The Red String

Chapter 3. First Encounter

"Well... do something, Jauregui," Normani urged, her eyes wide with worry, locked onto Lauren's. "Before we end up on the front page of The Times with the headline 'A Porsche Worth Dying For'."

Lauren arched an eyebrow. "What the hell do you expect me to do?"

"Wait, you don't know how to change a tire?" Ally asked, clearly concerned.

"Why the fuck would I know?" Lauren shouted.

"Because you're rude and tough..." Ally replied matter-of-factly.

"So what, being gay automatically makes me a mechanic?" Lauren shot back, fuming. "I know I'm not as delicate as Mani or as sweet as you, but that doesn't mean I'm expected to know what to do in situations like this. I've never really dealt with cars before and I don't even know how to check the engine."

"You do it then, Ally," Normani insisted, her anxiety showing. "We're seconds away from signing our death sentence, this area is full of sketchy people."

"Me?" Ally quickly shook her head. "I don't even know how to pop the hood."

"You don't have to pop the hood, you dummy," Normani replied. "The tire has nothing to do with the engine."

"Well, since you're the one with all the suggestions, why don't you give it a go?" Lauren quipped, her gaze shifting to the sky as she noticed the gray clouds rolling in. "But do it fast, unless you want to get caught in the rain like you said you would a few hours ago."

"No, thanks. I'd rather be in Manhattan, rain-free and without having to worry about getting my throat cut."

Lauren's eyes rolled dramatically as she moved toward the rear end of the car. With an exasperated sigh, she muttered, "God, I have no idea what to do."

Her friends joined her, trying to figure things out but coming up short. They were in trouble. Real trouble.

~~~~

As the four girls walked down the street, Dinah gasped out of the blue, causing Camila to give her a curious look. "Holy crap!"

"What?" the brunette asked, her hand tightly holding onto Sofi's.

"See that car over there?" Dinah pointed to the white vehicle across the street. "That's a Porsche." She sighed. "I wonder who they've stolen it from."

"I don't think it's been stolen." Camila frowned, her narrowed eyes fixed on the three women, who seemed to be having trouble changing a tire.

"Well, if they haven't stolen it, they're about to." Dinah chuckled, earning a disapproving glare followed by a headshake from Camila. "What? I'm just stating the facts. Plus, they look like they're having a hard time."

The sound of tools clattering to the ground drew their attention back to the car ahead, on the other side of the road. Sofia gently squeezed Camila's hand. "Kaki, I think they need help."

As the four girls got closer, Camila glanced down at her younger sister before her gaze shifted back to the three women.

"I'll go check," the brunette murmured, exchanging a quick glance with Dinah. "You stay here."

"You don't even know who those people are," Dinah reprimanded her as she watched the women picking up the scattered tools. "They could be serial killers or..."

The blonde was suddenly interrupted by a series of high-pitched screams.

"I just broke my nail!"

"Lauren, my precious nail!"

Camila snorted, a smirk on her lips. "Yeah right, extremely dangerous."

"It's too late now, I'm sure they can manage on their..." Dinah's voice trailed off as she saw Camila dart across the street.

"Dinah, be nice." Sofi gave her a look. "We should help other people."

"Yes, Dinah..." Regina chimed in. "Be nice."

Dinah rolled her eyes as she grasped the hands of both girls to help them cross the street, all while keeping an eye on Camila rushing towards the car.

~~~~

"For fuck's sake, Normani, stop whining!" Lauren growled as she bent down, trying to figure out what to do with that tool. How was she supposed to lift the car with something so small? "If they hadn't heard us before, now they will thanks to your screams."

"My mom, my siblings, my dog..." Normani whimpered, panicking.

"Good evening," a voice said behind them, and Normani and Ally turned to see a smiling Camila staring at them with her hands shoved in her pockets.

"We don't have anything valuable with us," Normani promptly replied, making Camila look at her with a puzzled expression.

"I'm sorry, what?" The brunette glanced at them before turning her attention to the woman bending over the car, attempting to use one of the tools. She let her eyes travel down her body, noticing how the dress she was wearing perfectly accentuated her curves in all the right places, complemented by a pair of combat boots. Very interesting.

"You're not a killer or something?" Ally asked with curiosity, and Camila studied her face, feeling like she had already seen that woman before. And then, irony struck her. Looking at them, she knew they weren't from her neighborhood; they were all beautiful women.

"Um, no," Camila said with a chuckle. "We were just walking home"—she pointed at Dinah and the girls, who were approaching slowly—"when we noticed you were in trouble, so we decided to come and see if you needed help. You know, this neighborhood is not a really good place to park a car as expensive as this one."

"Oh, we have a flat tire, and Lauren's trying to change it..."

Still facing away from them, Lauren suddenly stood up, grumbling something under her breath before snapping at them, "Shit, could you stop socializing for a second and help me with this fucking thing?"

"You're using the wrong tool," Camila remarked quietly, her eyes lingering on the woman's seductive curves, now further highlighted underneath her sexy black dress thanks to the change in position.

"And what the hell do you even know?" Lauren retorted coldly before spinning around to confront the woman who had the nerve to question her.

Her eyes met with a pair of deep brown ones. Snapback cap, ripped jeans, Converse shoes, and a blue shirt; the green-eyed woman's gaze traveled up and down, scrutinizing every aspect of the brunette's outfit.

Watching those captivating orbs inspecting her from head to toe, Camila's breath caught in her throat as she wrestled with the fluttering sensation in her stomach, gazing at the beautiful woman in front of her. Her eyes... those piercing green eyes remained fixed on her, seemingly thickening the air around them. She has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen, Camila thought to herself as brown met green once more. Emerald and sexy, just like everything else about her.

"No way!" Someone gasped in surprise behind Camila, who couldn't tear her eyes away from Lauren, who, on the other hand, shifted her gaze toward the woman behind the brunette. The blonde stared at her with wide eyes. "It's Lauren Jauregui."

Lauren cast a quick glance at the two girls and the woman before she found her focus drawn back to the warm brown eyes, thoroughly studying her. She raised an eyebrow. This was unexpected. But then again, New York had always a way of delivering unexpected surprises, and she could bet there would be more in store.