Serendipity // Camren

Chapter 44

Camila stared intently out the window as Lauren pulled off of the freeway in Santa Barbara. The mid-afternoon sun shone brightly in the cloudless azure sky and she was quite looking forward to the upcoming extended weekend. The towering palm trees lining the boulevard were magnificent, and she studied a small restaurant tucked off of the side of the road, just under the freeway. It looked like it'd be a fun place to go for drinks, though why she thought that just from the exterior, she couldn't say.

Of course, they weren't in town simply to enjoy some time off – though it was bound to be an incredibly enjoyable weekend nonetheless – they were there because Normani and Dinah were getting married in two days' time. How Dinah (and hers and Normani's mothers) had managed to put the whole thing together on such short notice was something neither she nor Lauren understood, but they both were more than excited to see their old friends tie the knot.

They drove down Cabrillo Boulevard, past a small estuary full of tall grasses and birds, until the beach came into view. There were a half-dozen volleyball courts full of bronzed-skinned, bathing-suit clad people jumping and diving and giving their all to their pick-up games, and the sides of the road were packed with cars that were parked bumper-to-bumper in what she assumed was an attempt to avoid having to pay to park. Part of her wondered why all these people were at the beach on a Thursday afternoon instead of at work, but she chalked it up to summertime. Because, really, who could be expected to sit inside and actually work when it was so spectacularly gorgeous outside like this?

The thermometer in the dash showed that it was a perfect seventy six degrees outside and, as she drank in the sight of beachgoers laying out on the sand, she wondered if she and Lauren would be recognized if they were to try and go sunbathe on the beach. Though she had sincerely wanted to just go lay down on the hot sand and feel the warmth soak into her back as the sun warmed her front, she hadn't been able to go out to the beach behind Lauren's house and sunbathe because the press knew where they lived and neither she nor Lauren were of a mind to give the tabloids a free show like that; but here... until the more industrious paparazzo discovered they had fled LA for the weekend, they had a blissful level of anonymity that meant she might actually be able to do it.

"It's beautiful," Camila said, as Lauren pulled to a stop at a red light.

Lauren smiled and looked over at her companion. "It is," she agreed. She had fallen in love with Santa Barbara during her sophomore year in college, when a friend from school invited her to tag along on a weekend visit back 'home', and she now spent a decent portion of her 'down' time exploring the historic city.

"And Normani and Dinah are really getting married at a zoo?" the brunette asked, for what was probably the twelfth time since they'd gotten the phone call from Normani the week before.

"And they are really getting married at the zoo," Lauren confirmed with a nod as she slowed down as she approached a signal. She turned right onto a small street beside a massive white stucco building and hung a quick left into the driveway. The building was beautiful, the black rod-iron railings on the small balconies contrasted beautifully with the light façade, and the flower beds were full of lush foliage. It looked like an oasis, a beautiful, Spanish Colonial oasis in the middle of Southern California.

Camila noticed a low-built half-wall of a sign nestled amongst the lush foliage that surrounded the property that declared it to be the Hyatt Santa Barbara, and frowned. "Is this where we're staying?" She hadn't recognized the name of the hotel Lauren had told her they were staying at, and she certainly recognized Hyatt, so she was incredibly confused as to why Lauren was pulling to a stop in front of the valet and getting out of the car.

"Yup," Lauren said, smiling.

"I could have sworn you said we were staying somewhere else," Camila said, as she climbed out of the car and went to stand on the sidewalk. She watched Lauren pop the hatch and motion the bellhop over to deal with their luggage and smiled when the beautiful raven-haired woman turned toward her. She gladly accepted the light kiss that was dropped upon her lips and sighed happily as Lauren's hand found its way into her own.