Watermelon

Red Flag

Shawn tapped the screen of his phone to check the time.

10:34

He sighed. He wasn't going to give up yet. Maybe she was just running a few minutes late. She never responded to his text the night before so he never got confirmation that she was even going to be joining him for breakfast but he really hoped that she would. He couldn't handle losing her over a mere misunderstanding.

"You two ready to order?" The waiter that had already stopped by Shawn's table once was now checking on them again. Shawn looked over at the two-year-old girl who was waiting patiently in her chair. He hadn't necessarily planned on bringing her with him for this conversation but with Jace at school and no one able to babysit so last minute, he opted to bring her with him.

"Can I get an orange juice and a kid's fruit plate for her?" He placed his hand on Maggie's head. "I'll wait to order for now." The waiter nodded and walked away from the table. 

With every passing minute, Shawn became less and less convinced that Camila was actually going to be showing up. Maybe she wasn't even awake yet. Based on the text she had sent him he assumed that she had gotten pretty drunk after he left. His heart hurt thinking about the possibility that her thoughts of him secretly being with someone else is what spurred on her drinking.

The waiter came back with Maggie's fruit and orange juice a few minutes later. Shawn quietly thanked him. 

"Are we still waiting on one more?"

"Yes," Shawn replied plainly. 

"Ok. No worries. Can I get you a coffee or something while you wait?"

"I'd love a coffee. Thank you."

The waiter stepped away once again and Shawn sighed. Maybe it really was too easy with Camila; it was too good to be true. He was realizing that now. There was a brief moment where he considered texting her again but he also didn't want to seem obsessive. Then again, he was obsessive. He couldn't let this be what fucked everything up. 

He tapped the screen of his phone to check the time again.

10:42

With every minute that passed he became more and more convinced that she wasn't going to be showing up. His wallowing was interrupted by the sound of fresh coffee being poured into the mug that sat at his table. 

"Thanks."

"Cream or sugar?"

"No thanks," he replied. The waiter nodded before stepping away again. Shawn took a sip of the hot coffee, setting the mug back down onto the table as he watched Maggie gnaw on a piece of melon she was holding in her small hand. "Is it yummy?" he asked her. She was so cute that despite the unfortunate circumstances he was still able to work up a smile as he watched her.

"Yeah!" she giggled. "Yummy!" Shawn chuckled and took another sip of his coffee before tapping his phone screen again. 

10:47

She was really standing him up. There was no way she was just nearly twenty minutes late — she wasn't showing up. Whatever. He'd show up at her apartment door with Maggie in his arms if he needed to. Maybe seeing how cute the two-year-old is would convince Camila to be his girlfriend.

Deciding to just man up and text her, he grabbed his phone. Reading over the text she had sent him the night before made his throat tighten up. Surely she knew he wouldn't actually be seeing someone else, right? He started typing out a text to her before being interrupted by a tired yet sweet voice.

"Hey."

Shawn looked up in disbelief. She was standing right in front of him, her eyes glancing back and forth between Maggie and himself.