Camila insisted that she would get ready in the guest bathroom and let Lauren prepare for their date in the master bath. Despite the fact that they had spent the prior night and the whole day together Camila wanted it to feel like a date. Camila checked herself in the mirror one last time. She was wearing charcoal slacks with a navy blue oxford and oxblood boots. She pulled out her dark suede jacket and dropped it onto the couch. She knocked lightly on the bedroom door.
"Lo?" Camila called out softly.
"Just a minute, darling," Lauren answered.
Camila stepped back from the door and grinned, enjoying Lauren's pet name for her. She looked up as the door opened and her grin grew even bigger. Lauren stepped out wearing a dark green form-fitting wrap dress with her hair down and slightly wavier than usual. Camila approached her slowly and gently put her hands on her hips and kissed her softly. Lauren pulled back from the kiss and smiled.
"Does that mean you approve of the look?" Lauren asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Lo, you look beautiful," Camila said, staring intently at her.
Lauren felt herself flush. Camila's words were so genuine and Lauren heard the passion in her tone. She rested her hands on Camila's shoulders and smiled at her softly.
"I'm so happy to go on a date with you, Camila Cabello," Lauren said softly.
Camila smiled and leaned in for another quick kiss then took Lauren's hand and led her from the apartment. They walked downstairs and Lauren was surprised to see Kelly and Sofi waiting out front.
"Is this a double date?" Lauren asked, suddenly feeling nervous.
"No, I wouldn't put that on you so quickly," Camila said, chuckling. Sofi and Kelly approached and Sofi tossed Camila some keys.
"Just bring it back without a scratch when you come to dinner tomorrow," Sofi said, smiling at Camila then turning to Lauren. "Hey, Lauren."
"Hello, Sofi, Kelly," Lauren said.
"You two look great," Kelly said, "Have fun!"
"Thanks!" Camila answered, smiling.
Sofi and Kelly walked back to curb and Sofi hopped onto a motorcycle. Kelly got on behind her and when they both had their helmets fastened they rode away. Camila led Lauren to the Corvette Stingray and Lauren eyed up the vehicle as Camila opened the door for her.
"Very nice car," Lauren said, getting in and settling into the seat. Camila walked around and got into the driver's seat.
"Sofi got a great deal on it barely used and she treats it like a child," Camila said, laughing, "She hardly ever lets me borrow it so she must like you."
"Well, that's a good sign, but we could have used one of my cars, Camz," Lauren said.
"I asked you out and I want to take care of things tonight, Lo," Camila said, hooking her phone to the Bluetooth and starting a playlist.
"So, if this is a thing between us are you always going to claim you asked me out first?" Lauren asked, teasingly.
"Oh, I made all the first moves," Camila said, grinning as she pulled from the curb, "Starting with the kiss on the log."
"Yeah, well, I was flirting with you all week," Lauren answered, smiling, "That's why Mani kept making snide comments."
"I know," Camila said, "But I still made the first move."
"And I'm glad you did," Lauren conceded, grinning, "Where are we headed?"
"My friend opened a restaurant a few months ago and I've been wanting to take someone special," Camila said, "I texted earlier and she's saving us a table. It's not as fancy as M6 or anything..."
"Camz, I don't need fancy to be happy," Lauren answered, "I take all my clients there when I sign them. It is wonderful but it's not special to me, although it has taken on new significance since it was where we shared our first meal."
"Well, this place is called Morisot and it's kind of like a bistro, I guess," Camila said, "It's a small place, a little out of the way."
"I've heard of it," Lauren said, "I can't wait."
The women arrived and walked in and Camila gave her name to the host. He looked at his clipboard and nodded and led them to a quiet table in the corner near a window and told them a waiter would be with them shortly.
"This place is lovely," Lauren said, looking around at the cozy, quiet restaurant. The tables were all either for two or for four and the setting was very romantic. Lauren looked up as a woman approached the table.
"You finally made it," the woman said, greeting Camila. Camila stood up and hugged the woman tightly.
"I did," Camila said smiling, "Ariana, this is Lauren Jauregui. Lauren, Ariana Grande."
"Nice to meet you, Lauren," Ariana said smiling, "I've been trying to get this one in here since we opened a few months ago. She's too busy with her music career. I hope she remembers the little people when she gets all famous."
"Really, like I'd ever forget you," Camila said, smirking, "Ariana and I took some classes together while we were both pretending to pursue normal careers."
"I wanted to cook and she wanted to sing," Ariana said, "Needless to say, we weren't the best students."
"Hey, I was a good student!" Camila objected, giggling.
"Yeah, you were," Ariana said, chuckling, "I wasn't."
"So, I've got big news," Camila said, smiling, "I've recorded an album. The first single will be released soon."
Ariana smiled widely and shook her head, "I knew you'd do it, Mila."
"Thanks, Ari," Camila said, "And I knew you'd get your restaurant one day."
"So, I tell you what," Ariana said, "How about I feed you two a tasting menu. It's on me, Mila. Congratulations."
"Ari, you don't have to do that," Camila said, shaking her head.
"I insist," Selena said, "And one day when I have someone to impress I want backstage passes. Got it?"
Camila laughed and nodded.
"All right, any allergies or food dislikes?" Ariana asked.
"Nope, Lauren already got me to try sweetbreads," Camila said, scrunching her nose.
"I like you already," Ariana said, smiling at Lauren, "So I'll leave you two to it."
Ariana turned and walked away and Camila grinned at Lauren, "Well, not so impressive now that I'm not even paying for the meal."
"I'm impressed," Lauren said, "I love the feel of this place and now we get the chef cooking us a special meal. It's wonderful, Camz."
Camila blushed and smiled softly. Five courses later the women were stuffed and happy. Each course had been amazing and Lauren and Camila agreed they would love to return to eat there again. Ariana came out at the end of the meal and gave both women hugs and grinned as they showered her with praise. Camila promised to let her know next time she played in Chula Vista.
They walked back to the car and Lauren smiled softly as Camila went to her side first and opened the door for her. Before Lauren could slide in Camila grabbed her for a quick, soft kiss. Lauren felt like she couldn't stop smiling as she got into her seat. Camila walked around and got settled.
"Normally, I'd say we could go for a drink but with work tomorrow..." Camila said softly.
"Yeah, I think we should get back," Lauren said, "This was a perfect first date, Camz."
They rode back to Lauren's quietly, listening to music and occasionally chatting. Lauren showed Camila where to park for the night and they made their way up to the apartment. They walked into Lauren's bedroom and both kicked off their shoes. Camila walked behind Lauren and put her hands on her shoulders. She moved Lauren's hair aside and kissed her neck softly as she gently pulled down the zipper on her dress.
They took their time, undressing one another, kissing languidly and making love. It was all soft and gentle and unrushed and as they finished they comfortably cuddled together and fell asleep.
*********************
Camila woke the next morning and turned over and reached for Lauren . She sighed as she saw the bed empty and a note on the pillow next to her, with a key atop it.
Darling, you looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you. I've gone into work. You should come by any time in the afternoon to meet with Jade Thirlwall. She does our publicity in house. Make sure and stop by and say hi to me too - L
Camila grinned and took the note and carefully placed it in the outer pocket of her overnight bag. She put on some clothes and made the bed and gathered her things together. She left, using the key Lauren left to lock up and headed to her apartment. She ate a late breakfast then showered and changed and headed to LJM Records. She walked in and gave Alexa a smile.
"Hey, Alexa, I'm here to meet with Jade Thirlwall," Camila said.
"Camila, the video was incredible," Alexa said smiling, "I didn't get to see you much after it showed at the party because we had to get home to the kid."
"Thanks, Alexa," Camila said, "I can't believe how it turned out. Fallon is amazing."
"So are you," Alexa said, smiling as she buzzed Jade on the company phone.
Moments later the door opened and Jade introduced herself to Camila. Camila immediately felt comfortable with the casually dressed woman. She was wearing a dress shirt and jeans with leather loafers. She led Camila back to her office and they both sat.
"So Camila, we have three people here who do publicity," Jade said, "I'm in charge of the department and I'll be handling everything, with Lauren of course, as far as promoting the album. We'll release the single and the video and I'll get everything on Spotify, Amazon, Apple, all the services. I'll also work on radio stations, podcasts, talk shows, djs, whatever I can do - and we'll promote you on LJM Records' social media accounts. We'll need to do a studio photo shoot, tomorrow if you can, for pictures to use on there."
"Yeah, whatever you need," Camila said, nodding as she tried to take in the information.
"Lauren said you don't have a personal publicist," Jade said, "I can give you some names if you want to explore hiring your own or you can do an addendum to your contract here. I have the paperwork for you to take. Lauren said you have a lawyer."
"Yes, I do," Camila answered.
"They should look over anything you sign, whether it's with us or someone else," Jade said, "There are some real crooks in the business."
"Ok, Jade I have a question," Camila said, "What exactly does a personal publicist do? Do I even need one yet?"
"Not really, we'll cover everything you need for this album," Jade answered, "I've searched your social media and you hardly post. If you stay off it, you'll be fine. If you get famous the social media platforms can be a rough place to be. Make sure your current accounts are private. If you want to have public accounts then you might want to have a publicist help with that."
"Do you think I should have public accounts?" Camila asked.
"It's a double-edged sword, Camila," Jade said seriously, "Fans love to feel like they have access to star's personal lives. It drums up interest and keeps you in the public eye. But you have to understand that everything you post will be dissected and trolled and it's not easy to deal with. One wrong tweet can be really bad for a career."
"I think I'll stay off for now if that's okay," Camila said.
"The choice is yours," Jade said, "Give me a sec."
She picked up the phone and talked for a moment then looked at Camila, "Tomorrow at 10 for the photoshoot?" Camila nodded and Jade set the time.
"That's all for today," Jade said, "I'll have more to talk about with you tomorrow."
"Okay, then, thanks," Camila said.
"You know your way out?" Jade asked as she walked Camila to the door.
"Yep, I'm good," Camila answered, smiling.
She walked down the hall but turned towards Lauren's office rather than the front lobby. She knocked softly on the door. She waited a moment until Lauren opened the door. Lauren's expression turned to a grin and Camila walked in. Lauren closed the door behind her and immediately pulled her in for a kiss. Camila smiled softly as she pulled from the kiss.
"That's a nice greeting," Camila teased, "Much better than waking up to an empty bed."
"I couldn't bear to wake you," Lauren said, "You were sleeping soundly. I left a note, though."
"I got it," Camila said, reaching into her pocket and taking out Lauren's spare key, "Here's your key."
"Thank you," Lauren said, slipping the key in her pocket and leading Camila to the couch. They both sat. "How did it go with Jade?"
"Good, I have a photo shoot here tomorrow at 10," Camila answered.
"Great, Jade is top notch, Camz," Lauren said, "She'll work with me to get your song out there."
"I liked her a lot," Camila said, "Although she's all business. Not a lot of small talk."
"I know, not really what you'd expect from someone in publicity," Lauren said, "But I think people appreciate it. There's no bullshit with her."
"I think I'm going to hold off on deciding about a personal publicist," Camila said.
"You don't need one yet," Lauren said, "And when you do it'll be easy to find one. Or to use our inhouse people."
"Okay," Camila said, "Is there anything else I should be doing?"
"Just this," Lauren said, leaning in and kissing Camila again. The kiss started slowly but was heating up when Lauren giggled and pulled back. "Okay, that's it for now."
"Tease," Camila said, smiling.
"Believe me, I'd like nothing more than to have sex on this couch right now," Lauren said, eyebrow raised, "But I have too much work to do."
"Raincheck?" Camila asked, grinning. Lauren laughed loudly and Camila smiled even wider.
"We'll see," Lauren said, standing.
"So, I'm going to Sofi's for dinner," Camila said, "But can I call you after?"
"Of course," Lauren said, giving Camila one more quick kiss before she left, "I'll look forward to it."