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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Chapter One

Cameron - Summer 2011 

If the drastic change in climate wasn’t enough to remind Cameron she was home in Louisiana, the constant waving from strangers would most certainly do so.  Three times, men and women bombarded her from afar with bright smiles and tiny, yet evident beckons of southern hospitality.  The gesture forced an unexpected smile to splash over her mouth as she and her two large suitcases boarded the airport shuttle to the car rental facility.  It was a nice change of pace being on home soil.  She shuffled as quickly as she could in her black stilettos to the nearest empty seat, plopped down and instantly regretted that large cinnamon roll she ate as they taxied along the runway for an additional twenty minutes, awaiting the opening of an available gate.  She was about to burst out of her pants suit and mentally kicked herself for it.  Who in their right mind would sport a business suit on a non business trip? She was home to visit her family and attend her friend’s wedding, not strike up a branding deal with a new manufacturer of surf wear.  What was she thinking?

The five minute drive to car rentals brought on a sigh of relief, as she hoped her discomfort would come to a halt once she received her rental.  A little release from unbuttoning the top of her pants would do the trick.  She slowly made her way from the shuttle, fumbling a bit with her oversized luggage and hand bag.  Travelling was not her forte but in this day and age it was inevitable.  She felt uncomfortable and unprepared as she struggled to get herself together before making it to the check out desk.  One of the wheels on her luggage somehow became trapped in a deep crack in the cheap ceramic tile of the lobby flooring and not paying attention, she found herself immobilized by a tall, broad figure.  Immediately remorseful, Cameron slowly scanned the chest of her road block like a doe caught in headlights, locking her dark coffee colored eyes on a pair of lovely, familiar light brown ones.

“Philip,” Cameron uttered just above a whisper, her brow furrowing in disbelief and confusion.  Was it really him, in the flesh?

“Cam,” Philip replied with a broad smile plastered across his face.  He looked the same.  Same gorgeous smile, perfect skin, cute nose, bright engaging eyes and yet Cameron wanted nothing more than to punch and some how damage that beautiful face of his.

“What are you doing here,” they asked simultaneously.  Cameron immediately freed up one of her hands to push a nagging piece of hair behind her ear.  She must have looked a hot mess and why could she not stop sweating?

Cameron took in a deep breath, composing her self from the shock of encountering Philip at the airport of all places and after all these years, though him being there wasn’t really a shock.  She’d expected it.  Maybe even hoped for it. 

“Um, I’m here for –” Cameron began.

“The wedding,” Philip completed her sentence.  “I’m the best man and I can only assume you’re Nina’s Matron –”

“Maid of honor,” Cameron quickly corrected him, almost losing grip of the luggage handles, her nerves getting the best of her.

“You’re not married,” he asked surprised, grabbing one of the bags from her grasp.

“No I am not,” she replied, trying desperately to get a glimpse at his wedding ring finger, without him noticing, as they made their way towards the counter.  No band.  Not so shocking.

“I had no idea you’d –”

“Neither did I,” Cameron interrupted with a lie of her own.  Nina in her usual round about way alluded to Philip being in attendance to the wedding but his announcement of being the best man was a bit of a shock.  Had he been speaking with Greg all this time and no one knew about it? Nina would be receiving a call in regards to this omission of information.  Fidgeting a bit with her purse before collecting herself yet again, Cameron looked Philip in the eyes and without resistance spoke the most honest, sincere words she could in that very moment without displaying too much emotion.  “It’s good to see you.”

“You too,” Philip replied, staring down at Cameron, smiling and making her feel even more awkward and clammy than before.  She felt like sweat poured down her body, forming a puddle on the floor around her.  She later concluded that it wasn’t the humidity so much as Philip’s remarkable, make anyone melt, smile that had her body temperature in a frenzy.

“I mean, it’s been ages since, I don’t know, anyone has seen you,” Cameron rushed out in her best attempt at being cordial, though it really came out in a polite fury of anger and frustration. 

Philip opened his mouth to speak but promptly closed it, opting for silence Cameron noted.  He was always good at reading through her feeble attempts of being tactful.  She was blunt to a fault and no one knew that better than him.

“Ma’am, sir,” the young lady behind the counter interjected, smacking a large pink blob of gum.  “How may I help you?”

Cameron and Philip both looked at the girl behind the counter before turning their attention back towards one another, awkward silence looming in the space separating them.  Philip nodded and stepped back behind Cameron, allowing her to pick up her rental first.  Ever the gentleman, she thought as she handed the young lady her reservation number.  She stood there, stiff as a sculpted piece of artwork, watching the girl prepare the rental agreement forms, daring herself not to turn around and speak to Philip.  She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she cared that much about him.  Not even a little.

After signing the forms, Cameron swiped the keys from the glass transaction top and made her way past Philip without a look or word of acknowledgement.

“See ya soon Cam,” he called out to her as she power walked towards the rental car garage.  She spun her head around and shook it in affirmation before disappearing through the side door.  And there, in the lobby of the car rental facility he had her again with his boyish charms, as she left him behind without saying a word.

Philip - Summer 2011  

After a series of berating comments to the young lady at car rentals in regards to the rudeness of her chewing and smacking her bubble gum while servicing customers, Philip finally got the keys to the car and headed towards the parking garage, Cameron fresh on his mind.  She was as beautiful as she was the last time he saw her but more mature and womanly than before.  Perhaps she’d filled out some from her board straight athletic days of high school.  Now she was curvy in all the right places as he could tell even though she was wearing a business suit, which he found a little odd but there was probably a reason behind her wearing that.  He wanted to talk to her but could sense the urgency in her to excuse herself from his presence, so he thought better of keeping her there with small talk and there was the blatant no one seeing him in ages comment to consider as well.  She was as polite as ever but he could definitely tell that something about him was bothering her.  They’d get to the root of that before the two weeks were up.

 

Never one to ride in silence, he promptly pulled out his iPod, plugged it into the jack and the nasal inflections of Ad Rock’s voice, surrounded by heavy guitar riffs, pulsed through the speakers.

 

Good times gone and you missed them... 

 

Boy, were those lyrics ever true.  It was nice being home again.  He let the top down on the mustang convertible, welcoming the fresh yet humid air.  Everything from the people to the food to the weather was different in Louisiana from Boston and he realized he quite missed it, pondering what it would be like to move back here after all this time.  He hadn’t been back in about five years but when he came, he was only there a brief moment to meet his parents and take them on a trip to the Bahamas for their fortieth wedding anniversary.  He’d be home for a solid two weeks to help Greg and Nina prepare for the wedding and thought he’d take in as much of home as he could before heading back north.

 

Listening to the Beasties struck a chord in his mind, taking him back to a simpler time in his life; a time when Cameron Austin was almost always at the center of his life.  He remembered them arguing over which Beastie Boy’s album was better: Paul’s Boutique or Check Your Head.  In his mind, Paul’s Boutique was a “casual” Beastie fan favorite but a true Beastie fan knew the greatness of Check Your Head.  The guys went back to the punk rock style of their earlier EP’s and it was the first time they’d played their own instruments on all of the tracks and they promoted the album by touring with the Rolling Stones.  It was a milestone album for the Beasties.  With all those valid points, Cameron caved and decided he was right, which was a feat in itself.  The girl was a rock, immovable and solid when it came to her opinion on just about everything but if one could convince her with facts and numbers, they had a good chance of swaying her.

 

Her firmness and honesty in not backing down from anything or anyone was what really drew Philip to her.  His first day in town and kindergarten was when they first met and he had the luxury of sitting between Cameron and Vanessa Shelton (the teachers loved making them sit boy, girl, boy, girl… back in the day).  Vanessa was spoiled and always had to have her way, so when Cameron unknowingly sat in her seat, she threw the biggest tantrum Philip had ever witnessed.  She began to shriek and grabbed Cameron as hard as she could, attempting to pull her out of her desk chair but little did Vanessa know who she was fooling with.  Cameron, though tiny, wouldn’t budge and to stop Vanessa from yanking her arm out of her socket, she stomped her toes with the heel of her shoe and dug her fingers into Vanessa’s arm.  Vanessa yelped even loader and ran to tell Miss Conner.  When the teacher got there Cameron, much to Philip’s surprise, told her exactly what happened, what Vanessa did and what she did in self defense.  (She actually told the teacher it was self defense.)  Cameron got in trouble but Vanessa (and no one else for that matter) tried anything with Cameron after that.  Later on, during recess, Philip couldn’t resist and asked her why she told the teacher the truth about everything and she replied with a straight face, “Because, that’s what God wants us to do.”  Puzzled at the moment about her reply, he went on to play with some of the other boys in their class but her answer never left him.  It wasn’t until later that year he found out that her father was the preacher at the black Baptist church on the other side of town, the comment making much more sense.

 

After that he became fascinated with her and he supposed she too became fascinated with him, as they were always together from that point on.

 

The buzzing of the cell phone in his pocket alerted, bringing him back to reality.  He glanced down at the lit up screen to see Greg’s name flashing in neon blue.

 

“What up,” he spoke into the receiver.

 

In a hushed voice, Greg rushed out, “I’m going to die because you’re stupid and I need you to get here right now and take me out of my misery.”

 

“What,” Philip asked slightly confused.  “Where are you and why are you whispering?”

 

“I’m hiding from Nina and her fierce case of wrath at the moment while you’re cruising around blasting Check Your Head with the top down of a mustang convertible I presume.”

 

“Cam called Nina and told her we ran into each other at the airport,” Philip asked, knowing exactly where this was headed.  “And did you just use the word fierce.”

 

“Yes and now Nina’s all upset with me for… I don’t even know why she’s upset with me.  I didn’t do anything.  I’m getting yelled at when it should be you.  I need to be freed.  Get me outta Nina’s slave house on the plantation, also known as our back yard shed.”

 

“Says the guy about to marry Nina.”

 

“Shut up,” Greg replied.  “She’s only like this because it’s Cameron.  And Cameron’s all crazy mad at you and you and I are best friends and it’s getting all kinds of ugly around these parts because of your very presence.  Tell me again why I asked you to be my best man?”

 

“Because, I’m the coolest best friend and dude you’ve ever met in your entire life,” Philip answered with a laugh before continuing.  “Crazy mad?  Why is she crazy mad at me? She didn’t seem crazy mad when I ran into her at the car rental place.”

 

“Oh, she wasn’t, huh?”  Greg scoffed in assuredness.  “Well prepare yourself for natural disaster Cameron.  It’s the calm before the storm man, and you’re the landing target.  I’ll meet you at Louie’s in ten minutes to discuss a game plan of diversion for the next two weeks.  And for the record, you were second choice for best man.  My brother Charles couldn’t do it because his wife’s due date is our wedding day.  So that would make you the second coolest dude I’ve ever met in my entire life.  See ya in ten.”

 

“Wait, what do you mean by second coolest dude and calm before the storm and landing target and plan of diversion? Not one of those phrases sound good to me,” Philip uttered nervously into the receiver but Greg was already long gone.

 

She couldn’t possibly still be mad at him for something that happened almost fifteen years ago, could she? He knew the answer to this question but opted to ignore it, at least for the moment.  He’d cross that bridge when it was time.  For now, he was going home to see his parents and younger brother, settle into his old bedroom and grab a beer to discuss awkward encounter strategy with the groom.












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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.