Camila and her boyfriend of nine years, Zachary, just got a new neighbor: an athletic, tall, documentary-loving musician. Camila doesn't trust her new neighbor, but when she finds herself in a sticky situation she may find that she doesn't have much...
Shawn sat in bed with his back against the headboard as Camila cried with her head in his lap. She was 36 weeks pregnant and absolutely miserable. The worst part is that he didn't know how to help her other than to just listen to her and comfort her as she sobbed.
"I'm so tired," she choked out between cries.
"I know you are, baby." Shawn leisurely brushed his fingers through her long hair.
"I can't get comfortable," she sobbed. "I'm so uncomfortable all of the time. I just want this to be over. I want them to be here."
"I'm so sorry," he sighed. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better? I hate seeing you so upset."
"Just keep holding me."
And so he did. He held her until eventually her tears wore her out and she had fallen asleep in his lap. He clicked on the TV in their bedroom and flipped through the channels as she got some rest.
"Sorry for my breakdown earlier," she said sadly later as they ate their dinner at the table.
"Don't be," he reassured her. "I'm glad you told me how you were feeling. I can't imagine how difficult it must be for you right now." Camila sighed heavily and picked at her food with her fork.
"I know I shouldn't but I feel guilty. Like I shouldn't be complaining about something so magical."
"Nobody is naive to the fact that pregnancy is a difficult thing to go through. Yes, there are many beautiful things about it—but there's also a lot of challenges." He reached over and lovingly put his hand on her arm. "No one is expecting you to be a ray of sunshine all the time. It's okay for you to have rough moments...just as long as you pick yourself back up and keep fighting."
"You're so sexy when you're nice to me," Camila said seriously. Shawn laughed and shook his head.
"Aren't I always nice to you?"
"Aren't you always sexy?" she countered.
"Damn," he sighed. "You got me there." Shawn grabbed his water and took a sip. "So, Halloween is coming up. Which means, someone's due date is also coming up. What's the plan?"
"I mean I doubt I'll actually give birth on my due date, so I figured we could just pass out candy to the kids in our building? Apartment kids have to trick-or-treat too."
"Good point. Costumes?" he asked. Camila looked down at her stomach and shrugged.
"I don't know...a whale?" They both burst into laughter.
"Sexy whale," Shawn corrected her.
"You're right. Sexy whale."
"Seriously though, what should our costumes be?" he asked. Camila sighed.
"I mean I do feel like we need to use the bump to our advantage somehow."
"Ok—idea: what if we paint your stomach gray and then put a naked blonde barbie on top of it so that it's Miley Cyrus in the Wrecking Ball music video?" Shawn suggested. Camila chuckled.
"I mean, the reference might be dated by a few years but I like your creativity."
"Ok...what if we glue a bunch of rainbow pom-poms to a black t shirt and turn you into a gum ball machine?"
"And what would your costume be?" she questioned. "I feel like we need to be a duo."
"Trio," he corrected. "And I don't know...what if I just dress normally but carry around a quarter? Then I can be the guy getting ready to buy a piece of gum."
"That feels like a cop out."
"That's because it is," he said causally. "Are you wanting a simple costume or a more intricate costume?"
"Simple, definitely."
"Ok, I think I have a basketball jersey somewhere. We could just paint your stomach to look like a basketball?"
"I like that," Camila said happily. "Cute, simple, and a lot more family-friendly than the Miley Cyrus idea."
"I mean, I personally still think that was the best suggestion."
"Of course you do, dork," Camila giggled. They finished up their dinner and decided to spend some time finalizing the nursery before the baby's impending arrival. All of the big stuff was done, now it was just little things like organizing their clothes how Camila liked and putting up a few last minute decorations. Much to Camila's relief, Shawn had done a lot of the work when it came to making sure the baby's room was perfect. She wanted a cozy gender-neutral nursery and that's exactly what he ensured she got.
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Most of the decor was muted neutral colors with the focal point of the room being a large, gray world map tapestry hung on the wall. Shawn sat down on the large leather armchair and kicked his feet up onto the ottoman while Camila continued sorting through some baby clothes.
"This chair is so comfortable that you honestly might have to fight me for who gets to feed and change them in the middle of the night. I'd honestly take any excuse to get to sit here."
"I can't imagine that I'll put up much of a fight, babe," she chuckled. Shawn sighed and looked up at the map on the wall.
"Are you going to teach them Spanish?"
"I was planning on it," she responded. "Why?"
"Because I think it's really cool that you're bilingual and I think it'd be great if they were too. I also just like hearing you speak Spanish."
"Se que lo haces..." Camila sighed. "Maybe I can teach you Spanish while I'm at it. You guys can learn together."
"I don't know how good I'll be at it but we can try. I feel like I'm not good at learning languages. I grew up in Canada and spent years taking French classes and still to this day the only thing I can say is 'can I go to the bathroom' which ended up not being very useful once I was out of high school."
"Wait...you're telling me that after you graduated high school you never had to ask a French speaker if you were allowed to use the bathroom?" Camila asked sarcastically.
"Crazy, right? Who knew that wouldn't come in handy at all."
"I believe Spanish is considered easier to learn than French, so maybe you'll have more luck this time. Plus, it's almost impossible to not pick up on at least a little bit of Spanish while living in Miami."
"Me gusta tu culo," he said effortlessly. Camila grabbed a nearby pillow and threw it at his head. "Ow!" he laughed.
"You would know how to say that..." she chuckled.
"Well, yeah. I know how to say the important stuff." Camila shook her head and walked over to kiss him, her lips lingering on his. He sneakily slipped his tongue between her lips, causing her to moan into his mouth before reluctantly pulling away.
"Me gusta tu lengua," she whispered against his lips. Shawn furrowed his brows in confusion.
"What does lengua mean?"
"I'm not telling you! You'll have to figure that one out on your own."
