August

day twenty-one | when you're back from school

 Camila wakes up the next morning with a light headache, but that’s immediately put to the side when she feels kisses all over her neck and shoulders. Her lips curve into a smile as she opens her eyes and is met by Shawn’s face, lighted by the sun that’s coming through the window of the room he’s sharing with Luke. She looks at the other bed in the room, which is empty, just like the ensuite bathroom that she can see has the door open and the lights out. Knowing, Luke is not there, Camila kisses Shawn’s lips before making him lay down on his back and straddling his body.

 “ Good morning.” She whispers against his lips as his hands rest on her thighs. Her hands go to his messy hair when they pull away and she can’t help but smile while running her hands through his curls. She loves how he looks in the mornings.

 “ Good morning, beautiful.” His voice is low and husky, just like she learned it is when he had just woken up, and it sends goosebumps down her spine. “ I need to get a haircut.” He adds when she keeps playing with his curls.

 “ Don’t.” She whispers before kissing his lips. “ I like it.”

 Shawn smiles before turning her back on the mattress and kissing the tip of her nose.

 “ As you wish.” He says before getting off the bed and walking to the bathroom. “ Do you have anything planned today?”

 “ I don’t think so.” She says sitting up on the bed and watching as he washes his face on the sink through the open door. “ What do you have in mind?”

 “ You’ll see.” He says in a mysterious tone of voice that makes her start asking a bunch of questions. He knows she’s too curious and he’s for sure doing it on purpose.

 Half an hour later, they find themselves in Camila’s car as he drives them to have breakfast. Her father is probably going to be mad at her because Meredith was supposed to have the first meal of the day with their family that morning, but she just couldn’t say no to Shawn’s plans.

He drives to a small café she mentioned her mother loved the other day and she starts wondering when she should initiate the conversation she told herself they would have as soon as possible.

 Those thoughts get lost once they order pancakes and next thing she knows, they’re walking hand in hand next to the beach. She feels Shawn pulling her into a place that has several bicycles lined up in the front for rental, making her look at him in surprise.

 “ What are you doing?” She asks nervously when he asks for two bikes.

 “ Renting two bikes for us.” He says, like that’s a common thing for him to be doing. It would actually be a normal thing for a couple to do, but Camila starts feeling really nervous about the situation. “ What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

 “ Yeah.” She says looking nervously as the guy that Shawn talked to brings them two bikes.

 “ Mila, are you sure?” Shawn says looking down at her. “ We don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought it might be fun.”

 “ It does sound fun, but I don’t think I can.” She whispers, but he hears every word she says. “ I don’t know how to ride a bike.” Shawn’s face goes from confusion, to surprise and finally he lets out a small laugh. “ Stop. It’s not funny.”

 “ Sorry.” He says, smiling down at her in amusement. “ I just never met anyone who doesn’t know how to ride a bike.”

 “ I always thought it was scary as a kid, so I never got around to learn.” She confesses looking at the ground.

 “ Hey, it’s okay.” He says taking her hand in his. “ How about I try to teach you then?”

 “ Do we have to?” She asks, and he can see she’s scared of trying. “ Maybe we should just take one bike and you can carry me.”

 “ Sure.” Shawn says before kissing her forehead. “ Whatever you’re more comfortable with.”

 Shawn tells the guy they changed their minds and in a few minutes Camila finds herself sitting on the handlebar of a yellow bicycle while Shawn seats behind her, guiding them along the coast of the beach. She’s scared at first, thinking he’ll let her fall at some point, but it doesn’t take long for her to relax and eventually laugh with him at the situation.

She keeps struggling to hold herself in the bike while making sure the wind doesn’t lift her short sundress, so Shawn moves one of his hands to hold her waist, riding the bike with only one hand. One more thing he’s really good at. How does he do that?

 By the end of the afternoon, they sit down by the pier with ice cream cones in hands. The sky has an orange tone to it and their smiles are big because of the amazing day they just had together. Camila doesn’t want to ruin the moment, but she decides there is never going to be a perfect time to ask.

 “ What happens when you leave for school?” She says out of the blue, taking him by surprise.

 “ I don’t know, Mila.” He says with a sad smile. “ I wish I had an answer for that, but I have no idea.”

 “ What do you want to do?” She asks with hesitation. She doesn’t have a doubt about their feelings for each other, but there’s still a possibility they might end things because of the distance.

 “ I don’t know what I want to do, but I know what I don’t want to do.” His eyes land on hers and she feels calmer just by the way he’s looking at her. “ I don’t want us to end things. I don’t want to stop talking to you. I don't want to forget about this amazing time we're having together. I don’t want to stop loving you.”

 Camila feels a tear roll down her face as she smiles and places a kiss on his cheek.

 “ Me neither.” She whispers. “ I’m so in love with you.”

 “ I’m so in love with you too, Mila.” He says, resting their foreheads together. “ We have to make it work, because I don’t think I can handle not having you in my life.”

 She knows right then, that no matter what, they’ll make things work. Not because they have to, but simply because not trying would kill the both of them.

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A/N: leave me a comment? 🙃