f.m. ~camren

chapter 2

"Do you know where Lauren works?" Camila asks Dinah as she balances her phone between her face and shoulder while pouring freshly brewed coffee into her travel mug on Monday morning.

"Can't you ask her yourself? Please tell me you got her number," Dinah replies in a disapproving tone.

"Of course I did. I just want to surprise her is all," Camila explains while stirring creamer into her drink.

Dinah, who is still lying in bed and taking her sweet time starting the day, glows at the news.

"Ooooh, I knew that Cabello charm was waiting to let loose!"

Camila rolls her eyes out of habit.

"It's only a second date, Di, and she hasn't even agreed yet."

She checks the clock to make sure she isn't running late before tightening the top on her mug and patting her coat pocket to verify her keys are where she thought she left them.

"Fool, don't doubt yourself. I'll call Normani and text you what I find out," Dinah offers, knowing Camila will be too busy to answer her phone while at work.

"Thanks! I have to get going in a minute. Try to get an idea of her schedule, too, if you can. I'm hoping it's somewhere I can swing by during a lunch break or something," Camila reveals.

"A'ight, peace."

Camila presses the 'end call' button on her cell before slipping it into her pocket and making her way out of the front door.

Meanwhile, Normani is grilling Lauren while they sit across from each other, eating pancakes, in the apartment they share.

"Come on, I kept my word and didn't bother you at all yesterday. I'm dying to hear about Saturday night," Normani insists, pressuring Lauren to give her details about the date her and Dinah set up with Camila.

Lauren takes a sip of her orange juice then shakes her head dismissively.

"There's not much to talk about."

Normani tilts her head and glances at Lauren with an expression full of doubt.

"You came home late. If there was nothing to talk about you would have been back much earlier," she accuses.

"Fine. We exchanged numbers. Maybe we'll go out again. Happy?" Lauren summarizes, quickening the pace at which she is devouring her breakfast to shorten the opportunity for continuing the conversation.

Normani is about to press for additional details when her phone vibrates and she sees that Dinah is calling.

"I better take this. We'll talk later," Normani promises.

"I hope not!" Lauren shouts at her roommate's retreating figure as Normani sets out down the hall to take the call from her bedroom.

"Please tell me Camila spilled everything to you about Saturday night," Normani says immediately, not bothering with a standard greeting.

"Nah, I got nothing, buuuuuuutttt I do know for a fact that she wants to see Lauren again," Dinah shares eagerly.

"For real? What'd she tell you?"

"She wants me to find out where Lauren works so she can stop by and ask her out in person I guess."

"Do you know the Booke Barne across from that thrift store with the shady reputation? She works there on week days from 10 to 4."

"I'll let Camila know. Don't tell Lauren."

"My lips are sealed," Normani agrees.

They wrap up their conversation and when she returns to finish breakfast she notices Lauren is missing and her jacket is gone. It's too early for Lauren to head into work, so Normani knows she is being avoided. A typical Lauren move.

Despite having the information she needs to visit Lauren at work promptly after requesting it, and Dinah's constant pressure to get it over with sooner, it's Thursday afternoon before Camila actually manages to get out of the office to take a real lunch break. Lauren knows Camila is going to ask her out. They spent the majority of their Saturday evening outlining what the progression of their relationship should be. However, they decided it would be best to improvise as they take turns leading one another through each step so as not to let it seem too forced. That is how Camila's appearance at Lauren's place of employment turns out as a genuine surprise.

"Camila? What are you doing here?" Lauren asks, peeking through a break in the shelf where she is organizing some of the new releases to observe the woman who has popped up on the other side unexpectedly.

"Do you have a moment to talk? I was hoping to catch you before you take your last break."

"Sure," Lauren agrees with a nod.

She leads them to a red leather couch that rests between the main bookstore and a cafe that is operated from the inside by the same owners. After they are seated she notices that Camila's hands are behind her back and this captures her curiosity.

"So what's up?" Lauren inquires casually, trying to take a peek behind Camila, but failing when she twists her body to keep whatever she is holding out of sight.

"I uh...I brought you something. Something that I hope will help convince you I'm worth a second date," Camila confesses.

"Not that I'm against receiving gifts, but I think you should know I was prepared to say yes either way," Lauren responds without missing a beat.

Camila smiles and finally reveals the present she brought for Lauren. She sets the small vinyl on Lauren's lap and looks up at the other woman's face to gauge her reaction. It might seem a bit much for a staged courtship, but she figures Lauren is doing her a huge favor going through this charade and she deserves a little more than just peace from Normani's hassling.

"Is this autograph real?" Lauren wonders, clearly stunned.

"Yeah. I pulled some strings."

"Have you met Lana Del Rey?" She gasps, excited at the prospect of having anything less than six degrees of separation from one of her favorite artists.

Camila shakes her head and pulls out one of her business cards.

"Nope," she replies while holding the card out to Lauren, "but I'm the assistant to an A&R rep who used to work for one of her labels."

Lauren glances between the record and the business card for a moment, still in a state of disbelief, before finally looking up at the beautiful brown-haired, brown-eyed woman who gave them to her.

"Wow, I don't know how I am going to top this. Even if we go on a million dates, I'm not sure I could."

"Don't worry about it. Small gestures mean a lot more when they come from the right person."

Camila gets up to leave, knowing her boss will be expecting her to return soon. Lauren tugs her back down gently, stalling her.

"You sure you're not an actress?" Lauren whispers in her ear, breaking character.

Camila laughs before replying just as softly.

"For the sake of fooling our friends, you'd better pray we both are..."