Chapter 5: Finally

Janelle's P.O.V

With mine hand in his, we walked out of the club and got into his car, heading to our new destination. 

I wondered where we were headed as he started at high speed. The broad, sparkling, light-filled road wound ahead of us like a lazy black serpent. I was excited to see the city again in all its beauty.

Only for Cameron to drive across the bar and park his vehicle in front of a hotel that I hadn't noticed all along.

"We were just going to get across the street?" I asked, looking back at the bar and then at the hotel. "Why didn't we just cross the road on our feet?"

Cam smirked. "Because I don't trust this baby to be in that parking lot for long."

 "Is this the hotel?" I asked again. 

Nodding, he got down and took my hand again and this time, I waited for him to open the door for me. I could see the pride through his gait as he walked in to the hotel, still holding my hand.

As we both walked into the reception area, he took us straight to the receptionist where he booked our room for the night. He didn't say much to the brow-skinned, dark haired, possibly Latina lady behind the monitor, but she seemed like she was used to him already. In fact from the gestures that they both made…this seemed to be almost like a regular occurrence, so she just handed him the keys.

"Thank you!"Cam called out to her and the woman merely rolled her eyes, but her lips tilted into a small smile.

Was I missing something here? Did Cam and this woman have some kind of a relationship? However, it wasn't really any of my business if they were a secret item or had something romantic going on, was it? I just needed to calm down, unwind, and have fun for tonight so that I could forget all about this afternoon and my treacherous ex. 

As we got into the elevator, I couldn't help but think to myself if I was doing the right thing by sleeping with another man the very day of my breakup. Morals demanded that I take my time to heal and as they preach, practice some self-love. I doubted if I loved myself any less. But not half as much as I loved my country, that was for sure. I barely devoted time to doing things that would make me more beautiful or sexy. I'd rather train myself than sit for hours to get my nails done.

To justify my decision, I went eighteen months without sleeping with anyone. There was the innocent me who thought I was in a relationship and was eager to be back in the arms of the bastard that had moved on long ago and couldn't afford to give me a proper explanation rather than a half-assed 'you were gone so I got a replacement' excuse. He had kicked me out instead.

"Fuck you!" I cursed under my breath, but unfortunately, not quiet enough.

Cam looked at me curiously, aware that I wasn't speaking to him. "Who are you cursing, Janelle?" He sounded deeply concerned.

"Sorry," I gave him an apologetic smile, pulling my hand away from his. "The person in question doesn't matter anyway."

"It's alright." He said nothing more. "I'm a good listener."

Interrupting my train of thoughts was a sudden halt of the elevator. It had stopped at the second floor and Cameron motioned for us to get off here.

We both stepped out of the elevator and headed to a room at the further end of the hallway.

In my mind, I scolded myself for constantly bringing thoughts of Daniel into the picture. What I didn't realize was that I was speaking out in hushed whispers while Cam listened in confusion.

"Are you okay?" He stopped walking to look at me while speaking. I was shocked when he asked, realizing that he heard my soliloquy.

"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." I tried not to show how I felt but rather kept my face looking emotionless.

I recounted that Cameron had given me a terrific advice while we were still at the bar, and that was exactly what I was going to do.

'A free bird with no final destination but several pit-stops' he had said. So I was going to take that advice and unwind like one who had no worries. I was going to live and love freely. I was going to avoid commitments at all costs because they were clearly not for me. I was going to party and drink. Get my hair done and do my nails. Take long walks and maybe travel too. I had four long months of liberty after all, before I was taken back by duty.

I began to make a mental note of some of the things that I considered a must-do. One of which was to have a good time as often as possible. With whoever. Cameron or any other guy that seemed like he was up to my taste. I was also going to try out new things. Maybe enroll in a dancing class and get to finally do feminine activities?

"Janelle," Cameron's voice startled me out of my self-reflection and I noticed that we were standing in front of the hotel room door that was ours for the night.

Cameron opened the door with a broad smile and waited until I entered the room, still energetic even though he had probably slept with a woman earlier today which had earned him a thorough beating.

Remembering the beating, I turned to look at his skin, searching for any swell or patches. There was none yet, at least not on the exposed areas that I could find. Maybe I'll find some under his shirt?

"You seem like you are falling for me." He took his wristwatch and jacket off and threw them on the bed. "If not, why are you staring at me so keenly?" He also took his shirt off before it joined the pile on the bed, wearing nothing but his pants as he approached me.

"I'm searching for bruises on your skin." Now that he removed his clothes, I had a better view. "But to be honest, I see none." 

Also, to be honest, I was no longer searching for bruises. I couldn't get my eyes away from his biceps and the rigid muscles of his abdomen. Maybe I hadn't noticed him so well earlier, but the man was well-built, exactly the kind of body that made me salivate, even though I had seen enough at the army camps.

"Like what you see?" He proudly affirmed, before unbuckling his belt and stepping closer to me. "There is definitely more where that came from..."

Before I could call him the full-of-himself bastard that he really was, I was being pinned to the door so suddenly that I didn't even have time to reach…and then he crashed his lips onto mine in a fierce kiss that stole my breath away and made my heart hammer against my ribcage.

Finally, after eighteen long months…I was kissing a man. And I didn't plan on stopping at that.