The turning of the car engine is deafeningly loud. It roars like a dragon, and it puts Brad's car to shame. Lauren can't help but feel a bit smug at that, she knows he'll hate that Camila has a better car than him.
Camila pops the clutch and presses her foot to the gas, causing the engine to backfire and for the car to shoot off like a bullet out of a gun. The two girls race down the road and Lauren turns her head to see a ton of partygoers watching the car drive off.
"Did you really have to make such a statement?"
"What? I like a dramatic exit."
Lauren rolls her eyes and just rests her head against the seat. The autumn air whips her face but she doesn't mind it. The sensation makes her feel alive, present in reality, like any other time she's just been living in some weird dream.
The two girls just drive for what feels like hours. The radio is playing Elvis Presley's Hound Dog and Camila turns the radio up a bit louder. Both girls jump into the song and begin singing along, not even attempting to be on key, just to have fun. With Brad it's like she's always trying to please and impress him, with Camila there's no need to impress. All she has to do is be herself.
The carefree feeling Lauren always feels around Camila seems elevated as they ride in the safety of her car. It's just the two of them right now, there's no Brad, no parents, no fear, just two young girls having fun.
That feeling of freedom is what prompts Lauren to move her hand to hold Camila's. The greaser doesn't look away from the road, but the smile that creeps onto her face is enough to tell Lauren that she just made her very happy.
Camila allows Lauren's fingers into the spaces between hers and they both hold onto the gear shift as Camila continues to drive. It's innocent, nothing serious, but it still makes Lauren's stomach flutter with excitement.
She's never held hands with anyone but Brad, and holding Camila's hand just feels so right. She likes how slender and long Camila's fingers are, and how they're not beefy like Brad's. She likes fiddling with the ring on Camila's middle finger, and she really likes how soft the other girl's hands are.
"You're really beautiful, you know that?"
The sudden compliment makes Lauren blush and she attempts to cover it with an eye-roll. "Shut up, that's you."
"I'm pretty, yeah I guess, but you? Lauren you really are spectacular. Brad is so lucky to be able to date someone as beautiful as you, inside and out, and he still doesn't know how to cherish you." Camila lifts the hand holding the other girl's and kisses it with the softness of a flap of a butterfly's wings.
Lauren doesn't know how to respond to Camila's words, so she just mumbles out a thank you and stays quiet. Of course, Brad compliments her and calls her pretty, but he only ever seems to when he wants to go further than what she's comfortable with,
Brad seems to only be sweet to Lauren when he wants something. Whether that be for her to finally have sex with him, or to go to third base, or when he wants help with homework. It's never been when they're just driving together or on a date.
Camila on the other hand, doesn't seem to want anything from Lauren, just to make her smile. It's new, something she's never experienced. Maybe that's apart of being with a woman rather than a man, there's a more constant and equal reception and granting of affection because they actually see one another as equals.
Lauren isn't stupid after all, she knows that Brad will never see her as an equal. He'll always see her as something pretty to have on his arm, or to have his kids, or take care of his home. He'll never really see her as his equal, Lauren doesn't think any man really will unless he's been raised like that, which would be rare.
