Wild Heart

A Nice Girl at the Poolside Bar

Camila hated to admit how excited she felt any time her and Shawn would cross paths at the resort. She kept telling herself it was just the excitement of finally getting to meet her boyfriend's brother after four years of being in a relationship with James but she couldn't deny that she might've had a slight crush. That wasn't her fault, though. Any human with eyes would have a crush on him.

"Hey you," he said with a bright smile as they ran into each other at the poolside bar. She tried not to stare directly at his shirtless chest but it was difficult when their height difference put her right at eye level with his torso. She composed herself and cleared her throat before looking up at him and smiling.

"Hey! Did you also opt for the pool over the beach today?"

"Yeah. It's not my first choice but the beach is like...insanely crowded. It kind of ruins it."

"It really does," Camila sighed. The bartender slid her the piña colada she had ordered. She quietly thanked him and took a sip as she turned back towards Shawn.

"You must really like piña coladas, huh?"

"It's really just the pineapple I like, to be honest," she shrugged. He nodded as a look of amusement crossed his face. It took her a second to realize why he seemed so entertained by her comment but when she did, her face turned bright red and she timidly looked down at her feet.

"Corona with lime," Shawn said as he slid some cash to the bartender. "Is James drinking anything?"

"Just a water bottle he took from our room."

"Boring." The bartender handed Shawn his beer which he happily took. "You need to loosen him up. He's too uptight and boring. He needs to let go and have fun for once in his life."

"And you think I'm the person who can help him do that?" she laughed.

"Don't underestimate yourself." He took a sip of his beer. "You're wild at heart. I can tell."

"Oh yeah? And how can you tell?"

"Well you're flirting with your boyfriend's brother, for starters." Camila's jaw dropped, her eyes wide in surprise at his bold statement.

"I'm not flirting with you."

"Okay." The word came out of his mouth with a coy smile, as if he didn't actually believe what she had just said.

"I'm really not! Seriously, what would make you think that I'm flirting?" Camila defensively stuck her hands on her hips. Shawn sighed, an amused smile still tugging at his lips.

"You're right. Maybe I just read you wrong. Maybe your cheeks just turn that bright shade of pink whenever you talk to anyone who isn't James." He smirked down at her, her face a mixture of offense and embarrassment. She scoffed and grabbed her drink from the bar.

"Whatever. I'm going to go back to my boyfriend now." She hoped her emphasis on the word 'boyfriend' would somehow erase the entire interaction they had just had but it didn't.

"Tell him to enjoy his water!" Shawn shouted as he watched her walk away from him. Camila flashed him a look from over her shoulder to which he just laughed. She spent the rest of the day trying to forget about their conversation but it didn't seem to be working.

They all met for dinner together that night and Camila felt like crawling into a hole and hiding when she realized that the only empty chair for her was right in between Shawn and James. She kept quiet for the most part, only speaking when spoken to in order to avoid any more awkward moments. She had already reached her embarrassment quota for the day.