A Splash of Paint and a Wave of Emotions (Camilo Madrigal X F!Reader)

Chapter 16

She's been reading too much of her Abuela's romance novels.

As Camilo turned his back from the girl, he smiled in triumph when the image of her looking slightly shoked and disappointed flashes back in his mind once again. Now you know what I felt at the time, he huffed quietly, grabbing the wet towel and began scrubbing vigorously on the floor once again.

"This is taking longer than what I have expected."

"Yeah, and I'm exhausted."

"I told you I'll handle cleaning the floor."

It was already noon when they've finished cleaning half of the mess, some of the paint had already dried which made it even more difficult to clean. The girl offered Camilo the extra help, however he stubbornly insisted that he can handle most of it alone. She awkwardly just stood there as she watched him clean the mess she made, shadowing him from behind.

"I can cook you up a snack if you want."

"Wow, you can cook?"

"... That was rude, of course I can."

"Doubt it." He teased further, smirking as he wiped of the sweat on his forehead. She felt awfully guilty that she made him clean all the mess she had done, but him teasing her cooking skills made her feel slightly less and less guilty.

"I'm making you eat our cold leftovers, while I make myself some nice warm and delicious aborrajados then."

"No, no, no! I'm just kidding, I want you— I, er, your cooking! I'd eat anything you cook, amor!" Camilo quickly exclaimed, almost slipping from the wet floor as he tries to catch up to his friend, who was speed-walking out the door.

"Can I help?"

"No, you've done quite enough already. You merely sit down there and look pretty, as you watch me cook." She quickly shut down his offer, tying up the ribbon on her father's apron— to which as Camilo snorted upon seeing the embroidered text sewn into it saying, ‘I'm the tastiest snack you'll ever eat <3’

Her mother must've sewn that in.

"Glad to know you think I'm pretty, Cariño."

"You are though." She replied monotonously, pouring oil unto the pot and preheating it. She replied with no hesitation as if it was the most obvious thing in the entire world, it made Camilo's cheeks warm a bit at her lack of hesitation.

"Your freckles, your eyes and how they shimmer in such joy when you talk about Señora Julieta's food, your smile and how effortlessly charming it is. Yeah, everything about you is pretty." She listed on the top of her head, slicing the end of the plantains before removing its peel, she then proceeded to slice the plantains into thick pieces, blissfully unaware at how fast she just made his heart beat when she said that.

"Flowers really like to spill out from your mouth, huh?" He told her, resting his head with the palm of his hands, drinking in the sight of her cooking for him. It felt like deja vu, yet he knows in his mind that this moment never happened before. His heart screamed otherwise, however.

"Really how so?" Putting the sliced plantains on the oil to fry, leaving a satisfying sizzle as she drops it on the pot one by one.

"You speak in riddles—in words that I don't understand at times."

"I guess you just need to improve your vocabulary then." She replied, watching the plantains slowly turn golden brown before taking them all out from the pot.

"Hey! I'd like to say that I've become quite the eloquent individual as the days go by." The young Madrigal watched as the girl drain the pieces of plantain on a paper towel. Her hands delicately placing each slice on the paper towel as she waits for it to cool.