Shades of Blue.

Chapter three

Normani waits up for Lauren.

Lauren comes home at around two, blissfully high and just at the right side of tipsy. Her mind isn't any clearer than it was when she left the apartment hours ago, but she's intoxicated enough that nothing really matters as much as it should.

She tries to be quiet as she enters the house and toes off her shoes, but then someone switches on the lights, and Lauren looks up to find Normani at the other side of the room, arms crossed, leaning on the wall. 

"Hi." Lauren says when the tension in the room seems like it's going to choke her to death. She doesn't know why she feels like this, she and Normani are just exes who live together and are slowly trying to rekindle their friendship.

They're not dating. Lauren can sleep with whomever she wants. So she cannot for the life of her understand why her skin suddenly feels filthy, like even if she took ten hot showers she still wouldn't be clean. 

Normani's eyes are narrow with exhaustion. Her face is a picture of hurt and confusion and something else Lauren can't describe. She uncrosses her arms and fixes Lauren with a stony look, "was it good?" Her voice is hard, emotionless.

Lauren swallows and laughs awkwardly, "was what good?"

"Cut the crap, Lauren. I've known you long enough to know what you look like after you've had sex. I mean, you could have brushed your damn hair if you wanted to hide it."

"Mani..." Lauren whispers, her hands moving to her hair by their own accord. She opens her mouth to say something else, but Normani shakes her head, cutting her off and starts stalking towards her.

"I don't need your explanations, Lauren. I just asked you a simple question. "Was. It. Good?"

 By now, she's right in front of Lauren and Lauren has her back against the wall. She can see the swell in Normani's eyes, she knows the other girl has been crying. "Mani I don't think-"

"Did she make you feel as good as I used to make you feel?" She asks, her breath warm on Lauren's neck, her palms flat on the wall just above Lauren's head, "does she know all your sensitive spots?" She places a soft, delicate kiss right below Lauren's ear.

Lauren gasps. "Mani, what are you doing?" She manages to whisper.

Normani pulls back and looks at her with eyes that are pure fire, she bites her lower lip and Lauren almost loses every single one of her shits, "do you want me to stop? 'Cause if you do, all you have to do is say so. I promise, all you have to do is say no and I won't touch you no more."

Lauren swallows. The last time she saw anyone's eyes burn so bright just from looking at her was the last time she and Normani had sex. She's so fucking weak for this girl it's almost sad. "You know I can't say that." Pretty brown eyes look at her with a cheeky smile written all over them. But Mani-" she starts, and stops to bite her lip, arrange her words in her head to make sure they don't come off as offensive. "-I don't think this is the best idea we've ever had."

"It doesn't have to mean anything." Normani kisses her jaw, once, twice, then one more time before looking Lauren right in the eyes, her eyes trying to come off as confident, but there's a bit of weariness hanging by the corners, making her look scared, "we can just be two horny people having sex."

And just like that, the mood crumbles, Lauren's tiny apartment seems even tinier, like her anger is taking up all the room, leaving little space for anything else. She's not stupid, okay? She didn't- she didn't expect them to make love then get married and have a bunch of babies and live happily ever after.