Valeria suspects it’s a thin excuse to leave her and Camila alone. None of them has ever enjoyed hiking, especially not Clara. Valeria is half-tempted to say she’ll go to show them she sees what they’re doing, but she opts not to. Honestly, some time alone with Camila sounds nice.
“Not me—you guys go,” she says, turning to Camila, onlynow realizing she might choose to go. Valeria did not think that one through; she should have let her answer first.
“I’ll stay. I want to catch up on some reading,” she says, and Valeria lets out a relieved breath.
“Sounds good.” Lily bites her lip, clearly trying to contain the smile that wants to overtake her face.
They watch the girls paddle toward the shore, then turn back to face each other. Valeria wants to freeze this moment so badly. She wishes she were artsy like Isabella, so she could paint this moment and never forget the way the sun plays off Camila’s hair. Her gaze focuses on the striking contrast of dark and light between Camila’s eyes, wanting to lose herself there forever in the softness of her gaze.
Valeria has known since the moment Camila barreled into her clinic that she was attractive, but it has only intensified as she’s gotten to know more about her. In moments like right now, that attraction feels impossible to ignore.
“Want to read?” Camila asks, reaching for Valeria’s waterproof bag.
“You sure you trust me with your book after all the times we fell into the water?”
“I’d trust you with anything.”
Valeria’s cheeks flush, and a giddy lightness takes hold, making her want to laugh and twirl all at once. Camila holds out a book for Valeria, but she doesn’t reach for it because she can’t. Her limbs have gone loose and unreliable, jelly masquerading as bone. How does Camila always do this? Take an ordinary moment and tilt it, just enough, until it feels like more.
When feeling seeps back into Valeria’s limbs, she takes the book from Camila’s hand. Their fingers brush, just barely, but it’s enough to make her breath hitch. Thankfully, Camila doesn’t seem to notice, and Valeria immediatelyfocuses on reading the blurb of her book, but she barely gets past the first line.
They lie on their sides then, mirroring each other. It’s the same position they were in before, but it doesn’t feel the same. It takes Valeria a few seconds to coax her breathing and heart back to a steady rhythm. When she does, she looks down at the book in her hands. It’s tattered, softened at the edges, the spine cracked. Valeria can only assume it’s one of Camila’s favorites. It looks like it’s been held more times than it’s been shelved.
She opens it and skims a few pages, and her heart stumbles all over again. The margins are crowded with annotations. Valeria has always hated it when people do that; her books are tiny trophies meant to stay pristine, but now, instead of irritation, she feels a bright, fizzing excitement. Eager for a glimpse into Camila’s thoughts.
Valeria starts reading, and almost immediately she realizes her mouth hurts. She has a ridiculously large smile stretched across her face, one she can’t seem to rein in, no matter how hard she tries. Every time she reaches one of Camila’s notes, her attention derails completely. She’s barely reading the book anymore. Her eyes are skimming the lines until she reaches another one of Camila’s notes.
“What are you smiling so big at?” Camila laughs.
Valeria doesn’t look up. “Your notes,” she says, still grinning. “They make the book a million times better.”
Camila laughs. “I’m glad,” she says before turning her attention back to the book in her hands.
Valeria isn’t sure when time slipped out from under her. She only notices when she turns and sees the sun in a completely different place than she remembers.
“We should probably head back,” Camila says, also realizing time escapedthem.
Valeria’s belly grumbles right on cue.
“Yeah,” she says, laughing softly. “Good idea.”
Camila paddles them back to shore, the water giving way easily beneath her strokes. When they reach land, the camp is quiet.
Valeria looks around. “I guess the girls aren’t back yet.”
Camila shrugs, easy. “I guess not.”
They move around camp until they reach the food table, make themselves sandwiches, and pour massive cups of water before settling side by side on the lounge chairs. Their shoulders don’t touch, but Valeria feels the warmth of her body just the same.
“How are you liking the book?” Camila asks before taking a big bite of her sandwich.
“I love it. How are you liking yours?”
Camila smiles. “It’s wonderful. I love the world-building so far.”
“You better say that,” Valeria says, unable to stop the pride that swells in her chest. “My best friend wrote it.” God, she’ll never get tired of saying that.
Camila blinks. “What?”
