A Light in the Dark

Chapter 43

Camila looked up to the cloudy sky and buried her hands deeper in her pockets. They had said that it was supposed to snow in a few days. She always thought that the world looked magical under a blanket of snow. Her first day experiencing it still felt like a fairytale. It was the first time she had felt somewhat at peace after arriving in New York City.

"You know, you're awfully tight-lipped about that evening you spent with Lauren on the roof," Dinah huffed behind her. "It's been days!"

"It went fine."

"That's it?! You keep saying, 'Oh, it was nice! We had a lot of fun!'  But where are my details, girl?"

Camila could practically feel the glare at the back of her head, but she only shrugged. She kind of wanted to keep it to herself for a bit. And she still couldn't believe that Lauren had called it a date... Had she really been on her first date?

"Seriously, Mila?! I'm the captain of your freaking ship, give me something at least! Anything!"

"Do you think it's going to snow tonight?" she asked and narrowed her eyes at the clouds.

Dinah sighed in defeat. "It's cold enough for snow, I guess. What are you even planning? We wanted to go to that karaoke bar tonight, remember? We wanted to work on your stage fright so you can finally serenade Lauren."

"Yeah, I don't think I'm going," Camila declined and stepped to the side just in time as a man ran past her. "I have something else in mind."

"Oh? And what exactly?"

"... something nice. I hope." Camila turned around, only to see how Dinah threw her hands up in frustration.

"What the heck?! Since when are you so evasive? We're a team, Mila!"

"I just..." she trailed off, not knowing how to explain the sudden need to keep everything a secret. Dinah was right and she always had some really good ideas... but this time she wanted to do it by herself. "I'll tell you afterwards, okay? I promise."

Dinah gave her the once-over and nodded slowly. "Alright. Now can we please get out of this damn cold? I'm freezing my butt off..."

"Well, I wouldn't want to be responsible for that, right?" Camila linked arms with the taller girl who quickly pulled her along. "Are you still going with Ally and Normani to the karaoke bar?"

"I don't think so... Ally already texted me that Troy surprised her at work today and they obviously want to spend some time together."

"Aww, that's sweet of him!"

It was a shame that she still hadn't been able to meet Ally's boyfriend in person yet, but he sounded like a nice guy. And since the girls approved of him whole-heartedly, she was sure that he was perfect for Ally.

"Maybe you'll meet him this time around," Dinah told her as if she had read her mind. "He's amazing. Trolly for life, yo!"

"Right," she chuckled. "But anyway, could you do me a favor? Like, a small one... I need to get Lauren out of our apartment for a while without having to worry that she'll come home too soon."

"Uh... sure. I can do that." Dinah gave her a curious side-way glance. "Are you picking her up or do I have to throw her out at a certain time?"

"It would be great if you could send her home around six. I'd pick her up, but I'm not sure that it would be safe to leave the apartment by itself," Camila answered quickly and glanced at her watch. Lauren last class of the day would end soon and she still had a lot to prepare. "Thanks! I thought I had to do something drastic to keep her away and I doubt that it would've worked..."