night after night (camren)

32.

She put the phone in the kitchen drawer and shut it hard.

......

"Uncross your legs" Taylor said, pointing her sharp scissors at Camila.

"You have the weapon. I do as you say" Camila said, following orders. "But why is it that I see you every six weeks and I still can't remember to uncross my legs when you start trimming?"

"Maybe because you have too much else on your mind" Taylor said, patting Camila's shoulder then widening her stance so she could trim the ends of her hair.

The stylist dressed in black as she always did, and today's homage to the shade of midnight was a black tunic top and tight leggings, with black cowboy boots on her feet. Down her arm was her permanent mark - a tattoo in a swirling script that said I want to be adored. Camila loved the boldness in branding her own body with a wish for love. She longed for that sort of daring. The wish had come true; Taylor had worked in California a few times a year, cutting celebrities' hair, and in a recent trip she'd met someone who she'd fallen hard and fast for, and he for her. There were no issues, no problems, no pasts in the way. He'd moved here to be with her.

Of course, you never knew what was coming. When someone would turn on you. She would never have predicted Shawn would be a world-class douche. A knot of anger was set loose in her body at the thought of her ex; like a marble in a Rube Goldberg machine, it rolled down the tracks, picking up speed. Her insides were twisted, and Shawn wasn't the sole cause. She'd been wracked with tension since she left Lauren behind in a swirl of dust in California. Every night she'd been tempted to text, to call, to chat. Every night she'd resisted.

Her chest felt like a pressure valve inside her. The valve was stuck, so the pressure kept building. She tapped her toe on the hardwood floor of the salon as Taylor cut.

"What's the story, Mila? You're jumpy today"

She sighed heavily, as if the weight of the last week were pouring out in that one breath. "Oh Taylor, it's getting harder" she said, because she couldn't take it anymore. Her stylist was the only person who had a clue about the troubles Shawn had dumped on her doorstep when he'd skipped town with Austin's money, claiming Camila would be paying it off. Camila reckoned a stylist was akin to a shrink. Maybe even a priest. A stylist was the one person you could pour out all your secrets to. Taylor wasn't a part of her regular life - she was someone she saw every six weeks. Neat and cordoned off, safe from the harm that was circling her on the other side, "I still owe a crap ton of money, and the people I owe it to aren't making it any easier for me, and on top of that, I met someone I really like, but I can't let myself get close to her because of all this stuff going on. I want to trust her, but she might screw me over too, but I miss her like crazy, which makes no sense because it was only one weekend. Okay, it was two weekends, but still, they were both spectacular" she said, the words spilling out of her. Camila stopped talking for a second, stared in the mirror at her friend's reflection, "Wow. That was like a confessional or something"

Taylor squeezed Camila's shoulder, and then continued snipping, "I'm so glad you met someone you like. It's been so long since Shawn, and even then you weren't terribly fond of the douche. With good reason, of course" she quickly added, with a wry smile.

Camila narrowed her eyes, "He is such a douche. And I feel so stupid for ever trusting him, or even getting involved with him"

"That's the thing. Sometimes you just can't know how someone is going to turn out" Taylor said as she ran a comb through Camila's wet hair, appraising her work so far.

"Right? So I guess it's all for the best that things aren't happening with this other girl. She might turn out to be just like Shawn. I was an idiot for getting involved with him, and an even worse idiot for the way he scammed me"

"That's not what I meant. I mean, you can't beat yourself up for not knowing Shawn was going to con money out of his employer and pin the debt on you" Taylor said, because that's the extent of what she knew. Not that Austin was a gangster, but that Shawn has swindled money from him. "That man should have his balls chopped off"

"If I ever see him again, can I borrow those scissors?"

"I'll order a better pair. A ball-snipping pair. But let's talk about happier fates for balls. Well, actually, other genitalia in this case I guess" Camila hadn't yet told her stylist about Lauren and her condition. "What's this other girl like?" Taylor said, stopping her cutting for a moment to bump her hip against Camila's shoulder, giving her a salacious wink in the mirror, "I want to hear all about her"

Camila couldn't help grin at the memories that came racing back - images that warmed her heart, and sent her body soaring. Lauren's strong hands holding her down. Her tongue working her over. Her mouth claiming hers. Okay, now she was doing more than grinning. She was tingling something fierce. A sharp bolt of lust shot straight to her core, and then a burst of warmth surrounded her heart as she flashed on all the sweet things Lauren had said to her. "She's the sexiest, dirtiest, smartest, and kindest woman I have ever met"

Taylor's eyes widened, "More, more. Tell me more"

She told her about the girl's condition and their weekend. Not every detail, but enough to make Taylor's jaw drop, and the tension to loosen momentarily in Camila. Just talking about Lauren felt good. It was as close as she was going to come to being near her, because once she left this salon she was going back on lockdown. She'd tie her hands behind her back if that was what she had to do to resist the girl.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

sorry for the late update 🥺 i apologise sincerely :))