#we back bitches... maybe

It's been a while since I posted. I'm going to try to put chapters out again like I did before, but unfortunately no promises. Life and stuff. I hope you guys enjoy thought!

Oh and as always, fair warning there is some strong language.

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I couldn’t keep from buzzing at work. The thoughts of last night twirling around my head. Kate was dazzling and the night was unforgettable. I smiled like a fool as I typed away answering to the newest work order.

Suddenly my office door swung open and Heidi sauntered in. “Cammy Jammy! Tell me how your human mistress is doing! I need some excitement in my life.” She said sliding into the chair across from me.

“Kate is not my mistress Heidi! She is just a friend…” I groaned.

“Call her whatever you want we both know you have the hots for her.” Heidi waved dismissively. I could feel the heat rising into my cheeks. How did she know? “Cam you have been grinning like a fiend since you clocked in this morning. This was after you stressing over what to wear all week! You kept babbling about how you had a formal event. I figured the only person who would bring you to a formal event was Kate. So spill Romeo. I want all the details. Even the dirty little ones.” She said giving me a wink.

If possible the red in my cheeks deepened. “It was ahh… great…” I said fiddling with my fingers as I adverted her gaze.

“You are impossible Cam!” Heidi’s eyes rolled so hard I could almost feel it. “Come on! Out with it!”

I swallowed hard trying to keep from gushing, but as I opened my mouth all my feelings came tumbling out. “Heidi it was amazing! Kate wore this beautiful black dress with a slit up the side and a little make-up. The event itself was so so, but Kate made it a great time. People judged us a little, but we ignored them. When the party started to get boring we slid out into the garden. And well… We danced… together… it was magical!”

Heidi smiled a Cheshire grin. “You danced, eh? You guys are the cutest!”

I smiled into my hands as my mind relived the feeling of her fingers in them. “Heidi I think I really like her… Like really really like her…”

Heidi shook her head and said kindly, “What tipped you off to that dummy? So.” Heidi paused as her smacked her hands on her thighs. “When is the next time you guys are getting together?"

I shrugged, “Tomorrow I think. Our one friend Marcy’s birthday is tomorrow. Sal, our other friend, reserved a human parvus friendly escape room. We are planning on going there and then getting some drinks afterward. Kate flies to Canada today and is not sure if she will be back in time though… So we will see.”

Heidi leaned in. “Well for your sake I hope she can make it.” She said before standing up to leave. “Good luck Cammy! I’m expecting updates!” She said tossing a peace sign before closing the door behind her. 

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Somehow my flight miraculously landed early. I told everyone to start the escape room without me because I was sure I was going to be late. Some higher power was looking out for me though as I pulled into the parking lot with 3 mins to spare. My heart was racing knowing I was going to see Cam. Why did he make me nervous like this? We were just really good friends, right? I pushed these thoughts aside as I jogged up to the front desk.

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I was trying hard not to look disappointed when we got the news that we should start the escape room without Kate. I was looking forward to seeing her. The show must go on though. I sat back in Pete’s hand as we entered the room. He was a kind man with soft hands, but they didn’t give me the same feeling of security as Kate’s. I took a couple of deep breaths to steal my nerves.

He set me down next to Sal and Marcy on the table in the middle of the room. “3 minutes till start.” A voice said over the intercom. “Good luck!”

“Here we go!” Marcy said giddy as a little schoolgirl.

Sal lounged off to the side of her with his signature cool demeanor as he looked haphazardly around the room. “This is going to be a piece of cake Marcy.” He said giving her a fist bump.

They were my friends and I knew I should feel a part of the group, but without Kate I felt like an outsider. My mind started to wander as I stood off to the side waiting for the door to close.

“Hold up!” a familiar voice said as the mediator was about to close the door. I whipped my head around to see Kate fill the doorway. She was smiling from ear to ear, “Made it just in time!”

“Perfect! I’m glad you could make it!” Pete said punching her arm softly.

“Me too! Got really lucky. My flight landed early leaving me with just enough time to speed here.” She joked.

“We will definitely crush this now that Kate is here!” Marcy squealed.

“Hopefully! Happy birthday by the way!” Kate chuckled. She then turned, letting her eyes fall on me. My heart felt like it would beat out of my chest as she approached. “Hey” she said as she leaned on the wall near me.

“Hey” I replied trying to act cool.

“You look good today. I like that shirt on you. Fits nice.” She said with a side smile.

“Thanks! I’m glad you could make it.” I probably sounded bashful as all git up as I rubbed the back of my head. Did she know her words had such a hold over me?

“Let the games begin!” The voice announced of the loud speaker, breaking the moment between Kate and I.

“Let’s go Marcy barcy and Cammy boy! Where should we search first?” Sal’s voice was playful as he draped one arm around me and the other around Marcy.

We looked around the table for a while. Sal found a key chain in the shape of a skull and Marcy found a locket. I on the other hand had no luck. The only thing I had to show after going through two of the 6 boxes on the table was a paper clip.

“Hey Cam, can I borrow you over here for a second?” Kate said as she crouched to be eye level with me.

“Sure!” I exclaimed. I could never say no to those big blue eyes.

She laid her hand softly in front of me. “Don’t hesitate Cam.” I whispered to myself before closing my eyes and propelling myself up. I was in the air crossing the room in seconds.

“There seems to be a parvus sized tunnel right here. Want to check it out for any clues?” Kate said as she set her hand on the edge of the shelf.

“Yes ma’am!” I said with a salute before disappearing into the hallway. There were dim overhead lights to illuminate the corridor while giving off a creepy aura. “You got this Cam. You want to look brave and strong in front of Kate don’t you?” I mumbled to myself. Slowly I made my way further in till the path was cut off by a wall with a button in the middle of it. I shrugged to myself before leaning all of my body weight into the switch. I heard a door on the other side of the tunnel whoosh closed. “Duck…” I grumbled to myself. Jogging to the other end I was met with the light brown sheen of the wooden door in my way. “Great… Just great… Not only is this place creepy as shit I now can’t get out…” I groaned.

“Cam?” Kate said through the door. “Cam are you ok?

“Yeah I’m fine… Just stuck now…” I yelled back.

“Hold on. We will try to find another switch to try to get you out.” She replied.

My back slid down the door as I plopped on the ground waiting for my savior to open the door. I could hear everyone rustling about outside while my eyes stared down the hallway. The place had me on edge and the last thing I needed was to have something sneak up on me while I was trapped in here. My heart skipped a beat as I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.

“Hey you guys…” I yelled, “Can you guys hurry up?” My voice was uneasy as the movement started to form into a figure. I squinted my eyes to get a better idea of what it was. Legs started to stretch their way forward. Fear gripped me as I immediately recognized the creature as a spider. “Guys please hurry the Fuck up!!” I screamed desperately.

“Cam are you ok?” Kate’s voice was filled with worry.

“No! No I am not ok! There is a spider in here! Get me the fuck out of here!” I shouted. The creature slowly materialized before me. One of my greatest fears in life was spiders and now I was stuck in this stupid tunnel with one.

“Hold on Cam. We are going to get you out.” I could feel Kate lay her hand on the door behind me.

I know my friends were moving as fast as they could but it was not enough as the arachnid inched closer. I could start to make out its beady eyes and large fangs.

“I think I found something!” I heard Pete say in the background. “Marcy do you still have that locket?” I could hear the clicking as the two worked on their task.

The spider continued its methodical march. This is it I thought to myself. No shot I’m getting out of here alive. “Hey Kate.” I said low so only she could here it.

“Yeah Cam?” I could feel her presence draw near.

I had to tell her. If I was going to die she had to know. “Kate I have to tell you something…” The monster was inches away from me at this point.

“Cam, what is it? We almost got it. Please hold on!” there was no hiding the deep worry in her voice.

“Kate… Kate I-” was as far as I got before the wooden door slid open behind me. I tumbled out as my backrest disappeared. My body didn’t fall far though as familiar hands caught me. I looked up into the beautiful eyes of Kate, they were stormy as they stared through my soul. I didn’t know what to say so I just said, “Hey you. Always there to catch me when I fall.”

Kate shook her head but couldn't hide her smile. “You kill me.”

“Cam is this what you were afraid of?” Sal burst out laughing in the background.

Both Kate and I looked over to see a mechanical spider hanging out of the tunnel opening. Sal was playing with its legs as Marcy punched its face. Above me Kate started to giggle. I looked up at her with betrayal.

“There was poor lighting in there!! It looked real!! Ah screw you guys.” I huffed as I turned my back to them.

“Ah come on Cam.” Kate chuckled as she poked me in the side. “It’s kinda funny now that its over.” She maneuvered her hand so that I was eye level with her staring into her big blue orbs.

“It was not funny at all. I legit thought I was going to die.” I grumbled.

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t.” she said giving me a warm smile. “Life would have been unbearable with out you.” Like an arrow to the heart I was left dumbstruck by her words.

“Come on you fools. Thanks to Cam the door is open so lets get a move on. We have less than 45 minutes left.” Sal chided from Pete’s hand as they passed by us.

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Cam grumbled the rest of the time in the escape room that he was not going to go in any more dark, closed off places. He insisted that he could find clues from my hand and out in the open. I didn’t complain. Carrying Cam was one of my favorite things to do. I would never let him know that though.

We pushed through the second room with some ease. The third and last room gave us some trouble, but with 7 minutes to spare we were out. Marcy had a great time and was actually our biggest clue finder which made her birthday that much more perfect. Cam was trying to get into a better mood but the spider run in had his shaken up pretty bad. He took me up on my offer to ride with me to the bar while everyone else rode with Pete.

“Hey Cam, are you ok?” I asked looking over to him before putting my truck in 1st.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He said quietly.

“Really?” I said raising an eyebrow, “because you don’t seem fine. That spider really got to you didn’t it. I’m not trying to push, just want you to know I’m here if you want to talk about it.”

Cam took a sharp breath in. “When I was a kid my sister and I were running through the woods near my house. I didn’t see where I was going and got caught up in thick spider webs. I can still remember to this day watching with horror as the long legged hairy monster crawled towards me and there was nothing I could do about it. Luckily my sister got to me before that beast did. It doesn’t happen often but there have been stories of parvus being attacked by spiders and I was almost one of those. I don’t know… since then I have been afraid of spiders.”

I sat there digesting his words. “You are wild to me. You have had so much trauma in your life yet I would have never been able to guess it. You are one of the most positive and upbeat people I know.”

Cam shrugged, “No sense in being down. I choose to be happy young in life and no matter what happens I want to be happy. Will I be happy all the time? No. But I refuse to let the low points in life bring me down.”

Emotion filled me as I reached over and set my finger on Cam’s thigh. “Hey. Thank you.”

Cam looked up at me dumbstruck. “For what?”

“Opening up to me. For letting me into your life.” I replied.

Cam smiled as he covered my finger with his hand. “Thank you for listening.” He then pulled my finger into his lap. “You know I’m here for you too… If you ever need to talk or anything. I swear I am a good listener.”

I nodded. “Thank you. I will keep that in mind for sure.” Part of me wanted to tell him about the dark void I constantly battled with. I didn’t want to put that on him. Not yet. Would he push me away if he knew how broken I have been?

We sat in silence for the rest of the car ride. The bar was packed as we weaved our way to our table reserved in the back. One of the best local bands was playing which filled the joint with good music.

We all drank a fair amount. Beer and laughter flowed throughout the night. Cam stayed near me the whole time. He leaned his small frame against my arms sipping on his beer. I couldn’t help but steal glances of him. I still couldn't wrap my mind around how he was single. He had a great job. Loving family. Fun loving, warm personality. And on top of it all he was good looking. How did I get so lucky?

We were all drunk as the night came to a close. Cam and I were laughing like we were crazy at a stupid joke when closing time was played over the stereo system. I looked down to my pint-sized partner with a goofy smile as I asked in a poor British accent, “Ready to go my pocket prince?”

Cam’s cheeks were red from drinking as he stared up at me with a glossy look. “Aye. I guess I am.” He said mirroring my accent. With a bow I extended my palm out to him. He walked on as though he was entering a chariot. “You may rise gentle lady.” He giggled. I obliged as I stood.

“You two are too cute.” Marcy squeaked as she swayed back and forth. Sal moved in to hold her up. Marcy proceeded to bring her hands up and together as she said, “Now kiss!”

Everyone balled over laughing at that. I prayed that they were too drunk to see the red on my cheeks. Kiss Cam? Never! We were just friends. Right?

Cam and I wished everyone a good night as we stepped out into the chilly fall evening. Cam wrapped himself tight in his coat as we trudged off into the night. A couple of minutes into our walk I could feel him start to shiver. Without a word I lifted him to my shoulder as I parted a hole between my neck and jacket. I could feel him press his cold body greedily into my skin as he tried to steal my warmth.

“Thank you.” His voice was muffled from all the layers.

“No worries. I can’t let my handsome handful get cold.” I quipped.

“You are full of these aren’t you.” He grumbled.

“Oh heck yeah I am.” I teased.

I could feel is breath on my neck while his beard brushed my skin. It sent lighting through my veins. My mind drifted back to Marcy’s kiss comment. I know she didn’t mean anything about it, but it made me think about what if Cam and I did kiss. Would he like to kiss me? Would just the thought of it disgust him? He probably doesn’t even like me that way. But what if he did? What if he wanted to kiss me too?

Part of me wanted to ask while I still had liquid courage bracing me up, but a soft snore told me it was not the right time for that. We reached his place in no time. Part of me wanted to bring him home with me to “make sure he was ok”. In all honesty I just liked having him around and didn’t want to leave him. I wanted to watch him sleep all night and wake up to the ray of sunshine that was him. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem right. So, skillfully, I weaved my hand in between the warm layers of my jacket and the small body of the man who was stealing my heart bit by bit.

“Cam… We are here…” I said softly rubbing his back with my thumb.

I could feel him stir as he groggily said, “Already? Dang humans travel fast.”

“Can I pick you up?” I asked.

Cam took a deep breath in and released it. “Yeah I guess so…”

I wrapped my fingers around his sturdy little form and lifted him from the warmth of my jacket and neck. He immediately started to shiver as he was exposed to the cold night. I set him gently on his balcony. My fingers hovered protectively around him in case he stumbled on his way in.

“Thanks Kate.” Cam said as he slid the sliding glass door open. “I had a great night.”

I smiled warmly, “Me too. Good night Cam.”

“Good night Kate.” He said before disappearing into his house and locking his door.