There Goes The Bride

Chapter Eighteen: I Spy With My Jealous Eye

Chapter Eighteen:

Cameron loosened his neck tie as he and a few of his friends awaited Henry's presence in the small, yellow-painted room. A few of them were talking amongst themselves, remembering 'their' wedding days. In fact, Cameron was the only man in the room who wasn't wearing a gold band on his ring finger.

But counting the copious amounts of gold bands weren't going to settle his stomach. It was actually silly, for him to feel so nervous on such a day. He wasn't even the groom and yet his entire stomach was churning in anxiety and he couldn't help but feel perspiration dabbing his forehead.

Cameron knew the real reason for his nerves, and it involved a certain woman.

He knew that she was here. Being a best friend of Martha's she would naturally bring her enchanting presence to today's event, it could be a possibility that she was even a bridesmaid.

God, it had been so long since he was able to gaze upon her face, touch her skin, graze her hair.

Too goddamn long.

Henry walked into the room then, baring a shaky smile with his suit jacket in his hands. "This is it, guys."

One of Henry's groomsmen clapped him on the back. "Don't sweat it, just stay focused on her the entire time, it'll practically fly by."

"But remember to also pay attention to the priest, you'll have to answer questions." Someone else chimed in.

"And don't look at the crowd, it'll throw you off."

Henry eagerly took their advice, nodding his head when needed and letting out bits of laughter here and there. Yet Cameron could tell of his friend's impending anxiety because he too was feeling the same amount of shakiness. His palms were sweaty and his tie seemed impossibly tight. He couldn't even feel his feet.

Cameron caught Henry's gaze and lifted his flute of champagne into the air in a mock salute, to which his friend lifted his lip to smile.

There was a subtle knock on the door as Henry's father entered and smiled at everyone. "It's time."

The men stood idly by the wooden doors leading to the church. They were patiently waiting for the bridesmaids to make their way out of their own enclosed room. Once the first appeared in a light ivory dress, the rest followed and soon the ceremony was taking place. Cameron graciously took the hand of his matched bridesmaid, a co-worker of Martha's, and placed it in the crook of his arm.

She was pretty, he observed. With violently red hair and full lips, but her presence didn't set his heart aflame. Her touch didn't even alter him in the slightest.

Taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly, Cameron trailed behind the others before him and made his way into the church.

The first thing that caught Cameron's eye as he walked down the aisle, were the decorative flowers hanging above the guests in the pews. They were also along the sides of the aisles, near the priest and all around where the two love-birds would stand.

They were a beautiful shade of white with tinges of purple and had enough roots to cascade over their pots.

Cameron was so focused on everything around him, he almost tripped up when he had to part with his partner. She laughed lightly before whispering in his ear, "Careful, everyone is watching you." With smooth agility, he removed her hand before twisting towards his side of the church.

Cameron received several smirks from the fellow groomsmen for his mistake, to which he openly glared at them while slowly making his way to his spot on the raised stage.