green for envy

[Camden Jeremiah Carter]

Pulling up to her apartment complex, he parked in one of the visitor parking spots, climbing out of his black Audi R8. It was a bit over the top for him, but, he worked hard between his musical career and now his film career. Why not have nice things to show for it? Taking the stairs two at a time, he easily came to a stop in front of her apartment, knocking three times in quick succession. As she opened the door, he offered an almost perfect smile, hoping it would do him some favors with her. "Please don't be mad at me anymore."

[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

Despite her frustrations, Israel got a little giddy when Camden asked to come over. Mad or not, she just liked be around him. A lot. She stashed her iPad and ran to the bathroom to make sure she looked presentable. Her eyes traveled over her appearance as she combed her fingers through her hair. Denim shorts and tank tops were her typical summer wear, especially when she was lounging around her apartment all day. Within minutes there was a knock at the door and she moved quickly out of the bathroom to answer it. As per usual, she was greeted with that million dollar smile. With a smile of her own she rolled her eyes. How could she not smile back at him. "That depends. Did you bring me ice cream?"

[Camden Jeremiah Carter]

He held up the plastic bag in his left hand, which contained her ice cream. "Rocky road, right?" Cam breathed out, knowing he was right. He had a memory for little tibits like that. "And since rocky road is gross, I got myself good 'ol vanilla." He leaned in and gave her a soft peck against the lips, still wary of her attitude toward him. She was right, he had some what rubbed his conquests from Brazil in her face. And he couldn't bring himself to even ask if she had done anything while he was away. "So can I come in?" He was still fairly close to her face, his voice had lowered to a soft whisper, trying his best to fix their little argument.

[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

Israel's smile widened when Camden revealed the bag containing her favorite ice cream. "Vanilla is so boring. You just have no taste," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. Leaning on the door frame, Israel accepted Camden's brief kiss on her lips. But the nature of his visit started to settle in and she suddenly wasn't so smiley anymore. Israel looked at him, blinking slowly and biting her lower lip. Without a word she moved her body out of the way so he could enter her apartment. "I already told you that you don't have to apologize," she said as she closed the door behind him.

[Camden Jeremiah Carter]

Camden raised an eyebrow slightly at her comment. "Are we just talking about ice cream?" He teased her slightly. "Because I like you, but if I have no taste.." His smile faded as her body language changed. Whatever they had between them was so much better before Dom went and opened his big mouth. Cam made note to thank him for this later on. As she moved he stepped inside, making a way for the kitchen to set the ice cream on the counter. "Did I apologize? I asked if I could come in." He came off a bit dickish as he came back around and stood in front of her. Pulling her to him, he wrapped his arms around her waist, brushing some hair out of her face. "I just don't understand why you say it doesn't bother you when it does."

[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

This entire thing was Israel's fault, she thought. Things were casual and they were just having fun together. She shouldn't have allowed herself to get so annoyed when Camden and Dominic started talking about his escapades in Brazil. What right did she have? And it annoyed the hell out of her that she couldn't get the image of him all over some other woman out of his head. "If you're going to be an ass about this then you can go," she said, putting her hand on her hips. But when he pulled her into an embrace she felt her bitchy resolve starting to crack. She didn't have it in her to be confrontational, not when he was holding her anyway. "It doesn't," she said with a sigh, but she knew that he knew she was lying. "I didn't want it to..."

[Camden Jeremiah Carter]

There should have been some sort of resolve before he left for Brazil, Camden knew that. He knew better than to leave being so unsure of where they stood. But, in his defense, he honestly thought things were too casual to even question it. Neither of them had showed interest in making things more serious, even if he had some feelings of wanting it to be more than innocent fun. "I'm not trying to be an ass." He assured her, though he wasn't going to apologize for what he said. A lot of his escapades in Brazil, as shitty of him to say, were because of Israel. He couldn't get her off his mind, even a million miles away. His hook-ups were a way of escaping his thoughts and feelings, and yet, as soon as he got home he was in her arms. "But it does." He stated, matter of factly. He felt like he should have been honest then, tell her that he understood because if the roles were reversed, it would bother him just as bad, if not worse. But, he bit his tongue, offering instead a soft kiss placed upon her forehead. "Ice cream?"

[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

A committed relationship wasn't something Israel wanted. Not in the beginning anyway. She was convinced that she could have Camden and share him with other women that caught his eye. She'd been okay when he was hooking up with Bianca and hanging out with her simultaneously. And the other woman was a friend of hers. But the more time they spent together the more confused she became. For the first time she wasn't so comfortable with the idea of sharing him. But because they were already of the understanding that things were casual, she didn't want to complicate their situation by confronting him about it. Before she could muster up the nerve to say something, he'd left the country. "Ugh," she growled, annoyed with herself for letting her feelings get the best of her and annoyed with him for seeing right through her shit. Israel pulled away and walked over to the drawer near the sink to grab two spoons. No sense in using bowls. Hopping up on her kitchen counter, she grabbed her tub of rocky road and stuck her spoon in. She was starting to feel guilty for making him feel bad. At least, she thought he felt bad. "I hung out with other guys while you were away," she said, intentionally being vague after eating a few spoonfuls of ice cream. Well, now the cat was out of the bag.

[Camden Jeremiah Carter]

He watched her jump up on the counter after grabbing spoons for the both of them. He followed her cautiously, leaning against the counter as he reached for his own tub of ice cream. Just as he went to dig in, she answered exactly what he hadn't wanted to ask. He was quite for a moment, not sure how to respond. "And?" Camden wanted to know the full spectrum of what 'hung out' covered before moving forward with the conversation. But, it would be a lie if he were to say he wasn't even slightly annoyed by the fact that she merely hung out. Subconsciously, he somewhat thought of her as his, even if things weren't stated so. He finally took a bite of his ice cream, if only to keep him from saying something he would regret. He felt hypocritical, but he could finally understand why it bothered her so much about his trysts in South America.

[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

Israel looked over at Camden, wondering what things would be like if he were his boyfriend. She'd caught herself daydreaming about it many times before. Would there be as much chemistry? Would they still be as fun? As passionate? Labels, though they were just words, had the potential to ruin a good thing. But even without labels, they seemed to already be headed down a rocky road (see what I did there?!). "And what?" she asked, holding up her spoon. If he wanted to know the details he was going to have to be more specific because she wasn't going to offer up that information on her own free will.

[Camden Jeremiah Carter]

[brava!] Camden sighed, setting his spoon down on the counter before moving to stand in front of her. "And, what did you do when you 'hung out' with them?" He asked, though he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to know. Did it matter? Would it change things? He did what he wanted while he was away, she had every right to do her own thing. "Don't answer." Camden finally decided, stepping forward, standing between her legs. Taking her spoon, he set it in the tub, his hands then resting on the counter on either side of her. "Look, I'm sure we both did things while I was gone. And both of us had every right to do so." Pausing, he adjusted his hat, turning it around to where it sat backwards on his head. "I didn't think it would bother me so much to think about you being with other guys, and I should have said something before I left." He leaned in and kissed her, not just a peck like earlier. A full kiss, one that held emotion and passion. Breaking away from her lips, he let out a small sigh.

[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

Looking away, Israel contemplated how much she should tell him. She had no reason to lie about any of it. After all, they weren’t even together. She’d gone on a handful of dates and met up with friends at bars and clubs. On occasion she might accompany her date home, but it only happened a couple of times. Israel was no stranger to one night stands and casual hookups, but sleeping around with a slew of randoms wasn’t really her thing. But thank God Camden stopped her from answering. It was a can of worms she didn’t want to open. When he confessed that her seeing other guys made him uncomfortable, she felt rather relieved. But along with that relief came a bit of confusion. As he kissed her she was pulled from her thoughts and got lost in his lips. Israel had always loved his mouth. His lips were perfect, his teeth we flawless. It was the source of his amazing singing and a couple of other talents of his that she’d discovered. When Camden pulled away she eyed him curiously. “So what exactly are you saying?”

[Camden Jeremiah Carter]

What was he saying? He wasn't sure if they were ready for a label, and what would you label them, anyways? 'Casual hook-ups that developed feelings'? They broke the first rule of friends with benefits, and Camden was honestly afraid that if they committed to labeling one another boyfriend or girlfriend, whatever they did have would be ruined. He didn't want that, he wanted her, but not at the cost of ruining them. But at the same time, he couldn't stand the thought of them seeing other people, he was quite sure at that moment in time the only person he wanted was Israel, and he for sure didn't want her to be with anyone but him. And he couldn't exactly ask her to just see him without committing to her in some sort of fasion. "I'm saying," He thought he had an idea, but when he went to speak, it all fell apart. "What do you want? From this? From us?" It was the first that either of them had referred to themselves as an 'us', and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. He wanted them to be an us, but he didn't know what Rae wanted.

[ISRAEL YADIRA MONROE]

“I want…” Here laid the problem. Israel didn’t know exactly what she wanted. She didn’t want to stop seeing Camden. In fact, she wanted to see him more. But she didn’t want him engaging in relationships with other women. Israel sighed. This is exactly what she’d been trying to avoid by keeping things casual. However, she hadn’t expected to become so invested in whatever this was between them. Israel dragged her hands down his chest, letting her eyes travel over him in thought. “I don’t want to lose you... And I don’t want to fuck this up. But I don’t want you seeing other women.” Israel swallowed her pride and now the cat was out of the bag. “It hurt a lot more than I thought it would…I like what we have and the direction that it’s going. And I don’t want to force it or push it. But it’s not going to work if there are other people in the picture because I don’t want to share you.” She sat rather nervously, unsure of whether he’d agree or take off running. It was unfair and rather selfish for her to ask this of him, but she couldn’t help how she felt.

[Camden Jeremiah Carter]

Camden smiled as she spoke, leaning in and kissing her rather harder than normal. She said exactly what he had been wanting to say, just too nervous to do so. His hands grabbed her waist, pulling her closer to the edge of the counter as he kissed her. Pulling his lips from her's, his smile still plastered across his face, he finally spoke. "I couldn't agree more," He breathed out, hating even thinking about her with another man. He felt possessive of her, even if she wasn't his. He couldn't remember ever feeling possessive of a woman like this, it was a new feeling and he hadn't had the time to process it all. "So, exclusive? Without labels?" He asked, making sure he was aware of the parameters of their new 'relationship'