chapter fifteen

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Lauren finishes off the rest of her lukewarm coffee, closing the lid of her laptop. She yawns, already over this semester, even though it's only the first day back. It's over now though; she had three back to back classes, but that means she's done by twelve, so she's ready to get home and call Camila before she goes for a nap.

She packs her things away and leaves the lecture hall, a little annoyed at the huge crowds throughout the building. It takes her a while to get down the stairs, and she squints when the sunlight hits her eyes as she walks out of the main exit.

She jumps when someone grabs her, and whirls around, expecting Lucy or Keana or Alexa. Her stomach twists and turns when she meets Camila's eyes; in the light, the beautiful chocolate brown has turned a deep honey colour, and Lauren is kind of fascinated about why people sleep on brown eyes so much when they're that beautiful.

"Hi," Camila grins at her, "I hope you don't think I'm a stalker, I looked at the screenshot you sent me of your schedule and I found the building. I thought I'd walk you home."

Lauren's stomach flips. "Yeah. I'd like that."

"Um, so..." Camila takes her hand, and Lauren leads her across to the little shortcut she uses; it only shaves a few minutes off her walk home, but it's worth it when she's this tired. "I get that you're like, super tired right now..."

Lauren raises her eyebrows. "What's up?"

"When are we going to go out?" Camila blurts out, and then blushes like she shouldn't have asked that. "Sorry, it's just... it's been a while since New Year's Eve and we haven't talked about it."

"Whenever you want," Lauren squeezes her hand, "I'll make the time."

"Tonight?" Camila asks, but before Lauren can speak, she mumbles, "Sorry, I probably sound like a bit of an eager beaver. Eager beaver, since when do I say that? God, I'm an idiot."

Lauren laughs. "We can do it tonight if that's what you want. My only plans were lying on the couch and watching Catfish, and a date with you sounds a million times better than that."

"Okay, good," Camila smiles, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Alright. Um, well, I'm glad we're- yeah. Going on a date. Finally."

"Yeah, seems right, since we've been engaged for ten years and all that," Lauren nudges her playfully, "if you think about it, it's a little weird that we haven't."

Camila laughs. "Yeah, we totally suck at being engaged."

Lauren stifles another yawn, swinging their hands as they walk and squinting a little in the sunlight. "Thanks for coming to walk me home. If you want to join me for my nap, you can. I don't mind either way."

"I never nap, but yes, I'd love to do that," Camila grins, "at least to keep you company until you fall asleep. I've been told I'm a great big spoon."

Lauren raises her eyebrows. "Big spoon?"

Camila smirks, and it's so unlike the dorky, clumsy Camila that she knows, but something inside Lauren stirs. "I think you'll find I quite like exerting my... dominance."

"Oh," Lauren blurts out without thinking, cheeks tinted a soft pink. Well, she thinks, that's convenient. "Well... uh. Nice."

"You're blushing," Camila points out, and if anything, that makes Lauren blush more. "That's so cute. You're so cute."

"Camila, stop flirting with me," Lauren whines, pouting at the younger girl, "I'm too tired to maintain a casual façade."

"Hey, who's Camila?" Camila pokes her in the ribs, "that's Camz to you."

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