A Stolen Minute

Chapter Five: Thu, Day 13

After two weeks of buying food from neighboring restaurants and room service, Normani needed a home cooked meal; even if she had to make it. She wanted company on her grocery store trip and catching up with her best friend seemed to be the best way. Luckily she was up and on her way to work when she answered.

The beginning of their conversation was Normani catching up on Choie's life the last few weeks. She was walking around the store, trying to find things she knew she'd like but weren't hard to make. Getting a few fresh things since she all but craves it at this point.

She was half way done shopping when the conversation switched and instead Normani was catching up Choie on her life. Even though she was her best friend, she mentioned everything but Lauren. Sort of because she knew Choie would freak, but mostly because she didn't want to somehow jinx it. Normani was in the middle of talking about the rose garden when Choie cut her off.

"Alright bitch stop playing with me. Who is this white chick they got pics of you holding hands and shit with?"

"Wh- what? How do you know that?"

"One of your fans. They saw you and took a picture and it's been slowly working around the internet."

"Why didn't my publicist call me?"

She asked rhetorically and half as a distraction.

"John said to leave you alo— wait fuck that. Who is this girl Mani?"

Normani sighed, examining something she picked off a shelf and putting it in her cart before she spoke.

"Well, for starters she's Cuban. And her name is Lauren."

"Uh huh, uh huh. What does she do? Where did you meet her? You have sex yet?"

"Choie!"

"What?! You don't talk to anyone like that. You leave the country for two weeks and suddenly you in a whole relationship."

"It's not like that."

She sighed again, finding it hard to explain something she couldn't fully understand herself.

"I don't know. She was on all of my flights somehow. And at first she was annoying as hell because she kept bumping and dropping shit on me. But when we were getting on the plane from Amsterdam we actually talked for a second because she's seen the show. And then we shared a taxi and by the time I had got to my room I realized that I was actually talking to her. Like it just flowed so well. It was really random."

Her best friend hummed on the other side, still partially trying to figure out how she got this serious this fast with anyone when she normally doesn't even look twice in someone's direction.

"And the relationship part."

"I wouldn't call it a relationship. We haven't even been on a like a date date. Almost every place I mentioned she was there too."

"Sounds like a date to me. If she kissed you on any of these 'get togethers' it was a date."

Normani didn't say anything, knowing that her talking to somebody this quick was one thing. Finding out that she kissed someone just as quick was something totally different. Choie caught on, gasping loudly making Normani roll her eyes slightly.

"You're lying. You kissed her?! Like mouth to mouth? Tongue and all? Where is Normani and what have you done to her."

She laughed, now aimlessly walking up and down aisles only half paying attention to what was on the shelves.

"I gotta meet this chick if she got it like that."

Normani laughed again, taking a deep breath and holding it trying to come up with some type of way to get her to understand.