CAMREN ONE-SHOTS

Lucky For You (That's What I Like)

Camila has never been a frivolous spender.

She's never been bereft of money, sure – her family was extremely wealthy, although she hadn't had much time to experience it. She's had good jobs here in the city, and the Cabello's were comfortably well-off when she was growing up. But they also instilled in her a healthy sense of practicality. She buys the things she needs – decent clothes, rent on her mid-range apartment, enough food to fuel her metabolism - and has money to put away. Everything else is unnecessary. Jewelry? In this economy? No way. She's gotten used to resisting spending temptation (at least, when it's not about food).

But, Lauren? Lauren is an entirely different story.

It's not that she's a shopaholic or anything. In fact, Camila has only seen her go to a store with the intention of 'shopping' twice over the entire course of their friendship-turned-relationship. She's not a frivolous spender, either – her purchases are thoughtful, and measured. But the way she thinks about spending is...different.

She grew up with money – not just money, but money – and while she has the most empathetic heart Camila has ever seen, she doesn't really know what it's like to not be rich. To Lauren, anything that isn't in the hundreds of thousands is hardly worth thinking about. She works in millions, in massive business deals and acquisitions, and as a consequence she doesn't even blink at buying Camila a $700 sweater that she'll hardly ever wear just because she liked the silly llama print on the front of it.

And then there's meals. Camila knows how much it costs to keep herself fed, but as their relationship progressed, Lauren more and more consistently batted Camila's hand away when she went to pull out her wallet after a meal. And it's almost all meals – brunches, their almost-daily lunch meetings, dinner dates. Soon enough, the only time Camila manages to pay is when she surprises Lauren at her office with takeout, but lately Lauren has been texting Camila to ask what she wants, making it clear that the food will be waiting for her when she arrives.

It's gradual enough that Camila gets used to it, for the most part. Lauren is the CEO and primary shareholder of a billion-dollar company, sure, but she doesn't really think about what that means. Lauren is just Lauren, her best friend and girlfriend (her girlfriend, Lauren is her girlfriend, the thought still makes her giddy even after how many months), and the less Lauren thinks about money, the less Camila thinks about the implications of that.

Of course, as most things do, that changes in the most mundane of moments. It's a date night like any other when Camila discovers something very new about herself.

They're at a more high-end restaurant than usual, sure. And she's had a rough day – an article due and three separate emergencies left her wiped and with no time for lunch, so by the time they order, she's absolutely starving.

Lauren, ever the attentive girlfriend, orders three times the appetizers she normally would as well as a much larger portion for herself, clearly intent on sharing it with Camila. The rush of affection that Camila feels when Lauren wordlessly switches Camila's empty plate with her own barely-touched one is enough to make her pause in her consistent shoveling. Lauren just sips at her wine, looking quietly pleased.

After Camila has eaten her weight in oysters and filet mignon, Lauren finishes off her glass and stands, gesturing at their waiter. He turns and walks at a quick clip towards the front door, returning with Lauren's coat – it's a fluffy, almost ostentatious thing, all blue-dyed faux fur and almost not like Lauren at all, but it makes her look like some kind of Russian royalty and the sight of her in it makes something very inappropriate zip from Camila's brain to her groin with startling speed.

She stumbles as she stands up from her chair, jarring the table violently, and Lauren looks at her with curiosity. Blushing, Camila waves her off.

"Sorry, I – tripped."