Chapter 11: Persistent

Janelle's P.O.V

"Cameron?" I blinked, looking at the smiling face of the man who I thought I had ditched last night.

"Good morning, beautiful." He stood with his fists in his pocket, smiling down at me. I didn't want to admit it…but he looked hot in a white sweater and black jeans, with a coat over his shoulders casually.

"How did you get here?" I asked, looking at his emerald green eyes that appeared even brighter than the first time I had seen them.

"Why? Can I not come find you?" His grin widened further. "In this small town…anyone can easily find anyone if they really want to."

I sighed, and closed the door behind me, standing with him outside the room. My arms were folded on my chest as I gazed at him in an unwelcoming manner before speaking. "What are you doing here? How did you get here? How did you even know that I was in the first place?"

Cameron said nothing about the million questions I was pouring down on him. He had his eyes on the belt in my right hand. "What are you doing with that?"

I gave no response either. It was not his business what I did with my belt…or my life.

If he can't tell me how he even found out where I was, then I don't have to answer him either.

After many minutes passed, he realized that he wasn't welcome in my room without an explanation of what his mission was and how he found me. So, with a heavy sigh, he finally held up his hands in surrender before he started to explain. "I meant no harm. I simply wanted to invite you over for breakfast."

 "Yeah, right. You walked from the vibrant, bustling, and lively inn where you have every kind of comfort, and came downtown to this lonely motel on the outskirts of the city…just to invite me for breakfast?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "By the way, why would you assume I haven't already eaten breakfast by this time of the morning?"

"Well…have you?" He raised his eyebrows at me.

"Well…" I was about to answer, but my treacherous stomach gave me away by growling as loud as a mountain lion…and Cameron's grin widened further…if that was even possible. "That's beside the point!"

"Okay, fine. I'm not here to invite you for breakfast." He gave in, defeated.

"Isn't that obvious already?" I probed, leaning my back against the wall. "Now tell me, what do you want? Really." 

"Not much. I was missing you." He leaned against the closed door beside me. "That's why I came here, so that we could spend some more time together."

"And how did you get here? Even though I don't believe you when you say you're here because you miss me, I want to know how you found me." I told no one where I was, and I knew he hadn't trailed me last night. Could it be that he was some mafia gangster who worked with the boys on the street? What if the teenager who directed me to come here was one of the many people under him?

Damnit Janelle! This wasn't some kind of soap opera! Stop overthinking such nonsense! 

"I missed you, I'm being honest. I got so worried after you left late last night that I struggled to fall asleep." Even though I was having a hard time believing them, he did look incredibly sincere when he spoke. "Even this morning, the receptionist noticed that I wasn't happy and when she asked why, I told her it was about you. She then told me not to worry, and that you were safe. And she gave me directions to this place."

"Oh. So you are on very good terms with everyone at the inn. I wonder how many ladies there you have slept with." I said, under my breath.

"Janelle?" He heard my silent whisper.

"What?" I replied with no remorse. "You are everywhere. It's not wrong for me to wonder if you have fucked them all too."

"Okay, can I come in now?" He took no offense but rather changed the subject. "It's freezing out here and you don't even have a coat on."

"How did the receptionist find out where I was?"

"Oh, come on. You're picking on every detail. I'm not here to kidnap you or harm you…not that I can." He grinned sheepishly. "I just got really worried and wanted to make sure you're fine. It seems I'm not welcome anyway.

"You're not." I was about to go back into the room when he gave me a response.

"Her family owns both the inn and this motel." He said quickly, making me pause.

That made more sense. Why was he trying to hide things that weren't a big deal? 

"Well, why were you worried about me? I'm not a teenager on an adventure. I'm an adult woman who can take care of herself and has been doing that her whole life. As you can see, I'm coping just fine." I opened the door to walk in, still standing with my hands, folded on my chest.

"I see that you are fine, I knew that you would be fine. I'm impressed that you're coping well."

"Thank you!" I responded…feeling a little weary and guilty at the same time. Since he didn't seem to have any bad intent, being harsh on him seemed pointless at this point. Or was I just taking out my anger of Daniel on him?

"But, Jane. No matter how grown or mature a woman is. No matter the role she plays in society. Policewoman, military woman, doctor, barrister, I mean even if she is the president, isn't it good that she has someone to look out for her as well?" He asked sincerely. "It doesn't mean she isn't mature, it's just how things should be. It's the same with a man as well. We need each other to take care of the little things and it's not about who is superior to the other, it just means showing a little care. Just like how I care that it's almost noon and you haven't had time to eat breakfast yet." 

He sounded so confident in himself, and I knew he was going to do what he wanted, because he was already starting to have an effect on me because of his sweet words and flattery and I was already starting to feel bad for making him stand outside in the cold for this long.

It was only breakfast, after all…wasn't it? Why was I being so guarded about this? I chose to sleep with him anyway, so it wasn't his fault.

"Come in." I walked into the room and then asked him to join me, keeping the door open so he could enter. "You can sit on the chair at that corner, I'll sit on the bed."

The warm air inside the room felt heaven on my skin, since I had been standing outside in the cold for so long, having completely forgotten to take a coat with me while I went.

"Thank you very much." He genuinely looked happy as he entered the room, almost like a little puppy following its owner. "So…would you want to join me for breakfast? My treat."

"So…why haven't you had breakfast yet?" I asked as I finally put on my jacket and sat on the bed opposite to him. "Or did you wait for so long to have breakfast with me?"

"I woke up later than I usually do, and I am a late riser." He laughed. "Can you believe it? It was past ten in the morning already. But the first thing I wanted to do as soon as I woke up was to find you."

Lost puppy indeed. But why did it make me feel this weird sensation in my heart?

"I'm not doing this because you insisted." I shrugged nonchalantly as my stomach grumbled yet again. "I am hungry and since you are here, it wouldn't hurt to be nice and eat with you." 

A wide smile spread across his face, turning him from lost puppy to devastatingly handsome wolf. And that's when I knew…that there was no escaping this man.

"Whatever your reason is, Miss Independent. What matters is that you eat something."

He got up from the seat excitedly. "Are you ready to head out yet, my goddess? Because I promise to show you the best day of your life!"