The Exchange Student // Camila Cabello

Chapter Fourteen

Noah's POV
I sat across from Camila at the dining table. The room was packed full of employees and their families, which made available seats difficult to find.

I managed to spot Alejandro, Sinuhe, and Sofi towards the opposite end of the table. They waved at us when we came in, but all the seats around them were taken which meant we had to sit next to a bunch of random strangers.

Throughout the dinner everyone pretty much talked amongst themselves. They caught up on each other's lives and reminisced about fun work stories. I focused on eating my steak and potatoes instead of talking to Camila. For some reason, sitting across from each other dressed up super nice without her parents around felt too much like a date. I was scared she would get the wrong idea and stop talking to me.

An older Hispanic woman who looked like she could be in her sixties sat to my right. She was dressed in an elegant red gown with fancy jewels displayed on her neck, ears, and wrists. She was sipping wine and kept glancing at me while I ate. Every now and then we'd make eye contact and she would smile at me.

The woman looked at me and narrowed her eyes. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

My eyes widened. They shot towards Camila who was trying to hold back her laughter. I said, "Um . . . no, ma'am, I do not."

"You don't? Are you sure? A handsome young man like yourself must have a special lady in your life."

"No, ma'am. I'm sure," I said again.

The woman smiled. "You look like a young Warren Beatty. What a handsome man, Warren Beatty." She looked off into the distance with a dreamy look in her eye. After a minute she twitched back to reality and nudged my shoulder. "You should meet my granddaughter. She's about your age. Her name's Rebecca."

I chuckled nervously and nodded. "Okay, ma'am."

Her dazed smile returned as she looked across the table at Camila who at this point was about to choke on her laughter. She managed to suppress it when the woman made eye contact with her.

"What about you, dear?" she asked. "Do you have a special boy in your life?"

Camila nodded. "I do."

"Oh," the woman smiled sweetly. "That's wonderful! Do you have a picture?"

She pulled up a picture of Jack and her at a football game hugging. He was dressed in his football uniform with eye black on his cheeks. Camila was dressed in her cheer uniform with her hair pulled up in a ponytail. Jack was smiling at the camera as Camila kissed his cheek.

"Oh, he's handsome." The woman gushed which made Camila smile. "But not as handsome as Warren here. It's a shame you two aren't together, you would make a cute couple."

My eyes went wide as she said that. And she said it so causally too! Sure, I've thought about what it would be like if Camila and I were together, but it's never been brought up in front of her before.

I looked at her and noticed her cheeks had turned a dark shade of red. She was looking at me with wide eyes that clearly expressed she had no response to the woman.

She had said her piece and turned back to a conversation with an older couple to the other side of her, leaving Camila and me in an awkward silence.

Camila's POV
When dinner ended I went outside and leaned against the rails. I stared out at the horizon as the sun set in the distance.

Noah cleared his throat and I turned to look at him. A warm breeze flowed through his wavy brown hair as he walked up to me. His sleeves were rolled up and his hands were stuffed in his pockets.

He gave me a small smile and said, "Do you, uh, wanna go for a walk?" I bit my lip and nodded. We walked off the yacht and along the marina, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing against the marina wall. After a couple minutes of silence he spoke again. "So . . . that lady was something else, huh?"

I laughed. "I know! She was obsessed with you, Warren."

He laughed and shook his head. "Who even is Warren Beatty anyway?" His laughter slowed down and he cleared his throat. "She, uh, also really seemed to like the idea of, uh, us, you know . . . together."

I looked at him to see he was staring at me. His brown eyes were wide and waiting for my reaction. Of course the thought had crossed my mind, but I've never brought it up in front of Noah before. I didn't want to say the wrong thing and ruin our relationship when it was finally going well.

"I know." I laughed. "I mean, can you even imagine that?"

Noah nodded. "Exactly. Gross."

I felt a pang in my chest when he said that. Does he really think it'd be gross if we were together? I shook away the thought. If he felt that way about me then I have to show him that I feel the same way too. "It'd be so weird! I mean, technically you're my brother."

"Host-brother, but yeah," he said.

I didn't even realize we had stopped walking until we were looking at each other and smiling. I really liked Noah's smile. It was big and toothy and he always does this thing where he kind of bites his tongue with his front teeth.

It hurt to think I was so mean to him when he first moved in. And the worst part of it is, I had no reason to be. I honestly was surprised when he stood up for me in front of Tanner in class. I assumed with the way I'd been treating him he would've watched me suffer. But he didn't.

My phone buzzed and I looked at the message.

Mamá
Is Noah with you? We're leaving soon.

I texted a quick reply and put my phone back in my pocket. "We should head back."

"Yeah," he said. "We don't want your parents to worry."

We started to walk back to the yacht and I couldn't help but glance at Noah. I smiled and said, "This was kind of my favorite business dinner."

He flashed me his iconic grin. "Oh yeah? Why?"

I shrugged. "In all the years my dad has forced me to come to these, I've never had someone to share it with."

"You never took Jack to one of these?"

I sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Jack wouldn't come if I asked him. No, I've always been by myself at business dinners."

He looked at me and smiled. "Well, if it means anything, I had a lot of fun too."