Just Off The Key Of Reason

Chapter 23: You Got a Fire and It's Burning in the Rain

Camila was making chocolate chip pancakes for Lauren on her first day of college classes when she heard a crash come from the direction of their bedroom. And then complete silence for a moment. Camila froze. She counted five animals all lying on the kitchen floor waiting for food, like rogue chocolate chips, so it wasn't them.

But she wasn't too alarmed. Things crashed in her apartment all the time. Lauren was extremely clumsy.

And then Lauren came thundering out of the hallway and into the living room wearing nothing but a towel, hair sudsy and wet. Camila stared at her and blinked, spatula in hand.

Um. What.

She tried not to start laughing in case Lauren was legitimately upset about something. Like a spaceship crashing into the bathroom. A murderer climbing through the fire escape.

"Camila, there's a spider in the bathtub." Lauren stage-whispered anxiously, eyes wide, and clutching the towel tighter around her body.

Oh, well then. It was something to be upset about.

Did she think the spider could hear her? Definitely. Camila knew it was listening and planning its next attack. Its high-speed-shoot-out-from-under-the-shampoo-bottle attack.

Camila didn't say anything for a minute. She seemed to get lost in Lauren's soapy body. Her legs. Her bare shoulders. All of it glistening. God. Camila swallowed and then returned to reality when her pancake caught fire.

She tossed it away quickly. Barnaby stuck his face in the trash can and ate it from there.

"Lauren, you're getting water everywhere." Camila remarked, watching Butter and George peel themselves off the kitchen floor to play with the suds falling from Lauren's hair. "And bubbles. Do you use child shampoo, or-"

"Camila." Lauren interrupted, glaring at Camila seriously. This was a pressing matter. Do something about that fucking spider, woman. It was still hard for Camila to take her seriously. Lauren had molded her hair into soapy spikes.

"What do you want me to do, baby?" Camila asked, holding up her spatula helplessly and gesturing to the mess in the kitchen. She was not a spider person. If she ever found one before...well, she would just avoid that room for a week or two.

"Set it free!" Lauren exclaimed, stepping into the kitchen so she could make the tiles all slippery as well.

Camila softened her grin. Of course it would be set it free, instead of kill it. She turned to Lauren and brushed the brown hair down so it looked less "death metal", and then dried her hand on Lauren's towel, purposely pulling it away so that she could see more of those legs.

"Why can't you?" Camila asked, dragging her eyes back up to Lauren's, and watching Lauren's face grow more frantic.

"They-I don't-I don't like spiders..." Lauren puffed out her cheeks. " Help me, please."

Well, awww. That had to be cheating. Camila smiled, and just looked at her for a moment. "Are you excited, bear?"

Lauren looked confused for a second, and then flushed and looked down at her feet. She nodded and leaned back against the counter.

Camila poked her in the stomach and ducked to catch her eye. "I can't hear you."

Lauren bit her lip and smiled, shaking her hair out so the suds landed on Camila. "Mmhmm."

Camila bit her tongue and shook her head. "I still can't hear you."

"I'm excited." Lauren said with a grin. She stepped forward with open arms, ready to wrap Camila in a soapy hug. "And will you please help me?"