fic 12 Days, cam/hodgins, PG13, Day 2 Wow
Day 2 = Wow
Author: Devylish
Rating: PG12
Prompt(s): Green and Red, and Mistletoe
Character(s)/Ship: Cam/Hodgins
Summary: 12 days til Christmas, and what a difference each and every day makes.
Words 1963
AN Not beta’d. Disclaimer - see profile.
Day 1
Okay Saroyan, how’d you end up in this mess? Cam stared at the mounds of clothing scattered across her bed.
She’d, finally, narrowed her options down to two dresses but it had been a long… long process. She was either going with the forest green fitted bodice number or the scarlet red halter dress.
Michelle was settled comfortably on the bed, in the middle of the mess, with her iPod on low and an amused look on her face. “So you and Dr. Hodgins huh?”
“Yes.” Cam answered absentmindedly before catching herself and clarifying. “No. No. I mean, yes we’re going to a party - together -- but no, there’s no ‘Dr. Hodgins and me’.”
Michelle’s grin grew bigger. “Uh huh.” She casually added, “He’s cute.”
Cam looked at her daughter. “You think?” So I’m not the only one who’s noticed?
“I’m young, not blind.” The teenager responded.
Cam’s eyes narrowed.
“Oh don’t worry; I’m not interested in him or anything. Besides he’s too old for me.”
“I wasn’t worried.” Much. Cam paused then blurted out. “He’s 33.”
“Like I said, too old for me.”
“I’m 38.”
It clicked in Michelle’s head exactly what Cam was pointing at. “Oh please! It’s 2010! A few years difference either way means nothing. As a matter of fact, cougars are in. Not that you’re old enough to be a cougar, but… there’s Demi and Ashton, and Sandra and Jesse. The list goes on.”
“You don’t think it’s… weird?”
“I think it’s weird that you’ve known him for three years and it’s taken you this long to go out on a date with him.”
“It’s not a date. I’m going as his ‘date’, but this… this is not a ‘date’.”
Michelle shook her head and clambered off of the clothing laden bed. “Uh huh, if you say so. But this,” she waved her hands at the bed, “is a lot of prep for a ‘non’ date.” Turning to leave the bedroom Michelle added over her shoulder. “Go with the red. You look great in red.” She turned and smiled as she closed the bedroom door behind her, “and he’ll definitely lose it if you wear the red.”
“Lose what?!” Cam yelled at the closed door. And do I want him to lose it?
***
Hodgins had driven around Cam’s block three times arguing with himself internally.
-----You can do this man. It’s just Cam. You see her nearly every day of your life.
*****Not socially.
-----No. Not socially, but you’ve done social things with her before; the diner, the bar. You’ve done
social.
*****Not just the two of you.
-----Well, no, but…
*****And not with the word ‘date’ hanging in the air.
-----Crap.
His voice of reason suddenly added.
*****Of course, there’s no way out of it now.
-----I could cancel.
*****15 minutes before you’re due to pick her up? Anything sort of a medical emergency with provable MD notes will land you in the dog house. And you don’t want to be in Cam’s dog house.
With a sigh, Hodgins pulled his car to a stop in front of Cam’s place.
Twenty four hours ago, this seemed like a pretty brilliant idea.
***
Hands in his pockets Jack nervously rolled back and forth on his feet as he waited outside Cam’s door.
A few seconds after he’d rung the doorbell, he’d heard a yelp. A yelp that sounded a lot like Cam cursing. He glanced at his watch, he was a little early, but it had basically come down to his either, getting out of his car and going up to her door, or chickening out and coming up with a mysterious unexplainable disease.
So here he stood.
He deserved a medal for bravery. A big ‘king of manhood’ medal.
***
“Hi.”
He jumped and turned around to find Michelle at the door, grinning up at him. “Uh, hi. Hi!”
Her smile broadened. “Come in, Cam will be out soon, she’s putting on her shoes.”
Leaving me alone with the teenager. Okay. I was one of those a while ago. I can do this. “Right. Thanks.” He edged past Michelle and stood in the entryway; hands still buried in his pockets.
“We can wait in the living room,” she passed him and he followed her into the cozy, dim lit room.
Perching on the arm of the couch, Michelle turned off the quietly murmuring television in favor of watching Hodgins.
He was clearly nervous; eyes wide, hands curled in his pockets… pacing. She felt sorry for him. The same kind of sorry she’d felt for Cam earlier. Adults could be so clueless.
“Don’t worry, Cam’s nervous too.”
Hodgins stopped the pacing he hadn’t realized he’d been doing and looked at Michelle. Disbelief marked his features. “Keeyah. Right. Camille Saroyan. Nervous. She isn’t scared by anything.” He tendered the words in the form of a compliment. And it was a compliment. Cam Saroyan was awe inspiring.
Michelle snorted indelicately. “Boy do you have a lot to learn about her! She -“ Michelle stopped as she heard Cam’s heels clicking down the hall. Dropping her voice she whispered, “Just trust me on this one.” Then she sat back and settled in to watch the show.
***
“Wow.” He didn’t really realize he had spoken. But he meant every bit of the word he’d just said.
Cam stood in the entrance to the living room, one hand on the wall, the other holding a clutch, and… yeah, she was ‘wow’ in something red and flowy that left her shoulders bare and showed off her toned shapely legs.
Cam held back her smile, just barely. “I’m assuming that’s a ‘good’ wow?”
“Huh?” he dragged his eyes up to meet her face. Her gorgeous face. “What? Oh…” hi eyes slid back down her red draped form. “Yeah, it’s… wow.”
Out of his line of sight, Michelle smiled and gave Cam a thumbs up.
Rolling her eyes and shaking her head in response Cam returned her focus to Hodgins. A Hodgins who was smiling an ear to ear smile. Cute. He was so cute. Especially when he smiled. Pulling herself back into the moment Cam spoke, “I’m ready if you are?”
“Hmm? Oh, ready. Right. Okay, let’s go.” A smile still plastered on his face Hodgins nodded his head in Michelle’s direction. “Good seeing you again Michelle. I’ll have her home at a decent time.”
Michelle smiled mischievously, “Oh don’t worry about the time. I won’t be here tonight anyway - sleepover.” She climbed off of the couch. “You could keep her out all night long and I’d never know.” Michelle offered this last bit as she scampered down the hall to her bedroom. “Have fun you two!”
Cam straightened her back and opened her eyes wide. Did Michelle just give Hodgins carte blanche to spend the night with me!? She closed her eyes and hung her head. She did. I’m going to ground her for forever when I get back. Throwing on a smile she opened her eyes and turned to Hodgins, “Sorry about that. She’s at that age.”
“What age?”
“The ‘I’m too old to spank so what can they really do to me?’ age.” She reached for her coat, freezing as Hodgins’ hand touched hers. It wasn’t a static shock, but electricity definitely shot through her fingers when he touched her; a low humming current. He took her coat from her and held it out for her to slide into.
“I hear ‘that age’ lasts a long time.”
Happy he’d missed her momentary lapse of focus, Cam followed him to the front door. “For girls it lasts from age ten to age thirty-five.”
***
They’d settled into a comfort zone at the party; basically mingling with people that jack knew as they came upon them, but the rest of the time, focusing on one another. Talking to one another.
Jack found out Cam liked football - a lot. And she found out he liked soccer. And Sci-Fi. She found out he could cook, and he found out she couldn’t.
They learned little bits and pieces about one another and after a couple of hours, those bits and pieces added up to a picture. Or rather, the added on to a picture.
Jack cooking at a stove was added to Cam’s picture of his smile and his deft mind.
Cam in a football jersey was added to Jack’s picture of her eyes and her quick wit.
And after two hours Jack was sold. He’d already liked what he knew and saw of her, but now? Now he was more than a little interested, more than a little intrigued. He was infatuated.
And after two hours Cam was certain she’d never smiled or laughed so much in her life. And it was Jack; Jack who was making her giggle like a schoolgirl the whole night. It was Jack who was making her hot and cold, flushed and chilled, all at once.
Having circled the party a few times they settled into an inconspicuous little corner dancing around the fact that it was late and he should probably be taking her home soon. At least, they thought it was inconspicuous until:
“Jack m’boy! Now I know why we never see you at the neighborhood meetings!”
Jack closed his eyes and gave a quiet groan. Opening his eyes he eyes he turned to face Paul Timmons the III; their host. “Paul! Thanks for inviting me, we were just saying what a great party this has been, but we unfortunately have to get going.” He stepped in towards Cam, placing his hand at her back ready to navigate her away from Paul.”
“Eh, eh eh! You can’t leave yet!”
“We’ve had a long day Paul and -“
Their host chortled, “No. No excuses, it’s a tradition.”
“Tradition?” Both Cam and Hodgins spoke in confusion. They both slowly lifted their eyes to where Paul was pointing and found, hanging unobtrusively above them, a small bunch of mistletoe.
Crap.
Craaaap!
Jack turned and faced Cam, and Cam turned and faced him. He wore a semi-timid smile, and her eyes were wide. “It is a tradition.” He offered softly.
She responded, “And it’s probably bad luck to ignore a tradition?”
His hand still at her back, he stepped in to her until his frame rested lightly against hers. “Complete and utter bad luck.”
“Wouldn’t want any bad -“ her response was cut off by Hodgins’ lips pressing against hers. Gently at first, softly… his mouth barely… barely touching hers.
He tried to be good. Tried to stop himself from giving her more than a platonic kiss between friends. But it was too late the moment their lips touched. Cam was there. And her lips were there… the lips he’d had more than a few fantasies about.
And he just wasn’t a strong enough man.
His second hand slid to the back of her neck, moving up to support her head, and he deepened the kiss, nipping at her full bottom lip before letting his tongue tease its way into her mouth. The eventual need to breathe was the only thing that made him stop.
Or that made her stop responding; because she was most definitely, most positively responding to Jack Hodgins’ kiss.
When he finally pulled away from her the room around them rushed back to her. Back to him.
And both of them flushed, a faint, soft blush.
Hodgins’ eyes followed Cam’s hand as she lifted her fingers to her lips, touching where he’d just been. And he wanted to be there again. The only thing that stopped him was her reaction. The way she realized what her fingers were doing, and how she dropped her hand - in shock -- her eyes catching his.