If It's a Day, a Month, A Year: (4/7)
He dropped her glass at the table, the noise bringing her from her thoughts. “So, I’m a big dick.”
Cameron stared at him, not even considering to come back with ‘tell me something I don’t know’ or any other sly comment. She just watched him and realized that she had become kind of infatuated with him over the course of the film, and given the fact that she learned the hard way to stay away from romance and to keep her heart stashed away, she hadn’t even realized it. Hadn’t really enjoyed it, and instead just mocked him like a third grader does when they like someone.
“Man, you suck,” he said in a huff, taking a long drag from the glass.
“What?”
“You’re not even listening to what I said, right?”
She caught his eyes and saw his confusion and pain mixing. Like he was really affected by her attention being elsewhere, just like she was so affected when he told her the bravado was a waste because she was too chicken.
“Alright, whatever.”
After a quick sip, she nodded her head, enjoying the fact that it was smoother, tasting the extra lime juice. Cameron smiled at him, with a bit of her guard up. “So, in Chicago,” she began carefully, looking for his eyes, his attention, before she looked back to the table where her fingers played with the edges of the glass. “No one ever forgets the big seasons. We love our Bulls with Jordan. Stan Mikita is God. Ditka and Payton are a constant memory.” She cleared her throat, realizing how low and gravely her voice sounded.
Jared leaned back, resting his hand around his glass at the table, stretching his legs out further. He gave her the smallest but sweetest smile as she continued, her voice in a faraway revelry.
“We love big stories with big personalities and big talent. It doesn’t matter what else goes on after, because we still just say ’85 Bears, man, that’s our team.’” She took a deep breath as she thought of how to continue. “It started more focusing on the Sox and the Cubs rivalry, and how whenever the fans fight, it’s always ‘at least we sell out.’ But us Sox fans always, always, fight back with ‘At least we have the ring.’ And I wanted to talk about how much those moments stay with us. I know people hang onto shit all the time, but I really think it’s huge in Chicago.”
As she went on, her other hand, the one not focusing on her glass, flew out with her words, moving back and forth carefully, punctuating the inflections in her voice. Jared watched every movement in her body, from the way her shoulders would rise and fall as she began a new sentence, as if she still wasn’t sure how she felt about what she was saying. How her head tipped to the side when she was paraphrasing the fans’ opinions. His eyes moved between each motion, but his smile stayed put.
“I mean, it’s kind of written like a documentary, and focuses a bit more on the 2005 Sox, but it just spreads. And we’re thinking of doing the whole city. But it’s really just our commentary on the whole thing and how people respond to things. It’s like a mockumentary, I guess, even though I hate putting it there. This is nothing like Christopher Guest or Rob Reiner. It’s really just my thing, with my goofy friends. And we’re so crazy for it, you have no idea.”
“Cam,” he said carefully.
She shrugged and rattled on nervously, excusing her passion in those two previous statements. “I don’t know. I think I’m just mostly excited to go home and work with them, spending all these hours side-by-side. They’re some of the most creative and funny people I know. I’m just looking forward to sitting next to them while we brainstorm the shit out of this thing."
His smile spread enough to show off his teeth, and she nervously took a much-needed sip. Her mouth dry and course, and empty of words. “That sounds awesome.”
Her raised eyebrow was her question.
He sat up with his legs on either side of hers, his palms set on her knees. “I seriously love it. I will see it opening weekend.”
She laughed sharply. “Right. It’ll be my house, next February. Me, you, and my five friends.”
“I’ll drag Jensen.”
“Your boyfriend will love it.”
Jared laughed, liking that the spark was back in her.
Her hands moved forward, fingers drawing lines down his forearms to his wrists. She was already vulnerable, and he responded so well, she had the courage to at least try this out.
“What’s up?” he asked with interest.
When she looked up, her face was screwed up a bit, as if still thinking, and then it melted into a smile. She pulled her hands back and grabbed her glass. With it at her mouth, she spoke carefully, not sure she could be open about her future and also honest about her feelings. Even when she knew it wasn’t a big secret she was about to tell, she still used the glass to shield her lips. The words slipped from the corner of her mouth. “It feels awesome to tell someone about it.”
Jared leaned back and took a sip. “No one knows?”
“The friends back home, obviously. I haven’t really told anyone here,” and she waved her glass around, signaling those in their business.
“Why not?”
“It feels too cheesy.”
“To brag about it?”
Her eyebrows crinkled. “No, the idea.”
“I’m serious, it sounds amazing.”
She sighed wistfully. “Yeah.” Then she glanced at her watch. It was past eleven. They’d been there for three hours and more than enough liquor, and they had an early call the next morning. But she kind of wanted to stay within the dark womb of the room and the warmth of Jared’s personality.
He saw her look for the time, so he sat up abruptly and asked her nonchalantly. “Let’s get dinner tomorrow. It’s Friday.”
“What?”
“Yeah, we’re only a few weeks from the end of the shoot, what does it matter if we start early?”
She laughed with nerves. “You are not serious.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
“Ridiculous,” she muttered, taking the last sip of her drink.
His knees knocked hers for attention, and then held them in place with gentle pressure. “Why don’t you want to? We spend all this time together. We’re constantly laughing at each other, telling each other all these inner things. What’s the big deal? We’re practically dating.”
“We are not,” she grumbled, playing with her glass and not looking at him.
“What’s tonight?”
“Drinks that you’re too chicken to have in my trailer? I can’t believe you’re afraid of your driver.”
“You ask ten people on set, nine of them will say we’re together.”
Cameron placed the glass on the table and smiled. “I’m getting the tenth guy a raise.” He didn’t reply, so she looked up and saw his challenging glare. “It wouldn’t work out,” and she ended the sentence ‘I’m not the kind of girl you like’ in her head.
“What’re you afraid of?”
His voice continued to come out more curious than bothered. She kind of appreciated that. Nonetheless, she felt a bit of her sarcasm stir, so she latched onto it and smiled at him. “Because at the end of filming, you’re going to want to stay together and be all ‘Cameron, I’m falling in love with you!’ And expect us to be in the same town so we can still be together. I’m going to have to break your heart and be all ‘I’m sorry, Jared, but this was just convenience on location, and we both know it. I have to go back to Chicago. Go be good, you brave little man.’”
“In this scenario, are you Jared and I’m Cameron?” He pegged her smile as it twisted with guilt. “That is such bullshit. You don’t even try a different voice when you were being me. You suck at Fake Jared.”
Cameron couldn’t keep the laugh inside and she ran a hand over the back of her head. “I’m sorry. I never did nail that Sasquatch dialect.” He took her in from the corner of his eye as he prepared to finish off his drink. Before he could say anything, she patted his knees quickly. “Alright, we should cut this out. I think I need me some sleep.”
Jared kept his eyes with her for a few more moments then rose, grabbing onto her hand. “Alright. Walk me to the lobby.”
She followed alongside without complaint, letting him entwine their fingers. When they reached the bank of elevators, his arms closed around her back, pulling her closer. She hugged him back, dragging open palms along his back and breathing deep. He did smell pretty damn good. And much to her surprise, the hug felt so different than all the ones before. Caring but strong. When he pulled back, his hands held her neck, thumbs just before her ears. Her hands clung to the sides of his shirt. Jared sighed with a tiny smile. “Be careful.”
Instead of thinking of her way to her hotel, she thought of her heart in that moment, which was steeling itself. “Yeah, always.”
“’Kay,” he murmured as he leaned closer and gave a quick, chaste peck and moved away. One hand patting her shoulder, as if all was good and fine. “See ya in the morn.”
Cameron smiled and backed away from the area, breathing so incredibly deep she almost smothered herself with oxygen. At the front door, she played with her keys, even when she probably should not have thought about driving, just to be on the safe side. She considered this, and so many other things. Long, deep breaths, muttering to herself, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” She pulled out her phone, staring at the screen and then tapping it against her hand. Hard. “Shit,” she whispered. More deep breaths. Finally, she filed off a text. Can you come back down?
She moved to the side of the lobby, keeping to herself and out of sight from the front desk. She still couldn’t believe she wasn’t leaving, but then her brain counted up the oh-so-many glasses she’d seen throughout the night. Yea, u okay?
Her thumbs froze over the keyboard, tapping without pressing any keys. Finally, she typed, No.
Be right down.
Another deep breath and she set on her course for the elevator lobby, pacing in front of the closed doors. Waiting for that ding, for him to be there. When it finally did open and Jared took steps out, she pushed at his stomach, forcing him back inside the box. “What’s wrong?” he asked, worried.
Cameron threw her fingers through her hair, stared at the walls, and then looked at him. Shaking her head, “I think I had too much to drink.”
“You can’t drive? I’ll get you a cab.” Jared reached for the buttons to open the doors again, but she pulled his hand away and pushed the button for the 22nd floor, the top. The elevator whirred to life, rising. “Cam?”
She tugged his hand so he stood closer, and looked up to his eyes. “I really like you.”
The worry lines in his forehead smoothed themselves out as his lips tipped into a careful smile. “Yeah?”
“I don’t want to lose what we already have, but I seriously cannot fend you off anymore without being pathetic.”
His hands went to her neck, holding her as he did in the lobby. “Hey,” he started, not really sure what he wanted to say, because a thousand words swarmed his brain.
Her fingers curled into his t-shirt and her eyes stared at his neck. “You’re going to break my heart, I fucking know it.”
Thumbs soothed her skin. “Nah, nah, I won’t.”
Cameron brought her eyes up to his. She whispered, “C’mere,” and tugged just enough to bring him down to her and their mouths met. Stronger than how 312 had started, and holding so much more.
Jared’s hands led her head to the side as his mouth opened and closed against hers. Tongues coming out to play, pushing and plying the other, and she whimpered just so. He smiled against her. Cameron went on tip toes to get that much closer to him, even if she was anything but short. She just wanted to feel as much of his body against hers possible. One of his hands wrapped around her back, pulling her into him. Her hands flew to his face, eventually wrapping behind his head.
The ding of the elevator shook them from the moment and she chuckled nervously. Jared moved back to the buttons, one hand still at her back and pulling her with him. He pressed 12, and then brought her back to him. Their mouths met again, but slower, pacing themselves. “This,” he murmured against her lips. “Is ten times better than 312.”
She smiled on his mouth. “Everything is. It’s just a scene.
Next
Cameron stared at him, not even considering to come back with ‘tell me something I don’t know’ or any other sly comment. She just watched him and realized that she had become kind of infatuated with him over the course of the film, and given the fact that she learned the hard way to stay away from romance and to keep her heart stashed away, she hadn’t even realized it. Hadn’t really enjoyed it, and instead just mocked him like a third grader does when they like someone.
“Man, you suck,” he said in a huff, taking a long drag from the glass.
“What?”
“You’re not even listening to what I said, right?”
She caught his eyes and saw his confusion and pain mixing. Like he was really affected by her attention being elsewhere, just like she was so affected when he told her the bravado was a waste because she was too chicken.
“Alright, whatever.”
After a quick sip, she nodded her head, enjoying the fact that it was smoother, tasting the extra lime juice. Cameron smiled at him, with a bit of her guard up. “So, in Chicago,” she began carefully, looking for his eyes, his attention, before she looked back to the table where her fingers played with the edges of the glass. “No one ever forgets the big seasons. We love our Bulls with Jordan. Stan Mikita is God. Ditka and Payton are a constant memory.” She cleared her throat, realizing how low and gravely her voice sounded.
Jared leaned back, resting his hand around his glass at the table, stretching his legs out further. He gave her the smallest but sweetest smile as she continued, her voice in a faraway revelry.
“We love big stories with big personalities and big talent. It doesn’t matter what else goes on after, because we still just say ’85 Bears, man, that’s our team.’” She took a deep breath as she thought of how to continue. “It started more focusing on the Sox and the Cubs rivalry, and how whenever the fans fight, it’s always ‘at least we sell out.’ But us Sox fans always, always, fight back with ‘At least we have the ring.’ And I wanted to talk about how much those moments stay with us. I know people hang onto shit all the time, but I really think it’s huge in Chicago.”
As she went on, her other hand, the one not focusing on her glass, flew out with her words, moving back and forth carefully, punctuating the inflections in her voice. Jared watched every movement in her body, from the way her shoulders would rise and fall as she began a new sentence, as if she still wasn’t sure how she felt about what she was saying. How her head tipped to the side when she was paraphrasing the fans’ opinions. His eyes moved between each motion, but his smile stayed put.
“I mean, it’s kind of written like a documentary, and focuses a bit more on the 2005 Sox, but it just spreads. And we’re thinking of doing the whole city. But it’s really just our commentary on the whole thing and how people respond to things. It’s like a mockumentary, I guess, even though I hate putting it there. This is nothing like Christopher Guest or Rob Reiner. It’s really just my thing, with my goofy friends. And we’re so crazy for it, you have no idea.”
“Cam,” he said carefully.
She shrugged and rattled on nervously, excusing her passion in those two previous statements. “I don’t know. I think I’m just mostly excited to go home and work with them, spending all these hours side-by-side. They’re some of the most creative and funny people I know. I’m just looking forward to sitting next to them while we brainstorm the shit out of this thing."
His smile spread enough to show off his teeth, and she nervously took a much-needed sip. Her mouth dry and course, and empty of words. “That sounds awesome.”
Her raised eyebrow was her question.
He sat up with his legs on either side of hers, his palms set on her knees. “I seriously love it. I will see it opening weekend.”
She laughed sharply. “Right. It’ll be my house, next February. Me, you, and my five friends.”
“I’ll drag Jensen.”
“Your boyfriend will love it.”
Jared laughed, liking that the spark was back in her.
Her hands moved forward, fingers drawing lines down his forearms to his wrists. She was already vulnerable, and he responded so well, she had the courage to at least try this out.
“What’s up?” he asked with interest.
When she looked up, her face was screwed up a bit, as if still thinking, and then it melted into a smile. She pulled her hands back and grabbed her glass. With it at her mouth, she spoke carefully, not sure she could be open about her future and also honest about her feelings. Even when she knew it wasn’t a big secret she was about to tell, she still used the glass to shield her lips. The words slipped from the corner of her mouth. “It feels awesome to tell someone about it.”
Jared leaned back and took a sip. “No one knows?”
“The friends back home, obviously. I haven’t really told anyone here,” and she waved her glass around, signaling those in their business.
“Why not?”
“It feels too cheesy.”
“To brag about it?”
Her eyebrows crinkled. “No, the idea.”
“I’m serious, it sounds amazing.”
She sighed wistfully. “Yeah.” Then she glanced at her watch. It was past eleven. They’d been there for three hours and more than enough liquor, and they had an early call the next morning. But she kind of wanted to stay within the dark womb of the room and the warmth of Jared’s personality.
He saw her look for the time, so he sat up abruptly and asked her nonchalantly. “Let’s get dinner tomorrow. It’s Friday.”
“What?”
“Yeah, we’re only a few weeks from the end of the shoot, what does it matter if we start early?”
She laughed with nerves. “You are not serious.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I am.”
“Ridiculous,” she muttered, taking the last sip of her drink.
His knees knocked hers for attention, and then held them in place with gentle pressure. “Why don’t you want to? We spend all this time together. We’re constantly laughing at each other, telling each other all these inner things. What’s the big deal? We’re practically dating.”
“We are not,” she grumbled, playing with her glass and not looking at him.
“What’s tonight?”
“Drinks that you’re too chicken to have in my trailer? I can’t believe you’re afraid of your driver.”
“You ask ten people on set, nine of them will say we’re together.”
Cameron placed the glass on the table and smiled. “I’m getting the tenth guy a raise.” He didn’t reply, so she looked up and saw his challenging glare. “It wouldn’t work out,” and she ended the sentence ‘I’m not the kind of girl you like’ in her head.
“What’re you afraid of?”
His voice continued to come out more curious than bothered. She kind of appreciated that. Nonetheless, she felt a bit of her sarcasm stir, so she latched onto it and smiled at him. “Because at the end of filming, you’re going to want to stay together and be all ‘Cameron, I’m falling in love with you!’ And expect us to be in the same town so we can still be together. I’m going to have to break your heart and be all ‘I’m sorry, Jared, but this was just convenience on location, and we both know it. I have to go back to Chicago. Go be good, you brave little man.’”
“In this scenario, are you Jared and I’m Cameron?” He pegged her smile as it twisted with guilt. “That is such bullshit. You don’t even try a different voice when you were being me. You suck at Fake Jared.”
Cameron couldn’t keep the laugh inside and she ran a hand over the back of her head. “I’m sorry. I never did nail that Sasquatch dialect.” He took her in from the corner of his eye as he prepared to finish off his drink. Before he could say anything, she patted his knees quickly. “Alright, we should cut this out. I think I need me some sleep.”
Jared kept his eyes with her for a few more moments then rose, grabbing onto her hand. “Alright. Walk me to the lobby.”
She followed alongside without complaint, letting him entwine their fingers. When they reached the bank of elevators, his arms closed around her back, pulling her closer. She hugged him back, dragging open palms along his back and breathing deep. He did smell pretty damn good. And much to her surprise, the hug felt so different than all the ones before. Caring but strong. When he pulled back, his hands held her neck, thumbs just before her ears. Her hands clung to the sides of his shirt. Jared sighed with a tiny smile. “Be careful.”
Instead of thinking of her way to her hotel, she thought of her heart in that moment, which was steeling itself. “Yeah, always.”
“’Kay,” he murmured as he leaned closer and gave a quick, chaste peck and moved away. One hand patting her shoulder, as if all was good and fine. “See ya in the morn.”
Cameron smiled and backed away from the area, breathing so incredibly deep she almost smothered herself with oxygen. At the front door, she played with her keys, even when she probably should not have thought about driving, just to be on the safe side. She considered this, and so many other things. Long, deep breaths, muttering to herself, “Fuck, fuck, fuck.” She pulled out her phone, staring at the screen and then tapping it against her hand. Hard. “Shit,” she whispered. More deep breaths. Finally, she filed off a text. Can you come back down?
She moved to the side of the lobby, keeping to herself and out of sight from the front desk. She still couldn’t believe she wasn’t leaving, but then her brain counted up the oh-so-many glasses she’d seen throughout the night. Yea, u okay?
Her thumbs froze over the keyboard, tapping without pressing any keys. Finally, she typed, No.
Be right down.
Another deep breath and she set on her course for the elevator lobby, pacing in front of the closed doors. Waiting for that ding, for him to be there. When it finally did open and Jared took steps out, she pushed at his stomach, forcing him back inside the box. “What’s wrong?” he asked, worried.
Cameron threw her fingers through her hair, stared at the walls, and then looked at him. Shaking her head, “I think I had too much to drink.”
“You can’t drive? I’ll get you a cab.” Jared reached for the buttons to open the doors again, but she pulled his hand away and pushed the button for the 22nd floor, the top. The elevator whirred to life, rising. “Cam?”
She tugged his hand so he stood closer, and looked up to his eyes. “I really like you.”
The worry lines in his forehead smoothed themselves out as his lips tipped into a careful smile. “Yeah?”
“I don’t want to lose what we already have, but I seriously cannot fend you off anymore without being pathetic.”
His hands went to her neck, holding her as he did in the lobby. “Hey,” he started, not really sure what he wanted to say, because a thousand words swarmed his brain.
Her fingers curled into his t-shirt and her eyes stared at his neck. “You’re going to break my heart, I fucking know it.”
Thumbs soothed her skin. “Nah, nah, I won’t.”
Cameron brought her eyes up to his. She whispered, “C’mere,” and tugged just enough to bring him down to her and their mouths met. Stronger than how 312 had started, and holding so much more.
Jared’s hands led her head to the side as his mouth opened and closed against hers. Tongues coming out to play, pushing and plying the other, and she whimpered just so. He smiled against her. Cameron went on tip toes to get that much closer to him, even if she was anything but short. She just wanted to feel as much of his body against hers possible. One of his hands wrapped around her back, pulling her into him. Her hands flew to his face, eventually wrapping behind his head.
The ding of the elevator shook them from the moment and she chuckled nervously. Jared moved back to the buttons, one hand still at her back and pulling her with him. He pressed 12, and then brought her back to him. Their mouths met again, but slower, pacing themselves. “This,” he murmured against her lips. “Is ten times better than 312.”
She smiled on his mouth. “Everything is. It’s just a scene.
Next