Peace, Love, & Pogo Sticks

I Wanna Run Away With You

As it turns out, couples therapy did wonders for their relationship. It's not like their love was on the verge of crumbling but after the Dani situation they realized they still had a lot to work on to mend the trust that had been broken in their relationship previously. Their first few sessions were awkward and slightly uncomfortable as they recounted what had happened years ago. For Camila, seeing Shawn relive the pain he felt after they broke up was eye opening. Sure, she read the letters he had sent her. And even after getting back together they had talked briefly about it. She knew he was extremely torn up about it but she didn't really realize to what extent. A small part of her felt bad for cutting him off as sternly as she had, despite the fact that at the time he deserved it. For Shawn, he felt guilt wash over him in waves as Camila reminisced on the ways it made her feel to see him kiss his ex. After their first session they found themselves cuddled up on the couch in her living room, silently holding each other as they comforted one another. They did the same thing after their second session and soon enough it had become routine for them. Their bond was stronger than ever and both of them knew without a shadow of a doubt that nothing could tear them apart.

"I wanna run away with you," Shawn whispered in her ear during one of their post-therapy cuddle sessions, his hand softly stroking her hair as his lips grazed the shell of her ear.

"You wanna run away with me?" Camila giggled, her face buried against his chest. "And where exactly would you like to run away to, my love?"

"Maybe we should go back to Hendersonville." Camila perked up at his suggestion. 

"Oh yeah? And what would we do there?"

"I don't know," he mumbled with a shrug. "We seemed to find a lot to do in the hotel room..." Camila snorted and swatted him on the arm, making him laugh. "I can't believe you literally flew to a different state just to hook up with me."

"Excuse you! I didn't go just to hook up with you." Shawn looked at his girlfriend with raised eyebrows, as if he didn't believe her in the slightest. "I'm serious!" she defended. "I went because I had feelings for you and I had just found out you felt the same way. That's all." Shawn continued giving her his unconvinced look, his lips twisting up into a smirk. "...and because I wanted to hook up with you. But who cares if I flew to a different state! You flew to a different country." Shawn's smirk turned into a proud grin at her admission.

"So...you wanna go back? Can you get time off work?"

"I'm sure I can."

"How quickly?"

"I need to give at least 24 hours notice."

"Perfect!" he said happily. "Email your boss now and then we can go tomorrow after your shift." Camila stared at him, waiting for him to laugh or admit that he was just joking. She quickly realized, though, that he was entirely serious about this adventure. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and typed out an email to her boss, showing it to her boyfriend before pressing send. 

"What are we gonna do with the dogs?"

"Ask Sofi if she can watch them?"

"And who's gonna run the store?"

"I trust my employees," he said confidently. "They've been doing great. I think they can handle it."

"So we're really doing this?" she giggled against his chest. 

"Yes. We deserve a little getaway."

"Alright," Camila sat up and unlocked her phone. "I'll text Sofi about watching the dogs."

She got a text back from her younger sister and an email back from her boss at the same time.

"So my boss said I can go, but Sofi can't watch the dogs. Apparently she's going away on a vacation with one of her friends and their family."

"Okay," Shawn sighed thoughtfully. "What if we bring the dogs with us? We can just get a little rental house instead of going to a hotel?"

"I like that idea," Camila smiled. 

The next day at work seemed to drag on. She had spent the night before packing up her bags so that Shawn could throw it all in the back of the car and come pick her up right when her shift ended. That shift seemed to be dragging on and on though as the excitement and anticipation steadily began building. With just 3 minutes until she'd finally be able to leave, the bell above the door of the boutique rang. She looked over to see her boyfriend standing there with a big smile on his face. 

"Sorry," she called out. "I just need to change out of this and then we can go." She watched as he took in the sight of the dress she was wearing. "No comments about the fact that I look like a literal cupcake right now, please." Shawn chuckled as he stepped closer to her. 

"You look gorgeous, as always." He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips, despite the giant skirt that seemed to be actively pushing him away. "This is very...big. And sparkly."

"Aren't they all?" she chuckled. She looked past Shawn and towards Leah, one of the other girls in the shop who had been snapping pictures of Camila in the dress. "Do you think you got enough?"

"Yup!" she cheerily replied. "You can go change." Camila grabbed her skirt and lifted it slightly as she scurried off to the dressing room to put her normal clothes back on. "So, you're the Shawn?" Leah asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Um, yes...?"

"I'm honestly surprised we haven't met yet! Mila and I have been working together for several years now," she reached her hand out to shake his. "She was broken when you guys split up. I'm really glad you two got back together. She's clearly happier than ever."

"I'm glad we're back together too," he shyly replied, a smile tugging at his lips.

"It's always so sad when we have brides come in and tell us they need to cancel their order but when she came in and told us we could take her dress off hold we all felt how hard it was for her."

"Yeah," he quietly replied — attempting to hide his surprise. He had no idea she had put a dress on hold and suddenly he felt sick with guilt. Camila stepped out of the dressing room a short moment later with the fluffy gown shoved back into the garment back that she carried.

"Ready to go, baby?" she asked after putting the dress away and walking back up to him. He cleared his throat and nodded.

"Yeah, of course." He gave her a quick kiss and they walked hand-in-hand back out to the parking lot, all three of the dogs excitedly barking out of the slightly open windows as they neared the car. Camila got into the passenger side and turned around, petting each of her babies on the head and treating them with ear scratches as they licked her face.

"Are you boys ready to go on vacation?" Eugene yipped. "I'll take that as a yes." She turned forward again as her boyfriend got into the driver's side and pulled out of the parking lot, beginning the nearly eleven hour drive to their destination.