XYXX (Camren)

Chapter 15

The thought of going in to rehearsal made Lauren's heart race, and not in that excited, can't-wait-for-tour kind of way, but in that shit's-going-to-go-south sort of way.

He pushed his hair back and sat up Ariana's rather comfortable bed, glancing at her sleeping face next to him. They hadn't had sex, despite how much of an emotionally crushed yet incredibly horny cocktail he was the other night, which he was grateful for. 

He pushed the blanket off of himself and stood up, stretching his back and looking around the room for his clothes. Once he located his sweats and sweater, he pulled them on. He began making his way towards the door.

"Leaving without a goodbye?" A tired voice came from the bed.

Lauren quickly turned around and gave a soft smile to the sleepy girl that was currently peeking up from underneath the blankets, hair wild and body small. He took a deep breath before taking a few steps towards her and leaning down, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, much to her delight.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you up."

"It's fine, babe. Will I see you today?"

"I'll be busy. Won't you be too?"

"I can always make time for you." Ariana giggled, yawning and closing her eyes. "But a little more sleep couldn't hurt..."

"Rest up." Lauren said, tucking her in the blankets the best he could before making his way out of her house.

His ride he called for came almost as soon as he called it, the perks of Ariana's residence having personal drivers available at all hours. He made his way into the car and rolled up the tinted windows, nodding his head at the driver and muttering the address of the hotel he and the girls were staying at. The driver merely grunted and began driving as he sighed and rested his head against the back of the seat, wondering how the day would go.

There were a lot of things that were terrifying him to think about, but everything came back around to what he and Camila did the evening before. The way Camila's eyes glinted a dangerous light; the way Camila sauntered over and straddled him like nobody's business. The way her lips felt against his; the way her body melted into his.

Christ.

He groaned as he tried to shake his mind from thoughts of her. Obviously it wasn't supposed to happen – that much was obvious from what she said to him before running off. It hurt, it really did. He wasn't sure why it hurt, because shouldn't he be thinking the same thing?

Regardless, his mind was an emotional cluster fuck and he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to sort through it all, so instead, he tried to focus on other things.

Once the driver pulled over to the side of the hotel, he jumped off and rushed inside, careful not to attract attention from the few fans that were scattered around the hotel, waiting for a glimpse of one of the girls. He made his way to the room and paused at the door, hesitant to open it when it swung open for him.

"We need to talk."

Normani's hand reached out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him inside and slamming the door behind him.

"Where's –"

"We rearranged the rooms again." Normani muttered, running a hand through her hair in annoyance. "Camila came back to the hotel yesterday looking like a complete mess. Tears, mascara running, arms shaking – the whole nine yards."