FORGET YOU LAUREN

CHAPTER 21

Track 15: Delicate (3:27)
Lauren POV
A few days after the trip to the chalet...
UNKNOWN NUMBER: So much for Camila Cabello to be "an old neighbor you can't stand" right?
Unknown number: I knew you two were fucking and you were using me as a way to fill your time until she came back.
Unknown number: I still miss you... Let me know if you want to make amends (I'll drop everything if you just say the word).
I deleted Lucy's last series of desperate text messages and finally considered texting the "Fuck You" she deserved, but she wasn't worth my energy.
Didn't I see her with a new boyfriend?
Restless, I got out of bed and walked down the hallway to Camila's room. I knocked on her door and, as in the previous nights, there was no response. Since we got back from the trip, she struggled to avoid me, and we still had to cross paths again.
I knocked on her door one last time before I opened it slowly. His bed was empty, and his cell phone and purse had long since disappeared.
Confused, I texted her.
Me: Hey. Are you awake?
She didn't send me a message back.
I went to Greg's room, stopping when I saw him fall on the living room sofa. "Did you see Camila tonight?"
"Maybe". He crossed his arms. "Before we can discuss this, there is something important that we need to discuss. We need new rules around here."
I prepared for nonsense.
"If you and Camila are going to date under my ceiling, and yes, this is my ceiling as much as yours, there will be no sex on the living room sofa."
"You had sex on the living room sofa last week."
"Oh yes..." He laughed. "Speaking of that, if a sex tape comes out this semester and our house is in the background, and you think the guy in question looks like me... It's not me. It's someone else."

"Are you really this dense, or are you pretending today?"

"Well, I am pursuing a minor in Theater Arts, so maybe I'm pretending."

"I hope so." I shook my head. "Where did Camila go?"

"There's one last rule," he said. "You must put a sock on your bedroom door whenever the two of you want alone time, so me and my company won't walk in, and you need to ask Camila to hook me up with her newest friend. End of discussion." He looked at me as if he'd just closed the deal of a lifetime. "Anyway, Camila's probably at the same place she was last night."

"Which is?"

He shrugged. "Like I know. The only thing she said was that she wanted to get away from 'all the mother-daughter week bullshit' on campus. She also stole your bag of quarters and told me not to tell you."

I gave him an empty look.
"What? She didn't share the coins with me, so I have no obligation to keep it a secret."
I laughed and took the keys to my car, realizing where Camila was. "I'll be back." I went outside and got in my car, going straight to the Super Suds.
When I arrived, the blinds on all windows were closed and there were no cars outside. I opened the door and made my way through the maze of washers and dryers, stopping when I saw Camila in the corner.
Dressed in a set of grey flannel pajamas with several pink hair rolls, she smiled while writing on the notepad.
"Is this where you plan to sleep tonight?" I asked, sitting in front of her.
"No". She looked at me. "I'm pulling an all-nighter and getting my laundry done at the same time."

"How did you get here?" I asked.
"Uber. Since my roommate said I can't use her car."
"Is this where you were last night?"
"Maybe". She dropped the pencil. "Is doing my laundry at night a problem?"
"It's if you're avoiding me."
"I'm not." She blushed. "I'm studying for a test and washing clothes."
"Camila, it's one o'clock in the morning. You don't have any tests scheduled."
"I just wanted to leave the house for a few nights, you know? For a change of scenery... and celibacy."
"So, do you think I'm stopping by your room in the middle of the night?" I smiled. "For sex?"
"Have you ?"
"I stopped by and noticed that you weren't there," I said.

"And you weren't hoping for sex?"

"I definitely was." I pulled one of the rolls out of her hair, forcing curls to fall on her shoulders. "Seeing that sex with you is the best I've ever had, I think it would be normal to want it again."
Her cheeks turned red again. "It was OKAY for me."
"After reaching five orgasms in a night, it becomes more than okay." I dragged my fingers against her lips. "Tell me the truth. Why are you avoiding me?"