The Tattooist & The Florist

Chapter 4:

Camila's POV:
"This is the day." I thought. I stood in the mirror of my bathroom, trying to style my hair the best I could with nothing but my fingers.

"Karla Camila Cabello Estrabo, grow a pair." I told myself.

"You are going to Circus Ink, and you're asking Lauren on a date. Those words are going to come out of your mouth. You are going to say the word 'date', so she knows you're crushing on her. You know she's into girls because you saw her ex. You have nothing to lose." I said.
"Except if she turns you down and then it's going to be really awkward considering your work places are basically attached." I muttered, my gaze dropping as I groaned and placed my elbows on either side of the bathroom sink; running my fingers through my hair before looking up at the mirror again.

After a few more pep talks, I grabbed my phone and was ready to leave before giving myself the once over in the mirror. In my sudden boost of confidence, I'd decided to wear a white crop top, a black and grey tartan skirt with knee-high socks and a pair of black boot heels. The heel was pretty fucking high and I was praying that I'd be able to walk in them properly; I remembered the previous times I'd worn them and I'd only tripped up once or twice.

Just as I was about to leave, I caught sight of my pink fluffy jacket and decided to throw that on too. I settled on walking to work which turned out to be a bad idea as it was a good 20 minutes away and I'd been cat-called more times than I can count. But finally stepping foot on the familiar boulevard that lead to the beach, I immediately felt safe.

"Okay, Cabello. You've got this." I whispered to myself as I took a deep intake of breath and prepared to ask the Miami native on a date.
I must've been 3 steps away from the entrance to her work when she suddenly stepped out. We almost head-butted and I immediately tried to do a 360 so I was in front of my own store.

"Hey, Camila." The familiar voice called.
Shit.
"Oh, Hi Lauren." My voice came out shaky as I fumbled with my purse, trying to get my keys out.
"You alright?" Lauren chuckled and I hadn't realised
how close she was until I turned my head to the left and our noses almost touched.
"Me? Yeah, yeah I'm great." I stuttered, taking a step back and somehow managing to drop my purse.
"Fuck." I whispered, bending down the same time as Lauren to grab the item. She handed it to me and I gave her a polite smile before we both stood up again and she leaned against the wall.
"You look really nice." She stated lowly. I caught her looking at my legs before slowly moving her gaze up my body and meeting my eyes again.
"You're not too bad yourself." I replied just a lowly, also checking her out.

She dressed rather casually in a pair of ripped acid-wash skinny jeans, black square heeled boots, a white tight-fitted crop top and what appeared to be a grey baseball jacket with black leather sleeves. She topped her look off with a neutral lip, black eyeliner and her hair out.
She gave me a slight flirtatious smile before fiddling with her fingers and turning her head for a moment to look at her store, which gave me the indication she was going to go back inside. She turned to face me again and her mouth was agape like she was about to speak.

"Will you go on a date me?"

I blurted out. Smooth, Cabello.
I saw her eyes widen slightly and she'd jolted back a little due to my abruptness. I examined her face and tried to read her unreadable expression. I began to shake my head and looked down at my feet with pursed lips before looking up at her again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" I ran my hands through my hair in what had become a sweaty panic before I heard Lauren speak up again.
"No I'd love to."
"I know I completely overstepped- wait what?" I felt my face alter into a look of confusion, which the dark-haired girl laughed at.
"I just wasn't expecting you to ask me. I was going to ask you." She informed.
"Really?" My voice had become rather high-pitched due to the new piece of information and I felt my tummy get invaded with butterflies.
"Yeah." Lauren smiled, biting her lip. Her cheeks had took on a hint of pink and I didn't know whether it was from the sun or from the blood rushing to her cheeks because of the situation we had found ourselves in.

"Yo Jauregay- Oh, Hey Camila. Lauren, are you coming back inside?" Luis' head popped out of the doorway, causing both of us to flinch.
"Yeah, I'll be in a sec." Lauren stammered, running her hand through her hair before settling it on the right side of her neck. She looked at me expectantly and I knew she was properly waiting for some details about our date.
"Oh right, um...I'll pick you up at 8?" I tilted my head and chewed on my bottom lip.
"I get off at 5 so that gives me some time to go home, get a shower and pick out my outfit so yeah; that works fine." She nodded with a smile.
"Cool, I'll see you at 8." I quirked an eyebrow, eyeing her up and down.
"Can't wait." She was now the one nibbling at her bottom lip. She had her hands crossed in her lap and she took two slow steps backwards.

I felt the presence of someone behind me and noticed a small old woman holding hands with a toddler. They were glaring at me with blank expressions and then I realised I own a florist that they were probably waiting to go in.
"Oh, right. Sorry." I mumbled and then opened up the door.

I heard Lauren laugh slightly before giving me a small wave and making her way into her work.
I held the door open for my customers and received a slight death glare for the impatient lady. I had to hold in a laugh as I closed the door behind them and eradicated any thoughts I had about later on tonight. I had to activate work-mode.
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A/N:
heeeello beautiful faces!!
this is just a quick update. I haven't been able to write much because I'm doing some exams at the moment and I'm just really stressed.
They finish in less than a month and then my updates will probably be more frequent - but for now, enjoy this mini-chapter.

also, feel free to gimme feedback as it's always appreciated (my twitter is down below).

be kind to yourself and others & happy Sunday!!

- f.t
@bewitchinglmj on twitter