Should Have Known (Camren)

Chapter 52

"Smooth," she laughed, rolling her eyes playfully and connecting our lips again.

Our mouths molded together in unison, parting and closing around each other until she slipped her tongue inside. She was gentle, exploring every detail of my mouth and leaving behind a strangely intoxicating trace of her taste. Her kiss wasn't hungry or demanding; it was soft and curious, like she was trying to discover me once more. The way she held my face between her hands and kissed me until her lungs begged for air elicited a feeling- most likely in both of us- that I hadn't experienced for a long time. It was like our first kiss all over again- full of wonder and questions and promise, but most of all the realization that I didn't really know her. Two years she had been in my life and it felt like she had been absent for half of it, and that was precisely the problem. I knew who she was- that she liked to listen to sad songs when she was happy and happy songs when she was sad, and that she loved every color because colors made everything bright and vivid, and that she used to be afraid to sing in front of people after she moved to the states from Cuba. I knew that there was plenty that she didn't like about herself even though I always tried to convince her otherwise, and I knew she could find humor in any situation and that her favorite movie was The Notebook and that she wanted love more than anything else, but that was the old Camila. That was fifteen year old Camila, the Camila I fell in love with. I wanted to know seventeen year old Camila and I wanted to know why on earth I still loved her two years later when she hardly allowed me inside her mind. I wanted to tear her walls down once again and refuse to let her rebuild them. I separated our lips and looked into her eyes. They were the same eyes, I just wondered how she saw things now.

"Let me take you to dinner," I offered.

"Lauren, I'm perfectly happy staying here. We don't have to do anything special," she argued.

"I know, but I want to," I insisted. "I want to go on a date for once and not have it end in us fighting. I just want to have a nice evening with you, okay? My treat."

"Lauren..."

"We're going to dinner," I concluded. "Go get dressed."

She sighed and backed off of my lap, standing over me and running a hand through her hair.

"What should I wear?" she asked.

"Something nice," I told her. "You'll look beautiful no matter what."

A slight smile spread across her lips and she headed for the door, leaving me to get ready myself. I pushed myself off the couch and walked into my room and straight to my closet, examining its contents for the longest time until I finally decided on a plain white dress. It didn't matter what I wore. I knew I couldn't outdo Camila, and I had no intention to. I stepped into the dress and walked over to the mirror, combing out my hair and letting it fall in natural waves over my shoulders. I touched up my makeup a bit and grabbed my bag off my dresser, heading for the door and walking out. I slowly made my way to Camila's apartment, knowing she was probably taking her time getting ready. I wiggled the door handle before knocking and found that it was open so I let myself inside, but before I could make it to Camila's room she appeared in the doorway, looking just as stunned to see me as I was to see her. She stood up straighter and stared down at her outfit, folding her hands together in front of her and nervously rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Do I look okay?" she worried. "I kind of just threw on the first thing I found."

My jaw hit the floor and my head spun rapidly as I took in the sight in front of me. She wore a black and white dress with a flowing skirt that reached the middle of her thighs and hung down in the back, adorned with a pair of plain black heels and the necklace I had given her for Christmas. Her hair cascaded down her back except for where it was pinned back on either side, allowing me to see her face and those hypnotizing brown eyes completely.