Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CAMILA
In May, Valeria stopped bringing coffee to Camila midday and started showing up at the studio at the end of her shift, staying with Camila as she organized her office.
Sometimes, Valeria would bring a book and read passages aloud as Camila wrote up restoration proposals.
On the nights she had to stay extra late, Valeria would show up with takeout, and they’d enjoy it on Camila’s office couch, both of them talking about their day or their lives before they knew each other.
Camila loved those days most, getting to know Valeria better and better.
On the days when neither of them said a thing, silence never felt like a gap to bridge. It felt inhabited, comfortable.
June brought warmth, but Camila was barely able to bask in it, as her mother had another health scare.
Valeria held her through it. Eased Camila from the edge of panic at the hospital.
Even went to Camila’s parents’ house with her, to help pack an overnight bag for her dad.
Since then, Camila has been visiting her parents every weekend.
By the end of the month, the heat pressed heavily against the city again, and thankfully, Camila’s mom was doing better. One evening, as they locked up the studio together, Valeria slipped her arm through Camila’s, and Camila’s heart nearly gave out.
For the past few months, even the most innocent of touches from Valeria—brushing a stray strand of hair from Camila’s face, lightly squeezing her hand in reassurance, a soft tap on the arm—had unsettled Camila in the sweetest way, leaving her breathless and lightheaded even as she tried to push the feeling down.
July came and went the same way the last six months had, with endless laughter between her and Valeria, growing so close that Camila almost felt it impossible.
By the time August came around, Camila had forgotten all about the camping trip they had all agreed to months ago. Today, they’re all headed to Deception Pass State Park to camp for Lily’s birthday weekend, and for the next three days, it’ll be the six of them.
Clara, Alejandra, and Valeria are already on their way to Camila’s house, and she still hasn’t packed.
She walks into her closet, grabs her carry-on, and starts packing T-shirts, shorts, and swimsuits in such a rush that she barely pays attention to what she’s throwing in.
Next, she rushes into the bathroom, grabs her toiletries, and shoves them into her bag.
She digs through her garage, fishing out her tent, cot, pad, lantern, and a shovel—she doesn’t know what kind of campsite this will be, and she doesn’t want to take any chances.
By the time Valeria and the girls get to her house, Camila is hiding the key under the mat for Miso’s sitter, and her breath is so uneven she sounds like she ran a marathon. She shouldn’t have left it all to the last minute, because she’s sure she’s forgetting something, but can’t figure out what.
“Hey,” Valeria says with a brilliant smile. Immediately, everything in Camila loosens. The world seems brighter, and her mood instantly lifts, as if Valeria’s presence amplifies everything good.
“Hey,” Camila says, her hands clenching as she resists the urge to run and hug her. Thankfully, Valeria doesn’t seem to have the same reservations as she wraps her in a tight embrace. Camila’s heart beats a little faster, a quick, happy drum against her ribs.
“Wow, I missed you,” Valeria says, holding on to her. “Is that weird?”
Camila’s breath hitches, a sudden tightness in her chest. “Not at all, I missed you, too.”
Someone behind them clears their throat. When Valeria and Camila turn, Clara is eyeing them, an eyebrow raised.
“We should go,” she says with a smirk.
“Right!” Valeria says, helping Camila grab the rest of her things and getting them in the back of Clara’s SUV.
The drive to the campground is uneventful.
Valeria falls asleep against the window halfway through.
Clara and Alejandra are talking in cryptic shorthand that only they seem to understand, and Camila sketches on her iPad—drawing Valeria deep in sleep, with her bangs messy, and her mouth slightly ajar.
By the time she’s ready to add color, Alejandra chirps, “We’re here!”
“Five more minutes,” Valeria protests, readjusting herself in her seat.
Camila smiles, remembering how hard it was to wake Valeria up when she was staying at her house.
She’d always ask for more time, and Camila would always let her have it, even if Valeria woke up in a panic minutes later, running around the house.
The memory sparks a warm feeling in Camila.
She can almost hear Valeria’s sleepy mumbles and the frantic rustling of clothes as she scrambled to get ready.
“Suit yourself,” Alejandra says, before the car door swings open.
Clara turns to them and shakes her head. “You staying?” she asks, and Camila nods.
When Alejandra and Clara are out of sight, Camila turns back to her iPad and continues sketching.
Not a minute later, Valeria shoots up with a pout. “I can’t go back to sleep.”
Camila tucks her stylus back into its case and snaps her iPad case shut. “Let’s go set up, then. Maybe you can take a nap in your tent.”
Valeria nods.
They both spill out of the car, shoulders brushing as they grab their bags and tents and head toward where everyone else is setting up.
The campsite is gorgeous, and the lake’s big enough to feel endless, wrapped in trees that keep the whole place cool and green. The water barely ripples. It just sits there, calm as can be.
“Look who finally decided to join us,” Clara says as the other three quieten the moment they spot Valeria and Camila.
“Hey,” Alejandra says brightly, like they weren’t in the same car for the last hour and a half.
Lily walks up to Valeria, hugs her, and moves to hug Camila. “Thank you both for coming.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Valeria says, squeezing Lily’s arm.
It almost makes Camila feel silly that when Valeria hugged her this morning, she’d lost her breath. They’re all clearly huggers, except for Ella, who greets Valeria and Camila with a wave.
They all settle into picking the perfect flat spot for their tents. Clara flips open the cooler and hands each of them a drink. They decide to sleep in a square, all four tents facing each other, which is fine with Camila. She’s never been in a tent by herself, and that’s making her a bit nervous.
They each start assembling their poles, all of them flinching and ducking as Lily’s and Isabella’s get so long, they whistle past their heads.
Camila finishes first. She used to go camping so much with her ex that building a tent is almost second nature.
“How?” Valeria asks, out of breath, as the same stubborn pole she’s been trying to assemble for the past five minutes falls apart.
“Do you need help?”
Valeria looks up at Camila, exasperation clear on her face, then nods emphatically. “Yes, please.”
Camila makes easy work of setting up Valeria’s tent, getting it up in a couple of minutes.
Valeria blinks at it, then at Camila. “I’m impressed. That would have taken me at least another hour.”
Camila smiles, a little shy but pleased.
The others notice that Camila and Valeria are done almost immediately and quickly ask Camila for help. Camila goes from tent to tent, and in a few minutes, they’re all up, and everyone starts setting up their cots and bringing their bags inside.
When they’re all done, they start setting up the table for the food and one with a bunch of games.
With everything she brought set out, Camila crawls back into her tent, changing into a white ribbed tank and a pair of black board shorts.
She doesn’t know why she thought her usual baggy pants would be suitable for camping in the middle of August.
A few minutes later, Valeria calls for her.
Camila crawls to the zipper; its metallic tang fills the air.
When the material folds open, Camila comes face-to-face with Valeria’s thigh.
A wave of nervous heat washes over her, and she struggles to swallow, her mouth suddenly dry as Camila realizes Valeria has changed into a red bikini and a white cover-up skirt, the fabric so thin that the faint outline of her bikini bottoms peeks through when she shifts her weight.
Camila’s never struggled to be perfectly respectable when it comes to other people’s bodies, but she’s finding keeping her eyes on Valeria’s face more difficult than she ever thought possible.
“Ready to go?” Valeria asks as she kneels; the barely there fabric of her skirt parts, revealing more of Valeria’s upper thigh, and Camila forgets how breathing works. Her fingers, usually steady, tremble; her palms sweat, and a tingling sensation erupts in her stomach.
“Go?” Camila asks, her hands clasped together. The only word that comes to her at the moment.
The corner of Valeria’s mouth curves, not quite a smirk, but close enough that it sends a dangerous warmth through Camila. “Are you okay?”
Camila nods rapidly, pulse skittering under her skin. Thankfully, her brain clicks back online. “Yeah,” she says a little too quickly. “It’s just hot. You were saying?”
“Isabella brought her boat; she wants to take it to the middle of the lake before the tide gets stronger, and have a few drinks. So we’re heading out in five.”
“Oh, yeah, I just need to change.”
Valeria moves her eyes down to Camila. One of her brows lifts, amused. “Didn’t you already?”
Heat rushes to Camila’s face as she looks down. “I, yeah. I did.” She clears her throat. “I meant to grab my sunblock.”
Valeria narrows her eyes. “Okay,” she says before standing. Her faint floral perfume drifts into Camila’s tent, and her head throbs. Camila swiftly turns, struggling to resist the urge to watch her walk away.
She zips up her tent and plops back onto the mattress on her cot with a sigh. Valeria is a friend, and she’s still healing from her last relationship, she reminds herself. She needs to get herself under control.