Disclaimer: Buena Vista owns the Power Rangers. No profit from or offense intended to Motel 6. Thanks to the girls of I2 (and "bridesmaid" Brian Smith!) for a summer full of mad weddings and bachelorette parties.
"Did I say something?" Dustin asked, looking from him to Cam. "Cause, I mean, it was pretty funny--"
"Shane," Blake interrupted, slapping Dustin on the back of the head. "What are you doing these days?"
"Ow," Dustin protested. Blake ignored him.
"Just chilling," Shane said reluctantly. "Working, taking summer classes... getting fitted for a tux," he added, tipping his juice bottle toward Blake.
"Yeah, that sucked," Dustin agreed with his usual lack of tact. "I think weddings should be held in, like, whatever you normally wear. We could start a new... trend, thing, whatever. It'd be a lot more comfortable."
"Hey, I voted for jeans and disposable cameras," Blake assured him. "But the vast female majority prevailed, and we're stuck with tuxes and a photographer."
"Who's the photographer?" Hunter asked, not because he cared but because it was a diversion. He shouldn't have jumped on Cam like that, but really, what was all that about? And why was Cam the one sulking now?
"Someone Tor knows from her pottery class," Blake said with a shrug. "I haven't actually met her, but she's practically doing it for free so I couldn't really complain."
"Yeah, how are you guys doing with the whole cost thing?" Shane wanted to know.
"So far so good," Blake answered. "We swore we weren't going to go into debt to get married, y'know? And the Hansons have helped a lot."
Hunter kicked Cam under the table, making him look up while the others were distracted. He gave Cam a "what the fuck" expression, but Cam only raised his eyebrows in return. Hunter gave the others a covert glance to make his point, catching Cam's eye again and mouthing, What was that about?
Cam twitched one shoulder in a subtle approximation of a shrug. Sorry.
Hunter almost snorted. Yeah he was sorry. So sorry that he had brought it up in the first place. "Dustin," he said, when the conversation paused momentarily. "Ride with me on the way back."
That got everyone's attention. "Yeah, sure," Dustin said, giving him a puzzled look. "Why?"
"So we can see who's faster out of the parking lot," Hunter told him. He didn't give Cam a single glance, and he knew without looking that Cam was avoiding his gaze just as carefully. "Shane or Cam can call shotgun before we leave, and then it'll be a fair contest."
"Dude," Dustin said doubtfully, "you think you might be taking this a little too seriously?"
"You're on," Blake told Hunter with a chuckle. "You didn't beat us by that much!"
"Shotgun," Shane added, glancing at Cam. Cam must have given him one of those "you've got to be kidding me" looks, because he held up his hands in self-defense. "Hey, I'm just saying."
"This is ridiculous," Cam informed the group at large.
"This is a wedding," Blake countered. "What do you expect?"
"Here, here!" Shane agreed, lifting his juice bottle in a mock-toast.
Blake lifted his drink in answer, clinking his bottle against Shane's and then Hunter's when he held it up. Cam didn't move, probably pretending that he had nothing to do with them--just happened to be sitting at the same table. Hunter knew from experience that the detached look was one he could pull off very convincingly. Dustin, on the other hand, was watching in confusion.
"Hey, are you sure it's totally fair if there are three people in one vehicle and two in the other?" he wanted to know.
"Rule number one," Hunter said, pointing his bottle at Dustin. "When something gives you an advantage, don't question it."
Dustin thought about that for a minute, then grinned. "Oh, right. Well, just... you know, forget I said anything."
He could feel Cam looking at him. When he turned his head, though, Cam was frowning down at his breakfast like it had turned into something completely foreign. And that was the way it went for the rest of the meal. He was sure Cam was glancing at him as often as he looked sideways at Cam, but he never caught him at it. It was irritating and juvenile, but he couldn't keep himself from checking.
His only minor triumph was that he and Dustin did beat the others out of the parking lot. Mostly because Cam was dragging his feet--in principle, Hunter was sure--but he'd take it either way. He had a sneaking feeling that it was the only victory he was going to get today.
"Dude," Dustin said, as they rolled out of the exit without slowing down. "Can you keep Blake out of the way for a while when we get back?"
Hunter frowned, checking the rearview mirror. Yeah, there was Blake's car, right behind them. "Sure, why?"
"We have to pluck rose petals," Dustin said matter-of-factly.
Hunter shot him an incredulous look. "You have to what?"
"We have boxes of roses in the bathroom," Dustin explained. "We have to pull the petals off before the wedding. Tori didn't want anyone throwing rice, so we thought, hey, rose petals."
"You're kidding." Boxes? "Rose petals?"
"Yeah, cool, huh? We don't want Blake to know, but maybe if Cam helps us and Blake stays with you, he won't know anything's going on."
"Sure," Hunter agreed automatically. He was still trying to get his mind around the concept. Shane and Dustin had come up with this all on their own? "How many roses do you have?" he asked at last.
"I dunno." Dustin shrugged. "Eight or nine dozen. The florist gave us a deal 'cause we were getting so many, and we split the cost."
"Eight or nine dozen?" Hunter repeated. He had to smile, partly in amusement and partly in sheer disbelief. "That's what you guys were picking up yesterday, huh?"
"Yeah. You should have seen the girl at the desk when we carried them in," Dustin added. "We each had this giant plastic carton of roses. With water in the bottom. I dunno what she thought we were going to do with them."
Hunter just shook his head. It sounded easier than it turned out to be, separating Blake and Cam once they were all back at the motel again, but Shane must have had the same idea as Dustin. He saw Shane pull Cam inside while Blake dug his tux out of the car. Hunter hung back with his brother, walking deliberately slowly but still surprised to find the room empty when they arrived. He had figured Cam would at least change first.
It took him a second to register that the bathroom door was closed. Oh. "Cam?" he called, just to make sure.
"Yeah," Cam's voice answered.
That was it, just "yeah." Did that mean anything?
Great. Now he was second-guessing Cam, too. That was just great. "How much stuff did you pay for in advance?" he asked Blake abruptly, tossing his empty coffee cup into the trash. "Should I be passing out checks, or is that all taken care of?"
"Yeah, actually--" Blake patted his pockets, then pulled out a folded envelope. "Okay, marriage license..." He peered inside his tux. "Got it. Checks, for you."
He handed over the envelope, which Hunter promptly opened. "Grandma's paying for a limo," Blake said, peering over his shoulder. "That's the first one, plus tip. The Hansons are paying for the DJ and the caterers, that's the second and third. Rosie wouldn't let us pay her, so we're paying the pianist instead. Tori's already worked out something with her picture-taking friend, so we don't have to worry about that."
"This one's for the pianist?" Hunter guessed, and Blake nodded. "Man, for a free wedding, you're paying a lot of people."
"We're barely paying anyone," Blake said with a sigh. "This whole wedding business is crazy. Do you know some people pay for special napkin holders at the reception? And customized chocolate party favors? And ice sculptures? I'm telling you, it's a freak show."
"Thanks for sparing us," Hunter said dryly. "We'll all look back and thank you."
He heard the bathroom door open a minute later. Cam emerged, still tucking in his shirt and looking totally distracted. It was a good look for him. Maybe because he gave off that neat, composed, unflustered vibe. It made the times when he did look disheveled more memorable.
He didn't mean to go there, but there was only one track for that train of thought to follow and it inevitably led to last night. Hunter looked away, frowning. He couldn't think about that now. He couldn't think about Cam kissing him, or how Cam's hands felt on his skin, or even the look on his face--
Nope. Not thinking about it. Not at all.
"I'm all set," Cam said unnecessarily, jerking his head toward the bathroom.
Hunter gestured for Blake to go when his brother looked at him questioningly. He didn't think watching Cam get dressed the rest of the way was going to help anything, but that was the plan, wasn't it? Blake would be occupied, and Cam could slip away to help Dustin and Shane. If he ever got the rest of his clothes on.
"Did Dustin tell you about the roses?" Cam asked in a low voice, tugging his vest over his shoulders.
Hunter nodded wordlessly.
"I'm going to go help," Cam told the floor. He buttoned his vest with surprising ease, managing to make it look like something he did every day. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
"No shoes?" Hunter asked, giving his feet a pointed glance.
Cam just shrugged, replacing the hangar with his tux still on it and leaving the tie. "Later," he said tersely. "I'll be right back."
Hunter grimaced at his back. He hated to think how close he was to using the word "cute" to describe a barefoot Cam in formal wear. That would be two uses of the word "cute" in as many days, and he wasn't that gay. Most of the time. Cam definitely brought it out in him. And that was a ridiculously weird thought all on its own.
The door clicked shut again, and he sighed. Yesterday evening he'd been startled to hear the idea that he'd stayed in Blue Bay Harbor for Cam spoken aloud. As of yesterday night he was calling him "cute." But they weren't the same thing, right? Cam could be the hottest guy on the planet and that wouldn't mean Hunter had any kind of attachment to him. Attraction and emotional commitment were totally separate things.
He tried not to think about the difference between "hot" and "cute." Girls used the words interchangeably. Guys knew better. You didn't call anyone but your girlfriend and your relatives' kids cute, and then only under duress. When gay guys used the word cute--Chantal's "gay queers," a group in which he was thankfully not included--it was a term of affection, not a measure of sex appeal.
And there he went again. Trying not to think of things seemed to be counterproductive today. Maybe if he tried to think about Cam, that would work better. He could try to think about Cam pressed up against him at the bar--or climbing on top of him back at the hotel, face hot and flushed and so wanting that it took his breath away...
Shit. That definitely wasn't helping. However hard it was to "not" think about Cam, not trying not to was obviously worse. What had he been thinking when he said he wanted to stay friends? He did want to be friends. But why couldn't they be friends that slept together? Why did Cam have to throw the "L" word around like it mattered at a time like this?
It occurred to him somewhat belatedly that he ought to be getting dressed himself. The activity didn't give his mind enough to do. It kept wandering into places he didn't want to go... at least not alone. How the hell was he supposed to be around Cam now, when he knew what they could be doing and weren't?
When Blake came out of the bathroom, he took one look around the room and raised his eyebrows. "What did you say to him?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Hunter muttered. He was sitting in the room's only chair, pulling his shoes on and hoping his thoughts weren't completely transparent.
"Where's Cam?" Blake asked, point blank. "What'd you do, scare him off?"
Oh. Oops. "I think he went to see Shane and Dustin," Hunter said vaguely. He hadn't actually come up with a cover story. It hadn't occurred to him. He'd been too busy obsessing over other things. "He gets dressed fast."
Not surprisingly, Blake didn't buy it. "Did you guys fight or what?" he wanted to know. "I thought you were going to bite his head off when he mentioned Charlie."
"Thought about it," Hunter grumbled. If he could have done it and gotten away with it... "I don't know why he was on such a tear this morning."
"Did you embarrass him or something?" Blake pressed. "I thought he was getting revenge for something you did. I mean, sure, it was just a story, but it was a random one and we could all see you weren't too thrilled about it."
"Actually, I just didn't want to be embarrassed." The words came back to him with startling clarity, and he sighed in exasperation. Damn it. Of course he had embarrassed Cam. He had taken what Cam said last night and thrown it back in his face, with no thought for how it would make him feel. "If you want to think it's all about you--"
Okay, so he was officially a jerk. Cam had made his point. Now they were even.
"Maybe," he muttered, realizing that Blake was still waiting expectantly.
"Apologize," his brother said firmly.
He looked up in surprise. "What?"
"He's gonna make this day hell if you don't apologize," Blake told him. "So just do it and get it over with. I don't need this crap on my wedding day."
Ready to protest, Hunter closed his mouth when Blake played the "wedding day" card. Damn. He really should have stayed in bed. "Fine," he grumbled, putting his other foot down on the floor and reaching up to straighten his collar.
"You'll apologize?" Blake prompted. "Come on, I know you, bro. Tell me you'll do it and I'll believe you."
Great. Trapped between Blake and Cam, and how did they end up on the same side, anyway? "I will," he promised reluctantly. "I will, okay? We won't fight at the wedding. Or if we do," he added darkly, "it'll be his fault."
"Hunter," Blake warned.
"Blake?" he countered. "I'm just saying. If I say it's my fault and he agrees, it's not gonna be my fault, okay?"
Blake rolled his eyes. "Just leave everyone else out of it. That's all I'm asking."
"Fine," Hunter agreed. "It's not like it's anyone else's business anyway."
For some reason, that made Blake shake his head. He didn't comment, though, just pulled his jacket on and held his arms out to the sides. "So?" he asked, turning a little. "How do I look?"
Hunter looked him up and down, stood up to tug his jacket straighter, and couldn't help smiling a little. "Like my little bro in a tuxedo," he admitted.
Blake made a face at him. "I was going for 'Tori's fiance in a tuxedo,'" he complained. "Could you look again?"
Hunter's smile faded, and he considered Blake more carefully. When forced to, it wasn't so hard to look past what he wanted to see and be confronted with the reality of the day. "I think you've got it down," he said at last.
Blake nodded, apparently satisfied, and Hunter looked away. He fished a piece of paper out of his pocket and held it out to his brother. "Here," he said. "Read this and tell me if it's any good."
"What is it?" Blake wanted to know.
It was Hunter's turn to roll his eyes. "It's my toast. What'd you expect, plane tickets? Jump the border before you tie the knot?"
"Yeah, yeah," Blake said good-naturedly, unfolding the paper. "There better not be any embarrassing stories in here, bro."
Hunter just shrugged, and Blake gave the paper a cursory glance. Hunter saw him get to the bottom and then start back up at the top, reading more slowly this time. He watched, trying not to think about writing it, trying not to wonder how it would sound to someone seeing it for the first time.
Blake was smiling by the time he looked up again, giving Hunter a curiously intent look. "This is really good," he said seriously. "Thanks, bro."
He shrugged again, muttering something under his breath.
Blake gave him a confused look, and he repeated, "Cam kind of--helped a little."
His brother chuckled, and Hunter couldn't help bristling. "What?" he demanded, frowning at him. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing," Blake assured him, trying to stifle his laughter. "Nothing, really. It's good, bro; I like it. Tor's gonna like it too. Thanks."
"Hopefully it won't make her laugh," Hunter grumbled.
"It's not what you wrote that made me laugh," Blake insisted, sobering. "C'mon, bro... Cam helped you write this? If that's the kind of 'friends' you are, I don't know why you're worried."
Hunter's frown didn't abate. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means getting together isn't gonna make you any closer than you are now," Blake said bluntly. "You should just say you love him and get some sex out of it, at least."
"I'm not gonna lie to him!" Hunter exclaimed angrily.
"It's not a lie!" Blake shot back. "You're in love with him, bro! Just admit it already!"
"I'm not!" Hunter shouted. "I know what I feel, okay? Leave it alone!"
Blake held up his hands. "Okay, look, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to get in your face about it. Okay?" he repeated. "I'm sorry."
Hunter shook his head, more angry with himself than with Blake. "It's not your fault," he said, biting off each word. If only he could change what happened last night--it was screwing everything up. "Sorry I'm such bad company today," he added grudgingly. "Guess I could be a better best man."
"Nah." Blake was nothing if not loyal. "Besides, if I thought it'd help I'd drop Cam before you," he offered with a smirk.
Hunter grimaced. "Thanks," he said sarcastically. "That's really comforting."
"Just telling it like it is," Blake informed him, handing the paper back to him. "Thanks, bro. I mean it. That's really cool."
"Yeah, well," he muttered. "You deserve it." Sticking the paper back into his pocket, he added, "When are we doing the toast, anyway? Before we eat? Before you dance?"
"Right after we get there. You do your toast, Tori's mom's gonna do a toast, and then we can eat. Are you and Cam still gonna do a song?"
Hunter hesitated, and Blake amended, "If you don't kill each other before the reception?"
"Hey," he protested half-heartedly. If we don't kill each other... why did that sound so familiar? "I promised, didn't I?"
"Yeah, that it wouldn't be your fault," Blake retorted. "That's leaving a lot to chance. Cam's pretty vindictive."
We'd kill each other inside a week. That's what he had told Blake would happen if he and Cam started going out. They weren't, but here it was a possibility anyway. So much for protecting their friendship, he thought grimly.
"Well?" Blake prompted. "You want to ask Cam about it? You can decide at the reception if you want. It's not that big a deal to interrupt the DJ and set you guys up for a few minutes."
"Yeah, sure," he said with a sigh. He'd ask Cam. He should make a list of Things Blake Wanted Him To Discuss With Cam. "I'll let you know."
"Cool." Blake glanced at his watch, made a face, and patted his pockets automatically. "Where did I put my... phone," he finished, pulling it out of the pile of clothes he'd dumped by the bureau. "I'm gonna check on the girls."
Hunter wandered toward the door and the sink, not bothering to acknowledge that comment. He glanced at himself in the mirror, wondering whether combing his hair would make any real difference in the long run. He thought about it for longer than the question probably deserved, ignoring Blake's one-sided conversation behind him until the lock clicked and the door pushed itself open.
Cam walked in, still barefoot--had he expected that to change?--and looking more relaxed than Hunter had seen him all morning. He actually had a small smile on his face, like he was still laughing at some private joke, and he caught Hunter's gaze without flinching. His smile started to fade immediately, but he still looked calmer. Less worried.
It was kind of unnerving. Like he was getting farther away with every minute that passed. It was stupid, but suddenly Hunter wanted to start this day over.
Blake's voice was coming closer and his brother ducked between them, still talking. Pointing at the cell and then at the door, he excused himself silently and, in Hunter's opinion, unsubtly. But, since he now apparently had a list, maybe he couldn't blame Blake for leaving them alone.
Cam didn't seem to think anything of it. He came over to the sink, pausing when Hunter didn't get out of the way and holding up his hands for emphasis. "Move," he said, making a shooing motion. Points for succinctness, anyway.
Hunter didn't know what made him do it, but he caught both of Cam's hands and lifted them to his face. Yeah... they smelled like roses, all right. And that smiley face was still there, faintly visible against the lines of his palm. Smirking.
Cam was staring at him. It hadn't taken much to bring the earlier wariness back to his expression, and Hunter wasn't sure whether that was a bad thing or a good one. Bad, because Cam had better expressions, but good, because it meant he still had a chance. To fix this. To do it right this time.
tbc