I Know I Was for a While

“Can I get you anything to drink, Isabel?” Camila asked politely from her seat on the couch, her dark eyes settled on the older woman who sat on the floor a little away from her, cooing softly to Oscar who was happily laying on his mat, a soft smile spread across his face. It had been a quiet morning, after Camila had arrived home, she and Isabel had quickly fallen into their familiar awkward routine, and Camila couldn’t wait for the visit to be over, even if Isabel hadn’t said anything. There was still an awkwardness around them that could only be shaken once the older woman ducked out of the front door.

Isabel, who was happily babbling to Oscar, looked up at the sound of Camila’s voice before she quirked a pleasant smile, shaking her head gently. “I’m fine, thank you” she mused.

Camila nodded her head, moving to push herself up to her feet, before the sound of footsteps reached her ears, causing her to look up, her eyes watching as Lionel stepped into the room, pulling his jacket around his shoulders. “I thought today was your day off?” she quipped playfully.

Lionel smirked a little at her comment before he nodded. “It is” he quipped “But a few of the guys are meeting up for lunch and I thought I’d tag along. You don’t mind me heading out for a couple of hours, do you?” he asked, his expression softening a little as he spared a subtle look down towards Isabel.

Camila caught his look before she shook her head, offering him a small smile. “Of course not” she noted “I’m sure that we’ll be fine without you for that long” she added.

Lionel spared her a curious look, wordlessly asking if she was sure, before he nodded. “I shouldn’t be gone for too long” he noted “I’d give you a more specific time, but Gerard’s going and you know how he is” he added impishly.

Camila rolled her eyes, but couldn’t shake her small smile, something which made Lionel grin at her before he stepped towards her, pressing a couple of quick kisses against her lips. “I’ll see you later?” he mumbled, gently brushing her hair off of her face.

Camila leant into his touch slightly before she lifted her eyes, mirroring his. “We’re not going anywhere” she replied quietly.

Lionel breathed out a slightly nervous laugh, something which made Camila’s smile widen a fraction before she pushed herself up onto her toes, pressing a soft kiss against his lips. Lionel held onto her for a couple of seconds, relishing the soft kiss, before the sound of Isabel clearing her throat reached his ears, causing him to take a step back, a blush quickly spreading over his cheeks. “I...uh...I should be going” he stumbled out “Adios, Isabel” he added, sparing her a polite smile before he moved to step out of the room.

Isabel watched him out of the door before she gently shook her head, flicking her attention back towards Oscar.

Camila hesitated for a split second, waiting to see if the older woman had anything to say, before she padded out of the living room, returning seconds later with a glance of water held in her hands. Catching sight of Oscar’s smile, she smiled a little to herself before she settled back down onto the couch, sipping on her drink quietly.

Isabel spared her a small look out of the corner of her eye before she let out a quiet sigh, shaking her head to herself. “You and Leo seem to be going strong” she mused.

Camila spluttered a little on her drink, surprised by the older woman speaking, before she shook her head, her fingers shyly messing with the ends of her hair. “I like to think so” she mused shyly “I mean, it’s only been a few months, but I think it’s going pretty well” she added politely. She didn’t want to talk about it, her relationship with Lionel had nothing to do with the older woman, but still she opted to be polite, hoping that Isabel would merely change the subject.

Isabel nodded her head slowly, mulling over Camila’s words, before looked up, her eyes mirroring the younger woman’s. “He said that you and him are decorating room for Oscar” she mused “You’re planning to stay here?” she asked.

Camila nodded. “It made sense” she noted “I mean, we’ve been here for nearly a year now, and both me and Oscar are pretty settled. Neither me nor Leo saw the point in me trying to find another place, especially with things as they are between us” she added, just about stopping herself from adding a comment about her moving in with him being inevitable.

It wasn’t something that they talked about, with both her and Lionel more than content to allow their relationship to develop tentatively, neither one of them had broached the subject of their future as yet, but still Camila was excited about it, even if whatever future they had was a way off. She couldn’t deny that part of her had thought a long way ahead of where they were.

Isabel offered her another slow nod, something which made Camila shake her head, a slight scoff falling out of her mouth.

“It’s soon, isn’t it?” Isabel quipped “I mean, it’s a lot of pressure and I just...”

“I’m not asking you for your opinion, Isabel” Camila cut in.

Isabel blinked a couple of times, surprised that Camila had cut her off, before she shook her head. “Mila...”

“This is my relationship” Camila interrupted again “And it is something that has nothing at all to do with you. You’re Oscar’s grandmother, and I want you to be that, but aside from that, you don’t have any reason or right to question what is going on between me and Lionel. He’s my business, our relationship is my business, and you have no right to stick your nose into that. My love life really has nothing at all to do with you anymore, does it?” she asked, her dark eyes not shifting away from the older woman’s.

Isabel held her stare for a second, allowing her words to hang in the air, before she shook her head. “I’m just trying to look out for you, Mila” she mused.

Camila scoffed. “Look out for me?” she noted “Isabel, if you were really looking out for me, you’d see that Leo...he makes me happy. He’s been so good for me, Isabel, so good for Oscar too, and if you really had my best interests at heart, you’d see that. He’s the best thing that could have happened to me after what happened with Noah, and I am not going to allow you to get in the middle of it. I love him, and you just need to find a way to deal with it because it’s not something which is going to change any time soon” she insisted firmly.

Isabel stared at her for a few long seconds before she cleared her throat, awkwardly pushing herself back to her feet. “I just want you, and Oscar, to be happy, Mila” she noted.

“We are happy, Isabel” Camila insisted calmly.

Isabel spared her a slightly dubious look before she slowly nodded her head, forcing a familiar polite smile onto her lips. “Good” she forced out “I...I should probably head out. I’ll call?” she asked.

Camila merely nodded, something which caused Isabel to lean down, pressing a soft kiss against the top of Oscar’s head before she stepped out of the room, flashing Camila another forced smile over her shoulder, something which made the brunette sigh, hoping that, eventually, things got easier between them.