One and Only

Part 6

One and Only - Chapter Six
Camila's POV
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Realizing I had forgotten my cell phone, I walked back to the loft, almost entering the building when Gabrielle came storming out of it, crying. "Gabrielle, are you okay?"
She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand, her voice small. "You love her, don't you?"
I was confused. She was so upset. "What's wrong?" I asked, but she continued on her speculation.
"That's why you're always touching and together and why you never meet any of her girlfriends."
"What are you talking about?" She had me completely lost.
"You!" She yelled and I jumped a little. "You're in love with my Lauren." My mouth dropped open. "You're in love with her." She repeated. "That's why you're so awkward when Adam is around or brought up in a conversation because you don't love him, Camila. You love Lauren and she loves you, too; you can just see it in her face when she speaks about you-when she's near you."
"Y-you don't know what you're t-talking about." My stuttering returned. Why was I so nervous about her accusations? It's not like she was right.
"I can't believe I didn't notice it from the beginning: the way she talked about you... I guess maybe I didn't want to believe it, like I was hoping and pretending that one day she would talk about me that way." She inhaled deeply, catching her breath. "But now we're over-she dumped me, and I can see why. I understand. She loves you."
"We are... we are just f-friends. I-"
She huffed, stopping me in my tracks. "It was really nice meeting you, Camila." Gabrielle brushed past me, the sound of her sniffling matched with her heels hitting the concrete, fading away by the seconds.
Well, there goes my night. I hurried back to the car, thankful to see Adam had been only paying attention to his phone during that whole situation. He glanced up at me.
"Did you get your cell?"
"Something came up." I said and his face dropped. He looked... scared, almost? "Lauren's pretty sick. I think I need to stay and take care of her." I smiled apologetically.
"She was just fine a minute ago." He frowned. I remained quiet and, after a bit, he sighed. "Her girlfriend can't look after her?"
"She left." I grabbed the bag full of my things, impatient. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
He nodded. That was surprising. Usually, he would try to control the issue. "Goodnight, Camila."
With that, I shut the car door, running to my loft as fast as I could possibly get there. I fumbled for my keys, anxious to speak to Lauren. When I opened the door, she was making dinner for herself, her back turned to me. I slowly walked up behind her. "Lauren?"
She turned around, a smile plastered on her face. "Hey! Did you forget something?" She kissed me lightly on the cheek, turning back around to continue prepping her food.
"No, I decided I wanted to stay in." I made my mind up to just jump right into what I wanted to discuss. "I just ran into Gabrielle downstairs." Lauren's shoulders dropped slightly. "Why did you break up with her?"
"She felt different than I did." Her answer was simple, as always.
"That's it? That's your only reason?" I couldn't hide the disappointment in my face.
"Is that not a good reason?"
I didn't answer that. "She loves you."
"So I've heard." Lauren was entirely unfazed, the sound of her cutting up vegetables filling the room.
"Why don't you love her back?"
"I don't love people back."
"You love me back."
She laughed lightly. "Well, you're my best friend. It's different."
"I thought she was different. I mean, you guys spent all of this time together. She said all of these things about you-she really wanted to be with you." I paused, turning Lauren around to face me. "Are you even listening to me?"
She frowned. "Of course I am." Her tone sounded like she was shocked to even be asked that. There was more silence before she shrugged again. "I don't love her back. Why would I stay in a long term relationship with her if I don't feel the same way?"
"But she loves you! Doesn't that count for something?" I was really getting worked up over this. This whole breakup thing was ruining my plan of Lauren staying with one girl while I married Adam. It was supposed to make the whole process easier.
She crossed her arms, concern etched on her face at my relentless behavior. "Camz, she was a nice girl. Sure, I had fun with her while it lasted, but nothing was going to come of it. I don't know why me breaking up with a girl is so shocking to you."
"I think she was really good for you."
Lauren chuckled, her eyes lighting up under the fluorescents. "You're the only girl I need in my life, Camz." My heart fluttered. "My best friend."
"Don't you get lonely not having someone to call yours?"
She studied me. "Do you get lonely? Is that why you're with Adam?" I shook my head. "Why are you with him then? I mean, what makes someone worth it-your whole life devoted to one person? Why do you love him?"
I was taken aback. That was a lot to think about. "He's nice." was the first thing to come out of my mouth and I remembered that that was the exact same thing she had said about Gabrielle when I asked her how she felt. Bad move, Camila. She gave me a knowing look but didn't say anything, waiting for me to continue. "He can take care of me and give me the American dream."
"So, he's nice and successful. That's what you look for?" She paused. "What about the sex?"
I rolled my eyes. "Everything isn't about sex, Laur." This was typical her.
"Okay, but it still matters. So-how is it?"
I felt my face scrunch up thinking about it. "It's fine, I guess."
"You guess?" She asked, a gasp escaping her lips.
"Well, we have a set night." I admitted.
Lauren laughed and I glared at her. "I'm sorry, what? You have a set sex night? ...Like, you're on a schedule?" She giggled. "What, do you have a clipboard to check off when you've completed, too?" She joked and I flushed. Her eyes widened. "Camz, you do not." Oh, this was so embarrassing. "Camila..."
"He's organized." I whispered shyly, watching as she gaped at me. "Passion and romance are not as important when you love someone." I said, trying to defend my relationship.
"And you love him?" She asked me. I grimaced. "Okay, you love him. Forgive me, baby, but you didn't exactly sell me on the idea of 'ever-after' and, like I said, I'm fine to have just you in my life. Plus, I wouldn't stay in an unhappy relationship."
Her reply surprised me. "You were unhappy? I didn't even see it." I was usually really good at picking those things out.
"You've been spending a lot of time with Adam lately." She spoke.
Ouch. Had I been a bad friend? "That's not what Gabrielle said." Lauren looked at me, a sense of apprehension falling on her delicate facial features. "She thinks you broke up with her because you're in love with me."
Lauren laughed, but I had the feeling she wasn't telling me something. "Camz, that is just ridiculous. You have a fiancé. She was just upset-she'll get over it."
"Those girls never get over it, Lauren. They would drop anyone they're with just to be yours again."
She furrowed her eyebrows like she was trying to figure me out. "I don't do repeats of girlfriends. You know I'm not like you, Camila. I don't want a true love and I have no problem being single. People are nice and I like to spend a lot of time with them, but not the rest of my life." Lauren paused, her eyes boring into mine. I felt my knees weaken at the sight. "Why are you so upset about this? Is there something else going on that you're not telling me?"
"No." I lied.
"Are you sure? Does this have anything to do with the doubts about Adam? You know, the ones you refuse to speak about."
I sighed. "I just don't want to talk about it." A frown found its way to my face, then to Lauren's. She pulled me in for a hug, the scent of her filling my lungs. Lauren leaned back to look at my face.
"I'm going to draw you a bath, okay? Then you can soak in it and forget all of your worries for the night and go to sleep, unbothered. Sound good?" I nodded at her and she smiled sweetly. "Okay, you just wait here, Camz." She kissed me on the forehead quickly before disappearing into the bathroom. Shortly after, I heard the water running.
My mind went back to what Gabrielle said. She really believed I was in love with Lauren and that Lauren was in love with me. I knew my best friend cared for me, but I wouldn't say anything beyond that. Her little kisses were strictly friendly and so were our cuddle sessions. There was no way Lauren was in love with me-the idea was ridiculous to even think about. But, was I in love with her? Of course, I loved her as a friend, but did it go further than that now? Were my feelings deeper than before? Well, I knew the answer to that-yes. Lately, I had been getting all sorts of new feelings for my best friend. Her attractiveness was becoming more prominent to me now, the way she pranced around in her underwear all of the time-or nothing at all. My cheeks burned in embarrassment. Oh, yes, I had feelings for her, all right-but love? I didn't know. It was the unsureness of it that drove me wild.
Lauren appeared again, her presence warm. "It's ready. I put bubbles in there, just like you like it."
I smiled, thanking her quickly before disappearing into the bathroom by myself. These thoughts needed to leave-now. I was marrying Adam-not Lauren! I was in love with Adam-not Lauren. Adam. Not Lauren. Adam. I repeated to myself over and over.
I took my time in the warm bath and Lauren was right-all of my worries were forgotten. My fingers were starting to get all wrinkly, so I decided to get out, drying off a little before wrapping a towel around me. Barely any of my hair was wet since I had kept it up in the bath, so I decided to pull the tie out of it, my tresses falling free across my back, shoulders, and front of my chest.
I walked into the living room to see Lauren in the living room, fully clothed. I blushed when she met my eyes as I was in only my towel, but she didn't seem to mind. She had a small plate of pasta in her lap and my stomach grumbled. Lauren smirked.
"I left a plate for you on the counter. I reheated it when I heard you get out."
I grinned, practically running to the food. It made its way into my hands before I sat down next to her, taking a huge bite of it. Lauren really knew how to cook.
Her smirk was still present when she spoke again. "Feel better?" I nodded, her eyes filled with amusement. "Care to put on some clothes, Miss Cabello?"
I rolled my eyes. "Oh, whatever. You're telling me about clothes? Laur, I've seen you naked so many times-probably more than I've seen myself naked-it's ridiculous." She laughed, the sound that was so perfect I was sure I would never tire of it, and I cuddled up to her side. My mind wandered back to Gabrielle yet again. "I do love you, Lauren." I said. I wanted her to know at least that much-I loved her as a friend.
She was too focused on the movie to see my pained expression, I think, because all she said was, "Love you, too."
I sighed. Why didn't she just stay with Gabrielle? They could've had something, right? Lauren could've fallen in love with her. The dark-haired beauty's words ran through my mind again: "She dumped me, and I can see why. I understand. She loves you." This whole situation was frustrating and confusing.
Lauren put her hand on my thigh, out of habit, I think, and I felt myself getting goosebumps. Her thumb stroked my skin softly and she laughed at something being said in the movie, her lips forming into a smile. Oh, I wanted to kiss those. Wait, what? No. You don't want to kiss those, Camila. I couldn't take this-her hands touching me, the way her body felt against mine-I could feel my heart begin to race. This was not good.
"I think I'm going to go to bed." I said, and her hand stilled.
"Okay, Camz." She smiled at me, turning the volume of the television down, I would assume so that it didn't disrupt my sleep. "Did you want me to go with you?" She asked. I felt my cheeks flush.
"No!" I said, too quickly. She looked at me questioningly. "You should finish your movie." That helped. I saw Lauren relax as I clutched my towel to my chest, praying it didn't fall down when I bent over to kiss Lauren on the cheek. "Goodnight, I love you."
"Goodnight, Camz. Love you."
I walked into my room, not bothering to shut the door just yet, when I dropped the towel to my feet. I stood in front of my mirror, lazily brushing my hair, when I caught Lauren's eyes on me from the living room. My movement stopped. She was staring at me through my mirror, her green eyes blazing with something-embarrassment, maybe? But it looked deeper than that. I saw her swallow hard, not even phased by the fact that I had noticed her looking at me. My own breathing quickened when I realized what the expression was-it was want. We stared at each other silently, communicating through our looks.
After a while, she blinked as if she had just realized what she was doing. Lauren tore her gaze off of me and moved it back to the television. I frowned, finally deciding to go to sleep after that, dreaming of how Lauren Jauregui had looked at me with desire.
-
The next morning, we went out for coffee, just the two of us. Sitting across from her, she looked so vibrant in the mornings, despite how little she actually ever slept. Her eyes were bright, eager to converse with me. That was cut short, though, when a young woman approached us, her eyes narrowed at Lauren.
"Who's this?" The girl gestured toward me. What an odd way to greet someone. I figured this was another one of Lauren's old girlfriends.
Lauren smiled at me before looking up to the girl. "Hi, Emily. This is Camila."
I tried to introduce myself, but "Emily" interrupted me, obviously uninterested in anything I had to say. "Is this your new little slut?" She hissed.
Lauren turned to me, unaffected by this whole situation. "Are you my new little slut?" She husked, her eyes darkening in humor.
I felt my breathing stop. No, not this feeling again. I looked at Emily. "We're just-" I began to explain.
"She's my girlfriend." Lauren interrupted. I looked at her, shocked, while Emily scoffed in disgust.
"You're just going to talk to me like we meant nothing?"
Lauren remained impassive and I stayed quiet. This wasn't something I was too comfortable launching myself into. Emily turned to me. Oh, she was upset.
"Be careful." Emily grimaced. "This one," she pointed to Lauren, her stare still fixed upon me, "doesn't know how to love. She's fucked up." And with that, she left, sending a look of hate to Lauren. Well, it was almost hate. There was still a hint of love in there-desperate, desperate love.
I looked at Lauren, smirking. "I'm your girlfriend, huh?"
She laughed at me. "She's crazy. She would've tried anything to get back with me if she thought I was single."
"That's very conceited of you." I noted. Lauren just grinned. "You always end up with the crazies."
"I think I have a magnet that just attracts them to me." She paused. "Either that or I'm just really good in bed." I blushed, wringing my fingers together. My face felt like it was on fire. Lauren noticed as she inched forward. "What?" She asked, immediately concerned.
"What's it like?" I questioned. Lauren looked at me, puzzled. I further explained myself. "To have an orgasm." I added. Her mouth opened in shock, just like when I told her about how Adam was so organized in our love life.
"You've never...?" She trailed off, trying to process the information. I shook my head at her question, a little embarrassed. "Camz, oh, my God, how many guys have you been with?"
"Just Adam."
She gaped. "He's never made you come?"
I shook my head again, regretting ever asking this stupid question.
Lauren brought her hand up to her mouth in surprise. "Camz, holy shit. You've been together for years!"
"He doesn't last long." My voice was small.
Lauren almost screamed laughing. I've never seen her so amused in her life. People were starting to stare. She was clapping her hands, jumping up and down in her seat at my private confession. She had to wipe tears from the corners of her eyes.
I hid my head in shame, buried into my crossed arms that were resting on the table. "It's not funny." I pouted.
She let out another laugh, a smaller one. She was slowly recomposing herself. "That dick has had four years to tear that shit up." She chuckled. "Four years and he's never made you come. Phew, Camz, I feel so sorry for you. I just... I can't believe this." She grinned.
"What's it like?" I asked, lifting my head.
Lauren beamed at me. This was one of the many things she was good at. "It is indescribable." She noticed me frowning. "Maybe you should get a vibrator."
I blushed. She was way more relaxed talking about this than I was. "No!" I whispered and Lauren just giggled at me.
"Maybe another time, then, Cabello." She took a sip from her coffee, her cheeks still red from her outburst from before. I'm glad she found it so funny. She looked good like this. Lauren was always so perfect, but this was different. She looked human to me. Her mascara was a little unkept from when she had to wipe at her eyes-which were still alight with absolute entertainment at my sad sex life. I had to have been the first person to have Lauren look a little out of place, and I did it without having sex with her. Imagine what I'd do then. My cheeks flushed at the thought as I admired her. She was beautiful, really. I had spent seven years of my life wondering just how she did it without really even doing anything. Lauren was everything that I wasn't and so much more. "What?" She said.
"What?" I asked, breaking out of my trance.
"You're staring at me."
I blushed for the millionth time this morning, looking away from her.
I saw her smirk from the corner of my eye. "You want me to make you come?"
My eyes widened, shooting back to hers. They were looking at me, daringly. "W-what?" I stuttered. Oh, I was a mess. What the hell did she mean by that? "I-"
She laughed and I sighed in relief. "I'm just kidding. It was a joke." I rolled my eyes at her. "You're really cute when you're nervous like that."
Cute? I smiled. Lauren Jauregui thought I was cute.
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