CC7

CC7 - Part 26

Lauren’s POV

I was seated in the back of the noble restaurant with Kristie beside me and Luis opposite of her. My two close friends were skimming through the menu while I already knew what I wanted. It wasn’t my first time in the high-end establishment. New York was a place full of memories and there were about to be new ones I was sure.

Tomorrow was the start of a four-day training camp with the USWNT. It was the longest period of time we’d have as a team in a while. But those camps were necessary to get everyone on the same page. The fact that all of my teammates were coming to New York was a blessing because I didn’t need to travel long from Boston.

Luis and Kristie had offered to come a day earlier with me. We had hung out in the city all day and wanted to end the night with a nice meal as I had suggested coming here.

“Are you excited about tomorrow?” Luis asked and took a sip from his drink that he had already ordered before the food.

“Excited and nervous”, I admitted honestly.

“How long has it been since you’ve talked to Camila?” the male voice questioned softly.

“Depends what you define as talking, I guess”, I sighed deeply and drank from my water. “We haven’t seen each other since the incident and that’s been six weeks. At first we’ve been texting and skyping a lot and she was really supportive about everything. But lately she seems distant.”

“Maybe she’s just trying to figure things out before she sees you tomorrow”, Luis offered kind words but I wasn’t so sure.

“I don’t know”, I shook my head in frustration. “I have this really bad feeling because she is avoiding me at all costs. Whenever I want to set something up, she cancels last minute. I know I shouldn’t be paranoid but the last time we skyped, she mentioned that Austin was going to come to Paris and we haven’t spoken since except for texting.”

“Do you think he has something to do with it?” Kristie now chimed in.

“Probably not”, I exhaled loudly. “I’m just looking for an excuse so I don’t have to blame myself for screwing everything up and scaring the shit out of her daughter.”

“Don’t say it like that”, the blonde squeezed my arm gently. “Like Luis said, maybe Camila is working things out with Lara and she will tell you about it in person tomorrow. You can’t tell me you’re not excited to see her after six weeks.”

“I am”, my lips formed a hesitant smile.

“Everything’s going to be fine”, Kristie added before Luis almost choked on his drink.

“Holy shit”, he gasped and his eyes were fixed on something behind us. “No, don’t look now”, his warning reached my ears a little too late.

Turning around, I saw none other than Emily approaching the dining section. My eyes widened in surprise although they probably shouldn’t. The reason I knew the restaurant was because of my ex-girlfriend. She had taken me here twice when I had come to visit. Still, I felt my pulse racing as the light-haired woman instantly saw me.

She smiled broadly and waved. I didn’t want to be rude and our split had been amicable after all. Getting up from my seat, the older one moved towards our table and I couldn’t help myself but give her the once-over for a moment. She was stunning but what else was new? The short dress was simple yet elegant and accentuated her long legs. [ http://instagram.com/p/jy25L0gQkO/ ] I sensed a lot of the customers glancing her way which wasn’t too surprising because I had seen that reaction a lot when we had been dating.