WHY

part 15 - you might brush it off

They had fallen asleep on the sofa and he stirred about eleven pm with a cramp from the awkward position.  He awoke her in his efforts to stretch it out and they walked upstairs hand in hand without speaking.  She was emotionally drained, and he turned the water on for her and let her shower alone. He heard her on her phone in the bathroom after she had turned the water off, but only her voice, the words were indistinct.  When she came out, she had braided her damp hair and her face was shiny with whatever she used to help keep it looking so flawless, and she wore little sleep shorts and a camisole.  She looked gorgeous and he swallowed and shifted uncomfortably where he sat on the bed waiting his turn for the bathroom.

"I love you too," she said into the phone.  His heart thumped.

"My Mom," she said, placing her phone beside the bed.  Of course it was.  She still had her back to him and he was admiring the view.

"I have a plan," he said, after clearing his throat.

She smiled.  "I am sure you do, how about you go get cleaned up then come back and tell me."

He headed to the bathroom like an obedient school boy.

"Oh Shawn?"  He turned to look at her again, she was kneeling on the bed looking hot as fuck.  "I've cancelled my flight."  Her face was serious and he felt a wave of relief, nodding because that was all he could manage before he escaped to the bathroom.  He heard her throaty giggle through the closed door.

Camila sat back on her heels on the bed and smiled at the bathroom door.  She had been such a mess a couple of hours ago but she had forgotten what a calming influence he could be.  Just being near him made her feel like everything would be alright.  Her phone lit up and she picked it up, smiling at the photo her Mom had texted her.  She tapped in a message and then a quick video of her blowing a kiss before slipping under the covers to wait for him.  When had this happened, that they now spent every night together?  It seemed so natural, she truly couldn't imagine not ending every day this way.  She certainly didn't wantto. But she knew their lives and careers would soon intervene.  She had made a decision when he had turned up at her door and wouldn't take no for an answer. She would take each moment he gave her, each day, and one day she would share all her secrets with him, as he had with her.  If he couldn't be with her after that, she would just have to accept it wasn't meant to be.  She would have at least had this time.

He walked out of the bathroom in his underwear looking more gorgeous than a man had a right to be, and yet she could still see the sixteen year old boy there, inside this taller, leaner, more mature Shawn, and that gave her a sense of peace.  She had watched him grow on TV, the internet, in photos. She had heard the evolution of his voice, his songwriting talent, his musicianship, in his recordings and videos of his performances.  She had been so proud of him, and watching him had kept feelings alive that should have had a chance to die naturally.  Like they had seemed to for him.  She had not enjoyed the many photos of him with a beautiful woman at his side, or the stories of his conquests, or the gushing of the women he every-so-briefly dated in quick succession.  Nobody ever said a bad word about him.  After the first year, when she had not been given a choice to contact him, she could have called or written or emailed if she wanted to.  It would not have been difficult to get his attention.  But she wondered whether he even remembered her, or wanted to.  Knowing now that she had been on his mind that whole time, she wished she had done it.  Then again, maybe it wasn't meant to be until now.  Luckily he was distracted putting his things away when she saw her phone light up again.  She grabbed it quickly and removed the photo from the screen before quickly tapping a message and taking a very quick photo of her sticking out her tongue, then she put the phone face down and turned to him. He was smiling at his own phone and she felt a stab of jealousy.