Never Say Never

Last Chapter

Eighteen months later...

"Wake up, sleepyhead." Camila groans at the words, burrowing deeper into her pillow in an attempt to block out the sunlight filtering through the blinds of the bedroom.

"What time is it?" She asks, voice rough with sleep.

"Eight." Camila groans again, and Lauren chuckles, pressing kisses to the back of Camila's shoulder. "You need to get up or you're going to be late."

"I can be late," Camila decides, rolling onto her back and blinking her eyes open, smiling when the first thing she sees is Lauren's gorgeous face staring down at her.

"You cannot be late to your own graduation."

"But - "

"No buts," Lauren cuts her off by pressing a finger to Camila's lips, which Camila pretends to bite. "Get up."

"I'll get up if you join me in the shower," Camila suggests, but Lauren shakes her head with a smile.

"Then you'll definitely be late." She's right, but Camila still pouts, and Lauren wipes it away with a gentle kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." It's been nearly two years but those words still send a thrill through her, and she doesn't think she'll ever tire of hearing them, or of saying them, to the woman of her dreams.

She rises from bed reluctantly, feels Lauren's eyes on her bare ass as she makes her way to the bathroom – their bathroom, since Camila had moved in almost a year ago – and into the shower, feeling more human when she emerges a few minutes later.

Lauren is nowhere to be seen, but she can hear the radio playing in the kitchen, sits in-front of Lauren's vanity to sort her hair and make-up for her big day.

She can't believe that she's about to get her master's degree, that all the hard work she'd done the past two years was finally going to pay off. It had been hard, but it was all worth it, and through it all she'd had Lauren by her side.

Their relationship was stronger than ever, especially now that they got to wake up and go to sleep together every single night in the bed that was now theirs. Camila had been overjoyed when Lauren had asked her to move in, hadn't even hesitated before saying an enthusiastic yes, and sometimes she still can't quite believe that she's lucky enough to be able to call Lauren Jauregui her girlfriend.

She gets ready and tugs on the dress she'd chosen for the occasion – the blue one Lauren had gotten her for that awards ceremony – and feels very overdressed when she goes in search of Lauren, finding her behind the stove in a fluffy white robe and her pajamas.

"You look beautiful," Lauren tells her, eyes shining, and Camila is pretty sure that when she looks out for her family when she's on that stage, she's going to see Lauren, Sinu, Sofi and Maggie all crying in a line.

"Thank you." She presses a kiss to Lauren's cheek, accepts a cup of coffee and settles into a stool on the other side of the kitchen counter. "You already get Leo up?"

"Mhm." Sure enough, a few moments later he bounds into view, also in his pajamas, scrambles up so that he's sitting next to Camila at the counter.

"You look nice," he tells her, and Camila smiles, reaches out to ruffle his hair.

"Thanks, little man." And he is a little man, now, five years old and growing each and every day and Camila's so glad that she's here to see it.

He's starting school next month, and neither Lauren nor Camila can quite believe it, that their little boy isn't quite so little anymore.