Run, Girl (If You Can)

Jennica stayed at Cameron's house until pretty late because they were having too much fun talking. He really loved the meal she prepared, which boosted her ego a bit.

Unfortunately, staying there so long meant she didn't have very much time to pack. Ohio was colder than New York so she had to pack heavy if she didn't want to freeze to death and they were supposed to be at the airport by 8 AM.

Going into such a hectic trip wasn't going to be much fun while running on little sleep. She couldn't get her brain to turn off either, worrying about how things would go. If Cameron decided he didn't like her anymore because her family was too crazy she would just about die.

Not knowing what was going to be in store was stressing her out. What exactly did he plan to do as her fake boyfriend to convince her mother to lay off?

They had spent a lot of time together but aside from some flirting they hadn't done anything. Jennica wished she knew where Cameron stood. She knew he liked her to some degree but that was it.

He was thirty—four years older than her—owned an apartment instead of rented, and had a stable career. In his time of life, he might be looking to settle down.

Her stomach squirmed just thinking about it. Jennica liked him a lot but was she really ready to commit to a relationship permanently? She still had so many unfulfilled goals that she didn't know if she would have time for if she got married.

'Stupid! Stop overthinking things; you're just bringing home a guy you're dating but isn't your boyfriend to meet your family. Nothing is set in stone,' she thought crossly before finally relaxing enough to drift off to sleep.

Jennica scrambled to grab everything she needed last minute when her alarm went off at 6 AM even though she wasn't fully conscious. It was early but she had to look nice or her mother would pitch a fit so she put on light makeup and braided her hair back into an elaborate fishtail. Besides, she didn't want to look like one of the undead in front of Cameron.

Her roommates didn't have school today since it was the day before Thanksgiving so she snuck out quietly not to wake them. They worked so hard; they deserved their rest.

"Good morning," she said with a yawn as she climbed into the passenger seat of Cameron's car.

"Morning! Ready to handle your mother?"

"No but I am ready to tackle hug my twin and knock him to the ground."

He chuckled. "I might have to film that."

"Go for it."

Jennica wasn't feeling very talkative since it was so early. When she was actively auditioning she often had to wake up even earlier than this but she still would never be a morning person.

He didn't seem to mind, which she appreciated. Some guys didn't know how to give enough space while others refused to even get close. Cameron knew how to balance.

It made her wonder how much experience he had being someone's boyfriend. That kind of skill wasn't necessarily innate.

She couldn't help but ask after the question niggled at her like an itch she couldn't scratch all the way through the security checks at the airport. "How many girlfriends have you had before?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow. "That's random. Why do you ask?"

Her face turned pink but it was too late to back down now. "…because you seem like you would be a good boyfriend. That comes with practice."

"Oh good, your mom won't see through our act then," he teased though he actually seemed quite flattered. "And to answer your question, three. I was pretty nerdy looking so nobody wanted to date me until after I got my MBA and changed my style a little. What about you? How many boyfriends?"

Only three, huh? At least one of them had to be long-term or he wouldn't have gotten in the necessary practice to become good at gauging moods. That wasn't so bad though, especially for a man his age.

"I had a lot of short-term boyfriends in high school but have only had one real relationship since then and that ended when I moved to New York. He thought my dreams were stupid and unrealistic. Nobody wants to seriously date an aspiring actress," she said lightly.

"His loss is my gain," Cameron said with a shrug.

She frowned in confusion. "Are you in fake boyfriend mode already?"

He didn't respond, scrolling through his messages until he saw one from his boss and sighed. "Great. I have another business trip in two weeks."

"Is this normal for you?"

"Yeah, I typically go out of town once a month for something or other. Sometimes it's for a few days, sometimes it's for over a week."

That was an awful lot of traveling for one person. Jennica had only visited a handful of states within the continental U.S. "Where are you going this time?"

"Singapore. I'll be gone for five days. I guess I can get my mom an interesting Christmas present there."

"Why Singapore?" she asked curiously. "Is Hale Investments expanding there too?"

"Not exactly. I'm going there to do something for Aaron. I work for Hale Investments now but I was his personal employee first so I still do side jobs for him."

"Are you like his butler or something?"

Cameron burst out laughing right there on the plane as it sat in the runway waiting for takeoff. "No, but please don't ever tell Aiden that. He'll never let it drop."

Jennica's curiosity only grew worse. "What do you do? Or can you not tell me."

"Technically speaking, I haven't signed any nondisclosure agreements regarding telling friends or family but it is sort of a secret. You can't tell anybody about this, okay?"

She made a hand motion of zipping her lips and sat patiently awaiting his explanation.

"…I'm his personal gambler."