Haven't Forgotten My Way Home (Camren)

Chapter Thirteen

Camila drummed her fingers soundlessly on the table in front of her and checked her watch again for what must have been the hundredth time. The hands seemed to have moved only mere centimeters in the last hour that she'd been sitting in the coffee shop, and she wondered if her entire life would be made up of this.

Checking her watch. Glancing worriedly at the pedestrians outside the window. Waiting for Lauren.

It was absurd to get to the coffee shop so early, but Camila hadn't been able to focus on anything at home after waking up. On the phone the night before, she'd asked Lauren to meet her here, and she could hear the fear and uncertainty in Lauren's voice over the connection even as the girl had said yes. And so Camila was worried, because Lauren was nervous and The Miami Bean was in the middle of town, accessible by only bus or taxi. She'd wanted, Camila had thought as she'd hung up the phone last night and tried to sleep, to tell Lauren not to have Emily bring her, but that wasn't her instruction to give, and if it made Lauren feel less ill at ease she could have Emily drive her anywhere she wanted. Plus she'd had a good reason for asking Lauren to meet her here, in town. She knew that Lauren would likely never want to venture out on her own, but if it meant seeing Camila? Arrogant, maybe, Camila thought, but then again it might also be the gentle push the girl needed, one step out of her comfort zone into the amazing world that awaited her.

Camila felt a little foolish, too, with the knowledge that Lauren wasn't the only one nervous. It was silly, really, but it was one of the first lessons she'd learned during her Social Interactions class at Miami Academy: even Dominants had butterflies in their stomachs. Apparently Camila's butterflies were pissed that they'd had to stay in their cocoons so long, and now they were in joyous overdrive. She'd spent half the morning in the bathroom trying to ready herself, so long that Jasper had just plopped on the cold tile floor with a long-suffering sigh, and fell asleep. She'd just wanted to look nice, to make sure her hair and makeup were perfect. All of the contents of her closet had been thrown on her bed as Camila had tried to decide between sexy Dominant-government worker-chic, or simple this-is-not-a-date-or-is-it casual. She'd decided on casual, but added her favorite pair of black heels to the blue jeans and black tank top ensemble. She knew she looked nice, but still Camila kept tucking a loose curl behind her ear only to pull it back out again, chewing her lower lip as she watched out the window next to her, searching for any sign of Lauren.

She hadn't been this nervous since she'd first showed up on Spencer's doorstep when she was seventeen.

Camila's visit with her former Domme had been just what she'd needed to regain perspective, as always. Their dynamic after Camila's week of training as a teenager had been a strange one, and it still perplexed Camila that even now Spencer could, for the most part, make her obey and listen with a simple word, a shift in the inflection of her voice. It annoyed her to a certain extent, but at the same time every now and then she wanted to get lost in the safety, in the chance to let go of the worries of her everyday life, if even for just a couple of minutes. But she liked the moments when they could connect as equals, more than anything else she and Spencer had ever shared. It had been good, to sit and "share notes," as it were, and for Spencer to smile at Camila and say, even as she cautioned her against moving too quickly, that she was proud of her for wanting to work so hard with Lauren.

Even Dominants like to have someone proud of them.

At 12:15, Camila's attention was caught by a taxi pulling up outside the coffee shop. She sat up in her chair when the taxi door opened and a raven haired girl with green eyes stepped out on uncertain feet. She smiled a little when Lauren started towards the door of the coffee shop, only to be called back by the driver. She watched as Lauren reached into her pocket and pulled out money, pressing it into the driver's hand. She moved towards the door, and Camila couldn't help but chuckle as yet again Lauren was called back to the taxi, this time to collect her change.