My Favorite Camren One-Shots

When We Were Young

11 PM

Lauren lifted her glass up along with her friends who were cheering all around her. They toasted to another successful year at Jauregui LLC; there wasn’t one cheerless face around her. Lauren, her associates, and a few of her favorite employees took up most of the space in the establishment but the other patrons didn’t seem to mind. If anything, they joined in on the fun and enjoyed receiving free drinks courtesy of the boss herself.

Lauren stood up on a table, much to the bartender’s distaste, and clinked her glass to get everyone’s attention. Once everyone had quieted down and turned their attention to her, Lauren spoke.

“I don’t mean to get all sentimental with you guys, but it has to be said. This has, without a doubt, been one of the best years the firm’s ever had. None of this would have been possible without you guys here, with me, working your asses off and being the best of what you do -”

“If you’re gonna get on the table might as well spare some of us the mushiness and start taking your clothes off!” Dinah said, cutting off Lauren’s heartfelt speech and earning a round of playful cheers and wolf whistles around her. Ally smacked her arm and shot Lauren an apologetic look before she pulled her off to the side and began scolding her quietly.

“As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I just want to make it perfectly clear that though I’m technically the sole partner, we’re all equal. We’re all working towards the same goals and I’m so grateful for each and every one of you,” Lauren wiped a stray tear that escaped before she could contain herself.

Damn Dinah for making me pregame before this.

Lauren cleared her throat to continue but her words were stopped in their tracks as soon as she spotted who walked through the door. She hadn’t seen those deep brown eyes since their college graduation. The last time she saw her, her cheeks were stained with tears of both happiness and sorrow. Both of their faces reflected regret and relief and that image remained engrained in their memories; at times it even haunted their dreams.

Lauren looked down to see Normani pulling on the fabric of her dress lightly, urging her to get down before people started noticing what was happening. No one had known about Camila except for Ally, Dinah, and Normani so when Lauren’s joyous demeanor changed in the blink of an eye, it could have only meant one thing.

Out of all the bars in Miami, she just had to walk into the one she was having the best night of her career in. This had to mean something, right? That after all these years, it seemed that some force in the universe wanted them to be together after all.

Camila was turning to leave the building but was stopped by a hand grabbing her wrist. She turned and gasped, her eyes catching her off guard just as they had a thousand times before.

“Leaving so soon?”

“I - I’m here to talk to the owner and it looks like they’re not exactly around right now, so I think I’m just going to try again tomorrow. I don’t think it’ll be a problem, I mean if I had known that there was already something booked for the night he should have told me and -”

“Camila. You’re rambling. Stay for a little. Have a drink.”

The request had caught even Lauren off guard. She didn’t expect things to go so smoothly, let alone for her to start making requests when they hadn’t had a full conversation yet. She could see the apprehension on Camila’s face. What would be the harm in staying for a drink or two? It would make talking to her first love a lot easier after years of not seeing each other.

“Okay.”

Lauren smiled so wide Camila swore she felt her heart try to escape its cage. She remembered that smile well. It would appear whenever Lauren looked at her or when she would try not to laugh at one of Camila’s horrible jokes. She had missed it.