THE SLOPES | shawmila

two.

"Oh my God, oh my God! It's Nick!"

"Is that your boyfriend?" Shawn asked from where he was chopping vegetables on the other side of the counter.

"No, my scene partner. This could be about the audition. I need to wash my hands—" She went to the sink, trying to turn on the tap with her elbow when she saw Shawn grab her phone off the counter. "What are you doing?"

"I'll read it for you, don't stop mixing."

"Shawn—" She stepped towards him, but he was faster, already all the way around the counter.

She stood there, food clinging to her hands as she stared at him. Somehow, she didn't care that he was looking at her phone. She just needed that information now.

He was looking at the screen with deep focus, Camila watched as it faded into almost laughter, a smirk pulling at his lips. He was dragging this out on purpose.

"Well?" She demanded. "What's it say?"

"You look cute."

He lowered her phone and looked her in the eye. Camila froze, feeling her face flush. They stood there, looking at each other, Camila's heart racing and Shawn's face unreadable.

"...What?"

"That's what he said." Shawn could no longer resist the urge to laugh. "See?"

He turned the screen around and Camila leaned closer, still holding her hands out of the way. Under her selfie outside the lodge was just as Shawn said—a message from Nick saying she looked cute.

"Oh." Camila groaned, rolling her eyes. "I thought it was something important."

She managed the tap with her elbow this time and scrubbed her hands again as Shawn took the chicken and put it in the pan for the oven. They were both silent as she dried her hands and grabbed her phone up again.

"Sorry." Shawn said, closing the oven and looking over at her. "I—I didn't realize you were waiting for something important. I shouldn't have teased you."

"No, it's okay." Camila put her phone back in her pocket. "I should have known it'd be nothing—Nick won't hear anything until tomorrow night at the earliest."

"You said this was about an audition?"

"Yeah, and the director is Rachel—she's the one of the most influential stage directors in the city right now. I've auditioned for every show she's done and she's never picked me."

"Damn, that sucks. You think this time will be different, though?"

"I hope so." She sighed. "Rachel said Nick and I were good, and she always says good, but this good felt...better."

"That's...good." He smirked and Camila reluctantly found herself smiling.

"I just want this play so bad."

"Aren't...you on tv, though?"

Camila blushed, knowing exactly what he was talking about. Camila had filmed a commercial earlier this year for a hair product. She didn't talk in it, just mostly smiled and flipped her hair around, but it was the biggest thing she'd ever done.

Her mother had posted it all over social media when it came out, and she occasionally still saw it on tv, so she wasn't shocked that Shawn had seen it.

"Yes." She nodded, her face still red. "Yes, I'm in a commercial, but... you know what, never mind, it's hard to explain."

"Explain what?" He leaned over the counter. "I really wanna know, tell me."