I Know I Was for a While

Taking a sip from the mug of tea that she held in her hand, Camila drummed her fingers against it, listening to the soft sound that was made when her engagement ring struck the cup, a sound which had a smile stuck on her lips. She still couldn’t quite wrap her around it, the idea that she and Lionel were engaged was one which seemed so strange to her, but still she couldn’t stop herself from smiling when the thought crossed her mind or she caught sight of the ring that Lionel had been quick place on her finger, even if it was still settling in. She couldn’t stop herself from fussing over how far they’d come.

Gently tapping her fingers against the cup, she smiled into her drink happily for a few seconds before the sound of footsteps reached her ears, causing her to spare a glance towards the doorway, her smile growing as she watched Lionel sleepily pad into the room. Taking another sip of her drink, she watched him for a couple of moments, allowing a few beats of silence to pass between them before she shook her head, letting a shy giggle fall out of her mouth.

Lionel, who’d been subtly staring back at her, trying to think of something to say to her, flinched a little at the soft sound before he shook his head, a sheepish smile of his own quickly brightening his face. “Hola?” he quipped, his voice caught between playful and uncertain.

Camila let out another soft laugh. “Hola” she mused, still smiling as she took another sip of her drink.

Lionel stared at her for a second, not missing the soft smile that she had tried to hide with her mug, before he shifted his stare slightly, catching sight of the ring that she sported on her finger, something which made the smile he wore soften a little.

Camila, who’d been watching quietly, followed the line of his stare before she looked back over at him, a goofy grin on her face. “You do remember last night, don’t you?” she teased.

Lionel breathed out a laugh as he met her eyes, a soft flush of pink spread across his cheeks. “Of course I do” he replied “I remember a lot of babbling, and then you telling me to just cut to the chase. I remember a lot of tearful smiles too” he quipped.

Camila merely grinned into her mug, something which made Lionel smile too before he stepped towards the fridge, moving to pour himself a glass of juice. Camila watched him for a few seconds, allowing another momentary silence to pass between the two of them, before she let out another soft laugh, something which made Lionel shake his head slightly before he turned back to her, a grin still tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You know that you keep doing that, don’t you?” he quipped.

Camila, who’d moved to stow her mug on the counter, nodded. “I do” she confirmed “I just...I can’t quite believe it. You’re my...we’re going...you actually proposed to me, Leo” she spluttered out.

Lionel grinned amusedly, briefly contemplating teasing her, before he stepped towards her slightly, his fingertips lightly brushing over the finger which sported the ring that he’d placed there the night before. “I know I did” he quipped “I’m a little amazed that I actually managed to get the words out, but I did” he added sheepishly.

“You weren’t that bad” Camila commented, knotting their fingers together.

Lionel spared her a slightly dubious look before he lifted her hand, pressing a soft kiss against the back of it. “I love you” he mumbled softly, dropping a couple more kiss against her hand.

Camila smiled at the soft feel of his lips against her hand before she lifted her spare hand, cupping it around his cheek before she guided him into a soft kiss. Allowing the kiss to linger for a few long seconds, she allowed her fingers to lightly brush through his dark hair, before she pulled back, smiling up at him gently. “I love you too” she breathed.

Lionel opened his mouth to say something more, but was cut off as the sound of the doorbell flooded the air, something which caused him to shake his head, a rueful smile on his face. “That’s...?”

“My mother” Camila finished for him “She called a little while ago and told me that she’d be back early. She said something about an important meeting at work that she couldn’t be late for” she added.

Lionel nodded his head slowly. “I should probably get into the shower anyway” he quipped.

Camila nodded before she lowered her stare, catching sight of the ring that she wore. “Should I take this off?” she asked hesitantly.

Lionel quirked a crooked grin, not missing the tone of her voice, before he shook his head. “I like it where it is” he quipped boyishly.

Camila’s cheeks warmed a little at his reply, something which made Lionel chuckle before he leant into her, pressing a couple of quick kisses against her lips. “She knows” he mumbled as he pulled away “Your madre that is. I told her that I was going to ask you” he added as he carefully tucked some of her slightly messy hair off of her face.

Camila leant into his touch slightly. “You did?” she asked.

Lionel nodded. “We hadn’t talked about it, me and you” he noted “But, I figured that you might have said something to your mama, so I mentioned it to her, kind of hoping that if this wasn’t something you wanted, she’d try and stop me from making a fool out of myself. She seemed pretty confident that you’d say yes” he added with a small laugh.

Camila marveled at the small sheepish noise, a giddy smile on her face, before the sound of the doorbell echoed again, something which caused Lionel to lean down, pressing a soft kiss against her lips. “Say hello from me” he muttered before he walked out of the room, jogging up the stairs.

Reaching the top of them, he hesitated for a few seconds, listening to the sound of the front door opening and closing and the muffled conversation between Camila and Lucille, before a high pitched squeal reached his ears, something which caused him to grin proudly to himself before he progressed towards his bedroom, more than sure that the previous night had been the right moment for him to ask a question which he had been sure that he wanted to ask Camila for months.