I Can Still Be Your Superman

I paced back and forth in the foyer, waiting. Today was the day the guys where coming back. Today was the day I was going to be able to see Cameron again. I was beyond nervous and I really had no idea why. I mean, it was just Cameron: the guy I talked to every day, the guy who makes me laugh, the guy who makes me smile. There was nothing different between us since the last time we saw each other – maybe we were closer and had more expensive phone bills – but we were still just Morgan and Cameron.

“Morgan, if you pace anymore you’re going to make a trench in the middle of the floor. Relax and go sit down. Pacing is not going to make them come any faster.” Uncle John said to me, grabbing my shoulders and dragged me into the living room.

Sighing, I plopped onto the couch. “But I need to do something. I just can’t sit and wait.” I said, my feet bouncing up and down.

“Why don’t you write a song or something? That usually calms you down.”

“Yeah, but if I did that I’d either have to go upstairs or downstairs. Downstairs, I can’t hear the doorbell ring and that means you have to answer the door and I’m not going to let you scare them away. Upstairs, I can hear the doorbell but you will get to the door before I do, thus scaring them away. So, I can’t let either of those options happen.” I replied all in one breath.

“What makes you think I’ll scare them away?”

“Please, you interrogated Joe and read him the riot act when I told you we were dating and you knew him! You don’t know Cameron so I can only imagine what you’ll say to him or Zach, Nathan, and Michael. I’m not taking any chances.”

Jokingly, he placed his hand over his heart in pain. “Ouch Morgan, I can’t believe you don’t have faith in me. I would never scare away your friends who just happen to be guys who just happen to be in their twenties. Maybe just frighten or intimidate, but never scare away.”

I smiled widely as I laughed. Before I could respond, the doorbell chime rang through the house. I jumped up from the couch and ran to the door, leaving Uncle John laughing in his chair. I stopped in front of the door and took a deep breath before twisting the knob, pulling the door open. Almost instantly, I was covered in arms, legs, and a lot of body mass as the four excited boys charged into my house. I flailed my arms (even though they were pinned to my body) as much as possible to get my breath back. “Guys, I missed you, I really did. But, please, release a little bit at least. I can’t breathe.”

Slowly, all of the guys piled off of me besides Michael who kept his arms around my neck. “I’m never letting go!” He exclaimed, tightening his grip. “I need my swag partner! Those guys, they got no sway; I felt my swag slowly fading away with each passing day!” He said and pretended to weep into my shoulder.

I laughed as I patted his back. “Could you say swag anymore in one sentence?”

“Probably, that’s how swag I am.”

From behind me, I heard someone clear their throat. Quickly, Michael released his grip and took a few steps back. I turned around and saw Uncle John with his arms across his chest staring down the four guys. Sighing, I said to him, “Stop that, you’re scaring them.” Truthfully, he did look slightly intimidating. Uncle John isn’t a big man, but he is tall, so he had a height advantage over all of them.

“So these are the boys that whisked you away for a week and the boys who you slept in the same hotel room in. No?”

I rolled my eyes, “Yes they are. Guys this is Uncle John, Uncle John this is Michael, Cameron, Nathan, and Zach.” He shook each of their hands and I tried to push them out of the door. “We really got to go Uncle John, dinner reservations.” I said, lying.

He nodded, “Alright, have fun. Be home by curfew and no hotels this time.”

“Yeah okay, see you Uncle John.” I said and rushed the guys out.

“Nice meeting you sir!” Cameron yelled behind us as I shut the door.

“Nice meeting you sir?” Nathan said, laughing. “Laying it on thick there Cam.”

“What? I’m just trying to make a good impression.” He said innocently as we walked to their car.

“Sucking up is more like it.” Zach said, joining Nathan as he laughed.

Michael joined in too; I just patted Cameron softly on the shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile. “It was a good idea though, gave you some brownie points probably.” I told him.

He smiled back at me. “I sure hope so.” He pulled open his passenger side door for me and helped me jump in.

“So where are we going? When are you going to tell me all about tour and stuff?” I asked, glancing at Zach, Michael, and Nathan in the rearview mirror as they slid into the backseat.

“Where do you think we’re going? Flo’s of course!” Nathan said. “I’m in desperate need for a good burger.”

I laughed, “Only one this time?”

“Alright, you caught me, maybe two. But I’m a growing man! I need my food to survive.”

Cameron jumped into the driver’s side and started the engine, pulling away from the curb. “So what did we miss here?” Zach asked. “You tell us stories before we tell you.”

“Plus, we probably won’t stop talking once we start.” Cameron added.

I laughed, “You guys really didn’t miss much. I just worked a lot basically. Nothing too exciting.”

“Did you decide to join Nick’s band or not?” Nathan asked.

I sighed, “Yes I decided – a few days ago actually.”

“And you didn’t tell us then!?” Michael said melodramatically. “I thought we shared a swag bond.”

“I wanted to tell you guys in person; not through a text to Cameron.”

“Well, what did you decide?” Zach asked.

“I decided that I should do it. There was no real reason for me not to.” I said, though what happened between Nick and I in the kitchen stayed in the back of my mind.

They all cheered, congratulated me, and asked questions about the music I’ve been working on for the rest of the ride. That is, except Cameron; he was quieter than usual. I knew he wasn’t particularly happy with my decision, but I decided to talk to him about it later.

Once we got to Flo’s we all sat in a booth (me squished between Zach and Cameron) and ordered our food. As we waited and eventually ate, the guys told me all about tour and their crazy antics that always made for great stories. I laughed, smiled, and genuinely had a good time. With them, with Cameron’s arm loosely placed behind my shoulders and his leg gently brushing mine underneath the table, I felt comfortable. I felt happy. It was weird, I almost forgot what that felt like.

By the time we left Flo’s three hours later, it was dark out. “Well I’m pooped. No offense Morgan, but all I want to do now is go home and collapse on my bed.” Nathan said after I asked if they wanted to do anything.

I laughed. “Trust me, I know how you feel. No offense taken at all.”

Michael and Zach jumped on the ‘go to sleep’ thing quickly too. I turned to Cameron, “You going home too?” I asked, fully expecting him to say yes.

He cleared his throat nervously, “Actually, I still wanna hang out, if that’s okay with you.”

I smiled as a slight brush rose to my cheeks. “Sure,” I said simply, not wanting to embarrass him any further in front of Nathan, Michael, and Zach who were making kissing noises in the backseat already.

“Stuff it you three!” Cameron yelled as he pulled out of Flo’s parking lot.

They just laughed and found other ways to make fun of each other.

One by one, the car was emptied as Cameron dropped everyone off at their houses. “Have fun kids, but not too much fun.” Zach said before he got out.

“See you later Zach.” I said smiling.

He jumped out of the car and pushed his face in my open window frame. “Remember: no glove, no love.”

“Okay, good bye Zachary.” Cameron said, leaning over me as he tried to push Zach’s face out of the window. All Zach did was laugh and run up the sidewalk towards his house.

“Sorry about that. They don’t know when to stop.” Cameron said as he began to drive away.

I smiled faintly. “That’s okay. I’ve seen much worse. Where are we going?” I asked as I watched the houses pass by as we drove.

“You’ll see.”

“A surprise? Did you guys have this planned out before hand or something?”

“Maybe…” He trailed off, a slight blush appearing on his face.

“That’s sweet.” I said softly. “Now, where are we going?”

Cameron laughed, “I’m not telling you. We’re almost there anyway.” He said as he turned down a street.

I turned my attention to the window, which really didn’t reveal anything. We were still in a residential area. Light still emanated from the homes’ windows and front porches as all of the families lived their own lives. Cameron turned again and the street opened up. There were houses only on one side of the street and marked off parking spaces on the other. A row of trees right on street line blocked any further view.

Cameron pulled his car into one of the empty parking spaces and cut the engine. “We are here.” He said and jumped out of the car, running over to my side and pulled open my door.

I grabbed his extended hand and slid out of the car. “Where exactly is here?”

A bright smile appeared on his face, “You’ll see.” He said and led me through the trees. Right behind them there was a cement path that wound around and through the trees. Old fashioned lamp post illuminated the path and the areas around it. Even thought there wasn’t much light, I saw a fountain in the distance, and a little close, a park with a fully quipped playground.

“You brought me to a park?” I asked, perplexed, but my eyes were full of excitement.

He shrugged, “Where else am I going to bring you at ten at night with little money?” He spun and stood in front of me. “Race you to the monkey bars.” He said and began sprinting towards the playground.

Laughing, I ran after him. Even though Cameron had a head start, I beat him with a few seconds to spare. We ran around the park for a while – chasing each other, competing, and just playing around. We climbed the jungle gym, swung on the swings, spun on the small carousel – all the while laughing and just enjoying each other’s company.

After a while though, we grew tired and decided to walk along the path instead. We walked side by side, but Cameron didn’t grab my hand. Not once. We stopped at the fountain and sat on its short wall. The water in the pool was lit, making the hundreds of pennies, nickels, dimes, and some quarters shine as the water moved with the soft breeze.

“I must say Cameron; you are the one person who brings out the kid in me.” I told him, smiling.

“I assume that’s a good thing.” He said, his voice rising slightly at the end, making it seem more like a question than a statement.

“Definitely,” I said.

He smiled broadly for a moment before his face became serious. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

I looked at him skeptically, “Sure.”

“Why do you live with your uncle?” He asked softly.

“That’s a pretty random question.”

“Well,” He sighed. “It’s been on my mind for a while; there was just never a right time to ask it.”

I sighed and looked away, my eyes not really focusing on anything. “I was a foster kid. Uncle John’s sister adopted me a few years ago.” I said and took a sharp breath before I continued, “When she died a few months ago, custody shifted to him.”

“Morgan,” Cameron said his voice full of pity and sorrow. “I’m sorry.” He placed his hand over mine that sat between us, gripping the fountain’s ledge.

I smiled meekly, “Thanks.” I said like it was no big deal. But, truly, it was. I just old Cameron a part of my past without hesitation, but it was the same nonspecific story that I told everyone when asked. Everyone but Nick. As I sat there with Cameron, I couldn’t help but remember the power that Nick had over me; how easily he coaxed the truth out of me every time.

“Are you okay Morgan?” Cameron asked, noticing my blank expression as I thought.

I turned my attention back to him, trying to push back all thoughts about Nick to the back of my mind, and smiled. “Yeah, I’m just a little tired.”

“Alright, we should go anyway.” He said rising. “Don’t want to keep you past curfew.” He smirked and held out his hand for me.

I grabbed his hand and followed him towards his car. “I don’t appreciate the teasing there Mr. Quiseng.”

He laughed, “Who’s teasing? I was stating a fact. It’s around twelve thirty now.”

“Really?” I said astonished and pulled my phone out of my pocket. “Shit,” I said once I say that it was twelve twenty-seven. “I didn’t realize we were here for that long.”

“Neither did I.” Cameron agreed. “I think the last time I spent two and a half hours at a park, I was eight years old.”

I laughed, “Sounds about right.” Cameron opened the passenger side door for me and helped me climb in. Silently, we drove the short distance to my house, savoring the last few minutes we had left alone.

He pulled up to the curb in front of my house and walked me to my front door. “I, uh, had a great time Cameron.” I said after a brief silence.

He smiled bashfully, “Me too.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Are you busy Friday?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Do, uh… do you want to go, go out on Friday?”

My breath caught in my throat, “Like on a date?” I breathed. Why was I this nervous? I knew this was coming.

“Yeah,”

Was it because my feelings grew for him over the past few weeks? Did I finally move on from Nick? I smiled and took a deep breath, “I’d love to.”

Cameron’s smile grew wider than I ever thought it could. “Great. I’ll pick you up at six.”

My smile grew at his reaction. “Okay, night Cameron.”

He bent down slightly and kissed my cheek. “Night Morgan,” He whispered into my ear before bouncing back to his car.

With one more wave good bye, I walked inside and jumped around in the foyer, giddy. I had a date with Cameron Quiseng.