night after night (camren)

22.

Lauren swatted her ass, "Get some food in you, woman, before I tie you up and tie you down"

......

Lauren had been to this restaurant a few times, including once with her ex, Keana. She'd asked the sushi chef if she could lick the yellowtail. She wasn't drunk. Keana had never been a drinker. She'd been too in love with other substances instead, with little pills prescribed by doctors. "Little darlings for my headaches" she'd say when a migraine swooped down on her. But then the migraines, if she truly had them, became so crushing that she needed those pills more and more. 

She needed them all the time. Up her nose. Every few hours.

But the worst part?  The way she lied. The times she denied. How she did what she was up to.

That was the problem. That's also why Lauren didn't want any drama with Camila. She knew there were no guarantees in relationships, and certainly people had a way of making and breaking promises. Still, she was keen on this woman, she wanted to spend more time with her, and she wanted to be upfront about the past so they could have more of the present. 

After they finished eating and left the restaurant, she cleared her throat, "So, what's your story, Camila? Got any deep dark secrets I should know about?"

Camila started coughing. 

"You okay?"

Camila nodded, but kept hacking as they passed an art gallery, "Just a tickle in my throat" she choked out.

"Let me go back and get you some water"

She held up her hand to say no, and coughed once more, "I'm fine. But what kind of question is that?"

"An honest question. I'm just trying to get to know you" Lauren said, her tone straightforward. 

Then the sky broke, out of nowhere it seemed. The clouds heaved with heavy droplets of water, pelting them from above.

"Holy shit, that's some rain" Camila said, and grabbed at the collar of her coat, as if that would protect her from the water. A few feet away a man hailed a cab, racing to get inside the vehicle. A family down the block ducked into a coffee shop, and a car squealed to a stop at the light.

"We're only three blocks away, but do you want to go to the coffee shop?" 

"No. I want to go to your place"

They picked up the pace, Camila's heels clicking loudly against the wet sidewalk, "You okay in those shoes?"

"Totally fine" Camila said. 

"There's a little souvenir shop on the corner. let me get an umbrella for you"

She grabbed Lauren's arm, wrapped her hand around it and pushed her against the brick wall of a shoe store, "Don't even think for a second that I can't handle a few drops of rain, Miss. I'm not some fragile flower"

Lauren held up her hands in mock surrender, "Never said you were"

"I like the rain. And I've always wanted to kiss in the rain" she said, gripping Lauren's shirt collar, and running her fingers along it, "Now give me one of those fabulous California kisses in the rain that makes all the girls swoon"

"Gladly" Lauren said and cupped her cheeks in her hands, held her gaze, them moved in for a kiss, sweeping her lips softly against Camila, slowly kissing her in the rain, drawing our decadent little sighs and murmurs from Camila's mouth.  The sky unleashed a fire hose of water, and the rain became a goddamn downpour. Camila quickly broke the kiss, and pointed to her hair, now plastered against her head, "Okay, time to run because that was romantic for about ten seconds and now I'm just a drowned rat"

Lauren laughed, "Somehow, you're still unbelievably sexy though" she said as she grabbed Camila's hand.

They walked quickly, doing their best to dart and dodge passer-by's and sprayed-up puddles from cars. Lauren kept her arm around Camila the whole way, and after another block, they were both soaked, but Camila couldn't deny that she liked being wet with Lauren, even this kind of wet.

"My coat is useless" Camila shouted against the pounding rain. Lauren's jeans stuck to her legs, and Camila's stockings looked waterlogged. Soon enough they reached Lauren's building and ran inside. Lauren took a deep breath once the world turned dry again thanks to the four walls and a roof.

"That's a hell of an angry sky" she said as they stepped inside the elevator. 

"And there's nothing romantic about getting caught in the rain" 

Lauren laughed, "Turns out that's all just a lie of the movies" She looked Camila up and down, her hair clinging messily to her neck, and her cheeks. Her mascara has started to run and a drop of water slipped down her face, "I know what we need"

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first chapter of today now that i have my laptop back. sorry it's been so long but im doing my best to use today to catch up :)