Photograph (camren)

Chapter Eleven

     Lauren found herself drifting off to sleep soon after the brown eyes of the nursing student had closed and her breathing evened out. With Camila safely tucked into her arms and her head on a pillow that smelled of the younger woman's shampoo, it was safe to say the marine was content. So she soon allowed her tired eyes to shut as well and thought out how to make the rest of the evening enjoyable for the brunette.

The man that touched her love in ways that nobody, not even she had before, invaded her thoughts and truthfully, taking him down became a more tempting plan as she allowed her mind to wander further. This Doctor took advantage of Camila, that alone infuriated the lieutenant to no end. However the fact he hadn't retreated the moment the brunette said stop, that simply devastated her. 

Sleep became something she wouldn't obtain in the time she would spend holding the smaller woman close and she decided to concentrate on other things. Mostly on how innocent the girl looked while her facial features were relaxed and no tears trailed down her cheeks. She took in the soft look of the pink lips and found herself staring much longer than she had intended. The lieutenant quickly returned her attention to the small hand that laid on her stomach and laced their fingers before kissing the top of the brunette's head once more. 

   Suddenly, something wet trailed down her cheek and she looked up to the sealing to make sure it wasn't leaking. She brought her free hand to her face and discovered the mysterious dampness was her own tears, she was crying. The lieutenant's chest shook as she harboured her sobs and cursed herself for being so torn up about the whole situation.

"Damn it." She mumbled to herself and rested her forearm over her eyes to hide the emotion that was welling inside of them. The fact that she couldn't protect Camila from the no good excuse of a man  reminded her how she couldn't protect her team during the bombing. How she had misjudged the circumstances and for that, lost Jonathan and Luke to the explosion. It brought back memories of how the other lieutenant's on base criticized and tried to do the same thing to her. Even though she had suffered from the bomb as well, the male marine's questioned her ability to lead her team as well as her overall purpose for being ranked as high as she was. A sob finally escaped her lips and she swallowed the lump in her throat before she could dive further into the memory and took a deep breath. Camila stirred in her arms and nuzzled her face further into the lieutenant's neck as she slept. Lauren simply held her tighter and thought back to her plan for that night.

Initially her plan was to take Camila to the winter carnival that was going on. To go on the ferris wheel and finally say the words she had kept quiet since the night the younger woman asked her to be sure before she dove into the possibility of them being together. Now that she knew the nursing student was the small teenage girl from high school she had fallen for all those years ago, she was nothing less then sure. She smiled to herself as the last tear fell from her green eyes and thought back to when she had looked for Camila in the halls of the school after the state championship game.

* * *

After scoring at the buzzer, Lauren's green eyes scanned the crowd. As usual her mother wasn't there but that wasn't who she was looking for. No, she was searching for the warm brown eyes of the girl she had been enamoured with since they had first met back in the basketball player's junior year. When the girl was nowhere to be found, Lauren ran to the hallways in search of her. Finally as she made her way down the hallway she saw the young brunette leaning against the wall and smiled when she met her gaze.

"There you are." Lauren laughed as she bent over to catch her breathe. "I've been looking for you."

"Why?" Camila's lips curved up slightly when she heard the older girls raspy tone. Lauren was now in front of her as she continued to lean back against the brick wall. Instinctively, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and waited for the green eyed basketball players response. A blush crept up on Lauren's cheeks as she moved her hand to the back of her neck.