Beautiful When You Don't Try (Camren)

Chapter 3

A/N: I hope you continue to enjoy this fic.

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Lauren set her camera down on the table and walked over to help Camila up. The diva reached out with both hands and as they connected with Lauren's she realized how sweaty they were. As she pulled against the brunette to stand, her hand slipped, and she fell back to her sitting position, pulling Lauren with her. The photographer, fearful of stepping on the massive suit of the dress, kept her feet in place and leaned forward to catch her weight on the steps, one hand on each side of the diva.

Camila's breath caught again as she and Lauren found themselves an inch away from each other's face, their eyes locked and breath panting from the sudden, unexpected movements. Camila could feel the warmth radiating off of the brunette and the scent of her hair in her nose. It was all so familiar to her. Lauren only stayed there for a second before pushing herself up. "Sorry. I lost my balance and didn't want to step on the dress."

"No. No. It's fine. I understand. I'm sorry, my hands slipped. I must have had them cupped and they sweated. It's my fault."

Lauren offered the diva her hands again, this time with success at standing. As the brunette pivoted, still holding one of Camila's hands for balance, the diva suddenly noticed the other people in the room. The whole time she had been so focused on Lauren that she had forgotten about them. She didn't see them or hear them, despite her excellent hearing and their myriad of voices echoing off of the barren walls. She had been oblivious.

The diva was also oblivious to the fact she had yet to let go of Lauren's hand after they had reached the computer and stopped moving. It was only when Lauren needed to use both hands that they broke apart. Camila could feel the blush spreading over her face and hoped the heavy makeup was enough to cover it. It also didn't help that Kim's eyes kept bouncing from the screen she was suppose to be looking at and her idol.

Once again Lauren's timing was godsend and she snapped her fingers in her assistant's face and pointed her attention back to the screen. "We all know she is talented and beautiful, you don't need to keep staring at her." Kim ducked her head in a nod and fixed her eyes to the photos. Camila fanned herself as another heat wave rushed over her. Beautiful.

"I love this one." Kim gushed, pointing to the screen with her index finger. "The intensity in her eyes...it's as if she's seeing right through the camera to you."

Lauren shifted so Camila could see the picture and the diva nearly gasped. Kim was right. Camila had taken thousands, if not tens of thousands, of photos but never one that seemed so real, so alive. The emotion in her eyes made the rest of the shot a blur. There was nothing else that compared to draw her attention away.

"That was one of the last ones we shot." Lauren noted, clicking back to the beginning and shuffled through them sequentially.

Camila saw the dozens of photos of herself as the passed, each one a bit more relaxed, another step closer to having that life in her eyes. She was playing back her memories of the shoot but couldn't remember half of the poses she was seeing before her now. Her attention had been to wrapped up in Lauren and her passion. "I didn't even realize you had taken so many."

"Like I said, every frame is something new. Something more. The more you take, the more likely you are to catch what it is you are looking for."

"And did you?"

Lauren met Camila's eyes in a silence that lasted just a second longer than it should have. "I do believe I have."

Camila pressed her hands to the bodice of the dress and inhaled deeply, hoping for relief from the heat. Every time their eyes met or Lauren spoke with a certain confidence, she ignited. "So, are we done with this dress then? As beautiful as it is, I do believe I would have an easier time breathing out of it."