𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑜 𝑥 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑒𝑟 | 𝐥𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐞 𝐞𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞

Chapter 14. Cariña?

small a/n || so ive been writing with a lot of spanish in this book and while i do speak spanish pls comment on this a/n if u think i should start providing translations bc i know it's not possible for everyone who reads this to be fluent <3

Dinner that night was typical. Speaking, laughing, back to how we interacted before the vision, before spending the night together. Somehow I'd figured that his father's words had comforted his worries. Alma's announcements hardly included me, but that was okay. We'd barely gotten a chance to speak for a few days.

As Camilo and I cleared our places at the table, he turned to me. "Do you want to go outside with me again, tonight?"

"Where?" I asked him.

"Where we watched the stars. Or we could go swimming again, or just sit and talk. Away from listening ears." That last bit was certainly a jab at Dolores.

I nodded in agreement. We left together, slipping out of the front door without a goodbye. We made our way to the path and began walking together, at a calm, strolling pace. Back to the spot where it all began, back to the place I'd completely indulged in my feelings about him, back to the place he'd watched me do laundry.

We reached the grassy patch not far from the water's edge and sat down, facing each other.

"Did you have stars like this, at home?" Camilo asked.

"Yes, but no one to watch them with." I said, shivering slightly. It wasn't quite cold but it wasn't as warm as the other night. No good for swimming. The breeze was much stronger, swaying all the leaves around us into loud, whooshing noises.

He looked up to me. "Are you cold, Cariña?"

No. He didn't say that. That wasn't a move. I've got to be imagining things.

He took my hands in his. "Sus manitas..." Truly, his were much larger than mine. I smiled at this, but tried to contain myself. It's still nothing. It's still nothing.

It was only then that I'd noticed the difference in our skin tone. His was more fair, though still warm and yellow. He had green veins running through those arms. The ones I imagined to hold me every night. My hands were deeper, richer; and they were right where I wanted them, inside his.

But I'd become lost in thought, and must snap back. "What about them?"

"They're really soft. And you are cold." He said in a tender tone, almost caressing them. "You never told me what it's like to date back home."

"That's simple; because I never did. I told you last time, no one liked me there." I explained while I caught myself looking into his eyes.

"Really? No one, ever?"

"Not ever." I confessed. "I never even had feelings for someone, back in Ojo de Tigre. No one cared much for me, either."

"I can't see why not. I mean, if I were a boy in your village, I'd be all over you."

But why can't you be all over me here, Camilo? I thought. "You're different than them, and I'm different here. At home, I was un mal presagio."  I averted my gaze towards the dirt beside us. "What about here? Aren't all the girls in town dying to be with a Madrigal?" I asked.

"Yeah. A lot of people just want the family for the gift, and that worries Abuela a lot. I'm sure if I did like someone here in town, Abuela'd have a fit about—"

Before I could bite my tongue, the words spilled out of my mouth, interrupting him. "Stop worrying what Abuela wants. What do you want?"

He looked taken aback at this, though he'd still not let go of my hands. He leaned back slightly. That was fine, we had been abnormally close. "What do I want?" Camilo asked.

"Yes. You might be a Madrigal, but you can make your own choices, too." I explained.

It was far too late to revert to shyness. I'd erupted.

"I want someone I already know." He smiled softly. "Someone who can make me laugh. Someone who can sew. Someone my family likes."

Would he keep listing like this? And worse, the shame if it wasn't me.

"Well, I hope you find her."

"I hope I can talk with her about it too, soon. Before I miss my chance. But I just want the time to be perfect."  He ran his thumbs over the back of my hands. "I mean, you know what it's like. To not want to talk about something at the wrong time. You're really quiet around everyone else."

I shook my head, "No. I talk to Mirabel a lot."

Suddenly, he appeared startled. "Mirabel?" He asked.

I nodded.

He thought for a moment, raising one eyebrow and looking down at my hands before shapeshifting into a Mirabel sitting right in front of me. "So, Y/N... who do you like?" He asked in perfect duplication of Mirabel's voice.

I snickered a little. "Hmm... well, he's got hazel eyes, and brown hair."

"Wow, are you so shallow? Just his appearance?" The Camilo-Mirabel in front of me asked.

I rolled my eyes and laughed at his joke. "This is so hard, because the real Mirabel knows who I like!"

"Well, the real Mirabel hit her head and got amnesia. So you have to remind her."

"No. She can figure it out." I grinned at this.

"Fine, let's go ask 'Real Mirabel'!" He shifted back into Camilo and took me by the hand, standing up quickly and pulling me up in the process. Was he really that strong? Wait, what did he say? But as soon as I was off the ground, he'd taken off running towards Casita with a slight glance over his shoulder. "Come on! Don't you want to be there when Mirabel tells me who you like?!"

I took off chasing after him, my hands lifting the hem of my skirt so I could run with my best speed. As we ran, feet pounding into both hard and soft earth, I tried to assure myself that Mirabel would have the sense not to tell him, that she could keep my secret. But that didn't stop me from chasing.