THE LIFEGUARD | shawmila

eight.

A/N: content warning for "adult themes" this chapter. like, i'm not kidding, it's kinda graphic.

A tropical storm put a damper on their vacation for the next few days. Rain came down in buckets, leaving the ground steaming with humidity. Thunder crashed and lightning lit up the dark sky as Camila huddled in the room writing.

Her list of ten songs sounded so simple to make, but was proving harder when she kept second-guessing herself and erasing what she wrote.

The storm meant the pools were closed, giving Shawn a slight vacation of his own. He texted Camila at noon one day, proudly bragging that he slept in for once. Camila smiled, erased a dramatic song off her list, and wrote in a happier one.

"How long is that going to take?" Sofia asked on the third day of rain as she wandered into the living room. Camila had been up writing for hours.

"Huh? Oh, that's done." Camila pointed the eraser of her pencil at her song list. She'd finalized the it in a moment of clarity at around six am that morning and decided not to touch it again. She'd folded it up and wedged it under the corner of her orange juice. "This is for something else."

"Ew, are you drinking out of the carton?" Sofia moved the juice aside and picked up the list.

"You don't even like pulp." Camila rolled her eyes.

The fact that the outdoor areas were closed forced them to the confines of the room. They were wearing on each other's nerves more and more. Camila had actually gone to the gym for a while yesterday to decompress.

"Wow." Sofia skimmed the list before carefully peering over Camila's shoulder. "Wow..."

I need you more than I want to.

Need you more than I want to.

"What?" Camila blushed and quickly flipped the page of her notebook. She couldn't write feelings like that with someone breathing down her neck.

"You've got The Middle on here twice." Sofia said.

"What—oh shit." Camila snatched the paper back and looked it over, groaning when Sofia laughed. "That's not funny. I spent forever on this."

"How come whatever you're writing isn't on the list?" Sofia plopped down on the couch and turned on the tv. The local news was prattling on about the storm.

"Because it isn't ready yet." Camila thought guiltily of the song she did finish that she hadn't told anyone about. She wedged the folded list in her notebook front cover and looked out the balcony window at the pouring rain. "I have no inspiration right anyways."

As if on cue, her phone lit up on the table. Camila's heart leapt when she saw Shawn's name. She couldn't stop smiling as she reached for it and Sofia even rolled her eyes at Camila's sudden mood change.

Are you free tonight? I was thinking I could cook for you!

Camila had been waiting for this exact text for days, but she understood Shawn's apprehension. They were going to work on their duet, but they were also going to be completely alone for the first time. The possibilities gave her such butterflies and those butterflies fueled her original lyrics.

I'm very free.

Shawn replied with a picture of what was presumably his kitchen counter, covered in grocery bags. She smiled, the thought of him doing all that shopping for her was pretty adorable.

Shawn planned to pick her up later that afternoon, and Camila immediately went into prep mode. She put her guitar back in the case and put her notebook with her list in her purse.