Watermelon

Reacquainted

Camila prepared herself for the onslaught of questions she was about to get from her best friend as she stepped into her apartment, waiting for Shelby to answer the FaceTime call. It didn't take long for her to pick up.

"What the fuck?" Shelby screamed into the phone the second that she accepted the call.

"Well hello to you too," Camila giggled.

"When did you find him? And why didn't you tell me? What happened? Oh my god, I feel like I've missed out on so much already."

"I ran into him at the grocery store a week after I moved."

"What? And you didn't tell me until just now?" Shelby sounded mad but Camila knew better than to think she was actually upset; she was just in shock. "What could've possibly been keeping you from telling me something so important?"

"I'm sorry, Shel. I was so preoccupied with getting reacquainted with him that it honestly hadn't crossed my mind yet."

"Yeah, it sure looked like you were getting reacquainted in that FaceTime call last night..." Shelby scoffed. "Wouldn't be surprised if you're pregnant by the end of the month with all of the 'reacquainting' you two are probably doing..."

Camila blushed and shook her head.

"Well, you don't have to worry about that. At least not yet."

"Wait...what? You guys haven't...? Because it sure looked like he was about to pounce when I saw him last night."

"Just because we haven't done anything that could get me pregnant doesn't mean we haven't done anything yet."

"I don't believe you. Not even for a damn second. You two couldn't keep your hands off of each other the entire time we were in St. Barts. There's no way you're waiting for whatever reason."

"It's different now," Camila sighed as she sat down on her couch, lounging back into the cushions. "Back then it was just reckless hookups. He was a rebound. It's so much more than that now. I really, really like him."

"Sounds like all the more reason to fuck him," Shelby shrugged. Camila snorted.

"We're really just waiting to get tested. Once we're both in the clear, I'm jumping on him." Camila ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "He has kids, by the way."

"Whoa, what?!"

"Foster kids," Camila clarified. "But yes. Two of them: a sixteen year old boy named Jace and a two year old girl named Maggie."

"Damn. That's...a lot. You're cool with that?"

"I mean, yeah. He's a literal saint. It's definitely going to be weird being in a relationship with someone who has such big responsibilities. He literally has two kids living with him so we're definitely not gonna be able to be as spontaneous as we were back in St. Barts but I don't mind. It's sweet seeing him interact with them."

"You've met them already?"

"Yes...? I only just met them today. And I really only spent much time with Maggie. I just saw Jace in passing...he didn't seem to like me too much."

"He'll come around."

"Shawn didn't seem too worried about it, so that's good. I'm assuming it's just him lashing out. From what Shawn has told me it sounds like he's had it pretty rough. The main reason he became a foster parent was because he was one of the only people who could get through to Jace. Apparently all his other foster families didn't want him."

"That's sad."

"It really is. But he's so good with them. I mean, from what I've seen already he's like...the perfect dad. I guess it makes sense considering he literally went to school to learn about how to take care of kids but still."

"Oh god...you really are gonna let him put a baby in you the second those test results come in, huh?" They both laughed.

"Well maybe not immediately," Camila giggled as she rolled her eyes. "No but really...he's got his own little family. It's sweet."

"Jeez. You move to Toronto and less than a month later you're married with two kids."

"Shut up!" Camila laughed. "We literally just became officially boyfriend and girlfriend today. Don't go rushing us into marriage already. Focus on your own wedding first."

"Speaking of...is your new man going to be your date to the wedding?"

"I honestly didn't even think to ask him yet. Figured I'd wait until you picked a date to actually have the wedding before asking him to go with me."

"Fair. I should probably get on that. Speaking of, I should probably go. The wedding planner is gonna be here in like ten minutes and I'm still wearing sweatpants and an old hoodie."

"Alright. Have fun planning your big day! I'll be here locating the nearest clinic to get an STI test at so I can officially break-in my new boyfriend." Both of the girls burst into a fit of laughter before saying their goodbyes and ending the FaceTime call. 

--

"Do you need help with anything?" Jace asked as he stepped into the kitchen where Shawn was frying up some burger patties in a pan on the stove. 

"If you wanna get all of the condiments out of the fridge that would be great," he replied as he pulled a patty out of the pan and placed it down onto a plate. "Once you're done, can you cut up that patty for Mags, please?"

"Of course." Jace opened the fridge and pulled out all of the burger-topping staples. He filled his arms with the condiments, carrying them to the counter and setting them down before grabbing a knife and cutting up the patty Shawn had set aside for Maggie. He cleared his throat, looking over at Shawn as he finished cutting up the burger. "Can you...um, can you tell that Camila girl that I'm sorry? I know I probably didn't make the best first impression..." Shawn looked over at the sixteen year old and gave him a soft smile. 

"I can tell her that," he agreed. "She's a good person, I promise."

"I think you're a little biased," Jace chuckled. Shawn snorted and shook his head. 

"Maybe a little, but I mean it. She wants to get to know you better."

"Everyone does. And then they do and they regret ever wanting to know me. The list of people who are able to put up with my bullshit is literally just you. You're the only person who hasn't kicked me to the curb yet."

"Don't say yet," Shawn said firmly. "It won't happen. I won't let it happen. You're stuck with me, okay?"

"Okay," he sighed with a nod. "So how did you two meet?"

Shawn was silent for a few moments before responding. 

"Remember that trip I took shortly after you moved in? I met her on that trip."

"And she lives around here? Small world."

"She just recently moved her for work," Shawn clarified. "She's from Miami."

"Must be a pretty good job if she's willing to leave Miami for this place," Jace chuckled. "I'd accept a job as a professional dog poop cleaner if it meant I got to move to Miami."

Shawn laughed as he pulled the other two burger patties from the pan and put them onto the buns on his and Jace's plates. 

"I'll ask her if she knows of any dog poop cleaners that are hiring," Shawn joked, leaning down to pull the fries out of the oven. "In the meantime, why don't you eat your dinner?" Jace nodded and started walking toward the entrance to the attic they had transformed into his bedroom. "At the table," Shawn clarified. "It's been a weird day. We could use a family dinner."

A/N: hi besties. sorry i haven't updated this story in a bit!! i was focused on updating my other story, "best friend". (if you haven't read it yet — please do!! things are starting to get real interesting over there 👀)