Watermelon

Dragons Love Tacos

"Sorry, it's uh...it's not much." Shawn opened the door to his little brick townhouse while holding Maggie against his chest, her head laying on his shoulder. They had spent a while at breakfast talking before Shawn offered that they could go back to his place for a bit. Just seeing him interact with the toddler at the restaurant was melting Camila's heart — she couldn't wait to see what they were like together when they were home.

She stepped into the house behind him, looking around at her surroundings. The front door opened up to the living room and beyond that she could see part of the kitchen. He had warned her before they left Sunset Grill that he hadn't had the time to properly clean so she wasn't exactly sure what she was about to walk in on. She was pleasantly surprised to see just how tidy he kept his house. There were a few toys sitting on the area rug in the living room and a throw blanket was haphazardly tossed onto the couch but it wasn't messy — it was just...homey.

"Come on," Shawn said to Maggie as he set her down onto the wood floor. "Let's take off your jacket." He undid each of the little snaps that held her pink corduroy jacket secure before gently tugging on the sleeves until the jacket came off. Camila smiled as she watched the interaction. He hung the jacket up on hook by the door.

"My shoes!" the toddler squealed as she pointed at her feet. Shawn let out a breathy chuckle as he picked her up and set her on the couch so he could help her get her shoes off too. As soon as her little velcro sneakers had been taken off she was crawling off of the couch and scurrying away to somewhere else in the house.

"She's the sweetest little thing," Camila noted with a smile. "And your house is so cute. I love it."

"I mean it's no high-rise apartment but it get's the job done," he shrugged. Camila rolled her eyes.

"You know that shit doesn't matter to me..."

"I know. I just like teasing you." He gave her a smirk before leaning in and giving her a peck on the lips. "Want a tour?"

"I'd love that."

He took her by the hand and guided her through the living room.

"This is the living room. Great for movie watching and popcorn eating. Unfortunately, I do only have one couch," he quipped. Camila snorted and shook her head. He led her into the kitchen next. "This is the kitchen...obviously."

She looked around the small yet cozy kitchen. The cabinets were white and the countertops were wooden butcher block. All of the walls were painted a light gray color. There was a bowl and a sippy cup sitting in the sink waiting to be washed but Camila didn't mind. She kind of enjoyed seeing his home so lived in. Her own apartment still kind of felt like just a fancy hotel at times — not home.

"See my room!" a tiny voice yipped from below them. Camila looked down to see Maggie looking up at her with bright eyes.

"Did you clean up your books?" Shawn asked in what Camila was quickly learning was his 'dad voice'.

"Yup!" The almost-three-year-old excitedly turned around and started trotting toward her room with Shawn and Camila following behind her.

Camila couldn't stop the wide smile that overtook her face the second she saw the little girl's bedroom. The walls were painted a pastel lilac color with sparkles and fairies and flowers incorporated wherever they could be.

"Your room is so pretty!" Camila cooed. Maggie smiled proudly. "Is this your interior design work?" Camila asked as she turned to Shawn. He smiled and shrugged.

"I mean, my mom may have helped a little bit...but I did most of the hard work."

"My books!" Maggie chirped as she pointed at her little bookshelf. Camila walked over and stood next to her, squatting down to be closer to her level as they looked over all of the books she had.