there's a big old moon shining down at night

Chapter 5

At the very least, the fact that Camila now sees Lauren naked more or less every day means that she's not struck completely dumb the first time she sees her in a bathing suit.

She's only struck a little bit dumb.

The occasion is a beach day at the lake, arranged (more like insisted upon, in Camila's opinion) by Louis. The end of July is approaching and the heat makes it clear that August is on the horizon – it's sunny, at least, but it's also hot and humid, and the stickiness of the air is enough to convince Camila to actually go in the water rather than lounge on the beach under a UV-protected umbrella.

Even if being in the water involves being close to Lauren, in a bikini top and swim trunks, and not being able to follow the droplets of water down her abs with her tongue like she so badly wants to do.

As Lauren jumps in the air, hair slicked back and muscles flexing while she hits an inflatable volleyball back towards James, Camila makes a mental note to ask her about shower sex sometime soon.

Even with the heat, Camila can only spend so long getting splashed. She ends up back on the beach with Normani, Nerdy and Taylor, sitting on a plastic lounge chair in her sarong just where the sand meets the grass and watching from afar. She tries not to make it too obvious, the way she's following Lauren's every move, but Taylor is looking at her with a deep suspicion.

It's not like they're keeping anything secret. It's just that, since they aren't exactly dating, there isn't any kind of announcement to be made. Walking into the bar and saying 'hey everyone, Lauren and I are sleeping together now' is both nightmarish and unnecessary. But unfortunately, it also means that she has to endure the scrutiny of half the town.

Right now at least it's only a few, even if one of them is the most observant person in a 50 kilometre radius. She can relax a little, snack on Normani's homemade trail mix, and watch Lauren enjoy herself in the water. Very closely.

When her trail mix disappears from her hand, she's almost too distracted to notice until Taylor yells.

"You gotta hold on to your food better than that, Camila!"

When she finally pulls her eyes away from Lauren, who's pointing at somewhere to Camila's left, she realizes that her snack has been pilfered. A seagull is making away with the Ziploc bag, squawking all the way, and Camila's brain finally catches up.

"What the hell?"

Lauren, who is wading out of the water and onto the beach, picks up a nearby stick and throws it at the retreating bird. It misses by a wide berth, but Camila appreciates the effort.

"Stupid shithawk," Lauren yells after it, cupping her hands for volume, but the seagull pays no mind.

"That is the strangest name I've ever heard for a seagull," Camila comments as Lauren flops onto a sandy towel next to her, still not entirely sure what just happened.

"It's true, though," Lauren says, opening a Coke and taking a few hearty gulps. Camila watches her throat bob for a few seconds before she starts considering getting a pop of her own to cure the sudden dryness of her mouth.

As the day marches on, though, Camila becomes aware of a bigger problem. She has to use the bathroom, and the path to the little town building with restrooms and a single vending machine is being guarded by the biggest Canada Goose she's ever seen.

For an hour or so, she hopes that someone else will go first and scare it away. But everyone seems to either be just as afraid of the bird as she is or not have to use the washroom, and finally, she has to do it herself.