Cant't help falling in love (CAMREN)

CHAPTER 14

November, 1969

Lauren flipped to the weather on the TV while reading a magazine, complaining about the cold while Camila put coffee on.

"Put on another sweater, because I'm not turning the heat up," Camila said, refilling Lauren's mug, "we can't afford it right now."

Lauren snorted, turning the page of the magazine.

Camila watched the milk swirl into the coffee, turning it a light brown.

"Is it really your birthday tomorrow? Feels like it was Halloween just yesterday," Lauren muttered, brow furrowing. "It's going to snow early this year," she continued, "that's what I think."

"You've been saying that for almost four years, Lauren, and every year you're wrong," Camila remarked, still stirring absently. Lauren looked up from the table.

"You poisoning me or something?" Her laugh broke Camila's thoughts, and she brought the coffee to her, sliding it across the table. Lauren's eyes didn't stray from the magazine as she drank, skirting her tongue along the edge of her teeth.

"You want any toast?" Camila asked, and Lauren shook her head.

"No, I'm fine."

Camila nodded and drank her own coffee, wool socks slipping around the legs of her chair as she curled her feet. "I can't wait until December. Tips should be good then," she grinned, Lauren raised her eyebrow, still reading before perking up with an idea.

"Let's go out for dinner," Lauren said enthusiastically, and Camila groaned, thinking of the medical school applications she still had to fill out.

"Do I really have to get dressed?" she grumbled, hunching her shoulders, and Lauren laughed, standing up.

"Come on, you've been moping around for days. Let's go out."

"I don't feel like it," Camila muttered, but Lauren was already out of earshot. She touched the magazine and turned it around so it was facing her. She stared at it for a while and then flipped it over, rubbing her face tiredly. Maybe she was coming down with something.

She sat in the silence, listening as Lauren walked around in their bedroom, the closet door opening and closing, the heavy footfalls meaning that Lauren had put her boots on. Camila was lost in her thoughts, her hand moving over the magazine before coming back to curl her fingers around her coffee cup. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and Lauren leaning over to kiss her cheek.

"C'mon, Camila, get ready so we can go eat."

Camila shook her head and brought the cup to her mouth, taking a sip before setting it back down.

"I don't feel well. Can we go another day?"

She closed her eyes when Lauren ran a hand through her hair, her palm resting against Camila's forehead, and she lifted her hand, fingers closing around Lauren's wrist.

"Yeah, we'll go another day."

Lauren moved away and headed back into their bedroom.

The medical school applications went ignored the rest of the night, and they ate leftover spaghetti from the previous night, Lauren gently knocking her foot against Camila's shin, smiling at her over her fork. Camila laughed softly as she ate, reaching across the table to take Lauren's free hand in her own. Lauren curled her fingers through Camila's and they ate in a comfortable silence, their feet bumping into each other under the table, both of them laughing.

They watched Gilligan's Island, Camila's head in Lauren's lap, and Lauren's fingers sifting through Camila's hair, smoothing out the tangles from her not brushing it out the entire day. Camila wasn't paying too much attention to the episode, but every now and then Lauren laughed, and Camila just listened to her.

At some point Camila had drifted off to sleep, and by the time that she woken up, the television was only emitting static, and Lauren's hand was still on her head. She rubbed at her eyes and sat up, Lauren grunting as her hand dropped onto the couch, and Camila reached out, smoothing her fingers through her hair, leaning forward to brush her lips against Lauren's cheek.

"Lauren," she whispered, and Lauren snorted as she pulled back. Camila couldn't help but laugh as Lauren cracked her eyes open, bringing her hand up to rub at them, groaning.

"What?"

"C'mon, let's go to bed. It's late."

Lauren nodded and gently kissed Camila before she moved off the couch, turning the television off on her way to the bedroom, and Camila followed behind her, shedding one of her sweaters on the way. The apartment was cold, and the floor was cold on her bare feet, but the bed was warm when she slipped beneath the covers, immediately curling close to Lauren, head pressed beneath her chin.

She hummed softly as Lauren smoothed her hand down her back, fingers slipping beneath the hem of her sweater to rest against the small of her back. She curled her arm around Lauren's middle, pressing as close to her as she could get, fingers bunching up the back of her shirt as she pressed her face into the collar of her sweater.

"Lauren?"

"Hm?"

"What if you decide to leave-"

"Don't," Lauren cut her off and Camila shook her head. She felt that her and Lauren's relationship wasn't as strong as it used to be which worried her everyday. Her throat felt tight, but she didn't want to cry, not in front of Lauren, not right now. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you."

"Promise?" Camila flinched when she heard her voice break, but Lauren tightened her arm around her and kissed her forehead, and she relaxed, if only a little.

"I promise."

Camila didn't feel better when she woke up, and she lingered in bed for longer than she should have, and she knew Lauren was put out with her.

Lauren was putting clothes on while Camila was deep in thought. She plopped back down on the bed, stomach first, and held Camila's hand with a smile.

"You really still love me? And you're not going to leave me?" Camila asked, sitting up, shoving Lauren's hand aside, away from her. She glared at the sheets.

"Of course I love you. Why would you think otherwise? What has gotten into you?" Lauren asked, concerned.

"I just feel like we've been together for so long and... I don't know. What if you get sick of me?" Camila sighed.

"Hey," Lauren moved her face closer to Camila's. "I'll never get sick of you, Camila Cabello." Lauren planted a kiss on her temple. "Stop worrying, there's no reason to." She stood up off the bed, holding Camila's hands, encouraging her to stand up with her. "It's your birthday, babe. You're supposed to have a good day today. Let's do something fun." Lauren pulled Camila off the bed by her hands and smiled at her. Camila smiled back, trying to remove her worried thoughts from her head. "It's gonna be an awesome day. I promise."

"Stop making promises you can't keep. You promised to take me somewhere on my list, and you promised you'd take me to the beach again, but none of it happened yet."

"Then let's go! Let's go to the beach right now!" Lauren seemed excited after getting the idea. "I didn't take off work to do nothing. Let's go."

Camila got used to the idea, and grinned. "Right now?"

"Right now."