Love Me, Please (Camren)

Chapter 35

They're both crying at the end of it.

It's sappy and weird and definitely too intimate and personal for the public setting, given they're sitting at a booth in a pizzeria and a lot of the other customers are looking their way now. Camila pays the bill despite Lauren's protests that they share it equally, and then they're leaving as quickly as they can, still in tears, before they make an even bigger scene.

As it turns out, Camila didn't know Lauren approached her that first day at the party. She was drunk and busy talking to a girl and she just didn't notice Lauren approaching her. The girl didn't help either, and she was the one who made Lauren feel like shit anyways.

Then after that everything made a little more sense but Lauren still had to explain and apologize for everything and that's what she did, because all she wanted to do in the end was to be honest. It was difficult but she figured she had nothing to lose—they'd both already seen each other at their worst, anyways. Lauren told Camila how afraid she was and how much she didn't want to get hurt by loving Camila but not being loved in return.

Camila had her insecurities of her own which she shared with Lauren once she was finished, and then ended up sitting on the same side of the booth just so Camila could hug Lauren and tell her that even though they haven't had the best beginning so far, she's so glad they found each other, and she's so glad they're together now.

When they go outside, Camila stops her abruptly and hugs her tightly. They both stand there on the sidewalk, wrapped up in each other, and don't let go for a while. It's quiet and warm. Lauren is quickly learning Camila is always a comfortable temperature and her body just radiates heat. She warms her hands up by slipping them beneath the hem of Camila's shirt and pressing her palms flat to her shoulder blades. The touch makes Camila shiver a little bit but she still holds her tightly and refuses to let go.

For once Lauren's heart is thudding happily and she feels whole. Her soul is finally satisfied after an eternity of turmoil from being separated from its match. Even when they were close together, especially this past week, there was a ton of animosity between them. Now, there's only calm.

"So what do we do now?" Lauren asks, once she's pulled away enough from burying her face in Camila's chest to speak out loud without her voice being muffled.

Camila is still snuggling into Lauren's neck so when she says, "Take it slow,” it's distorted and Lauren feels more than hears her words. "We get to know each other, for real this time. And we just go with it."

"Okay," Lauren says, and thinks, I can do that.