Where love leads us (Sequel of BWYDT)

Chapter 31

"So what would be in those letters?"

"Huh?" Lauren and Camila were sitting at the poolside again but at a table this time. Each lost in their own paperwork. While they had agreed to walk away from some aspects of work, neither of them could do it fully. The creative process was still there. The need to put ideas down on paper. "What letters?"

Camila set her pen down on her notebook, her eyes tracing over her distracted wife's features. She tried to make note of the differences time had caused. Lauren's features were much more mature than they were in high school. More angled and sharper, but the classic beauty of the raven-haired wasn't lost. She was still that girl that boys would drool over and girls would die to be, even with the slight wrinkles setting in at the corners of her eyes. "The letters you would write to me if you had been out in school?"

A soft smile spread across her perfect, full lips. It was a smile of love. She didn't even finish the thought she was putting on paper before discarding her pen as well and reclining back in her seat. Camila had her full attention now. "It wouldn't start with any greeting. Not even your name. And it would be short. I would congratulate you on an achievement or something at first. To show my appreciation for your talents because they were the most important things to you back then."

Camila mashed her lips between her teeth but tried not to call attention to herself. Her talents were most important to her because that was all she had. She had no friends, no relationships. Her hobbies and abilities with those hobbies engulfed her life and gave it meaning. Just her talents.

"And I would want you to know they were important to me too." Lauren continued, dropping her eyes shyly as her confession continued. "Because they were. At first, I was jealous. Everyone was. But as high school went by, the more I realized that your talents were something truly special and were going to take you wherever you wanted." The photographer giggled to herself. "I probably would have conveyed that in one of my first letters to you. I would... I would want to build your confidence. Help repair the years of damage I had done."

"It would have worked too." Lauren looked at Camila questioningly and the actress nodded. "No one but my parent's ever said those things to me without some level of frustration or annoyance attached to them."

The photographer's emotions bounced between pride that her letters would hit the emotions that she hoped for, but saddened at the truth in the brunette's statements. Furthermore, the letters never existed. "Then I guess that would have put me off to a good start."

Camila smiled playfully and sat back as well. "Maybe... but after that?"

"I would move on to a compliment of your physical self. Probably not an outfit choice. Ouch! That hurt!" Lauren grabbed her right arm, smiling as she tried to rub away the sting left by Camila's playful yet strong objection to her fashion critique. The brunette ignored her wife's protest, allowing her to continue. "But probably your eyes or your smile. You know I love both of them. I would probably tell you that seeing your smile brings joy to my day, no matter how shitty it was. Not your on-point 'Camila Cabello' smile, but your real smile." Lauren clarified. Her eyes faded into memory again. "Like the one you give when you laugh. And, oh God! Your laugh. I would have eventually gushed about that as well before shifting my letter style."

"If I didn't know any better I would think you had already thought of writing these letters."

Lauren shook her head and her smile fell just slightly. "No. But now that you have me thinking about it, it would just come naturally. I would compliment you. Build a feeling of support, then I would go about breaking down your inevitable rush of doubt that this was a prank or something."

That was indeed inevitable, Camila thought to herself. "How would you go about doing that?"

Lauren took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. "By being a bit more vulnerable. You see, I would have seen your reactions to the other letters and would have gained enough confidence to tell you, in a letter, that I had a crush on you but was too scared of rejection because I'm not what you would be expecting."