Peace, Love, & Pogo Sticks

Don't Go Yet

Camila stirred awake to the feeling of a strong hand softly caressing her cheek. She sleepily peeled one eye open to see her boyfriend sitting on the edge of the bed — showered, dressed, and with a suitcase in hand.

"I'm leaving, baby," he said quietly. 

"No," she whimpered sadly. "Don't go yet." She reached up and grabbed the hand that was resting on her face, tugging on it in an attempt to lure him back into their bed. 

"Baby," he chuckled. "If I don't leave now I'm gonna miss my flight."

"But I don't want you to go."

"I know," he sighed. "But I'm only gonna be gone for three days and then I'll be right back here with you. Okay?" He watched Camila sigh and nod. He hated leaving her just as much as she hated the fact that he was leaving, but if he wanted to make his flight then at least one of them had to be the tough one. Still, he ran a hand through her hair before leaning down and kissing her forehead, and then her cheek, and then her nose before finally landing on her lips.

"Have fun. Be safe. Text me when you land in Toronto, okay? And tell your mom I said happy birthday!"

"I will. And I'll FaceTime you everyday, okay?"

"Okay," Camila smiled. As much as she hated that she'd have to spend three whole days without him she did think it was incredibly sweet that he was flying all the way home just to surprise his mom for her birthday. She would've loved to join him on the trip, but unfortunately she had too much work to do at the boutique. She rolled out of bed and stood up to give him a proper hug and kiss goodbye before watching him walk out of the front door with his suitcase in hand and get in his car. Camila let out a deep sigh as she watched him pull out of the driveway, his car disappearing into the city as she was left by herself for the next few days. She stepped back inside their house and looked at the three dogs that were sitting in a line on the floor staring at her.

"Just you and me now, boys."

--

S: Just landed in Toronto. 😘

He sent the text the second he was able to turn his phone back on, knowing that she was probably checking her phone every couple of minutes to see if he had landed safely yet. She texted him back almost immediately. 

C: Ok!! Give your family hugs for me. And don't forget to call me tonight!!

Shawn smiled at the text on his screen before locking his phone and sliding it back into his pocket as he left to get his luggage from the carousel. Because of this trip being a complete surprise to his family, no one was there to pick him up. Instead, he grabbed a rental car and began the drive to his family's home in Pickering. 

Shawn pulled the rental car into their driveway and smiled when he saw his dad in the front yard with the tiny and extremely fluffy Pomeranian, Oreo, that his little sister had somehow convinced his parents to get for her. His dad looks a bit confused by the unfamiliar car pulling up to their house but that confusion was quickly replaced with excitement when he saw that it was his son behind the wheel. Shawn parked the car and quickly got out, greeting his dad (and Oreo) with a hug.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Manny laughed in shock. "Miami get too hot for the Canadian kid?"

"Never!" Shawn replied. "Figured I would surprise mom for her birthday."

"Oh, she's going to be so happy. I know she misses you; we all have!"

"I missed you guys too."

"No Camila?" Manny asked as he peered around his son, noticing the lack of a certain spunky brunette in the car with him.

"She wanted to come but she had to work."

"But everything's good between you two?"

"Better than it's ever been," Shawn assured him with a smile.

"Well then, let's get you inside! Your mother is going to be so surprised." And she was. The second that Shawn stepped into the kitchen where she was cleaning up some dishes she did a double take. 

"Oh, my baby boy is home!" she squealed as she ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard someone has a birthday this weekend," he shrugged.

"Best gift ever! Is Camila here too?"

"No," he sighed. "She had to work, unfortunately. Where's Liyah?"

"School," Karen replied. "She actually should be getting out in about half an hour. You should pick her up as a fun little surprise."

"I will. Let me take my suitcase up to my room and then I'll go pick her up. I actually wanted to have some sibling bonding time with her...maybe we can spend the afternoon out in the city."

"I'm sure she'd love that." Karen gave her son another hug before letting him go to take his luggage upstairs. He didn't have much time to get settled before heading to his sister's high school to surprise her but he didn't really care. He'd much rather go see her as opposed to just relaxing at home — especially knowing what they were going to go do together. 

He parked his rental car in the parking lot of his younger sister's school — the same school that he had attended just a few years prior. He waited patiently for the students to be let out, smiling when he saw Aaliyah chatting and laughing with friends as she walked out of the double doors. The girls parted ways and Aaliyah started walking towards her own car, the one that Shawn was parked right next to. Right as she walked in front of his rental car he laid his hand on the horn, making her jump up and drop her books on the pavement of the parking lot. Shawn burst into laughter, getting out of the car to greet her.

"What the hell?!" Aaliyah gasped. "What are you doing here? And was it really necessary to scare me like that?"

"Yes," her older brother replied, still laughing. "And surprise! I decided to fly up for the weekend to celebrate mom's birthday." He gave her a hug before leaning down and picking up the stuff she had dropped for her. "Come on, get in the car. We'll come back and get your car later."

"I can just drive home myself," she shrugged.

"We're not going home. I need your help with something. I'll tell you more when we get there." He saw his little sister eye him curiously but he ignored her. Aaliyah just shrugged and got into the passenger's seat of his rental car while her brother put her stuff in the backseat for her. They talked about everything from Aaliyah's schoolwork to Shawn's record store as they drove into the city. She still wasn't sure where they were going but he seemed to have a destination in mind so she didn't question him.

"How's Camila?"

"Good," he replied with a smile. "Really good. She wanted to be here but couldn't — she had too many clients at the boutique that she couldn't bail on. She really misses you guys, though."

"Ugh. Can you just ask her to marry you already? I'm getting impatient." Shawn didn't reply to her question — he just smiled mischievously to himself as he flipped on the turn signal. Aaliyah turned to look where they were turning into, gasping when she realized that he had been driving her to a jewelry store. "Wait...what? Is that why we're here? Oh my god...please tell me that's why we're here."

"Can you keep a secret?" he asked as they parked in front of the fancy storefront. 

A/N: if you haven't already i highly recommend checking out my new story "watermelon"! also i'm not proofreading so let me know if you see any typos!