Daylight

Part 9

Camila smiles as she watches Shawn empty the two bags over his kitchen counter, the sound of the seashells they collected that morning hitting the cool surface bringing her some kind of peace. As she looks up at him, he seems excited about it and she loves how something important to her was suddenly important to him too. She couldn’t help comparing it to her last relationship, in which her needs or the things she cared about were never really a priority. She knows she shouldn't compare, but it felt nice not to feel that way anymore.

 They spent a long time separating the seashells into jars that she would add to her mother’s collection in the beach house, but she would also bring some of them back home when summer was finally over. That was something she was avoiding thinking about. Summer was still far from gone, but she knew it would happen eventually and she wondered how her and Shawn’s dynamic would be once they got back into their normal routines.

 “ Are you okay, babe?” Shawn’s voice made Camila look at him, realizing she was staring at the kitchen counter deep in her thoughts. She nodded her head, letting a small laugh out of her lips. “ What?”

 “ Can you repeat what you just said?” She asked.

 “ Are you okay?” He repeated and she narrowed her eyes at him.

 “ If I remember correctly you said another word after that.” She teased him. “ I think it started with a B, but I’m not sure. Can you refresh my memory?”

 “ I think you heard it wrong. I would never call you a bitch.” Shawn faked a shocked expression, making Camila throw one of the empty bags on him. They were both laughing as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips gently, whispering his next words as they still had their eyes closed. “ I might have called you ‘babe’, but I can’t really confirm that information.”

 “ Why not?” Camila asked with a giggle, finally looking into his eyes.

 “ Because it was an accident and I’m not sure about your reaction.” He told her, looking truly concerned about it.

 “ I confess it was a little weird at first, but I think I can definitely get used to it.” Camila smiled, kissing him again. “ It’s kind of cute.”
 “ Why do you always have to say I’m cute?” He said, rolling his eyes, but obviously not upset at all.

 “ Because you are, baby.” She laughed, being interrupted by voices coming down the hallway. They both watched as Aaliyah and a girl who looked about her age entered the living room, talking with big smiles on their faces.

 “ Shawn?” The girl said, looking at him like he had just made her whole day better.

 “ Luna! I didn’t know you were coming this weekend.” Shawn said, Camila letting go of him as the two girls walked to them so they could hug.

 “ Yeah, me neither. My parents just made up their minds sooner than we expected.” Luna smiled at him in a way that kind of bothered Camila.

 “ Luna, this is Camila. She’s Sophia's sister.” Aaliyah said, as the blonde girl finally looked at Camila. “ And Shawn’s girlfriend.” His sister added that information with a smirk on her lips, making the both of them look at her with annoyance. It had become their sisters' favorite way of teasing them to refer to the two of them as each other’s boyfriend and girlfriend. They never actually had that conversation, but it was pretty clear that’s what they were and at this point, she was sure that conversation was not needed.

 The four of them talked for a little while, the girls admiring the seashells they had collected from the beach before they finally disappeared to look for Sophia. Camila tried to ignore it, but Aaliyah’s friend had a very obvious crush on Shawn. She knew she had nothing to worry about, but the girl was obviously very bold, making some comments in front of her that she thought were a little too much for a sixteen-year-old, especially knowing Shawn was taken. Shawn didn’t say anything about it, which only made Camila believe he was completely oblivious, or this was a normal behavior he had grown used to and just ignored at this point.