Camila walked into the hotel room and saw that the French doors to the veranda were open. She put down her purse and went outside to find Lauren sitting comfortably with her legs up on the ottoman looking out at the water. Lauren looked up with a grin and Camila leaned down and let their lips meet softly.
"How were your meetings?" Lauren asked as Camila pulled back from the kiss and sat in the chair next to her.
"Really good," Camila said, "I think we might have made some contacts that could turn into future collaborations. Your friend Ray is coming to dinner with us. It looks like we might get to work with Palm Tech after all."
"I haven't seen Ray in so long," Lauren said, "It'll be nice to visit with him."
"How was shopping?" Camila asked.
"Very productive," Lauren said, grinning, "I got a few new things for myself and I got a bunch of Christmas stuff done."
"Christmas?" Camila asked, giggling, "Thanksgiving is still three weeks away!"
"I would think you'd be one to get your shopping done early," Lauren answered, grinning.
"I usually do most of it online," Camila said, "And I don't have too many people to buy for so it's not that big of a deal."
"It becomes a much bigger deal when you have a kid," Lauren said, "This is the first Christmas where I think Lori will understand the whole Santa thing. I'm kind of excited about it."
"I hadn't thought of that," Camila said, smiling.
"So, what do you want to do with the rest of our afternoon?" Lauren asked.
"I was thinking we could go to the West End," Camila said, "Maybe get a cocktail, check out some of the stores over there."
"Sadly, I never really explored that area when I lived here," Lauren said, "I'd like that."
"You've never been to the West End?" Camila asked, "Are you sure you're gay?"
Lauren laughed loudly, "I think I proved that very well last night!"
"I guess," Camila said, giggling, "But really, how could you live in this city and be gay and not hang out there?"
"I told you I didn't do much partying," Lauren said, "And I wasn't really out in college. I mean, I dated women a little bit, but I didn't go to gay bars or any bars really, and then I had Lori. I don't know, Camz. I'm a nerd."
"Well, you're my nerd now," Camila said, standing and taking Lauren's hand and pulling her up, "And I'm gonna bring you to the West End."
Camila quickly changed into some jeans and a t-shirt and sneakers and they walked to the front desk. Camila asked the driver of the courtesy car to drop them at Lucy's, a restaurant with an outdoor bar overlooking the bay. They walked in and found an open bar table at the edge of the deck. Lauren looked around and smiled. Most of the patrons were women, and people were freely holding hands and being comfortable as couples. A waitress came to the table and they ordered drinks.
"What do you think?" Camila asked, noting Lauren's grin.
"I like this place," Lauren said, smiling, "For the most part I don't worry what other people think, but it's nice being somewhere where no one is judging. It feels good."
They had a cocktail and chatted about Camila's meetings. Camila's phone chirped and she picked it up to find an adorable selfie Dinah took with Normani, Ruby and Lori. She showed it to Lauren who immediately asked her to forward it to her phone as well. Camila grinned and asked Lauren for Normani's phone number. She created a group text for all of them and sent back a selfie of the two of them and their cocktails at the bar.
When they finished their drinks, they decided to walk and check out some of the small stores in the area. They happily perused art galleries and jewelry shops, avoiding the many t-shirt shops and piercing and tattoo salons that littered the area as well. They walked out of one gallery and Lauren looked ahead and chuckled.
"What?" Camila asked, unsure what had caught Lauren's attention.
Lauren raised an eyebrow and pointed to a store across the street. The shop looked unassuming from afar, but a peek into the window showed mannequins dressed in both lacy lingerie and leather and the window was painted with the words Sappho's Intimate Toy Shop.
"Come on, let's go," Lauren said, grinning.
"Really?" Camila asked, feeling herself blush, "Isn't that the whole point of the internet?"
Lauren giggled and took Camila's hand, pulling her along, "Don't tell me you're embarrassed after leaning me over that desk last night, Camz."
"Lauren!" Camila said, feeling herself getting even redder.
A bell rang as they entered the store and walked up a couple of steps into a room filled with lingerie and walls of sex toys. A slim woman with short hair and tattoos covering her arms sat behind a counter reading a magazine. She looked up at Camila and Lauren and smiled.
"Hey, there," she said, not too subtly looking them both up and down, "I'm Kate, this is my place. Let me know if I can help you find anything."
"We'll just look around," Lauren answered, walking over to an area of vibrators and dildos and picking one up to inspect it. She held it up to Camila, "What do you think?"
"I think I'd be happy to use anything in here with you," Camila said, looking at the vibrator and taking a breath, "So you can pick whatever."
"I can't believe how uncomfortable you are," Lauren said, unable to hide a grin, "We can go."
"No, I don't want to go," Camila said, steeling herself, "I think we could get some stuff. I just wasn't expecting this."
"Do you see anything that interests you?" Lauren asked, looking along the wall.
Camila moved along to the back wall and looked at a rack of leather harnesses, feeling one of them to check the texture.
"Really?" Lauren asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I mean, not if you don't want to," Camila said quickly.
"Oh, I want to," Lauren answered, lowering her voice, "Do you want to wear it or do you want me to?"
"I would be okay with both," Camila said, shrugging.
"Thank you, god," Lauren said, making Camila chuckle, as she ran her hands along the leather.
"The one on the left end is the best," Kate said, from her perch behind the counter. Both Camila and Lauren were startled by her voice. Lauren moved to the end and picked up the last one. It felt softer than many of the others.
"I'm sure it's the most expensive as well," Lauren said, looking at Kate.
"You get what you pay for," Kate said, shrugging, "The other ones are all fine, too, but if you have the money to spend that one fits the best, the leather is the highest quality. I highly recommend it."
Lauren walked to the counter and placed it down.
"So, you seem to have a lot of knowledge about these things," Lauren said, smirking, "What works best with it?"
Kate grinned and stood from her chair and walked around to the wall. She pulled down four different dildos and handed a couple of them to Lauren and a couple to Camila. She walked back around and sat down and picked up her magazine again. Camila was still beet red and Lauren decided to put her out of her misery. She took all four and put them on the counter. Kate looked up at her with a sly grin.
"I promise you'll find uses for all of them," Kate said, pulling out a nondescript brown shopping bag and placing the items inside as she rang them up.
"I have no doubt," Lauren said, looking at Camila with a sly grin. Camila managed a smile and Lauren grabbed her hand and interlaced her fingers. Lauren paid and they walked back outside.
"We should probably call a car and get back to get ready for dinner," Camila said, looking at the time on the phone.
"Is that why you suddenly want to get back?" Lauren teased, holding up the bag.
"I'm gonna have a really hard time getting through this dinner," Camila said, grinning and leaning in for a quick kiss.
**********************
Lauren and Camila got ready for dinner then walked hand in hand through the resort to the main building. Ed had reservations at the steakhouse in the resort so that everyone could meet easily. The maître d took them to the table where Ed and his wife, Cherry, were already seated with Ray Palm and his wife, Nora. Ray grinned widely and stood to give Lauren a warm hug. Everyone introduced themselves as Lauren and Camila took their seats.
"Lauren, it's been too long," Ray said, his voice friendly, "I heard you moved out of the city. Where are you now?"
"I live in Alta Vista," Lauren said, "I'm teaching chemistry at the community college and spending more time home with Lori."
"Gosh, how old is she now?" Ray asked.
"She's three," Lauren said, "She'll be four in February."
"Do you have a picture?" Nora asked.
Lauren took out her phone and pulled up the picture of Lori and Camila at the Harvest Fest right after Camila won Penguin. Ray took the phone and held it up for Nora to look at as well. They both smiled widely.
"She's adorable," Nora said.
"Pass it over," Cherry requested, taking the phone. Cherry looked at the picture and showed Ed and smiled at Camila. "It's a great picture of you too, Camila."
"Oh my god, is that the ring toss?" Ed asked, shaking his head.
Camila nodded and started giggling. Ed rolled his eyes, chuckling.
"What?" Cherry asked.
"A bunch of us drove to Alta Vista years ago when we were in college to go to the Harvest Festival," Ed said, smiling, "Camila organized the whole thing. When we got there, we started playing games and making bets. We were all a few beers in, mind you. Camila robbed us blind at the ring toss."
"You guys were a bunch of suckers," Camila said, chuckling, "you deserved it."
The waiter approached the table and Ed ordered a bottle of champagne to start. They agreed to share appetizers for the group and the waiter left with their order.
"So, Lauren, how do you like teaching?" Ray asked.
"I really enjoy it," Lauren said, "It's a very different challenge from research but it's equally fulfilling."
"Man, if you ever decide to go back to research, I'd love to have you at Palm Tech," Ray said, "We could work out something like Camila is doing with Ed. You could stay in Alta Vista."
Camila was beaming, looking at Lauren proudly. She knew Lauren was brilliant, but it was still great to hear it from one of the most intelligent men on the planet.
"Hey, I thought this dinner was about Whitmore Labs and Palm Tech working together," Ed said, grinning.
"I can do more than one deal at a time, Ed," Ray said smiling.
"Thanks for the offer," Lauren said politely, "But for now I'm happy where I am."
"If you ever change your mind, give me a call," Ray said.
The waiter came to the table and poured out the champagne and everyone clinked their glasses and took sips.
"Can we enjoy ourselves now and not talk business?" Cherry said, grinning.
"I'll drink to that," Nora said, raising her glass toward Cherry.
"I agree," Ray said, smiling, "I think even I'm science-d out for the day."
"So, Camila," Cherry said, with a sly smile, "How did you guys meet?"
"Well, it's kind of a long story," Camila said, "But basically, Lauren's daughter Lori saw me feeling sorry for myself in a diner and she gave me a picture she drew to cheer me up."
"Ok, that's the cutest thing ever," Nora said, smiling.
"Yeah, but we didn't really meet that day," Camila said, "I saw Lauren and Lori again in the park a few times when I would go walking. We eventually introduced ourselves but I still didn't have the nerve to ask for her number or anything..."
Camila looked at Lauren, who was listening closely and smiling widely at her.
"Then I saw her again at the community college," Camila continued, "I'm taking a painting class there... I told you this was a long story!"
They all chuckled.
"Go on," Cherry chided, smiling.
"So, we started having coffee together before my class and we became friends," Camila said, "One thing led to another and we finally started dating."
"It took us a little while to figure it out," Lauren added, smiling, "But it was worth the wait."
"It only took Ed 20 years with me," Cherry said, grinning.
"Good things come to those who wait," Ed said, shrugging at Cherry and making them all laugh.
Camila looked at Lauren and smiled and interlaced their fingers. She couldn't have been happier than she'd invited her to come for the weekend.
——-
Y'all want more update? Or tomorrow?