Cam
Is brain bleach an actual thing?
Operator 17
Hello there, handsome. And it definitely isn’t. LOL
Operator 17
What’s wrong? Did you walk in on your parents or something?
Operator 17
Worse than that?! I’m afraid to ask.
Cam
Oh, I’m telling you. You don’t have a choice.
Cam
I need to share my suffering with someone and you’re the lucky winner.
Operator 17
Okay, lay it on me. What horrible image is scarring you?
Cam
Apparently my Nana is getting more action than I am.
Cam laughs right along with her, neglecting his bowl of chili on the station’s huge dining table.
He’s having a late lunch after getting a quick workout in.
He and Daisy have started having conversations every day now…
Though the last time they did any sexting was several days ago in the lieutenant’s office.
The timing hadn’t been good lately for that, but he loves just talking with her, whatever the topic.
Cam
I can’t believe you’re laughing at my pain.
Cam
Some friend you are ;)
Operator 17
I’m so sorry. I’m trying to wipe the smile off my face, I promise! LOL
Operator 17
Tell me how you learned that about your Nana.
Cam
She called to remind me that I’m not getting any younger and I needed to “get back out there.”
Operator 17
That sounds harmless enough and actually really sweet.
Operator 17
She obviously wants you to be happy.
Cam
She told me I should sign up for “the dating sites they have on the internet these days.”
Operator 17
LOL She’s internet savvy, is she? That’s adorable.
Cam
It wasn’t very damn adorable when she suggested TINDER.
Cam
Then she told me how successful it’s been for HER!
Operator 17
OMG, I just spit my coffee out.
Operator 17
I can’t stop laughing! LOLOLOL
Cam presses his fist to his mouth to hide his reaction.
He must look like a lunatic, grinning at his phone.
Making Daisy laugh has become his favorite pastime.
Cam
You’re supposed to be helping me get rid of the image.
Cam
The last thing that will help my libido is thinking about Nana’s bedroom escapades.
Operator 17
Based on some of our conversations, I don’t think your libido is suffering, hotshot 😉
Operator 17
Did you tell Nana you’d start dating?
Operator 17
Or maybe I shouldn’t assume that you’re not already…
Cam
No, I’m not dating anyone.
Cam
If I was, I wouldn’t have texted your service.
Cam
The things we’ve said and done would be the same as cheating in my book.
Operator 17
That’s refreshing. You’d be surprised how many people don’t feel the same way.
Cam
I’m not surprised — but I’m jaded when it comes to relationships.
Operator 17
Aw, yeah. Because of your ex-wife?
Cam
Yeah, but I frame it as “the failed marriage” that made me jaded.
Operator 17
Wanna talk about it?
Operator 17
It could help melt your stony heart 😉
Cam
Not much to talk about, really. We got together when we were 17.
Cam
She was an only child in a wealthy family and her parents felt she was dating beneath her.
Operator 17
Wow, that’s really shitty.
Cam
I mean, it never bothered me what her parents said bc she liked me for who I was.
Cam
It actually made me feel better that she was willing to fight for me.
Cam
But then, when we got older, it all changed.
Cam
She wanted the same thing as her parents — for me to turn into her dad.
Cam
I’ve always been a blue-collar guy and I come from a blue-collar family.
Cam
My entire life I wanted to do the same thing my father did…
Cam
Like his father and his father before him.
Cam
Alicia wanted me to work for her dad’s company in wealth management.
Operator 17
So that’s why you got divorced?
Operator 17
Because you didn’t want to do that?
Cam
No, she eventually filed bc I was married to my job instead of her.
Operator 17
Is that what you believe, too?
Cam sighs, trying to think of how to answer that.
It’d been something he thought of a lot in the last year.
Cam
It’s not like I was ever home. Not much, anyway.
Cam
It’s what made me realize that guys like me aren’t cut out for “forever.”
Operator 17
But just because it was HER perception doesn’t mean that another woman would’ve felt the same.
Operator 17
Meaning you didn’t necessarily do anything wrong just by having a demanding job.
Operator 17
My dad is a cop. He was gone a LOT when I was growing up, but my mom was amazing.
Operator 17
She supported him, even when it sometimes felt like she was raising me and my sisters alone.
Cam
Your mom sounds great.
Operator 17
She is. But that’s not my point.
Operator 17
You didn’t have the wrong job — and still don’t.
Operator 17
You had the wrong woman.
Cam sits back in his chair and considers that for a second, but decides it’s a moot point.
Cam
We may not have been a good match, but I can’t blame her reasons for leaving.
Cam
It was hard for her to understand the demands of my job…
Cam
So she assumed I was cheating on her. It’s understandable.
Operator 17
CJ, I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I think you’re giving her too much credit.
Operator 17
You strike me as very loyal and honorable.
Operator 17
If she knew you for all those years…
Operator 17
Then she would have never jumped to that conclusion.
Cam
But why would she accuse me?
Operator 17
Again, I don’t want to call out someone whom I don’t even know, but…
Operator 17
Some people project their own issues onto others.
Operator 17
I dealt with a situation like that.
Operator 17
I was with my ex for two years before he broke up w/ me because I “made him feel like less of a man.”
Cam
What the hell does that mean?
Operator 17
He couldn’t get me off in bed.
Cam
He said that was YOUR fault???
Operator 17
Apparently. He claimed he never had a problem with other women so the problem was with me.
Cam
Daisy, that’s the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard.
Cam
The problem was that he wasn’t much of a man if he didn’t take the time to learn how to please you.
Operator 17
I know — that’s exactly my point.
Operator 17
It was HIS issue, but it made him feel better to blame me.
Operator 17
I think it’s possible that your ex did the same thing to you, but obviously for different reasons.
Operator 17
The relationship wasn’t working out for her so she started blaming you.
Operator 17
You’re right that you may not have been blameless, but it also couldn’t have been ALL your fault.
Cam
Logically I know that’s true, but that’s not how it feels.
Operator 17
There’s something my mother has told me more times than I can count…
Operator 17
Anger is heavy. Let it go.
Operator 17
In your case, I’d say that self-blame is just as heavy. Let it go, CJ.
Cam had to admit she made a decent point, but he just didn’t want to think about it anymore.
And he sure as hell didn’t want to waste any more time talking to Daisy about his ex.
There’s far more interesting things to talk about, like…
Cam
I know one thing for sure.
Cam
If I was lucky enough to have you in my bed every night…
Cam
I’d make sure you came for me again and again, until you begged me to stop.
Operator 17
Mmm, I like the sound of that. A LOT. I’m curious…
Operator 17
What are some of the things you’d try?
Operator 17
You know, hypothetically speaking 😉
Cam
If I had my way, there’d be nothing hypothetical about it, baby.
Cam
I’d explore every inch of your body until I knew all the things that make you go crazy.
Cam
I’d pay close attention to the way your breathing changes, the way your body responds…
Cam
I’d listen for every gasp, every whimper, every moan.
Operator 17
Damn, CJ. I don’t think anyone’s ever been that attentive with me.
Operator 17
I didn’t even think it was possible for a man to be so observant of his lover.
Cam
Then you’ve been with all the wrong men, sweetheart.
Cam’s head jerks up when the tones go off in the station.
Cursing, he sets his uneaten bowl of chili in the kitchen sink.
He fires off a quick text on his way to the truck bay.
Cam
Sorry, I’m being called in. Gotta go do my thing.
Operator 17
Okay, good luck!
Cam
I’ll text later if I can.
He goes to put his phone away but stops to add one last thing.
Cam
I’ll be thinking of you.
Operator 17
Me too — I rarely stop 💋
Cam’s chest damn near puffs up in a mix of pride and satisfaction.
He feels lighter somehow as he joins the rest of the guys by the engine.
Today’s conversation had been more personal than they dared get before.
It gave him hope that she’ll continue to open up…
Maybe she’d even agree to take things further than just texting.
