Camilo Madrigal

Chapter 4

The lake

"I don't really mind because I trust Camilo, but please let us know when you disappear next time." Pepa tells us.
Camilo nods, looking at the floor and I don't know what to say.
I had no idea we stayed the night at Las Velas.
I remember Camilo falling asleep on my legs, but I can't recall sleeping too.
When I opened my eyes, the candles were still burning but the sun was shining.
"Did you... Ya sabes...?" Felix asks his son. ("Did you... You know...?")
"Pa' no..." Camilo groans, understanding immediately what his father meant.
I see him blushing and looking at me, ashamed.
I giggle and look back at his parents.
"I can't imagine how cold you were, amores... You slept on the floor outside all night!" Pepa looks at us up and down.
She walks to me, takes Camilo's hand, and hugs us both really tight.
I suddenly feel really warm and I look into Camilo's eyes. Does he have a fever?
When Pepa releases us, I realize she covered us with a sunny and humid cloud.
Camilo shakes it off and kisses his mom on the cheek to thank her.
"Now, I think we're going to go see the lake...?" He begs his parents with his eyes.
"Wait, does Nina know I'm fine?" I interrupt him. She is probably going crazy.
"Yeah Dolores told her yesterday where you guys were. That's how we knew how to find you." Felix says.
"Oh, perfect... Thank you."
There's a short awkward silence while his parents stare at us, and I see Camilo nervously tapping his fingers on his legs and softly shaking.
All of a sudden, he aggressively grabs my arm and runs outside.
"Have fun!" I hear Pepa giggling silently.
Camilo pulls me to the yard and looks at me again.
"Are you sure you want to go? I mean... Don't do it for my parents or for me... Don't do it if you like... Pity me? We could do something else if you want to. Or even nothing? Do you want to leave?"
I laugh and tell him to take me to the lake.
"Really. It seems fun."
"Yeah" he chuckles. "You'll see."
We walk for a while and I realize we're still holding hands.
Shit, now that I noticed they'll probably start sweating.
I try to discreetly look at him.
He's so pretty... He's looking straight in front of him, determination in his eyes.
I wonder what the lake is like.
I see his hazel eyes shimmering and his brown hair slowly bouncing on his forehead.
I lower my gaze and look at his lips.
I see his mouth's corners slowly starting to rise up and I realize he saw me staring at him.
"We're almost there." He giggles.
I blush and look down.
He presses my hand twice, and I feel butterflies in my stomach.

Camilo's POV

God, I didn't remember how far away the lake was.
We've been walking for about 10 minutes and I still can't see its rivers.
I really want to talk to Julie because I know she's the type of person you could talk for hours with, but I also love keeping our escapades this mysterious, and not say a word until I show her the place.
I notice her staring at me, and her cheeks turn red.
It's cute how embarrassed she is, when she didn't even realize I was the one looking at her until now.
I smirk and press her hand twice.
That's what Mom would do when I was little.
Finally, I see something shining in the distance.
I pretend I don't notice until we're right on top of the water, and I stop.
"Ohh, how pret-" she starts before I push her.
She screams and I see her short black hair quickly vanish under the surface.
I burst out laughing and jump in after her.
The water is awfully cold, and I immediately regret putting her through this.
"Julie?"
I see something dark slowly getting closer to me under the water and I grab her by the arm and push her back in again.
I see bubbles at the surface and she comes back up laughing.
"How did you see me?"
"With hair like that, it's hard not to see you"
She smirks and gets closer to me. She keeps the bottom of her face under the water and I do the same.
We stare at each other, only our eyes over the surface, and she laughs, water entering her mouth.
She starts coughing, and I can't understand whether she's laughing or choking.
I softly take her waist and pull her towards me.
"You alright?"
She keeps coughing a little and laughs : "Yeah"
I keep floating there, her warm body next to mine, her waist between my arms.
She's got some of her hair on her face, and I gently pull it back with my hand.
I suddenly become conscious of how close my hand is to her face, and I get that weird feeling in my stomach.
Can I...?
I slowly bring my hand to her cheek and start softly rubbing my thumb on it.
She petrifies and I have no idea whatever she's feeling.
Should I continue? Does she mind?
I look inside her black eyes and I slowly feel her relaxing in my arms.
What a tender feeling, to have her so close to me, to have her here.
The lake's soft waters slowly start rocking us and she puts her head on my chest.
I feel like my cheeks are burning, and my chest is about to explode.
I float there for a while, holding her tight.
I realize then that she's still all dressed up, and so am I.
"Oh shit, we ruined your dress..." I mutter.
She lifts up her head and nods "And your ruana?"
I quickly swim back to the shore and take it off.
I also get rid of my shirt and my pants.
"You want to give me the dress?"
She hesitates for a second, and takes it off too.
Trying to keep floating, she throws it at me.
I catch it, leave it on the sand, and jump back in.
I didn't really mind getting half naked in front of her, because I thought of it as being my swimsuit ; but seeing her naked skin under the water makes me stop for a second.
I probably nervously shape shifted, because suddenly it feels really difficult to swim, and Julie starts laughing.
"How cute..." she giggles.
She picks me up and starts rocking me in her arms. I can feel my baby head laying on her warm chest.
She softly smiles and kisses my nose.
I let out a baby-ish laughter and shape shift back to my normal self.
I'm probably a little too heavy for her now, so we switch, and I'm suddenly the one holding her bridal-style.
"Can I kiss your nose too?" I smirk.
She giggles and furtively kisses me on the lips.
I laugh.