Your 𝑩𝒐𝒚𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅'𝒔 Here!

❥ 𝒎𝒂𝒚𝒃𝒆

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DAYS PASSED AND the promised "next time" still hasn't happened. The kids kept bugging Camilo about Eliana whenever he spent time with them that he grew a bit jealous.

He deadpanned at the woman beside him as she continued to read her shopping list while walking. It amazed him how she could do that without walking into a pole.

"Ah-!"

Camilo spoke too soon.

Some random dude bumped harshly into Eliana as he rushed past, making her lose balance and trip on air.

The air in his lungs was knocked out as Eliana's body collided with his and he stumbled a bit before he caught her properly and steadied her. As Eliana looked up to thank him, Camilo's breath hitched.

Dios, her face-- it's too close!

He immediately shoved her off, dusting his ruana to distract himself from the weird, tingly feeling that blossomed in his chest.

"You should really watch where you're going, Eliana. Can't have you falling for me so quickly." He dramatically placed a hand on his chest and winked at the other.

Eliana raised a brow, "All right then. But at least I know you'll catch me if I do fall." She bit her cheek to stop herself from grinning like a fool as she watched Camilo try to keep his wits.

"Well if I won't be there to catch you, who else will~?" He flashed her a cocky grin before looking away to grimace at his weak comeback.

I could've said something more cool! Something like "well, we can't have your white dress dirty, can we?"

He resisted the urge to face-palm. That's even worse- Arghh!!! Today is not my day-

"milo-! The post-" Camilo didn't get the time to yelp as Eliana pulled him away from the post he was about to run into.

At her sudden pull, he staggered a bit. Eliana chuckled as she steadied the both of them.

"You catch me, I catch you."

Yep. Today was definitely not his day. 

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Camilo stretched his limbs before accepting the bags from Eliana.

The other smiled a bit before picking up her own load. "Thank you for accompanying me today, by the way."

"Don't sweat it... But if you really want to repay me, you can make extras for me later." He wriggled his brows as Eliana sighed.

"All right. But you have to help me this time-"

"No way!" Camilo cut her off.

Eliana crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. "Why not?"

"W-well..." He scratched his nape as he tried to think of an answer that wasn't "oh I'm scared of embarrassing myself by making you clean up my mess again."

The other exhaled, already knowing why he didn't want to help. "Don't worry. You'll have fun learning how to make arepa con queso."

Camilo perked up at the sound of his favorite snack. "If you insist~" He closed his eyes and puffed his chest in pride.

Eliana didn't respond, making him peek open an eye to see what was up. He followed her gaze to a bunch of children gathered in front of a traveling troupe caravan. A tall man in a sharp tuxedo and cape stood in the middle of the small group, performing some magic tricks that left the kids in awe.

Both adults also stopped to watch as the entertainer pulled out a coin from behind one of the kid's ear. They watched as the kid gasped and touched their ear in wonder.

"Pah! There's nothing to be surprised about." Eliama suddenly grumped, breaking the mystical silence the magician created.

"Anyone could see how he did it. He's so obvious with his sleeves and gloves. If he were more convincing of the magic trick's mystery, I would probably think I had a rival." She harrumphed, raising a brow at the caped man who suddenly shivered.

Camilo looked at her in amusement. She took this magic business to very seriously and it was a funny change to see her normally composed self frustrated over such a small thing.

"Maybeee if you did your magic tricks for the children more often, maybe they will see how real magic works." He tilted his head to the side, smiling smugly as the other stared at him for a while.

"But the house-"

"Come on Eliana!" He tutted. "You don't always have to worry about the house or if we have something to eat-"

"Yes I do. Especially with you-" She pointed out.

Camilo blinked at her. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that and continue with my point... Wait- what's my point again?"

Eliana snorted, making him look at her. She looked pretty, smiling genuinely like that.

He shook his head to clear his mind as he tried to remember his point. "Oh yeah. You don't have to always stay at home, doing things for the family... Seriously, I bet if Abuela knew you before Casita broke, she would worship you for putting the family first. But right now, why don't you something different and fun for once? If not for you, then for the kids who want to see you."

It was Eliana's turn to blink. Camilo didn't know how impactful his speech was then, but this moment was a turning point in Eliana's life.

She stared at him some more before mumbling to herself as she suddenly forged ahead, "hmm... maybe I'll free this afternoon... If we hurry up with the arepas..."

Camilo overheard her mumbles, a stupid grin on his face as he hurried to catch up with her.  

•  translations  •

Dios ~ god ;
ruana ~ a poncho-style outer garment native to the Colombian Andes

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