Restart

Chapter 7

"But if you still believe in us, even a little bit, I need you to tell me. I need you to tell me what to say, Camila."

"Yes or no?"

--

"Yes," Camila nearly whispered, her voice laced with nerves.

"What?" Lauren questioned, desperation in her eyes.

"Yes," Camila reiterated, gazing intently into the bright green orbs that were set on her own. "I mean no," she explained. "Say no to Caitlin. Because yes, I still believe in us,"

"You do?" Lauren asked, a little bit in disbelief that Camila was actually reciprocating the somewhat crazy feelings she was having.

Camila nodded, smiling gently as she reached for Lauren's hand. Lauren willing gave it to her and her body tensed slightly as Camila brought it to her chest.

"Do you feel that?" Camila questioned as she placed Lauren's hand over her thumping heart. "Don't you see what you do to me Lauren? How could I ever deny that?"

Lauren fell silent for a moment, her eyes moving to where her hand sat as she flattened her hand and took in the way Camila's heart was beating. "I make you nervous?" She asked, bringing her eyes back to Camila's.

"Yes," Camila replied simply. "The way I feel about you makes me nervous. I haven't seen you in so long, Lauren, but the way I felt about you never changed. I think I tried nearly everything I could to ignore those feelings or make them go away but nothing worked. I still care about you so much, and I always have."

Camila looked at Lauren anxiously and her face contorted into a look of confusion as a big smile spread across Lauren's face. "What?" Camila asked when Lauren did nothing but stare at her with that goofy smile.

"Those feelings never left for me either, Camila," Lauren smiled. "It just makes me really happy to hear that you feel the same way," she added, pulling her hand from Camila's chest so she could intertwine their fingers. "This is all crazy, isn't it? Are we insane?"

"Maybe a little," Camila laughed, squeezing Lauren's hand gently. "But I've been happier today than I have in a really, really long time. I keep thinking that maybe I've been given, well, I don't know...a chance to restart."

"All I've ever wanted is for you to be happy. You deserve to be happy, Camz," Lauren said softly, bringing her hand to cradle Camila's cheek.

Camila felt her heart race even faster than before in response to both Lauren's touch and the familiar nickname she used for her.

"Please stop doing that," Lauren whispered, her eyes locked on Camila's as their faces were now only a few inches apart.

"What?" Camila questioned, genuinely confused as to what Lauren was talking about.

"You're biting your lip," Lauren explained, her eyes falling to the younger woman's full lips.

Camila's cheeks grew red, as she hadn't realized she had been doing that.
"Sorry," she mumbled nervously.

"When you do that it makes me want to kiss you," Lauren said as her eyes moved back and forth between Camila's lips and eyes.

Camila couldn't help but grin. She was fully aware of the effect that particular action had on Lauren.

"But I can't," Lauren continued, her face falling slightly.

"Why not?" Camila asked with widened eyes.

"Well first of all, there's Austin. I may not like him but I can't just ignore that. And I am technically still with Caitlin," Lauren explained. She trailed off when she felt her phone vibrate. Camila watched intently as Lauren pulled it out of her pocket, her brow furrowing as her eyes focused on the brightly lit screen.