Camila wakes up the next morning and glances at the clock sitting on Lauren's dresser.
5:00 a.m.
She tries to get up, but realizes Lauren's arm is still wrapped tightly around her waist. She carefully removes the pale arm and lays it back down on the bed. After crawling out of the bed slowly, so she doesn't wake the green-eyed girl or the snoring dog at the foot of the bed, she steals a quick glance at the sleeping brunette. A smile tugs at her lips when she sees Lauren's dark hair sprawled all over her pillow and face. The younger Cuban can't help herself from walking over to Lauren's side of the bed and brushing some hair from her face. Before she realizes what she's doing, her lips press to the sleeping girl's forehead. After a beat, she pulls away and walks over to Lauren's desk that is situated in the corner of her bedroom. She digs out a pen and paper from one of the drawers and scribbles out a note. Satisfied with her words, Camila lays the piece of paper by Lauren's phone on the nightstand.
"Bye, Lo." She whispers before exiting the room. She shudders when she steps out of the apartment and her eyes land on the wall directly across from her. The one Austin had her pinned to just last night.
Lauren wakes up about an hour later and sighs when she sees her that her arm is touching the bed spread and not a certain brown-eyed girl. She sits up from the bed and stretches. While doing so, she notices the note by her phone. She quickly scoops it up and her eyes scan over the familiar handwriting.
I woke up at 5 and I figured I would just head back to my place to start the day. You looked too peaceful to wake, and I figured leaving notes is sort of our thing anyways so I opted on pen and paper as a way to bid you a good morning. I hope you have a wonderful day at work, Lo. Thank you again for taking care of me last night. You're always saving me. I kinda feel like I have my own personal Superman.
I'll be seeing ya,
Camila
Lauren smiles as she sets the note back on the bedside table. After taking a shower, feeding Cam, and eating breakfast, she heads to her job.
Camila, however, spends her quiet morning writing music. When her phone rings, she sets her notebook to the side and places it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Ms. Cabello, it's Eric at Epic Records. We had previously contacted you about coming to LA and pitching your music to the label. We were calling to see if this coming weekend would be a good time for you?"
"Uh-yeah this weekend would be great." She agrees eagerly.
"We know you are coming a long way so feel free to bring some friends out with you. Just shoot us an email with who you want to bring and we will get it all set up for you."
"Wow okay thank you!" The musician smiles into the phone. "I'll talk it over with my friends and get back to you at the end of the day."
"Sounds good, Ms. Cabello. We look forward to seeing you this weekend. Safe travels."
"Thank you, Eric. See you this weekend." She says before hanging up. Normani and Dinah are the first call she makes since they are together. Instead of getting an answer, she just gets screaming so she takes that as a yes. Ally is next, and she immediately agrees because apparently she is looking into scheduling a meeting with some big wheel who wants to make her pizza place a chain. Camila's finger hovers over Lauren's contact, but instead of pressing the call button, she just locks her phone. As a thank you for last night, she decides to get ready and bring Lauren lunch at her work. There she will ask her about California.
Putting on makeup deems difficult for the Latina when she realizes that normal makeup won't cover the black and blue bruises lining her neck. Instead of busting out the tattoo makeup, she just shrugs and leaves them exposed. It's not like she can hide them anyway, the green-eyed girl practically watched them form on her neck last night.
After calling an Uber and bribing it to stop by Lauren's favorite burger joint first, she makes it to the girl's workplace by noon. As soon as she enters the double doors, she is greeted by Lauren's very forward red-headed colleague.
"Well well well, I hope that you are bringing me lunch this time, beautiful." Bella walks over to the Latina.
"Hey again." Camila smiles shyly before holding up the paper bag. "And unfortunately this burger is already claimed."
"Are you? Claimed, I mean." Bella scans Camila from head to toe.
"Yeah-h." The Latina stutters.
"Looks like the lucky guy or girl likes it a bit rough." The red-head raises her eyebrows as she studies the bruises on the brunette's neck.
Camila clears her throat. "I better- the burger is getting cold so..." She points down the hallway.
"See you around, gorgeous." Bella winks before stepping aside and watching Camila walk down the hallway.
The Latina comes to a stop by the door that reads Mrs. Cabello-Jauregui. A smile creeps up on her lips as she knocks on the door.
"Come in!" She hears a raspy voice yell and she opens the door. Instead of finding just the green-eyed girl, she sees that there are a few students in the room as well. All of them turn their attention from their easels to the door as soon as Camila steps in.
Shit I thought she had a break after her second class, Camila thinks as she stands frozen at the door.
"I'll be right with..." Lauren stops mid-sentence when her eyes land on her favorite brunette. "Camz." She breathes out, a smile gracing her porcelain features.
"I'm so sorry to interrupt I thought you were on break right now." Camila smiles sheepishly and Lauren just makes her way across the room to the girl. She leads them out into the hallway so they can have some privacy.
"No, don't be sorry. I'm glad you're here." Lauren smiles. "They asked me to take up another class in the morning so unfortunately my lunch break is cut short."
"Well hopefully your burger won't get cold." Camila frowns as she holds the brown sack up.
"Well one perk of being a teacher is I get to do this." She sticks her head back in the door. "Alright guys, I know we still have about 15 more minutes left of class, but since you've all worked so hard for the past hour, I'm letting you go early today." The class erupts in cheers and Lauren ushers the brunette back into the room and over to her desk. "Give me a second." Lauren pulls out her desk chair for Camila to sit in before making her way to the door and seeing her students out.
Brown eyes scan the teacher's desk and they only stop when they land on a frame sitting on the right side of the desk. It's of her and the green-eyed girl. They are feeding each other cake and the all white ensemble they are sporting tells Camila that this picture is from their wedding day. She reaches across the desk and takes the frame in her hands. She runs her fingertips over the picture and smiles fondly at a memory that she doesn't remember, but wishes she did.
"If you were about to ask me to re-create that picture with you with the cheeseburger you brought me, the answer is yes." Lauren smirks as she pulls up a chair next to the desk.
"You read my mind." Camila chuckles as she sets the picture back down in it's original spot.
"Seriously, thank you for the lunch, Camz. I'm starving." Lauren's mouth waters as she digs the burger out of the bag.
"Just a thank you for last night." Camila smiles and Lauren, remembering the events of last night, scans the younger brunette's body for present bruises. She grimaces when she sees the bruising around her neck area. Before she can stop herself, she reaches out and tilts Camila's chin up so she can study the bruises better. She traces her fingertips across them with the same tenderness that Camila just used on the picture a second ago.
"They don't hurt." The younger brunette assures the teacher.
"You sure?" Lauren asks, her eyebrows knitting in concern.
"If I say yes, are you going to scoop me up in your arms and fly me to the nearest hospital?" Camila cocks an eyebrow in amusement.
Lauren chuckles when she realizes Camila is referencing the note that she left this morning when she referred to Lauren as her Superman.
"Maybe." Lauren winks as she removes the foil from around her burger and takes a bite.
"So I ran into your red-headed colleague on my way in." Camila states while leaning back into the chair. "She asked me if I was claimed."
Lauren rolls her eyes, making a mental note to tell the ginger to back the fuck off. "That woman has zero filter and zero shame."
"Agreed." Camila plays with the hem of her shirt momentarily before she remembers the reason she's here. "Oh! I forgot to tell you, I got a call from Epic Records this morning. They want me to come to California this weekend."
"Camz, that's great!" Lauren sets her burger down and takes a sip of her Coke.
"Yeah and that's not even the best part. They told me to invite some friends along so Lauren Jauregui, how would you like to accompany me to California?" The younger Latina smiles fondly at the girl across from her who currently looks like a chipmunk because she took too big of a bite of her burger. Lauren holds up her pointer finger and Camila just chuckles as she waits patiently for Lauren to swallow her food.
"Wait, really? I haven't been there in forever!" Her green eyes light up.
"Yep, all expenses paid too. Well besides food and Ubers." Camila informs her and Lauren nods in understanding.
"I'd love to accompany you to California, m'lady." Lauren fakes a British accent.
Camila doubles over in laughter. "That was really bad, Lo. Please never do that again." Camila snorts and Lauren puts her hand over her chest, feigning hurt. "Stick to art, you're better at art than imitating British people."
"How do you know that?" Lauren counters. "Have you ever actually seen any of my art?" She cocks an eyebrow.
"No, but I'd like to." Camila stands up and starts walking around the room. Her eyes scan the paintings hung on the walls. "These yours?"
Lauren nods and stands up to accompany Camila in looking at the art. The younger Cuban notices that most of Lauren's paintings are of landscapes.
"Do you ever paint people?" Camila turns to face the green-eyed girl.
Lauren just shrugs. "I mean I can, but I have a hard time getting people to sit still long enough to paint them accurately."
"Paint me." The musician pipes up. "I'll sit still long enough, I promise." She offers and Lauren smiles as she remembers one of her favorite moments with Camila.
Flashback
"Lauren, you promised." Camila huffs as she crosses her arms over her chest.
"Camz, I really don't think you can sit still long enough for me to paint you." Lauren sticks her tongue out at the girl.
"Fine. I guess I'll just sit in the art studio until you come and paint me then." Camila shrugs as she walks into the art building on campus, Lauren trailing behind.
"Camz ,it's like 9 o'clock at night! We can't go in there right now!" Lauren scolds her girlfriend. Lauren met Camila on campus to pick her up from her night class and the two decided to take a leisurely stroll of the campus.
"It's unlocked so I don't see anything wrong with it." Camila shrugs again while backpedaling into the building. Lauren huffs and follows the girl into the art building, where she spends most of her time. When they enter a random art classroom, Camila locks the door and pulls a chair up to the middle of the room.
"You aren't going to let this go are you?" Lauren raises an eyebrow.
"Nope." Camila smirks as she plops down on the chair.
"Fine. Give me a second to get all my paints ready." The green-eyed girl runs a hand through her wavy hair and makes her way to the back of the room to gather some supplies. After she has all her paints poured, she turns around and her jaw drops.
Camila is sitting on the chair... naked. Her knees are pulled to her chest, her arms slung loosely around her knees. Lauren swears her heart stops beating all together. This is the first time she's seen her girlfriend nude. They've only been dating for 3 months and Camila has always insisted on taking things slow.
"Thought I'd make it more interesting for you." The brunette drops her knees to the ground and crosses her legs, revealing her chest to Lauren. The younger girl smirks when she realizes Lauren's eyes have not left her own. "You can look, baby." Camila coxes and Lauren just nods her head. She drops her gaze and scans Camila's perfectly sculpted body, starting from her legs. Her eyes travel from her girlfriend's tan legs to her slim tummy and then to her breasts. The site makes Lauren subconsciously lick her lips.
"You're so fucking beautiful, Camila." The green eyes find brown ones once again.
"I'm nothing special, Lauren." Camila ducks her head and the green-eyed girl immediately sets her paint palette down and walks over to her girlfriend. She bends down and hooks her finger under Camila's chin and lifts it up so they can lock eyes.
"You're easily the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on." Lauren scans the brown eyes in front of her for the playfulness that she saw earlier, but all she finds is insecurity and it makes her heart ache.
"But my boobs are so-" She starts, but Lauren immediately dips her head down and cuts her off with a tender kiss. The older Latina places her free hand on her girlfriend's tanned cheek and rubs it with her thumb while her tongue darts into Camila's mouth. The latter releases a moan when their tongues brush and she slowly stands up from the chair. Camila spins them around and pushes Lauren down onto the chair before straddling her.
Lauren swears she's died and gone to heaven. She doesn't think it could get any better than this, but then Camila grabs her hands and places them on her breasts. The older girl's touch sets Camila's body on fire and she leans in and capture's her girlfriend's lips in her own. Lauren, gaining more confidence, starts to massage her girlfriend's breasts, which elicits a moan from Camila. When the moan falls from the younger Latina's lips, Lauren has to squeeze her legs together because her core is starting to heat up fast. Wanting to hear another moan slip from Camila's lips, Lauren leans forward and takes one of the girl's nipples in her watering mouth. Camila throws her head back when she feels a wet tongue swirl over her hardening bud. Her hands immediately come up to tangle in Lauren's brown locks as she subconscious rocks her hips into Lauren's in a desperate attempt to gain some friction and release some built up tension.
"You're so fucking beautiful, baby girl." Lauren pants as she releases the girl's nipple from her mouth. Camila immediately crashes their lips together, her hips still moving desperately against Lauren's. As soon as Camila gets the courage to lightly bite Lauren's lip, the green-eyed girl pulls back frantically. "Shit, Camz."
Camila tenses when she takes in her girlfriend's horrified expression. "Oh God did I bite down too hard I'm so-"
"No, baby, that was perfect and so sexy, but..." Lauren points to the door where a flashlight is currently lighting up the hall outside the room.
"Fuck." Camila hastily gets off Lauren and they both frantically grab at Camila's strewn clothing. Once they grab them all, Lauren reaches for the younger Latina's hand and drags her to the storage closet. "Lauren I don't think we both can-" The words die on her lips when Lauren throws open the door and steps in, immediately pulling Camila into her tightly. Once they are successfully as close as can be, Lauren reaches past Camila and closes the door.
The green-eyed girl doesn't know if she's panting heavily because they may get caught or because her girlfriend's perfectly sculpted nude ass is pressed firmly against her front. They both tense when the door to the room opens and footsteps enter the room. Camila immediately starts shaking and Lauren pulls her tightly against her, a hand on both of her hips. Her thumbs subconsciously rub back and forth across the tan skin under them in attempt to comfort the shaking girl in her arms. When the footsteps come closer to where they are hiding, Lauren turns her head and presses her lips to Camila's temple. She keeps them firmly planted there until the footsteps retreat further away from the closet and then exit the classroom. Deciding not to push their luck, both girls remain still just in case that was a test. After about 10 minutes, Lauren slowly removes a hand from Camila's hip and opens the door. She shuffles past the young girl and peeks her head out of the closet.
"Stay here and get dressed, Camz. I'll go check the hallway." Lauren plants a quick kiss on her nose before heading to see if the coast's in fact clear. Camila quickly throws her clothes back on and joins Lauren at the door.
"We good?" She whispers.
"I think so." Lauren replies as she leads them into the hallway. After tip-toeing down the dark hallway, they finally make it back out on the concourse.
"What a night." Camila lets out a breath as she turns to face her wide-eyed girlfriend. "Lo, I'm sorry I wasn't thinking and I almost got us both in trouble and-"
Lauren just shakes her head and shuts the rambling girl up with a kiss. Once she pulls back, she gazes into Camila's confused eyes.
"You're not mad?" The younger girl searches the green eyes looking back at her for any trace of anger, but she only finds tenderness.
"Mad? Camz, tonight has been one of the best nights of my life. It showed me that life with you will always be an adventure. You're my greatest adventure." Lauren steps closer and rubs the back of her hand over Camila's cheek. "Wanna know what else it showed me?"
Camila just nods, her chocolate eyes locked with the emerald ones in front of her.
"That I am so irrevocably in love with you, Camila Cabello." A grin overtakes the girl's features after she releases the three words from her mouth that she's been dying to say since she first met Camila. Lauren protrudes her bottom lip when she sees a tear slip out the side of one of her girlfriend's eyes. "Aww, baby don't cry." Lauren leans forward and kisses the tear away.
After the green-eyed girl leans back, Camila immediately grabs her face and starts planting kisses all over it. She starts with her cheek then moves to her forehead and then to her nose and finally, her lips. With every kiss she plants on her girlfriend's face, a tear leaks from her eyes. "I'm so fucking in love with you, Lauren Jauregui." Camila whispers in between kisses and when the green-eyed girl hears the three words, she picks Camila up and spins her around. After the younger girl's giggling subsides, Camila places a hand on either side of Lauren's face. "See, I told you painting me would be fun."
End of Flashback
"Lo?" Camila waves her hand in front of Lauren's face, effectively shaking Lauren from her thoughts.
"Yeah?" She looks at the girl in front of her with a wide smile on her face.
"Another memory?" Camila asks knowingly.
"Yeah, just remembering a really great night I had in college." She answers vaguely, still smiling at the girl in front of her.
"I'm sure you had a lot of those, huh?" Camila winks. "So just how many lucky girls got to experience the Jauregui charm?" She asks, while subtly biting her lip.
"Just one. There's always only been just one." She answers and Camila, feeling flushed under Lauren's unwavering gaze, turns her attention back to the art on the wall.
Lauren, however, keeps on staring at the art that's had her captivated since the first time she laid eyes on her.