back rest against the door. Out of sight of the remaining people in the yard. "I was just trying to catch you before I left."

"For what?" She pulled out of his grasp. "You couldn't just knock?"

"I'm pretty sure your parents are home, right?"

Taylor glowered at him. "What do you want?"

Cameron smiled brightly. "I wanted to tell you. I remembered you."

She crossed her arms. "Oh, finally?"

"Yes, finally. It took me a second. Obviously, when I saw you this afternoon, my attention was elsewhere," his eyes gestured to her body. "But then I really saw your face." Cameron reached out again, and she let him pull her towards him.

"Okay?" Her body was humming, but her sneer remained intact. The fact that his fingers were actually laced with hers was insane; she had on a million occasions dreamt about this very thing happening.

"It was Mrs. Nicholson's class, right? My senior year. And Miss Lewis, and Mr. Reyes the years before." Taylor nodded. "Right. And this might sound corny, but I remember thinking every time you walked in, that you had such a pretty face." He touched her face softly, but she pushed his hand away.

"But you never said anything? You just let me sit and obsess over you for three years and didn't say a damn thing?"

Taylor didn't realize what she had said until the corners of his mouth quirked up into a wicked grin. "Obsess?"

Taylor didn't even know what to say, but she knew her face was on fire. Cameron looked like he was seconds from bursting into laughter. "I have to go." But once again, she was pulled back towards him; this time by the hem of her sweats, and this time much closer to his body. Their hips nearly touched.

Cameron ran his fingers along her waistband. "I didn't say anything because I was 17, and an idiot." He held the fabric and softly ran his fingers along the skin beneath it. "But I'm older now. And I'm not afraid to tell you that I remember these too. You wore these sweats all the time."

Cameron's other hand moved to curve around her waist. "And I remember wondering if your body was a perfect as I thought it was underneath all this." Both hands held her waist now firmly. "But I guess I got to figure that out today."

Taylor was pretty sure if she stayed any longer she would melt in his hands. He was staring at her intently with a soft smile on his lips. He was definitely waiting for some kind of response or move from her.

But before she could make any move, she watched Cameron begin to lean forward. She was watching it happen in slow motion. Her heart had already been racing but she was sure it was about to implode.

"Taylor!"

The voice shocked both of them. Taylor harshly pushed away from Cameron, nearly falling backward.

"Taylor! Dinner!"

Her head jerked in the direction of her mother's voice this time. She looked back at Cameron. The flicker in his eyes was something unfamiliar to her. No one, not even her admirers back at school, had ever looked at her that way.

"Goodnight Cameron." She walked hastily to the side door of her house. She was sure she only had a few moments until her mother came looking for her.

"Taylor," Cameron spoke just as she placed her hand on the doorknob. She turned to look back at him. "Let me come see you later tonight."

The smile on his face made her unsure if he was joking or not. She halted for split second but continued making her way into the house.

***********************************************************************

There was no way he was actually coming, right?

Taylor stared at her reflection, toothbrush in hand. She had been replaying the events of the evening all through dinner, her shower and now as she stood here getting ready for bed.

Maybe he was joking? But maybe he wasn't. Just in case, she had made sure that she used one of the super fragrant and girly smelling Bath and Body Works sets she had sitting in her bathroom since Christmas.

She stood in a towel, hair still wet and a curly mess.

"This is dumb," she told her reflection. Guys like Cameron probably made a regular practice of shit like this. Getting the hopes up of quiet nerdy girls. But this wasn't a movie, and Taylor was very much hypothetically getting ready for something that wasn't going to happen.

She sighed and walked into her bedroom. She thought that the fresh out the shower, wet hair towel look would have been a good one, had Cameron showed up. But since he wasn't, she dropped her towel and slid into one of her ratty but comfortable oversized Mathlete shirts.

As she turned around to get into bed, she was shocked by the sight of a shadowy figure standing at her window. She screamed, but quickly covered her mouth remembering that her parents were asleep down the hall.

Cameron peered into the window with a lopsided grin, gesturing for her to open window.

When she did, he hopped down into her bedroom. "Why did you scream?"

"Obviously, you scared me." He certainly looked different than before. He had traded his dirty denim for cut off sweats and was now wearing a white v-neck. His hair was also loose now, long and messy. He kept pushing it back out of his face as he spoke.

"I told you I was coming." Cameron crossed in front of her, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. He leaned forward plucked the hem of her t-shirt with the tip of his finger and smiled. "This is cute."