Moose raised her hand to his lips giving each finger a little kiss and then a lingering one on her palm making Cam tremble which filled him with pride. This last month they had share a lot of moments like this one, but that didn't mean that Moose wasn't happy about repeating them as much as possible, he was well aware that the only possibility he had to be with her like this was when they would be certain that nobody was near.
A couple of days ago Moose walked Cam back home after having a delightful dinner out; he was trying to make her laugh, but she was very aware that Chase and Andie were coming home at any moment now. Cam had tried to convinced Moose to let her walked home alone, but he had told her that it was late, she had rolled her eyes, but he was not going to change her mind. They had a lovely ride on the train talking about their week, and Moose took the opportunity to try to convince Cam to join him on a little road trip. "I know that is going to be difficult for you to make an excuse for Chase and Andie but you could tell them about us."
Cam knew that the sneaking around wasn't any fun for neither of them, but she was enjoying getting to go on dates with Moose and sharing her every day with him. Some days they didn't get to see each other because the only way to do it would be for Moose to go to her apartment and she was always worried about her friends finding out. Still, she was feeling more secure about them, and Cam knew that she was closer to have to face her friends.
Before getting into the building, she had agreed to go on the road trip but plead with him not to go up with her, again Moose told her that he was going to walked her up and that was it. That's how they found themselves walking to her door with Moose trying to lighten the mood and Cam fidgeting when they were in front of the door she opened it and turned to say goodbye when they heard Chase's and Andie's voices and both of them panic. They didn't know if Moose should go in or run to the stairs and tried to go a floor up and while they decided the voices came closer and closer.
Finally, Cam opened the door completely and yank Moose inside, and he closed the door right behind him neither of them made a sound until they were sure that the couple was inside their apartment. Once they heard the door from Chase's apartment, they let out a nervous laugh, and Cam thought back to when she was a teenager, and she was sneaking around with a boy she liked. Moose felt a rush of adrenaline going through him when he focused himself he notice Cam laughing. One moment Cam was laughing in front of him and the next he had pin her against the door and was kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Sometimes Moose would wonder if maybe one day Cam would tell him that she had decided that even though they were going strong, she didn't want to continue with their relationship.
"Are you ok? You seemed to be million of miles away?" Cam's voice brought him back to the moment, and he noticed that he was still kissing her palm, but she was sitting up looking at him with concerned eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just remembered things, but I'm back. Cam, I was wondering if you wanted to do something especially to celebrate our first month of going out? I would like to take it to dinner or if you want we could go to Boston and have a nice little weekend away." Moose knew that there was no way she was going to go for the weekend away, they had gone on that weekend road trip, but when they had made to the hotel, Cam made clear that she was getting her own room.
Cam hesitated she was sure that the weekend getaway was out of the question when they had gone out she was so nervous about sharing a room with Moose that she had made a big scene of telling him that she was to have her own room. Moose didn't say anything, but she knew the way she had handled It was flawed, he had never suggested anything that would make Cam think he had intended at any point to force the situation on that way. The part that made her hesitate was the celebration, should they celebrate only going out on dates? Would that celebration upgrade their casual relationship into a serious one?
Although if she was honest, their relationship was as serious at any other one. They were both invested in it and if this was an example of how things were going to be Cam was sure that soon enough they would making things official. Cam could feel Moose´s eyes on her trying to read her expression as to see if she was going to turned him down or if she was on board.
"Going out would be nice but can we do something different? We can go to see a play or something like that." Cam stood up and went looking for her laptop so they could see the options they have, Broadway was expensive, but sometimes they had some affordable tickets if the play had been running for a while.
Moose was happy to see that Cam was willing to celebrate, in his mind that meant that she was acknowledging that this month had meant a step towards their reconciliation. Of course, when they get back together Moose was ready to count this as their first month together. The only thing that worried him was that he wouldn't be able to afford the tickets for a Broadway play, he had recently enrolled in some extra courses, and he was very limited in the amount of money he could spend. This date was very important to him, and even though she knew that Cam wouldn't mind paying for her own ticket, he wanted to make this a memorable experiences and asking her to paid for her ticket wouldn't do.
When Cam came back, she showed him a site where there was a list of tickets on discount, and he started searching something that he could afford. Sadly, Cam pointed to one that even though wasn't expensive was out of his possibilities. He could afford one ticket, but he wanted to invite her and also take her to eat something later with those prices he was could only manage to buy her ticket and a hot dog for dinner.
When she turned toward him, she noticed his look of concern and wondered if maybe he didn't want to go to see a musical. She remembered him making comments about Hamilton and how much he wished to see it so that probably wasn't the reason. Looking at him again she followed his eyes and noticed for the first time that he wasn't looking at the reviews but at the prices. Cam wanted to hit herself, of course, he was worry about how much the tickets cost, Moose had tell her about the extra courses he had enrolled for his degree, and she knew he was extra careful about what he spend.
"You know what. I think going to a movie would be just fine. Maybe we can ask Malcolm and Jodie to come with us to eat after it's been a while since we seen them." Moose was startled of how sudden she had changed her mind about going to the theater and wonder if maybe she had realized that he wasn't able to afford it. That hit his ego hard, and he found himself pushing the idea to see a play harder and even suggested a more expensive play, he didn't even read what it was about he just so the higher price and pointed at it.
Cam looked at him with a raised eyebrow and smiled that let him know he had somehow messed up and she was enjoying it. "You really want us to see the Magic Mike play? Sure they are only here for a week, but I didn't know that you were into that. But hey if it is important for you that we see that, I guess I'll have to agree."
Moose blushed and started tickling her making her laughed hard, after a couple of minutes she was barely breathing and was begging him to stop. He finally released her but kept her close to him, so he was able to whisper in her ear "There is no way we are going to see that, but if you ever want some to act a routine for you I'm more than willing."
Now Cam was the one blushing, and Moose love the effect he had on her, he was completely honest though he would love to give her a show. He was happy to be sharing this time with Cam getting to know her more, but he would be lying if he didn't admit that his favorite moments were when they would share a more intimidated relation. Moose understood that Cam was not going to let things escalate further than a heavy make out sessions, one day they were so lost in the moment that both of them had taken off their tops without giving it a second thought and started making their way to her room.
A car honking made Cam realize what was happening and she stopped, it took him a couple of seconds to catch on and stopped too. She had search for her top and put it on telling Moose to please leave he knew that if he tried to stay to reassure her that nothing was going to happen if she let him stay, he would only be making her more uncomfortable. The next day they had a talk, and both of them agreed that they were not going to cross any lines before deciding if they were going to get back together definitely and even then they tried to take things slow.
Clearing her throat Cam continue to tell him that she rather go to the movies with Malcolm and Jodie, they were the only couple that knew that they were dating so they can be open about their time together. Moose told her that even though he loved the other couple maybe they should go out alone, so they could celebrate the special achievement but Cam didn't budge, when they decide to be together they could celebrate an anniversary, for now, they would share the date with friends.
Reluctantly Moose agree and that Saturday they met the other couple at the cinema, the movie was ok, but the best part was that he was able to hold Cam´s hand the entire time. They went to have something to eat later, and they even made plans to go out of state next month for a long weekend. Hand in hand Moose walked Cam home and every now and then he would stop to give her a kissed on a different part of her face making her laugh at how silly and corny he could be.
With each step that got them closer to Cam's apartment, a dreadful feeling started to take over Moose. He knew that Chase and Andie were probably in their apartment and that meant that Cam was going to tell him to please let her go in the building alone. The date had been perfect, and even though he would have preferred they go alone, Moose was happy that he got to be open about his affection in front of people they knew. It was a welcome change from walking together but never touching in fear that anyone that know them could see them and made a comment about it to their friends.
Once at the Cam's building, she turned towards him with an apologetic look and told him that it would be better if he didn't come up. Moose nodded and saying goodbye he turned and walk away leaving the girl with a confuse look. He knew she had been expecting a kiss or a hug or even a small protest about leaving from him but at this point, he didn't see the point of it. It was weird that just a couple of minutes ago he was excited about their date and now he just felt bad about the entire situation.
Yes, he had created the situation with the way he acted before, so he knew that he deserved to endure it, but his spirit sometimes felt hit by the knowledge of it. That night he decided to go to the vault, but soon enough he found himself outside the theater Shawn worked waiting for his friend. Shawn had managed to be cast as one of the main characters and his day were busier than ever, but he seemed happy.
The door open and the cast started making their way out in a sea of people that were asking for their autograph. Shawn was soon surrounded by a group of girls that were attempting to take selfies with him while he signed their autographs. Moose laughed at the scene, and Shawn noticed him and smiled when he recognized his friend. Saying goodbye to the girls and thanking them for waiting for him he made his way to Moose. " So it finally happened. You are famous and have fangirls following you around."
"Shut up; they are going to hear you. What are you doing here? Is not that I don't appreciate it, but you don't usually come to pick me up. Are you ok? You seemed sad." Moose tried to dismiss the comment making more fun of Shawn and the situation, but the boy knew him enough to know that he was just trying to distract him. He was aware that Moose was seeing Cam again, they didn't know he knew, but one day he had forgotten his cell phone, and at a break from rehearsals he had gone home to picked it up. When he opened the door of the apartment, he saw them making out on their couch. His first instinct was to congratulate them on being together again and also to take things to Moose's room because he could see from the intensity of the kiss that things were not going to end in just that.
Just as he was about to clear his throat to make them aware of his presence a thought invaded his mind, they were obviously back together, but just yesterday he had been talking to Moose, and his friend hadn't mentioned anything to him. Slowly he closed the door and went back to the theater Shawn didn't understand why he wasn't informed about the relationship but he was sure that it was done on purpose. That week he had gone to see Luke but decided against telling him anything about it, but he did mention Cam asking him if he knew something about her because he missed her. Luke had told him that she was doing fine, she had actually had lunch with them that afternoon and that the next time they invited they would tell him to come.
Shawn gathered that he had been witness to a secret because if they hadn't told any of his friend he was sure that Cam's friend didn't know, those guys hated Moose. Walking to their apartment Shawn could sense that Moose was having a hard time not talking, he knew that when his friend was having a tough time, he always needed to talk things out and he guessed that subconsciously his brain had brought him to the person he thought could listen without judgment.
"Did you and Cam fight?" Moose stopped in his tracks, and with the biggest eyes, he turned toward Shawn wondering if he had mention Cam without noticing. Shawn waited a couple of seconds for the idea that he could share information with him sink and then he asked the question again.
"I don't know how you know that and right now I don't care butI do need to talk about it." Moose started telling him about how he had decided to tried things again with Cam, how he had gone looking for her a couple of times until he had found her. From that moment they had started seeing each other in a platonic way, but now they had finally decided to try it as a couple, not in an official way, but still they had seen each other for a month.
Moose continue to tell him how he was starting to wonder if Cam was ever going to be ready to make them official. "I know it's corny, but I want to hold your hand, and If you so much as hum The Beatle song I'll punch you."
Shawn chuckled but started humming the song while running away from Moose that run after him laughing; they made it to their apartment and started making something to eat. Finally, Shawn took a moment and then start telling Moose that even though he understood why he was upset, he had agreed to that and by now acting this way he was backing down without considering that maybe she was just afraid. "Her friends hate you men and is going to take them time to let go of that feeling; maybe she is worried about their reaction. I think Cam knows she wants to be with you but she needs to see how she is going to explained her feelings to the rest of the people in her life."
Moose was about to protest; she shouldn't care about that. They would have each other, and if her friends didn't like it well that was their problem if Cam needs their approval, then she wasn't as invested in their relationship. Shawn raised his hands stopping the rant that was coming from Moose and told his friend that he should put himself in her shoes those "awful" friends that Cam maybe fear to tell about their relationship were the one´s that helped her after you guys broke up.
"You acted like the worst version of yourself the last time when you guys were together so don't go thinking that they are misjudging you, they are judging based on your past." Moose felt like someone punched him in the gut at first, but he knew that Shawn was right about it, he felt bad about the way he had said goodbye to Cam. They talked for a while, and Moose felt better about the situation and wonder if Cam had someone to talk with about him, he hoped she had someone because he really felt better about the situation.
Finally, they were going to sleep when suddenly there was a knock on their door, and they looked at each other, Shawn walked towards the door and turned with the funniest surprised expression on his face and mouthed to Moose that Cam was outside. Shawn ran to his room, and Moose opened the door, Cam was standing there looking so fragile that he felt like the worst human ever.
"You didn't kiss me goodnight. Are you mad because I didn't let you walked me to the door so that Chase and Andie wouldn't see you? I'm sorry but I'm still not ready, and I know that maybe you are not happy about this but.." She didn't finish her thought because Moose was kissing her, his kiss was not tentative he wanted to make it clear to her how much he care for her and how much he wanted to be in her life.
Notes
So, what do you guys think? These two are invading my mind lately, and I can't stop writing about them apparently. I hope you guys like the chapters; I want to thank the ones the review for taking the time to do so it means a lot to see that you are invested in this journey.