When you're ready

29. First date

Camila looked at herself in the mirror, breathing in and out before smiling at herself. She had no idea why she was suddenly feeling nervous. It was just Shawn.

" Wow." Her aunt said, stopping at the door to spy on what Camila had decided to wear. " I thought he told you to dress like you normally do."

" You think this is too much?" Camila asked, worried she might have exaggerated.

" No, I'm sure he'll love it." She said, eyeing Camila's skirt suggestively.

" Shit! It is too much." Camila whispered to herself as she eyed her reflection again. " I just have never been on a date before. I'm not really sure how much is too much. And Shawn didn't help at all by not wanting to say where we're going."

" Relax. You look perfect." Her aunt walked to her and placed her hands on both of Camila's shoulders. She looked into Camila's eyes in silence for a few seconds before smiling again.

" What?" Camila asked in confusion.

" Nothing." She said. " It's just really nice to hear you speak so many words again. And you seem really happy too."

Camila smiled at her aunt, feeling her face flushing. She definitely felt like a whole different person since she started talking again. In a way, she was finally dealing with the trauma she had been through. Telling Shawn every single detail of what happened had been really helpful as well and it made her wonder if she would be getting any better if she had never met him or if they never connected the way they did.

" He's here." Her aunt announced as they heard a car outside, followed by a knock on the front door a few seconds later. Camila took her purse from the bed, placing her phone inside before walking out of her bedroom. " I want you home at eleven."

" Okay." Camila said as she opened the door and found Shawn on the other side in a white t-shirt and blue jeans, matching his also white sneakers.

" I mean it. Shawn, I want her home at eleven. She's not staying at your place." Her aunt told Camila's boyfriend, who doesn't seem to be able to take his eyes off his girlfriend.

" Sure." He said quietly, still staring at Camila.

Camila laughed, stepping outside and closing the door behind her.

" Everything okay?" She asked, still smiling as Shawn finally looked into her eyes.

" Wow." He repeated the same word her aunt had said just a few minutes earlier about her outfit.

" You like it?" She whispered, looking down at the short red skirt she had chosed, matching the black cute shirt and boots she had on. Shawn murmured something under his breath that she couldn't really understand, making her look back at his face. " What did you say?"

" You were wearing this skirt on your first day at school." She repeated, his cheeks getting red for confessing he remembered such random detail.

" You're right. I did." Camila laughed softly. " How do you remember that?"

" I don't think you want to know." He said, taking her hand and guiding her to his car.

" Now I definitely want to know." She looked at him with curiosity.

Shawn ignored her as they walked to his car, opening the door for her to get in and still not giving her an answer as he drove them to wherever they were going.

" Come on. Just tell me." Camila was now past curiosity.

" It's nothing." Shawn said as they stopped at a red light. " Really."

" Shawn." Camila looked at him in a way she knew he wouldn't be able to say no.

" You're really going to make me say it?" He sighed and smiled at her.

" Say what?" She asked in confusion.

" That I remember the skirt because your ass looks fantastic in it." He confessed under his breath, making Camila look at him in surprise.

" Oh my god." She laughed, looking at him with wide eyes.

" Brian kept saying how you had a nice ass, so I had to look." He laughed with her. " And I was not disappointed. The image of you wearing this skirt was in my head for a long time and you definitely don't want to know what I did so many times thinking about it."

" Shawn!" Camila laughed harder, feeling her face burning. " Oh my god."

" Sorry, but it's true. You said you wanted to know."

" I guess I made the right choice on my outfit tonight then." Camila finally whispered after a minute of silence, making the both of them laugh again.

" For sure." Shawn agreed, letting his eyes roam over her legs as he parked the car.

Camila looked out of the window and smiled at the neon letters of the local ice cream shop. It was simple and maybe she shouldn't have dressed up that much for it, but somehow it was the perfect choice.

" Shawn." She smiled at him as they walked to the shop holding hands. " This is perfect."

" Thank god. I was afraid you would find it too simple." He admitted.

" Are you kidding me? Ice cream is always the right choice." Camila squeezed his hand, grateful for how well he seemed to know her. Taking her out to get ice cream on their first date was just proof of how he paid attention to her.

The place wasn't very crowded and once they settled on a booth in the corner, the outside world seemed to disappear. If anyone ever asked her how the perfect first date would be, this was her exact answer. Just the two of them sharing ice cream and talking, sharing smiles and kisses before walking back to the car holding hands. Him stealing a flower from a random garden and placing it on her hair, then driving to an empty neighborhood so they could make out until her curfew time arrived. This was the perfect first date, although they had already been together for a little while at that point.

" Five more minutes." Camila informed him as they stood in front of her house, putting his phone back in his pocket as she stood a step above him, making them almost the same height. Shawn pulled her in for another kiss, letting his hand move from her waist to her hips and eventually her ass.

" You should wear this skirt more often." He whispered against her lips.

" You think so?" She asked, giggling as he kissed again. She could definitely tell during their make out session on his car earlier that he was very fond of the skirt.

" Okay. That's enough. Five minutes are up." Camila hears her aunt's voice from the front door and pulls away from the kiss. Her aunt looked at the two of them pointedly, eyeing Shawn's hands on her ass before walking back in.

" I have to go." Camila laughed, kissing his lips again and trying to go up one more step, but Shawn pulled her into his arms again.

" I love you." He said, moving his hands to her face and cupping her cheeks.

" I love you." Camila repeated with the biggest smile on her face that never went away as he kissed her again and she walked back to the house.