Catching Cocodrillos Or Feelings?

Chapter Three

Once you had talked to Camila, you had thought it would actually be easier to talk to her father. But he still was avoiding you, always coming up with a reason to escape a conversation. It was frustrating that he didn't even give you a chance. You became more and more afraid that your relationship was ruined for good. 'If only I had never kissed him', you thought whenever he brushed you off, preferring to concentrate on other things rather than talking to you. You missed spending time with him, the pleasant silence when he was occupied with papers concerning the farm's finances while you were sitting on a chair just a few inches apart quietly patching holes in his pants or stitching buttons on his polo shirts. You missed his instructions on how to properly season different meats and fish, all the little culinary tips he gave you when he let you help prepare dinner in the evenings. Coño, you would even prefer his moral lectures when you woke up with a hangover over the cold shoulder he was showing you now. You used to think, that missing someone who lived far away was hard, but soon you had realised that missing someone who was within reach was even harder to bear.

"Vale, stop it."

"Stop what?", you asked, looking puzzled at Philly, who had been - until now - silently tinkering with one of his new creations as you sat on the ground, staring holes in the air.

"Your constant sighing is breaking my concentration and you don't want Philly's magic to go haywire, no?", he explained and you could tell by the twitching corners of his mouth that he didn't really blame you.

"Perdona, I'm just–"

"I know", he replied with no need for you to say anything. Besides Camila, Philly Bárzaga was the only one who knew where your heart was at. And while sometimes his humour seemed out of place, he was only trying to lighten the mood. He felt bad for you, seeing you suffer like that. So he put down the soldering iron and the tweezers he was holding in his hands. Then he stepped next to you, squatted down and put an arm around your shoulder, pressing you to his chest.

"You know what I also know?", he asked, lowering his voice and bringing his lips close to your ear, like a child who was up to no good. Like he wanted to say something that was for your ears only. "I know that el jefe is preparing his truck. He wants to hunt some cocodrillo with Roberto tonight."

"Roberto and crocodile hunting? Are you serious?", you questioned, hardly believing what you heard. Roberto couldn't even handle little Chorizo who constantly used Roberto's bed as his own little potty. Only the oluwas knew how that puppy got up there. So how on earth was he supposed to deal with a full-grown predator? Sure, you weren't much more experienced than he was, yet it was him who wet his pants when Chorizo started growling. Which, admittedly, was very amusing to look at.

"That's exactly what I said", Philly explained, rising to his feet. "I said 'Jefe, with Roberto we will starve. But you could take Y/N with you, after all, you got a pretty good catch last time and her company is way more enjoyable.'"

Horror washed over your face. "You. Did. Not."

"Oh, I did." Philly grinned mischievously.

"And what did he say?"

"Uh–," he had removed his cap briefly, sheepishly scratched the back of his head and then put it back on. That was answer enough for you.

"Of course", you rolled your eyes. There was no way that Carlos would've agreed to take you with him on another hunting trip. Not after what happened on the previous one. 'Stupid kiss', you thought.

"But from what I've heard, Roberto isn't happy about this little viaje. Maybe you can swap places with him."

"And how do you think I should do that? It's not like I can just get in Carlos' truck and demand that he takes me with him. Even if I'd hold a revólver to his head he wouldn't listen to me."