Falling For the Best Man (Camp Firefly Falls Book 10)

by Ally Decker

  Kevin realized he'd been looking forward to introducing Charlie to the group. He'd pictured them spending their time together back in New York, too. But they just hadn't… They'd both been going with the flow while they were here, and it looked like it had come around to bite them in the ass now.

  He burrowed deeper into his seat, shoving his hands into his hoodie's pockets. Although the days were very warm, early mornings could still be a bit chilly and he'd been sitting here for a while.

  He checked the time. Five to eight. So about an hour.

  He considered finally turning his laptop on, but then he thought he heard something from inside the cabin. He froze.

  Yes, someone was definitely moving.

  Kevin was out of his seat and knocking before he could think it through.

  He counted seconds in his head and started to worry Charlie would ignore him as the time dragged and nothing was happening. The noise behind the door stopped the moment he knocked, and now there was silence.

  But then he heard shuffling on the floor, and the door opened. Charlie was blinking owlishly, still half-asleep, and his hair was mussed on one side and flat on the other.

  Kevin's gut tightened at the sight.

  "Hey," he said, barely a whisper.

  Charlie ran a hand over his hair. "Hey."

  Here goes nothing. "I'm sorry I'm here so early, but I really needed to talk to you, and when I heard you got up, I just reacted."

  "Heard?" Charlie blinked twice and frowned. "Were you waiting outside? Since when?"

  "Not long. About an hour," Kevin added at Charlie's expectant look.

  "An hour."

  "I just…really wanted to talk to you."

  "Clearly," Charlie muttered before shaking his head. He glanced behind him, probably at his bed, and then back at Kevin. "Okay, come in."

  He grabbed his laptop and was about to enter when he saw Charlie hiding a yawn. Kevin might really want to have this conversation, but it didn't make sense to do it with Charlie still half-asleep.

  "How about I'll go to the kitchen real fast and bring back coffee, then we'll talk?"

  Charlie raised his head at the mention of coffee. "Yeah. That would be great."

  Kevin put his laptop bag right inside the door and hesitated. "Just… Be here," he asked, his voice low. "Don't go anywhere." Don't run.

  Charlie blinked again, and then, between one second and the next, his face softened. "I won't. I'll be here. I'm just going to take a quick shower, so if you're back and I don't answer the door, let yourself in."

  He nodded, then he was off to the kitchen. Fortunately, he avoided seeing anyone he knew, so he was able to be in and out of there in a few minutes. The way back took him a bit longer because he had to be careful not to spill the coffees.

  The door to the cabin was half-way open, so he only needed to nudge it to get inside.

  "Hey, it's me," he said before walking in.

  Charlie was sitting cross-legged on the edge of his bed and his arms were folded against his stomach. He looked much more awake now, but also more nervous.

  Kevin handed him his coffee—two sugars and milk—and took a seat on the chair, to give them both space.

  After Charlie didn't say anything but a quiet "Thanks", it was obvious Kevin had to be the one to start. He took a sip of his coffee and stared at it for a long moment before looking up. For all the questions and worries he had, suddenly he didn't know where to start.

  "I don't understand what happened yesterday," he finally said, and watched Charlie's shoulders go up to his ears. "Greg told me you said you had a headache, but—"

  "I needed some time alone," Charlie said quietly. Half his face was hidden behind the mug, but Kevin could see tension around his eyes.

  "Why? What happened?"

  "I just… I needed space."

  Kevin took another sip of coffee to swallow a sigh that threatened to go out. "I hear you. You needed space. I'm just wondering why. We were fine when we split at the beach, and I wish we could've spent the dinner together, but—"

  "Do you?"

  Kevin paused at that. Charlie grimaced, so his words probably slipped out.

  "Do I what?"

  Charlie looked down at his mug again before meeting his gaze. The answer, when it came, sounded more like a statement than a question. "Do you wish we could've spent the dinner together."

  Kevin frowned, taken aback. "Of course I do. What the hell?" How could Charlie even think differently?

  "I think I might have…gotten some things wrong," Charlie told him. "I know it's been a few days, God, not even a week." He swallowed the rest of the coffee. "And I didn't…expect any promises, or anything, but what we were doing… It felt like dating, to me. Or, at least something that could turn into dating in the real world, not just here, where we are possibly the only two single gay guys around." He snorted, but there was no humor in it. "I was hoping we could continue seeing each other after going back to New York—"

  "That's great," Kevin cut in. "I'm glad. I would like that, too."

  Charlie blinked twice. "Oh."

  Kevin frowned. "I know we haven't talked about it yet, so you couldn't be sure, but… I mean, I wasn't sure what you wanted, but I was hopeful. You seem… You seem like you expected me to not want that, and I'm not sure why. Did I do something? Or say something?"

  Charlie groaned and hung his head. "God, I'm sorry. The entire evening yesterday was shitty, and I made assumptions, and that was unfair."

  Kevin put his mug down on the table and crossed the short space between them. He took Charlie's mug and put it aside, too, before sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him. He reached out and took a hold of Charlie's knees, squeezing gently before leaving his hands there.

  "You want to tell me about that from the beginning?" he asked softly. "We obviously got our signals crossed somewhere, so I don't want to make assumptions, either."

  Charlie looked down at Kevin's right hand on his left knee, and then covered it with his own hand.

  It felt good to be touching him again, Kevin realized. And it had been, what, fifteen, sixteen hours? Suddenly, the idea that he might not want whatever was happening between them seemed laughable.

  "I overreacted," Charlie started, looking at their joined hands. "It was a bunch of small things that added up, but I still overreacted, and I'm sorry I ruined the evening last night."

  "You didn't ruin anything," Kevin told him. "I missed you, but you didn't ruin anything."

  Charlie grimaced. "Well, I definitely ruined my evening." He sighed. "Okay, so. Please, keep in mind that it will all probably sound ridiculous—"

  Kevin squeezed his knee. "Just tell me."

  So Charlie did. He told him about how Tara's offhand comment got to him, how he waited before dinner and started to worry, and then got there and things seemed even worse. Then he got to the part about the overheard conversation, and Kevin wanted to strangle Nate for that one. Although, to be fair, Charlie chose a particularly bad part to overhear, since Nate had said some very nice things back there, too.

  "It all just became too much, suddenly," Charlie said, voice quieter now. He seemed to run out of energy. "A part of me was sane enough to acknowledge that I might've gotten this whole thing wrong, but the rest of me wasn't ready to try and look for another explanation. And…" He paused, biting the side of his lower lip. "And I was afraid that even if I did get some of it wrong, you may still not want what I want. Because while not wanting that doesn't make you an asshole or a—a player," he added, grimacing over the last word. "I just didn't want to deal with it, if that was true."

  Kevin tried to make sense of the whirlwind of emotions that had run through him as he'd listened, but he struggled with it. He'd been sad, irritated, hurt, but also hopeful and happy that at the end of it all, they both wanted the same thing. Sure, it sucked to be doubted like that, but he could see now where Charlie had been coming from.

  "I hate the word player," was the first words ou
t of his mouth, and he decided to just go with it. "That's not who I am. To me, a player implies that someone is dishonest and playing you. I've never done that to anyone. If I knew from the start that I was only interested in one night or a fling, I always said it up front. And yeah, I dated a lot, and most of the time, the first date was the last, but that doesn't make me a player. Everyone has more first dates than anything else." He paused. "What you've heard Nate say—"

  "You don't have to explain," Charlie cut in with a shake of his head.

  "Better to get it over with now than have you wondering again next time someone says something like that," Kevin said and only realized how it came out when Charlie looked away from him. "Hey, it's fine, these are growing pains, okay? We both didn't communicate well, and we both misunderstood things."

  "Only one of us was an asshole about it, though," Charlie pointed out.

  "Then I forgive you, how about that?" Kevin squeezed his hand again. "I'm pretty sure you've suffered enough already, if you felt so bad you hid in your cabin."

  Charlie grimaced. "I'm feeling bad now, too, thinking about how overdramatic I can be."

  "Well, even if that's true, I like you anyway." Kevin made the admission in a teasing tone, but it was no less true.

  It got him a real smile from Charlie, so it must have worked.

  "I like you, too. And you don't have to explain anything about what Nate said." Charlie shook his head when Kevin opened his mouth to cut in, so Kevin let him finish. "I obviously didn't hear the whole thing, but even if Nate thinks about you like that, this is not how I've seen you act. At least about the no commitment, no care in the world part. You should hear yourself how you talk about your friends and your work." Charlie's smile softened. "You obviously care about things, and people. I'm sorry I got stuck on the completely wrong part of his words."

  "He was trying to make a point, and he'd had a bit too much to drink," Kevin couldn't help adding. "He doesn't think about me like that."

  "That's good. He definitely should know better." Charlie grinned and Kevin felt something uncurl in his chest. They were okay if Charlie smiled like that. "And you just proved my point. You not only care about what I think of you, you also make sure I think well about your friend."

  Kevin shrugged. Of course he wanted Charlie to like his friends.

  "So," he started, turning his hand and tangling his fingers through Charlie's. "About this dating thing."

  Charlie raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?"

  "Would you be my plus one for today's wedding?"

  Charlie laughed and pulled him closer. Kevin scrambled onto his knees in record time and leaned in for a kiss.

  Just before their lips met, Charlie pulled back slightly. "Let's just set things straight, though. I'm the best man at the wedding, so you are my plus one."

  Kevin laughed and kissed him. "Sure," he said, lips pressed against Charlie's. "Whatever you want."

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  When Charlie woke up the second time on that Saturday morning, it was a thousand times better than the first time. He'd dragged Kevin to lie down with him after they'd had their talk, and they'd kissed and touched each other, but kept their clothes on. He must have drifted off at some point, and now when he woke up, he had his head on Kevin's shoulder and his arm around Kevin's waist.

  It was pretty close to perfect, in Charlie's opinion. He didn't open his eyes right away, marveling at the happiness that spread through him in warm currents, leaving nothing but a distant echo of last night's hurt behind. Now that they'd talked things through and Charlie realized they both wanted the same things, it felt even better to be here with Kevin like this.

  It was going to be hard to go back to waking up alone in New York City, but maybe, in time, they would get to wake up just like this more and more.

  "You awake?" came the soft whisper from right next to his head.

  "Kind of," he whispered back before tilting his face up to meet Kevin's gaze. Charlie smiled and leaned in for a kiss. "You might've noticed I'm not a morning person."

  Kevin ran a hand over the back of Charlie's head. "I might've, yes. But back home, I'm not, either. That's one of the reasons why I work into the night—so I could come in to the office late."

  Charlie chuckled. "My mother once told me she's sure that one of the main reasons I've decided to be a theatre actor was so I could sleep in in the morning."

  "Is she wrong?"

  "Not entirely, no." Charlie propped his chin on Kevin's chest so he could see him better. "I'm glad we have similar schedules," he admitted. "It will make things easier back in the real world." He'd both seen and been in relationships that sank because people were always missing each other.

  "Yeah." Kevin smiled and rubbed his thumb behind Charlie's ear, sending a shiver down his spine. "I'm glad, too."

  Charlie leaned into the caress and shifted, pushing his leg over Kevin's as he felt his cock waking up as well. They still had a lot to talk about, but for now, maybe it was time to do something else.

  From the way Kevin's smile shifted into a smirk and his gaze dropped to Charlie's mouth, he definitely liked this plan.

  ***

  By the time they made it out of the cabin, it was more of the brunch hour than breakfast, but, with the wedding ceremony being held at four, the meal hours before then were flexible anyway.

  As they were walking towards the kitchen, Charlie kept looking around, because the area he'd come to know well in the last week was suddenly transformed into an outdoor wedding paradise. The chairs, the decorations, everything seemed to have shown up overnight, and the final effect looked simple but beautiful.

  Sylvia and Greg were going to get married at the edge of the beach, so the chairs were all facing the lake. Even their handmade, less-than-perfect decorations fit right in with the whole set up.

  "The garland balloons made it in, I see," Kevin said with a shake of his head, but Charlie elbowed him in the side.

  "Shut up, it all looks great."

  Kevin looked around and nodded. "Yeah, okay, it does look good."

  After they ate, Charlie figured it was high time for him to catch up on his best man duties and go find the groom.

  "You're probably right. We wouldn't want him to get lost on the way to the altar," Kevin said with a quirked smile. "The man hunt would not be pretty."

  "From where I'm standing, there's a bigger chance that Sylvia would do a runner than Greg."

  Kevin chuckled. "So, zero chance."

  "Yep." Charlie leaned up for another kiss before pulling away reluctantly. "I should go."

  "I will see you later. And I'm calling dibs on the first dance, too."

  Charlie grinned, already picturing them on the beach, swaying to the music. "You have a deal."

  He watched Kevin walk away for a few seconds, then headed to Greg and Sylvia's cabin. The bride was supposed to be taken away by the bridesmaids early in the morning, so Greg should be alone.

  And he was. When Charlie went inside after knocking and receiving "Come in" in answer, he saw his best friend spread on the bed in his boxers and undershirt, lying on his stomach and looking at something on his tablet.

  "Wow, what a nervous wreck you are," Charlie said dryly, closing the door behind him.

  Greg turned onto his side and propped his head on his hand. "Why would I be nervous? I'm more impatient than anything else. Speaking of," he paused, raising his eyebrows at Charlie. "You took your time getting here."

  "Yeah, sorry about that." He dragged the chair closer to the bed and sat down, tugging his shoes off and tossing his feet up onto the mattress. "I'm here now, though it doesn't look like you need me for much."

  He expected a rebuttal, but instead Greg pinned him with a look that meant business. "I need you to tell me what happened last night, how about that?"

  Charlie grimaced. "How about no."

  Greg just kept looking at him, and Charlie should really be immune by now after so many years of friendship, but no, apparently not.
"I'm going to give you the cliff's notes version, because I mostly want to forget about the whole thing. So. I overreacted to some dumb stuff, because I'm an idiot, and because me and Kevin hadn't had the what-are-we-doing conversation."

  "You thought he doesn't want you," Greg said, reading between the lines.

  Charlie scratched at the side of his jeans. "Yeah. But we're good now. We talked, we're on the same page, we're going to keep seeing each other after we go back to New York. It's good," he repeated at the end, adding a smile this time, because yes, things with Kevin were fine now. They were better than fine.

  "That's great." Greg nudged Charlie's foot with his own and made him look up. "I like him, and Sylvia's obviously rooting for you guys, too. From what she told me, she thinks he's very into you."

  Charlie would like to say he didn't preen at that, but sadly, he couldn't. He truly was like a teenager with a crush. At least he didn't ask "Really?". Small mercies.

  "Yeah, well, I'm very into him, too, and we're going to see where it goes," he said instead.

  All the way, his inner teenager-with-a-crush supplied. Hopefully all the way.

  ***

  Standing beside his best friend as he was getting married to the love of his life was something incredibly special.

  Sylvia and Greg opted to walk together to the altar, and all the eyes were on them as they passed the guests. They were a truly stunning couple, Sylvia in her white strapless dress with white and purple flowers and Greg in his dark gray tuxedo with an open collar, both barefoot and smiling all the way towards the minister.

  Charlie's throat felt tight the whole time the couple exchanged vows and he watched Sylvia's too bright eyes as she tried not to cry.

  When the minister got to the part how they could now kiss each other, all the guests came to their feet and applauded. There were a few whistles, too, when Greg dipped Sylvia back, and more laughs when she swatted him on the arm for it.