Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 46

"So what are your plans for the rest of the day?" Lauren asked Camila, the two of them still cuddled up on the sofa together. Camila's head was buried against Lauren's shoulder and she tilted her face slightly in order to meet her girlfriend's questioning gaze. "I don't have any," Camila answered, her fingers brushing against the back of Lauren's hand tenderly where it lay on her lap. "Why? What did you have in mind?" she asked. "I thought maybe we could go out?" Lauren halftold her, halfasked; her voice hesitant as though she doubted Camila would want to go. "On a date?" Camila questioned, a smile appearing at the corner of her mouth, her eyes sparkling brightly at the suggestion. "Yeah," Lauren answered, dropping her eyes down to where their hands sat together in her girlfriend's lap. She lifted them up carefully to her lips and planted a soft, affectionate kiss to the back of Camila's

hand. "What do you think?" "I think," Camila replied with a playful glint in her eye as she stretched upwards and kissed Lauren gently on the mouth, soft flesh moulding against its counterpart snugly. "I would really like that." "Ithought that perhaps I could take you out for something to eat?" Lauren suggested. Camila shifted her position on the sofa slightly, lifting her head up enthusiastically at the idea. "Can we go to Jimmy's?" she asked excitedly, moving one of her legs over Lauren's hips so that she was straddling her. "Ilove it there and I haven't been for ages." "Let me guess," Lauren chuckled in amusement, her free hand reaching up to tuck a strand of Camila's hair behind her ear and out of her eyes. "You want the hot wings." "Am I that predictable?" Camila asked, tilting her head slightly to the side, an adorable expression on her face which gave Lauren the sudden desire to pinch her girlfriend's cheeks. "Yes," Lauren told her, sitting up a bit further and placing her hand on the side of Camila's neck to prevent her from succumbing to the impulse. "I don't just want hot wings though," Camila told her, shifting her weight a little, one of her hips beginning to ache from the awkward position she was sat in. "I want other things as well..." "Things like pizza?" Lauren queried, cutting her off and raising one eyebrow knowingly at her girlfriend who feigned offence in return. "Of course I want pizza," Camila scoffed lightheartedly. "Why was that even a question?" "I don't know," Lauren said smiling brightly, her hands moving to stroke Camila's sides delicately. "I guess I was just checking that you

weren't brainwashed whilst you were away." Camila chuckled and Lauren felt her grin broaden subconsciously in response to the musical sound as it met with her ears. "What's so funny?" Lauren questioned and Camila placed a hand on her girlfriend's shoulder to steady herself, her weight precariously balanced across her girlfriend's lap near the edge of the sofa. "Well, I just find it kind of ironic because isn't that the reason that I got sent to the treatment centre in the first place?" she explained amused. "You know, to get my head straight?" "Yeah, to get your head straight Camz," Lauren agreed her grin still firmly in place. "I don't want you turning into some drooling, subservient girlfriend who can't think for herself and has undergone a complete personality change though," she teased playfully. "Oh interesting," Camila said smiling mischievously as she leant forward and closed the distance between them, her mouth stopping just short of Lauren's, her dark chocolate eyes fixed firmly on the translucent green of her girlfriend's. "I thought that perhaps you might have appreciated a submissive girlfriend." She exhaled suggestively, her warm breath tantalising against Lauren's skin. Lauren swallowed hard and shook her head from side to side weakly in disagreement. "One of the things Ilove about you the most is your mind," Lauren told her, reaching up one hand to caress Camila's brow meaningfully. "I don't ever want you to lose that, it's what

makes you who you are." "I could never really lose it though," Camila said happily, inching her mouth even closer to Lauren's provocatively. "Not really. Especially whilst you hold the key to it, whilst you keep it safe for me." She finished, her hand making its way up to Lauren's neck to search for the pendant that she'd bought her as a gift for Christmas. Lauren lifted her own hand up quickly to stay Camila's wandering one but it was too late to stop her girlfriend from discovering the necklace was missing and she pulled her head back, a frown plastered across her features. "Did you take it off?" Camila asked, unable to hide the hurt in her voice, a wounded expression appearing on her face. Lauren weighed up the possible responses in her head, debating whether or not the best course of action would be to lie or tell Camila the truth. "I took it off today," Lauren finally decided to admit and Camila shifted her weight so that she was no longer sitting in the taller girls' lap, instead settling herself back down on to the cushion beside her, the physical distance between them betraying her emotions more than any words could. "Oh," she responded, running a hand through her hair, her gaze not quite meeting Lauren's. "Ok," she said nodding her head faintly. "Camz," Lauren said, placing a hand on her girlfriend's upper arm and rubbing it reassuringly. "I've kept it on all this time I promise, it was just today I took it off." She informed her. "I kind of had a breakdown of my own at school this morning and removed it," she shared. "I thought that we were over and I was pissed at you for not