….So I guess what I really wanted to say is. Chase, Andie I love you both, and I´m glad that you guys find each other. Let´s raise our glasses for the bride and the groom wishing them a happy life together" Tyler ended his speech raising his glass while the rest of the guest mimic his act some of days cheering on for the newlyweds. Tyler sat down next to Nora giving her a quick kiss and smiling at the thought they would be in this same situation their friends were living right now in a couple of months. Just six months ago Andie and Chase had been in what look like the end of their relationship, but an hour ago they had gotten married in front of their families and friends promising each other never to let the other down. In one of the tables in front of theirs, Ty could see Cam and Moose sitting side by side talking to each other sharing smile when suddenly one of their friends said something making Cam turned towards her. A smile appeared on Tyler´s face when he noticed that Moose kept looking at his sister even though he was sure that their friend was talking to both of them. Sure the thought that his little sister would soon be in the same spot that Andie was made him feel uneasy and happy at the same time. Cam deserved to find someone that truly love her and Moose had proof to do just that in this past months being patient with everyone that made it clear to him that he would be dead if he failed Cam again. Soon the music started, and everyone joined the happy couple on the dance floor making the night seemed like a never ending affair.
Taking Nora´s hand, he walked his now fiance to joined the rest of their friends and soon he found himself dancing next to his sister and Moose. Nora asked Cam to go with her to the bathroom, so Ty and Moose decided to go to the bar and get something to drink. Their relationship was more stable now one can even call them friends, early stage friends but still friends. Moose asked for a couple of beers for them and turned to see that Ty was looking intently at him making the boy feel uneasy wondering if maybe he had done something to make Ty mad or suspicious. "What are you staring at me like that?"
"Just wondering what is going on inside your head right now. I´ve notice the way you were looking at Cam, and I just want to know if you are planning something I should be aware of." The look of shocked in Moose´s face only reassure Ty that the boy was thinking about the possibility to mimic the happy couple in the future, now how far that future was in Moose´s mind was something Ty would love to know. Giving some time for Moose to get over his question Ty took a long sip of his beer while looking around making sure that the girls weren't coming back yet so he could have his answer without interruptions. Moose finally got over the initial shocked of the question and asked him if he had comment his impressions with anyone else and only after Ty told him no he really seemed to relax.
"Look, I love Cam, and I do want to marry her but is too soon. We have been discussing moving in together but we both think is still too early for that too, and if we are not ready for that there is no way we are ready for the next step. Now with that said, yes being here makes me wonder if we will get marry and if she is going to be happy with that idea but aside of that, I have no concrete plan or anything. I do hope that when the time comes, Chase and you are going to be ok with it and maybe you two will be my best men." Ty nod and assure the boy that it was wise of him to realized that the relationship between Cam and him was still in the early stages and even though he was sure they love each other they still had a long way to go before thinking about getting marry. Moose agreed again and changed the subject to Ty´s, and Nora´s wedding and how the couple had only gotten engaged a month ago even though they were together for so many years and they talked about it until the girls came back and soon each couple decided to go their separate way to enjoy the party.
The next morning when the party was finally over Moose and Cam went back to her apartment, and once inside they both went straight to the bedroom sharing a steamy kiss while making their way to the bed. Cam stop a second and got something out of her bedside table draw making Moose smile at her while looking at her actions. "I love how you are always in a hurry when we are home to do that."
Cam mimic his smile and looking at her hand she shrugged a little "I know I almost never wear it like this, but I feel weird not having it on me. At least I usually have it on my chain but today was too risky to put it there."
Moose agree, and his conversation with Ty came rushing back to his mind. "Hey, I wanted to tell you. Ty asked me if I was thinking about asking you to marry me."
Cam stopped breathing for a minute at the shocked of hearing about the conversation between Moose and her brother. Sure, both of them knew that Ty was going to want to know what their plans were about marriage but still it made her nervous to hear that it had actually happened. Before, she could start freaking out Moose was hugging her a giving her little kisses all over her face and neck making her relax completely. Cam would never get over the effect Moose had over her, and she was glad to know now that she had the same effect on him, if not stronger like Moose always told her.
"Don't worry I said what we practice and he believed it. In a couple of months when we announced to them that we are living together they are going to see it as a natural move. Did Nora asked you too?" Cam kissed him before telling him about the weird conversation she had with Nora in the bathroom, the poor girl had tried to be smooth asking her about her plans with Moose, but Cam had seen her intentions a mile away.
"Yeah, I told her we were discussing moving in together, but for now we were fine the way we are. She tried to ask me about the marriage thing, but with the way, I put the possibility of moving in together as something not really certain she stopped there." Moose smile at how nervous Cam was about this when just the day before she had been drilling him with what he should say to anyone that mention the possibility of them getting married. It was like she was two different persons, one was sure about how they should act in every situation, and the other was a little girl afraid of her shadow. It was ok though he loves all of her no matter what she did or made him do Moose love Cam in every sense of the word.
Moose took her hands in his and started giving her kisses all over them when he was about to kiss the ring he raised his eyes to her and sharing a meaningful look he kissed it for a longer time.
A month ago Moose had been offer an opportunity at work to go to a conference in Vegas a couple of seniors partners always loved to make an excuse to go there, so it wasn't rare for anyone to have courses or conference there. However, everyone knew also that the conferences only were in the first half of day and the rest of the day they could do whatever they wanted. That part was the one Cam wasn't ok with when Moose came home excited about the chance to travel on the companies dime. They had a lengthy discussion, and even though she was not happy about it, Cam told Moose that he should go. He assured her that he was going to be on his best behavior but still didn't like that his girlfriend wasn't really happy for him although he understood why. Then he had an idea, this conference started on Tuesday and ended on a Monday so he could have Cam fly there on Friday night so they could have the weekend together. So after buying her tickets, he convinced his reluctant other half to go with him and so that Friday night Cam found herself getting out of the plane ready to joined Moose in some random weekend fun.
As she walked outside the terminal to meet Moose, Cam found herself surrounded by images of wedding chapels and shows that made this place feel weird to her. Everyone around her was talking about casino´s shows and getting wasted, making her wonder if at the end coming here was really a good idea, her idea of fun wasn't so over the top like most of the things here seemed. When she finally made it outside, she saw Moose standing next to a car talking to a couple that she recognize as Malcolm and Jodie. Jodie was the first to see her and she wave to Cam, Moose turned and ran to her picking her up and kissing her. "I'm so glad you made it. While I was waiting for your flight I ran into Malcolm and Jodie they are going back home today, I didn't even know they were here."
The couples talked until it was time for Malcolm and Jodie to board their flight and then Moose and Cam finally drive back to Moose´s hotel while chatting about all the suggestions their friends had giving them. "I honestly thought they had gotten married here when I first saw them. I asked them, and they say that they were very close to doing it, but in the end, they wanted to share the moment with their families and friends."
"That´s so crazy; I can't believe that they would come all the way here for that just to not get married. I guess it is for best though I wouldn't want them to regret getting marry here alone." Cam´s comment took Moose by surprise, she hadn't objected to getting marry here alone but just said that if it wasn't good for their friends, then it made sense not to do it. Moose had always thought that Cam would want a big wedding just like Andie was planning for her and Chase but now he wondered if maybe his little brunette would be okay with eloping.
One of the reasons it was important for Moose to spent this weekend with Cam here was that tomorrow would be the one year anniversary since they had been back together. When the conference was announced, he had hesitated about accepting the spot if it was away from the city but he knew that they could celebrate before or after the date if necessary and that it was a great opportunity for him. However, when Cam had second thoughts about him going to Vegas, he saw this as a sign that they should be together on their particular date. He had never been happier than this past year, and the fact that things were going so good between them filled his mind with plans for the future.
Also, Moose had noticed that while they were helping Andie and Chase rebuild their wedding plans this last couple of months, they had lost a lot of deposits while they had been fighting, both of them were discussing things they like for their future wedding. It was clear that both of them wanted simpler things, but still, Moose thought that Cam wanted a ceremony and a party maybe smaller than Andie´s, but it never crossed his mind that she would be up for eloping. Now that the thought had entered his mind he couldn't think of anything else except that. When they arrived at his hotel, Cam went to change so they could make their dinner reservations at a fancy restaurant Moose had researched over the internet before flying to Vegas. They talked about a lot of things, topics of conversation never were a problem for them and decided to have a nice walked outside to see more of the emblematic hotels, their friends had urged them to visit before coming to this trip.
On their walked they crossed more than one couple that was celebrating their recent marriage with drinks, some were drunk, others tipsy. Some had weird matching outfits, but all seemed euphoric about finally being marry to each other, wedding parties were making their way to chapels and soon they found themselves near one and watching complete strangers getting marry. Moose turned to look at Cam, and she was smiling at the couple, and he couldn't take it anymore. Pulling her softly out of the noisy room he managed to found a quieter place near them and finally asked her if she would be ok with getting marry.
Moose realized late that his question suggested that he meant at that moment and not at a later date like he had intended to ask at the beginning, but then something in his mind clicked, and Moose realized that he wanted to ask her to marry him then and there. Cam stood there frozen into in place wondering if what he was saying was a joke, a comment or a question about their future. "Do you mean now?"
Moose took a deep breath before answering trying to see in her eyes what her answer would be if he answered her question truthfully. "I mean tomorrow but now is good too. I want to marry you, Cam. I´ll be honest in saying that I wasn't planning on this when I asked you to spend the weekend with me here, but now that we are here I can't stop thinking about it. I don't think is possible to love you more than I already do but I'm sure tomorrow I'm going to love you more. And if you say no is fine too, because I know in the future we will get marry here or wherever you want."
Cam`s eyes were filled with unshed tears in a second making Moose wonder if he had said the wrong thing. "I was hoping you were asking me to come to Vegas with you because you wanted to marry me. I know is not logical and that I should want everyone here with us but I don't. We know that we are ready, but we also know that no one else would understand it, so I´m fine with them not being here with us. I do want to marry you, Moose."
They embraced sharing a few happy tears and a kiss. Moose asked her if she had any preference to where they should get marry and to his joy she did. Cam had actually looked into some options, and they called and got an appointment for the next day at 3 pm. Moose was very insistent in the time he even went as far as to offer to pay another couple to change their time slot but in the end, the person in charge told him not to worry about it. The next day he went out to find the wedding rings while Cam went to a spa appointment, Moose asked her if she needed helped with the dress, but she had brought one that would do the trick.
At exactly 3 pm they were standing in front of a judge of peace exchanging vows full of love and hope for their future. Later when they were resting in each other's arms on what now was their honeymoon suite, Cam asked Moose why was it so important for him to get married at 3 pm. "My parents and grandparents got marry at that time and is thought in my family that it is a blessed hour to get marry. I trust that we are always going to be together, but I wanted that extra hope for us too."
Now a month later they were as happy and sure about what they've done like the moment they got married. At first, they had decided to tell people about it and went as far as to organize a dinner at their apartment a week after their marriage where they will casually show their rings and announce that they were married. However, the moment everyone was in their living room Cam ran to her room calling for Moose to joined her and when he arrived, she told him to please take his ring off just as she was doing and to keep it in the drawer while everyone was in the apartment. He gave her a long look took the ring off feeling uneasy about it and gave it to her and getting out of the room to joined their guests.
By the end of the night everyone toast to Andie and Chase happiness and wished them a happy marriage and hopefully a smooth ceremony. Everyone was leaving after helping cleaning up the place, and Moose decided that he was going to go with the pirates to the vault to unwind for the night. So when the Santiago's twins announced that they were leaving, he told them to wait for him and went to say goodbye to Cam. The girl looked at him with eyes full of worry, and he couldn't help but give her a kiss on her forehead. "Don't worry this is not going to be our first fight as a married couple is just me giving you some space to clear your mind."
That night he tossed and turned for hours unable to find a right position to sleep. He so used to sleep with Cam next to him that it was unreal for him to not have her there with him right now. His phone rang, and he answered it relief to have a reason not to keep trying and failing to fall asleep when her voice surrounded him asking him to come home. Everyone was asleep, so he just went on his way back to her place, sure he pretty much lived there but it was still her place, not theirs, and when he arrived she was waiting for him at her door.
They talked for hours about what had happened and why she had decided against telling everyone at the last second. It wasn't anything new or surprising to neither of them, and they agree that it was for the best at that moment. So before going to sleep, they went to the drawer and took the rings out putting them on each other and smiling at the thought that this was a symbol of their future together. The next day Moose got both of them a chain so they could always wear they rings on their necks without people seeing them.
Cam sometimes had to keep the ring at home when she was going to use something that might show it, but each time that happened she would run to put it on the second she got home. He on the other hand never took it off.
After Chase and Andie's wedding when the couple went on their honeymoon trip Moose started to move some things to Cam's apartment. They had decided to live between there and his apartment for a couple of months before announcing they were going to move in together. Also, Moose was looking for engagement rings, he knew that in reality, they were way over that but he wanted Cam to have on anyway, and people would found it weird if she didn't have one when they pretend to get engaged.
Ty and Nora announced that they were going to have a small wedding in Seattle so five months after Chase's and Andie's wedding they all were flying to meet the couple there. Moose was going to travel a day after everyone because of his job but Shawn, who Tyler had invited, decided to wait and travel with his friend. And that is when Moose was stopped because the metal detector kept beeping every time he tried to walked through it, so he had to take the chain with his wedding ring off in front of his best friend. The entire flight to Seattle was spent with Moose pleading to Shawn not to say anything to anyone, he explained the reasons behind the secret and assured him that he love Cam more than anything in his life. Once in Seattle Moose told Cam and the girl felt like she was going to be sick. However, when she tried to approach Shawn about it, he told her that he was not going to say anything but to please refrained to talk to him about it and he proceed to ignore the couple pretty much the entire weekend.
When they went back to New York Moose and Cam were sad to think that this was going to be the reaction of all of their friends. Moose tried to patch up things with Shawn, but the guy went as far as to tell Moose to announced he was moving with Cam because he didn't want them coming in the apartment with him anymore. The couple announced they were moving in together and nobody understood why Shawn wasn't present but they assumed it had to do with his theater work, only the couple knew the real reason and were sad to think what will happen with the rest of their friends. A month later Moose went to find Shawn after one of his shows not ready to give up on their friendship, it had been seven months since he was married to Cam, and things between were great. If Shawn wasn't happy for him, then Moose would stop trying to include the guy in his life because he didn't regret marrying her.
And he told Shawn just that when he found himself in front of them even though they were sorrounded by people that were waiting for his friend to sign some autographs and take picture with them. Shawn turned to everyone that was there and asked them to please delete any recording they have from that telling them that it was a private conversation and he hoped that everyone did just that. After signing everything put in front of him and taking pictures Shawn went on his way with Moose next to him. "You know for someone that is keeping this big secret you need to be better on knowing when to talked about it."
The smile he had on his face gave Moose hope that this was the beginning of them been friends again. Shawn apologized for the way he behaved, but he also made it clear to Moose that he was hurt not to be included in the couple's big moment. "I understand is your choice to include or not other in your special moments, but I thought we were close. I would have love to be there Moose, you are like a brother to me, and I was hurt that you didn't think I would stand by your side."
Moose felt bad and hugged his friend telling him that he was his brother, no matter what they were family and would always be. He explained again what had happened and explained now why there was no way they would tell the others. Shawn agreed that it was the best way to do it even though it was completely deceiving. Together they went to Moose´s, and Cam´s apartment where the brunette was waiting for her husband to see if he had patched things with his friend. When the boys enter laughing together Cam ran to hug Shawn making him smile, he had always wanted a little sister, and now Cam was that for him.
Shawn noticed Cam was wearing her ring and asked Moose about his, the boy showed him his chain and taking the ring off it he proceeded to put it on his finger. It was the first time they were using their rings properly in front of anyone they knew, and they were so happy to share their happiness that they couldn't wait to announced they were planning "to get married" to the rest of their friends. Only three more months for them to announced it and now that Shawn was on board they could actually pull it off.
From that moment on the three of them started planning how everything would work, the fake engagement the quick wedding while assuring everyone that it was because they love each other. The plans were in motion and with the help of Shawn Moose was able to finally found the perfect engagement ring that wouldn't put him in eternal debt but was unique enough for Cam. Yeah, their future was very promising now.
Notes
Only one more chapter for this two. What do you think? I hope you like the chapter and their story.