The Girl Next Door ➸ camren

eight

"She thinks my tractor's sexy!" Lauren sings at the top of her lungs, the words coming out almost as a scream of utter pain than the lyrics to her new favorite song. "It really turns her on!"

Camila, tending to her mother's vegetable garden in her backyard next door, looks towards the wooden fence that separates the two houses. She straightens up, wiping the dirt from her hands onto her jeans, and walks over to the fence, peeking her head over it. A smile forms across her lips as she watches Lauren jamming out to a country song, singing like nobody is around to hear her and dancing like nobody can see her. ⠀⠀⠀

The song ends, and Lauren's performance does too. Camila breaks out into a round of applause. Lauren jumps, unaware of the fact that anyone was able to see her, and when her eyes land on Camila, she narrows them.

"How much did you see?" she asks.

Camila unlocks the gate of her fence and enters her backyard.

"Enough," she replies.

Lauren crosses her arms over her chest. "We never speak of this."

"Why not?" she asks. Camila pinches her cheek. "It was so cute. You acting like you can dance while singing to a country song. A country song! What happened to you hating country music?"

Lauren scoffs. "You want to insult my dancing? As if you can do any better."

Camila cocks an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge? Because I am a master two-stepper for your information."

She grabs Lauren's hands and begins to dance, doing some fancy footwork that Lauren can't figure out and twirling her around a couple of times.

The dance ends in an explosion of laughter... Which somehow leads to Lauren pressing her forehead against Camila's, Lauren having to hunch over to close the height gap.

Time seems to stop for both of them as they realize how close they are to each other. Their bodies are pressed up against one another's. The slightest movement would result in their lips connecting. When she blinks, Camila can feel Lauren's eyelashes brush against her skin. Lauren can smell the mint on her breath.

Kiss me, Lauren thinks to herself. Forget about everything and kiss me. ⠀⠀⠀

The doorbell of Lauren's house rings, and the moment is over. Everything is back to reality. They break apart, and she says, "I'm going to go get that."

Camila is still standing on the back patio, unsure of what had just happened and what to do next, when she hears Lauren squeal from within her house. She opens the back door and steps inside to find her wrapped up in the arms of a guy Camila has only ever heard about, their lips connected and a suitcase by his feet.

It's Brad, in town for a week for Thanksgiving.

Camila backs out the doorway she is standing in, returning to the backyard. 

Lauren's with the person she loves, and it's not Camila.