I've Struck Gold

Chapter 6

A/N: ayo here's the next chapter! I know it's been a hot minute, but I haven't had much motivation to write so forgive me lol. also sorry if this is a bit short, I'm trying to make the chapters longer.

Lauren's POV

"You're weird. I didn't think that after yesterday you'd be literally pulling me by the arm to get inside that place," Dinah mumbles as we approach the saloon. My heart is pounding. I had told her earlier of mine and Camila's plan to sort of sneak me in, and she snickered goodnaturedly.

My friend continues through the swinging doors of the building, while I follow the rickety brown wall to the back. When I round the corner, I enter a narrow and somewhat dark alleyway. I take cautious steps through the passage, paranoid about stepping into muck or worse, perhaps a body. Who knows? Someone could've died here, for all I know.

I reach a small door that seems to sag off of its hinges and carefully knock on it. After a few silent moments, the door crackles open and I see a woman in a dirt-colored plain dress, wiry hair tied back into a bun. Her face holds traces of wrinkles, and her eyes are dull. But maybe it's the bad lighting in the alley, as well as the dimly lit staircase behind her that ascends and disappears behind the corner.

"Hello, you must be Lauren," she greets in a soft voice. I smile, and together we go up the steps. The passage is so small that I feel like the walls are pressing in on me. I'm starting to get immensely uncomfortable, when I finally step into a hallway a little similar to the one above Ally's shop.

"The door on the right," the woman behind me informs and then disappears in one of the other rooms.

Upon entering the room, I realize that it's not big or possibly fancy like I thought at all—probably about the size of mine, with a window wall opposite me, a bed right in front of me, and another doorway on the left wall, which I'm guessing leads to the main part of the saloon. Next to the bed sit two trunks.

And there Camila is, lying on said bed, reading a newspaper. She doesn't react in any way upon my arrival, so I clear my throat to signify I'm here. She looks over happily. "Hey." She sits up, folding the newspaper and tossing it on top of one of the trunks.

"Come," she says and pats the spot next to her. I sit down gingerly next to her, biting my lip out of nervousness. The bed creaks beneath our movements. A thought begins to slip into my head that nobody likes a loud bed, but I quickly shut it out. I'm getting too ahead of the situation here..

"So uh, why'd you have me come here?"

"I just wanted to hang out with you," she replies earnestly.

"But why here, and now, instead of another time at, say, the haystack or whatever?"

"And what if I told you I couldn't wait to see you for that long?" She tilts her head slightly, with a rather mysterious but frisky smile. I can't decide if she looks cute or hot as fuck like that. I feel my cheeks beginning to burn, and since I'm beginning to feel like she's teasing me a lot lately, I try to do the same. Two can play this game, Cabello.

"Oh yeah? Why so? Wanna have a taste of these lips?" I notice her glance fleetingly down at my mouth, and I'm about to give myself a mental pat on the back when she flops back down onto her back and takes a deep breath.

"In denial?" I chuckle. Camila turns her head sharply, eyes narrowed. "What's up with you insisting that I'm into you? Afraid of unrequited love?"

"Well, maybe there was a brief period in time when I wanted you..." She turns on her side and lifts herself up on her elbow, head resting in her hand; this makes her shirt slide up a little, exposing a strip of caramel skin. I swallow and avert my gaze.