Surreal Perfection (Camren)

Ch 24

//

Her body stills, and time, it slows down for the both of us.

Her head tilts up, and she looks at me.

The smile on her face is bright, and tender, and the look in her eyes, quiets my beating heart.

Her lips part, and she mouths, "I love you too..."

----

I don't realize there're tears in my eyes, until a few drip down to my hand.

I quickly wipe them away, and bury my face in my arms.

I swear I can almost feel the cool outline of the lotion on my back.

Lauren hasn't made any moves to actually rub it into my skin, and I haven't really spoken much since arriving.

I know, she knows, that I remember.

How can anyone forget?

I pull my knees in, trying to fold myself into the smallest ball possible.

I honestly don't know what to do.

I feel Lauren's hand on my back, and after a few moments, she starts to spread the lotion over my skin.

The memory of that day at the beach was sweet, but the feeling of Lauren touching me now, is even sweeter.

God, I missed her; I miss this.

These moments, they're so small, and so brief, like the little pieces of a giant puzzle.

And even though Lauren and I aren't together, I know that the tiny fragments of our broken hearts, still fit together perfectly.

It's probably inconsequential to the rest of the world, but to me...

My thoughts are interrupted, when I feel Lauren's hand go still, on my back.

I glance to her, and notice that she's looking off to somewhere in the distance.

I turn to the same direction, and it doesn't take me long to see the guy with a massive lens pointed our way.

I look away immediately.

Right.

What was I thinking?

I can't believe I actually forgot why we're here to begin with.

Before I can do anything else, I feel Lauren quickly tie my bikini top back up, and she moves back over to where she was before.

We stare back out over the horizon, and the moment we just shared, fades off into a distant memory.

Abruptly, Lauren says, "Have you opened them?"

I let her question hang in the air, and I dig my hand into the warm sand, letting the grains fall through my fingers.

I bite my bottom lip, and look away from her. The lie comes easily to me, and I answer, "No..."

"Oh," she whispers.

Instead of saying anything back, I nod slowly; more to myself, than for her.

I'm not ready to have this conversation yet with Lauren, and I feel relief when she doesn't push it.

I can feel the heavy pressure of her silence though, and I can tell that eventually she will bring it back up.

Not too long after, the girls are back, but they don't come back, empty-handed.