August

day five | wishin' i could

Her fingers move over the classical piano that belonged to her mother as the golden bracelet hangs from her right wrist. Camila wishes she could say she was any good at it, but the truth is that she gave up on learning how to play right after her mother passed away. She hadn't touched a piano in years, too afraid she wouldn't be as good as her mother used to be, but that only resulted in her forgetting most of what she already knew.

 A painful sound leaves the instrument, making her sigh and give up. Her eyes land on the bracelet on her wrist, the sun pendant right after the wave on, then followed by a palm tree. Somehow that small piece of jewelry that she thought was long lost, managed to make her want to try the piano again.

 "Are you done torturing this poor piano?" She hears a voice that somehow she's already familiar with.

 " Yeah." She says smiling and looking as Shawn places one hand over the instrument. " He's already screaming for help, so I should probably stop."

 She watches as he laughs, showing off his dimples and perfect white teeth, before sitting down next to her in front of the piano.

 " Maybe you should try a different approach." He says focusing his eyes on the keys, his fingers playing a soft melody. " Be more delicate with the keys."

 " You play?" Camila asks in disbelief.

 " Yep." Shawn says before smiling at her, his eyes staring back into hers. " That's what I'm studying in Yale."

 " You're studying music?" She asks with admiration in her eyes. " That's what I want to study when I go to college."

 " No way." He says as his smile grows bigger. " You might want to practice a little more, though." He adds in a playful tone of voice that makes her laugh.

 " My mom was teaching me, but it's been years since I played anything." She confesses. " But I can sing."

 " I need to hear that." Shawn says almost immediately, making her blush really hard.

 " I said I could, not that I would." She says, making him laugh.

 Camila watches as he starts playing another melody, this one sounding a little more difficult than the last one. His fingers move so effortlessly against the keys, like that was what they were meant to do. She can't help but watch in awe, wondering at some point how his hands would feel against her skin.

 " That was beautiful." She says smiling at him when he finishes. " I wish I could play like that."

 " Here." He says scooting closer to her on the bench. " Let me show you."

 Shawn places one of his hands over hers, guiding it through the chords, and she no longer has to wonder what it would be like to feel the touch of his hand. They're not quite playing a melody, just a few random chords, but she still thinks it sounds beautiful. Apparently, she's not the only one, because when their hands stop playing she hears a few guests clapping. Camila looks up at him and his red cheeks match hers. Her eyes land on his lips, and for a moment, all she wants is to lean in and kiss him, but the guests around them make her too self conscious.

 " With a little more practice I think you could play really well." Shawn says once she looks down at the keys, his hand still over hers. " I could help you out, if you'd want me to."

 " Are you serious?" She asks looking up at him in surprise. " I would really like that."

 " Then it's a deal." He says, his hand giving hers a light squeeze that makes a beautiful smile form on her lips.

 Their eyes are locked on each other for a long time before they hear someone clearing their throat. Noticing Luke a few feet away from them, Shawn stands up and walks to where his friend is, but not before flashing Camila a smile.

 She watches as the two guys talk, but she can't really understand what they're saying. Her fingers run across the hem of her blue sundress as she nervously considers what almost happened thirty seconds ago. She wishes she could just be brave and kiss him already, that's never been an issue for her before, but there's just something about him that makes her overthink all of her moves. She doesn't think she ever felt this way around any other guy and it's a little terrifying, considering they just met.

 " Are you okay?" She hears his voice as he sits down next to her again.

 " Yeah." She says blushing again. She never thought she could blush that much. " I guess I just spaced out for a bit."

 He watches her for a second and somehow she finds it hard to breath when he's looking at her like that.

 " So…" He starts nervously. " The guys heard about this small party at South beach tomorrow night. Do you… maybe want to come with us?"

 "Oh." She says in surprise. " Sure."

 She smiles when he asks for her number and by the end of night, she's laying on her bed with a dreamy face, not being able to stop thinking about him and the party they'll be attending the next day.