Crowded Room

28. Overthinking

Camila realizes she’s been reading the same page of the book in front of her for over twenty minutes, her eyes always coming back to the same line as her mind keeps going back to the night before. The way he touched every inch of her skin, the closeness, the way he whispered her name and how he held her afterwards. It was engraved in her mind and she felt her face flushing just remembering all the details, already wanting to repeat everything.

 “ That must be an amazing book if you’re smiling like that.” Camila heard Taylor’s voice, making her lift her head and remember she’s at the library. She was supposed to be studying, but there she was, daydreaming about Shawn.

 “ It could be better.” Camila said about the book, trying to cover up for her obvious happiness as the blonde sat next to her.

 “ So… how are things with Shawn?” Taylor asked, clearly trying to hide a smirk.

 “ Has he told you anything?” Camila asks suspiciously.

 “ Tell me what?”

 “ Nothing.” Camila quickly said and looked away from Taylor.

 “ Has anyone ever told you you’re super easy to read, Baby C?” Taylor asked with a laugh, making Camila blush.

 “ Why does everyone keep telling me that?” Camila complained.

 “ Because it’s true.” Taylor said with a smile. “ And I also saw Shawn earlier. I thought I had seen him happy before, but damn that boy was smiling like a fool today.”

 “ I don’t know where you are going with this, Tay.” Camila focused again on her book, pretending not to be interested.

 “ Okay, let me tell you then. You two look like you just got laid.”

 “ Taylor!” Camila says louder than she intended, earning looks from other students around them.

 “ Come on, Baby C! I need details.” Taylor whispered excitedly.

 “ No, you don’t.” Camila whispered back with a smile, realizing she just confirmed Taylor's suspicions.

 “ I just need to know if he treated you right, because if he didn’t he’s about to get a lecture.”

 “ You really think I would be here daydreaming about last night if he hadn’t?” Camila whispers with her face completely red.

 “ Damn!” Taylor said with a laugh before a girl looked at them, silently telling them to shut up.

 The two girls ended up walking out of the library as Taylor kept interrogating Camila, but she didn’t reveal much, following the blonde to a coffee shop where they met Charli and Shawn. He stood up when they walked in and greeted Camila with a proper kiss in front of everyone, and the two held hands and cuddled the whole time they were there. She went back to his place afterwards and it didn’t take long for them to repeat what had happened the night before, in fact, they found themselves between sheets quite regularly for the next few weeks and Camila couldn’t hide how happy and satisfied he made her.

 They were closer than ever, their friends always making jokes about how they seemed to always be all over each other and by the end of November, Camila wasn’t that excited about going back home for Thanksgiving. Sure, she missed her grandparents like crazy, but just the thought of staying away from Shawn for a few days was enough to make her sad. The day before she was flying home, she found herself in the restroom between classes, locked in a stall as a group of girls entered talking to each other. She was about to step out when she heard Shawn’s name and decided to pay attention out of curiosity.

 “ Is he really dating that freshman?” One of them asked with clear disappointment in her voice. “ I’ve never seen him with the same girl for that long. She’s lucky.”

 “ Please, I heard she’s not even his girlfriend. I bet he’s getting tired of her really soon and dumping her for someone else.”

 “ You’re so mean.” The first girl laughed. “ Maybe he actually likes her. Who knows?”

 “ I’ve slept with him twice. He doesn't like anyone.”

 Camila stays frozen in place as the two girls move to another topic and eventually leave the room. She steps out of the stall and washes her hand, looking at herself in the huge mirror, her mind going places because of what those girls were saying. She didn’t doubt what Shawn felt for her, she knew they had something special, but these two random girls reminded her that Shawn had never asked her to be his girlfriend. She hadn’t actually thought about that in awhile, they were so happy and she thought he would just ask her when he was ready for it, but it never happened.

 She tried not to keep thinking about that, but her mind was replaying the conversation in the restroom over and over, so when Shawn tried to see her later that night, she came up with an excuse. She had to wake up early the next day to catch a flight back home, so he didn’t question her motives and the whole time on the plane she kept replaying all their interactions, trying to see if there was any moment where he was close to ask it, but she couldn’t find anything. She hated how she was letting the words of two random girls get to her, but maybe they weren’t so wrong after all.