Only You Can Save Me

"I love you times infinity."

AN: Sad Lauren ahead, fair warning.

Lauren was nervous to say the least. Camila's parents were coming over today and she had promised a home cooked barbecue. Cooking was one thing that Lauren enjoyed doing and she especially loved barbecue. She had the veggies out on the grill, homemade margaritas made and ready to serve, and she had just pulled the ribs out of the smoker. They had been in there in the backyard for just over 4 hours and the looked perfect. She put them on a rack and set them in the oven to stay warm. She was still trying to put together her homemade barbecue sauce when she realized that she couldn't find the vinegar. She was starting to panic some. "Fucking hell. Where did I put it?" She said as she tore through the kitchen cabinets trying to find it.

Camila had been working to help Lauren set up everything on the back patio, which included a new table cloth over the table. She laid out the plates and utensils for the evening before she went back inside to get a drink of her water. She hated that she couldn't have the margaritas with them tonight, but it was fine. "Baby, take a breath." She whispered to her before smiling at how serious Lauren was taking the whole thing. She took another sip of her water before she frowned. "What are you looking for?" Camila approached Lauren and rested her hand on her girlfriend's lower back. She knew that she was really nervous about how tonight was going to go.

Lauren was rummaging through the cabinets just looking for the damn vinegar. She heard her girlfriend's voice and didn't respond she needed to find the vinegar. "Where the fuck did I put it?" She mumbled to herself as she went back to the pantry. She stopped for a second when she felt Camila's hand on her back.

"Close your eyes, take a breath." Camila waited until Lauren did so before she continued. "What are you looking for?"

Lauren turned and looked at her. "I don't have time I have to find it...it's not going to be ready in time." She said quickly as she was searching through the pantry. "Aha! There you are you little bastard." She said as she ran back over to the counter and put the amount she needed in the bowl.

Camila frowned as Lauren ignored her. When she saw her girlfriend find what she was looking for she just shook her head. "All you had to do was tell me and I would have told you it was in there." She approached her girlfriend and reached out to take her hands to stop her. Camila slipped in between her and the counter and cupped her cheeks.

Lauren just finished mincing the garlic and put it all in the bowl. She had everything that she needed and started to stir the barbecue sauce up. She felt Camila's hands on her again as she pulled her hands away from the task. She felt Camila slip between her and the counter. "Baby, I was almost done." She said trying to reach around Camila. Lauren stopped when her girlfriend cupped her cheeks. She looked at her girlfriend, but she was still feeling anxious. 

Camila nodded to her. "I know it's almost done, but I don't want you to have an anxiety attack from all of this." She gave her a stern look when Lauren was still trying to get around her.

"Baby... please. You already know they'll be here any minute. It's okay if there's some things that aren't done." Camila gently caressed Lauren's cheeks as she looked up into her eyes. "They're not going to judge you if something's not done. If anything, the first words out of my mom's mouth will be 'how can I help?' Just take a breath and calm down some for me, please." She pleaded softly with her.

"I just need everything to be perfect. If it's perfect they won't kill me." Lauren said as she took a breath. She reached around to grab the spoon. "Taste test for me? Tell me if it's missing anything or needs more of something." She held the spoon to her girlfriend's lips.