Come Back, Be Here (Camren)

Chapter 2

"You should stay, she's amazing. The best in town." The girl assures the green-eyed brunette next to her.

"Look." Lauren sets her pen down and spins on the stool to face the girl next to her. She holds her left hand out in front of the two of them. "I'm married and I'm looking for my wife so I'm really not interested. I'm sorry."

The dark-skinned girl chuckles as she takes Lauren's hand to admire the ring. "Beautiful ring. I actually have one of those too." She raises her hand up as well and Lauren's eyes widen when she sees the diamond on the girl's finger. Lauren silently curses herself for being so unnecessarily rude to the poor girl.

"I feel like such a jackass. I'm sorry." Lauren runs her fingers through her hair and offers the girl to her right an apologetic smile.

"It's perfectly fine. You seem stressed so I won't hold it against you. I hope you find your wife." She extends her right hand and dangles it between the two of them. "I'm Normani, by the way."

Normani. Lauren's heard that name before. But from where?

The green-eyed girl quickly takes the awaiting hand in hers and shakes it. "Lauren." She smiles before taking another sip of her beer and picking up the pen so she can finish her task. She hears the faint sound of the strumming of a guitar, but she tunes it out as she studies the napkin in front of her, trying to decide what place she should look next.

"She's starting." Normani claps as she turns to face the small makeshift stage at the back of the bar. Lauren takes another sip of her drink and as soon as she does, a raspy voice fills her ears, one that she would recognize from anywhere. The green-eyed girl chokes on the mouthful of beer and grimaces as it slides down the wrong way. This gets Normani's attention and the girl swivels back around to check on the girl beside her.

Lauren just offers a thumbs up showing that she will be okay. When she finally gets her coughing under control, she spins around in her bar stool so quickly that she almost falls off of it. She vaguely hears the girl next to her ask if everything is okay, but she doesn't answer. She is too busy taking in every detail of the younger brunette sitting on a bar stool on the stage 20 feet from where she is sitting.

The young teacher is wearing a white cropped shirt with the word "Stussy" written on it and a pair of dark denim jeans with holes in the knees. Her naturally wavy hair is slung over her right shoulder and she has a content grin on her face as she looks out into the audience. Lauren's heart is beating so fast that she swears Normani can feel the vibrations of it from where she's sitting. The green-eyed girl wants nothing more than to just rush on stage and take her favorite brunette into her arms and never let her go, but she doesn't want to overstep her boundaries. A lot can change in a year. She knows that.

Her thoughts are interrupted when she feels a hand cover her own, the one gripping the bar stool under her with so much force that her knuckles are turning white. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." Normani questions as she takes in the appearance of the green-eyed girl sitting next to her. She's worried that if she grips the bar stool any tighter she's going to break it.

"I have." Lauren whispers as she tears her eyes away from the hand on top of hers and focuses her attention back on the most beautiful girl in the room. Her wife.

"She's pretty, huh?" Normani smirks at the visibly shaken girl next to her. Camila seems to have this affect on a lot of people, men and women. However, the dark-skinned girl can tell by the way Lauren is looking at Camila that there's something more there than just physical attraction.

"Perfect, as always." Lauren answers as she watches Camila position her mouth in front of the microphone again. Her voice fills Lauren's ears for the second time today and Lauren is worried that her heart is about to explode.