"Camille!" Kirsten called, watching as her friend's head appeared around the door.
"Need help zipping up?" Her friend asked.
"No." Kirsten sighed. "I don't think I can go, I must be coming down with something."
Camille frowned and strode over to her roommate, lifting her hand to Kirsten's forehead.
"You don't feel warm, are you sure it's not just nerves?" The brunette challenged, a knowing smile on her face.
Kirsten's narrowed her eyes at Camille.
"I don't get 'nerves'." She muttered haughtily. "My mouth is dry, I feel nauseous and my stomach is turning." She placed her hand on the offending area. "It's probably food poisoning" She stated matter-of-factly. "From that fish you cooked last night."
Camille raised an eyebrow and scoffed.
"Okay, first of all, that fish was perfectly cooked. And delicious! And secondly, I ate it too, so if it was bad wouldn't I be feeling sick as well?"
Kirsten took a moment to mull this over, before deciding it was a valid point.
"So what's wrong with me?"
"Nothing, Kirsten!" Camille sighed in exasperation. "You're nervous about your first date with Cameron and you've got butterflies. That's all."
Kirsten's head tilted as she considered this possibility. She'd never felt this way before, certainly not before any of the dates she went on with Liam, but then again this wouldn't be the first new emotion she'd felt because of Cameron. It wasn't a particularly pleasant one though, and she made a mental note to talk to him about it later.
"Well, in that case, how do I fix it?" She looked back at Camille expectantly.
"Okay, start by taking a deep breath. In… and out... in through your nose, and out through your mouth. Slowly." She mimed, lifting her hands up and down to demonstrate.
Kirsten pulled a face. "That's your solution? Breathing?"
Camille's hands ceased their motion. "Will you just try it before you judge? Jeez..."
Kirsten huffed at her, but closed her eyes and mimicked what Camille had just shown her. She breathed in slowly through her nose, then out through her mouth.
To Kirsten's surprise, her stomach started to calm and the nausea began to fade.
She opened her eyes and saw Camille smiling. "There you go. Told you it would work! Now can we do your hair?"
Kirsten gave her a small nod before following her to the bathroom.
Cameron huffed as he adjusted the navy waistcoat across his chest. He reached a hand up to tug at his shirt collar. It felt much too tight, like it was choking him, which was odd since it had always fit perfectly before.
He took a deep breath and moved his hand to his forehead to wipe away the sweat that was beading there. He couldn't understand why he was so hot, it was almost December and the evenings were cooler now, even in LA.
He hoped he could at least stop sweating before he made it to Kirsten's. The thought of Kirsten looking at him in disgust as dark marks spread on the armpits of his shirt made his chest tighten with anxiety.
He placed his hand over his heart, it was beating so fast it was almost painful... Too fast.
Cameron looked back up at his reflection in panic before stumbling out of his bedroom into the loft.
Linus sat on the couch flipping through a stack of Molecular Gastronomy magazines. He glanced up when he heard his friend enter the room.
"Linus!" Cameron gasped, "Something's wrong! I think I'm having a heart attack!"
Linus leapt up from his seat scattering the magazines on the floor. "What do you mean you're having heart attack?!" He stared at Cameron in fright, hands hovering anxiously in the air. "Does your chest hurt?"
"Not exactly. It's more like it's just-it's tight and I feel like I can't breathe and I can't stop sweating and-" Cameron babbled, eyes wide.
Linus stared at him for a moment in disbelief, then burst into laughter.
Cameron gaped at him, mouth dropping open in surprise. "This-This isn't funny, man. Call 911 or something!"
Linus chuckled some more, "Look, I'm sorry dude, but you're not having a heart attack. I mean, I'm not sorry that you're not having a heart attack, but I'm sorry to break the news that you're just, like, kind of a drama queen."
Cameron blinked. He had to admit, he was already feeling a bit better than he was just moments ago. And his annoyance with his friend seemed to have distracted him from his breathing problems, which had now lessened.
"So... I'm not dying...?" He felt kind of stupid even asking the question, now.
"Are you kidding? You just described how I felt before, during and after almost every date I've ever been on!" Linus laughed again. "Have you seriously never been nervous before a date before?"
"Of course I have!" Cameron snapped, before shaking his head slowly, "But it was never like that. That was intense." He thought back to the twisting feeling in his chest. "Why is it any different this time?"
Linus' mouth quirked up into a smirk, "Isn't it obvious, dude?" Cameron stared at him expectantly. "It's different because this time it's Kirsten."
Cameron looked at his friend as he contemplated that statement. Come to think of it, he had always felt things more intensely when it came to Kirsten. He'd even joked to himself that it didn't matter that her condition lessened her emotions, because he felt enough for the both of them. Everything was stronger, different, when it came to Kirsten. He'd felt protective over Marta, but with Kirsten it was different. He'd cared about his friends before, Linus chief among them, but with Kirsten that was different too. So it would make sense that even though he had been on dates before, dating Kirsten would be an entirely new experience.
"So what? Now I've got a night full of sweat and heart palpitations to look forward too?" Cameron asked ruefully.
"Honestly man, my guess would be that once you see her, you're gonna feel a whole lot better." Linus smiled.
Cameron was skeptical, "Oh yeah, how do you figure?"
"Because that's how I feel when I'm with Camille."
Kirsten stood up as Camille packed away the makeup supplies and headed into the kitchen. She set her untouched glass of wine down onto the counter (Camille insisted that it would help, but Kirsten didn't want to add tipsy to her current list of symptoms) and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
She was feeling better. Camille's methodical work with the curling iron and makeup had let her mind drift, and she was feeling reasonably confident that she would at the very least be able to make it through the evening without throwing up. Or passing out. Or anything else equally inconvenient.
Camille strode out of the bathroom just as there was a knock at the door.
You ready? Camille mouthed, and Kirsten gave a small smile as she put down the water she'd been sipping and turned to face the door.
Cameron's hands slipped on the steering wheel as he pulled up outside Kirsten and Camille's home. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves before grabbing the single rose laying on the passenger seat, and stepped out of the car.
He walked slowly up the front steps, and lifted his hand to knock. Pausing, he dropped his arms to wipe both palms hastily against the thighs of his jeans. He raised his hand again and took a last, shuddering breath before rapping his knuckles firmly against the door.
Camille grasped the handle, swinging the door open, and Kirsten struggled to contain her gasp. He'd dressed up for the occasion, foregoing his usual plaid shirts and opting instead for a smart navy waistcoat over a black shirt with dark jeans. In his left hand, he grasped a lovely red rose. But none of that was what surprised Kirsten. Something else was different. Cameron seemed almost brighter than usual, like he was shining. Her eyes widened when she realized why that halo of light around him seemed so familiar. He looked like something out of a Stitch. The type that, when she touched them, sent her spiraling through a sea of precious and emotionally charged memories. She briefly wondered whether reaching out and touching him now would take her through a similar montage of their time together. Would all those wonderful moments play out before her eyes? The thought made her smile.
The door swung open to reveal Camille's smiling face, but Cameron barely noticed her. Kirsten was dressed in a long red dress that clung to her slender frame, with small straps that bared her shoulders. She looked beautiful.
When he glanced back up at her face, he realized she was looking directly at him. An embarrassed flush started to creep across his face, but stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. As she stared at him her face slowly broke into a wide smile, the kind she didn't often show. He felt the corners of his lips turn up in response and the tightness in his chest slowly ebbed away. Linus was right, all he needed to cure him was Kirsten.
"Ready to go, Stretch?"