behind the lights | camren

Chapter Ten

Warm, wrinkled bed sheets, indented pillows, ruffled blankets, and Camila's tangled hair was the first sight Lauren saw when she awoke the next morning. Of course, it wasn't the only time they had woken up in this dazed out state, but this time around, this bright Monday morning was unlike any other.

Lauren's nose was buried in the soft waves of Camila's hair, which gave off a smell of fruity shampoo. Lauren nuzzled closer to her girlfriend, their legs intertwined like ropes of an anchor and their bodies were a beautiful, tangled mess.

"Good morning," Camila sang, lightness and love flowing out of her soft lips, "God, I can't believe that happened."

Lauren grinned to herself, sparks flying like the fourth of July between them, "All of this seems so surreal, between you, and us, and my life," Lauren sighed, because with Camila, she left the vices and virtues of being a famous actress in the dusk, and indulged in her own personal tranquility.

Especially after the events of the night before. Lauren opted to take her own car home, her pedal touching the floor the entire way home. Camila rested her dainty hands on Lauren's cold thigh, taunting and teasing her with tempting touches. When they got back to Lauren's penthouse, Lauren had kicked her multiple thousand dollar dress off like it was a plastic bag, and proceeded to lose her virginity.

The night couldn't detach itself from Lauren's mind: adrenaline rushed through her veins, love pulsed the beat of her heart, and the stars in Camila's eyes took Lauren back home, to her roots of being a selfless girl who gave too many chances and let so many unwilling people leave their scarring foot prints all over her.

Camila flipped over, now nose to nose with her girlfriend. Their eyes met, emerald into coffee, and they gave each other a knowing smile, because since they indulged in a night of drunken love and rustled sheets, the never ending bond between them was stronger than ever.

"Are you going to at least make me breakfast?" Camila inquired, a smirk dancing playfully on her lips.

Lauren let out a throaty laugh, "I don't know, is that common procedure after you have sex with someone? Because I wouldn't know," Lauren said, prodding at her own prudishness.

Camila shrugged lightly, leaning into Lauren's shoulder, "We can make breakfast together," Camila suggested, lifting her eyebrows as she smiled.

"Okay," Lauren obliged, jumping out of the bed, giving Camila a competitive look, "Last one to the kitchen has to cook!" Lauren shouted, letting her feet slap against the hardwood floors as she illegally took a head start on the bet.

"Hey! No fair!" Camila yelled, following close behind Lauren, flailing her skinny arms in front of her, attempting to grab her girlfriend, "Cheater!" She giggled out, clasping a hand on the counter top.

"Ha! I won," Lauren bragged, leaning over the marble counter top to make eye contact with Camila, "Now you have to make me breakfast," Lauren stated, poking her head forward, planting a dainty kiss on Camila's cheek.

"Can't complain," Camila stated, padding over to Lauren's stainless steel refrigerator, tapping her chin lightly as she studied the plethora of food items inside, "How about we make pancakes? My mom taught me how to make them from scratch when I was just a tiny mija." Camila grinned, tugging the milk carton out of its slot.

Lauren leaned against the counter with her head resting upon her fist, and she watched as Camila ransacked the kitchen of her penthouse for pancake ingredients.

When all the ingredients were laid out in front of her, Camila began taking measurements, eying them carefully to make sure she had just the right amount. The bowl was starting to fill up, and as Camila was stirring the contents together, Lauren had an idea that was both childish and ingenious.

Lauren pinched her index finger and thumb together in the bag of flour, obtaining the powdery substance in her hand. She waited until Camila looked completely content with her stirring, and then Lauren went in for the kill. Lauren flicked the flour out of her finger, and right below Camila's eyelashes, the powder resting on her tanned cheeks. Camila whipped her head around, her mouth agape.

"You did not just do that!" Camila yelled in a playful tone, reaching her fingers into the bag of flour.

Lauren squealed, running away from Camila, "You better not!"

"It's payback," Camila claimed, chasing after Lauren, indirectly getting specks of flour all over her hardwood floor. Camila took a chance and tossed the powder, splattering the white flour in Lauren's dark hair, "Got you!"

Lauren almost collapsed to the ground from giggling so much. To gain stability, Lauren gripped onto the back of her dining room chair, letting out her laughter while trying to simultaneously regain her breath. She ran her fingers through her hair, letting the powder come loose, and Lauren thought that she needed to phone the maid later.

"Okay, okay. Now we're even," Lauren said, chuckling out another laugh, "Now continue making my pancakes," Lauren joked.

Camila headed back over to the bowl of ingredients, and while she steadily stirred everything together, Lauren bit her lip as she pulled a bag of chocolate chips out of the pantry, and tossed a handful of the sweet chips into the batter.

"Lauren!" Camila wailed, sighing as she eyed her pancake batter, "Well, at least chocolate chips are good," Camila said, a bit defeated.

A short while later, Camila was piling sizzling pancakes onto a plate, leaving Lauren to drown the hot cakes in a waterfall of thick, maple syrup. By time the batch was finished, Lauren had already shoveled an entire pancake into her mouth.

"These are good," Lauren moaned, letting the flapjack melt in her mouth.

"That's only because I made them," Camila teased, poking Lauren lightly with her fork, "The chocolate chips were a great addition, though."

"Hmm," Lauren hummed, cutting off another piece of the pancake and putting it in her mouth.

When Lauren and Camila finished, they shared the duty of washing the dishes. Camila wiped down the plates, using way too much soap and making the water too hot, while Lauren scrubbed a towel over the warm plates. Unbelievably, this was the first time Lauren had ever done dishes, and while her character on the Disney Channel despised them, Lauren felt domestic, like a housewife from the 1950s.

"Do you ever think about the future?" Camila queried, breaking the silence.

Lauren tilted her head, because honestly, she hadn't. The future seemed so far away, especially since Lauren's life had already been so well lived. Lauren had achieved more in almost a quarter of a century than anyone leading a normal life could, and with that, the future seemed so open for possibilities, that Lauren couldn't limit herself to one small plan.

"I don't know, not really," Lauren admitted, and by the way Camila's face fell, Lauren could tell that she gave the wrong answer, "I mean, I could see a future with us, if that's what you were asking."

Camila shied away into her shoulder, "I kind of was, I'm not good at being subtle."

"Hopefully there is a future for us," Lauren suggested, leaning her head onto Camila's, "If there isn't, I'm giving up on love."

"Me too," Camila retorted, and for the next few days, Lauren wholeheartedly believed it.