Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 77

Camila tilted her head up and connected her mouth with Lauren's in a silent acknowledgement of her words, her soft lips pressing gently against the flesh of her girlfriend's in a delicate kiss. Lauren tightened her hold around Camila's frame in response, pulling the smaller girl in to her further so that their hips were pressed together, the contours of each other's torsos moulding to one another as though they were two adjoining pieces of a puzzle. Camila's right hand moved up to the back of Lauren's neck as she deepened the kiss, her tongue finding the familiar depths of the taller girl's mouth, her small fingers entangling themselves in the hair at Lauren's nape. She twisted the silky strands around her fingertips deliberately and the gesture sent a shiver down Lauren's spine, making her skin tingle with pleasure as Camila' digits unintentionally swept across it. Lauren's breath caught in the back of her throat as Camila's left hand grazed a nimble path up her right arm to settle on her shoulder, the faint touch more

than enough to make her skin burn in its wake despite how brief the contact had been. Camila lifted it quickly to cup Lauren's cheek, her thumb stroking her girlfriend's features soothingly as she leant in to the embrace further, her whole body pressing in to the taller girl so firmly and deliberately that Lauren had to take a step backwards in order to keep her balance. Lauren felt the small smile that formed on Camila's lips in response to her sudden movement and the taste of it made the muscles of her own mouth twitch until it'd unconsciously curved up similarly. Camila's left hand moved around to join the right hand which was still playing with the hair at the back of Lauren's neck and she sucked lightly on Lauren's lower lip as she leant back and out of the kiss, separating their mouths reluctantly, her hazelnut eyes seeking out Lauren's green ones almost instantly. "Ilove you," Camila told Lauren, her features warm and affectionate. The fingertips of her right hand moved to brush Lauren's brow tenderly as she said it, her deep chocolate eyes unmoving as they continued to examine the piercing green of her girlfriend's intently. "You've only just met me," Lauren joked trying to make light of the situation, the weight of Camila's words, of the sincerity with which she spoke them making her blush profusely when combined with the intensity of her stare. Camila's smile grew wide at Lauren's comment and she glanced down at the floor between them, finally breaking eye contact. "Maybe in this life," Camila responded bashfully, her voice quiet and timid. "Oh, you're good,"

Lauren chuckled, her heart fluttering involuntarily at Camila's quiet insinuation, the subtle reference to them being soul mates not lost on her. Camila's eyes wandered Lauren's body in an attempt to avoid her gaze and came to a stop on her girlfriend's left shoulder where one of her emerald dress straps was twisted. She reached forward and used both her hands to straighten it back out again, her fingertips tracing the curves of both Lauren's shoulders delicately when she'd finished, her brow furrowed in concentration whilst she scrutinised her handiwork. Lauren cupped Camila's face with her hands and carefully lifted the smaller girls' chin so that she'd meet her eyes once more. "Look at me Camz." Lauren instructed Camila gently, the smaller girl having closed her eyes still obviously feeling selfconscious about what she'd said. Camila shook her head and scrunched her eyes closed tighter as she placed the palm of her right hand lightly against Lauren's chest in an attempt to keep her at arm's length. "Don't be embarrassed," Lauren reassured her. "It's just me here Camz. It's just us." Camila tried to lower her head again but Lauren held it firm in place, preventing her from completing the movement. "Babe," Lauren urged Camila, her tone soft and encouraging. "Open your eyes." "I can't," Camila said, prying open just her right and squinting through it at Lauren. "Why not?" Lauren asked, the smile on her lips at Camila's uncharacteristic coyness making her face ache. "I

think that maybe that was a bit much," Camila confessed, making a face which told Lauren that she was less than impressed with what she'd said. "Do I always say things like that?" "Yes," Lauren said, unable to prevent her smile from growing even wider at Camila's newfound discomfort. "It's one of the things that Ilove most about you." "It doesn't make you cringe?" Camila asked finally opening both her eyes to look at the taller girl. "Quite the opposite," Lauren assured her, shaking her head. "You make me feel like one of the characters in those books that you enjoy reading so much, like I'm the centre of someone's whole entire universe, like I'm special, like I'm worthy of you wasting a hundred beautiful words on. You make me feel like someone Camz. I could achieve nothing else in my life from this moment on and I'd still feel like the most successful person in existence because out of everyone alive at this very moment in time, I was the only one lucky enough to make you fall in love with them." She wrapped her arms back around Camila's waist and pulled her into her body powerfully, connecting their lips together again in a kiss which left no room for any further doubt on her opinion regarding the matter. "Did that make you cringe?" Lauren questioned, relinquishing Camila's mouth but placing another delicate kiss over her scar. "No," Camila answered truthfully. "Quite the opposite," she added mimicking Lauren's tone from moments ago. One corner of Lauren's mouth turned up into a smirk and Camila stepped back out of Lauren's arms slightly. "Come with