It was ten o'clock. Just another dead Tuesday in a string of them. Jim Keenan was, again, Camila's only customer. Still, Camila saw the plus side. If she got rid of Jim she could at least close early.
"One more for the road, Jim?" Camila asked, hoping he might get the hint.
"Maybe, doll," Jim said, his raspy voice slurring only slightly. "If I can finally convince you to come home with me."
Camila smiled at their familiar routine.
"I'd give you a heart attack, Jimmy," Camila said with a wink as she poured the shot of bourbon in front of him.
"Probably." Jim nodded. "But that's at the top of my list of ways to go."
Camila laughed as she emptied the bottle, noting she'd have to get another one from the back.
"Besides," Jim continued, "you're not still seeing that Mendes kid, so what, you finally decided to date what's-his-name? Matthew?"
"You're the only guy in my life these days Jim," Camila said with a wink, trying to cover up what her statement meant. It was true, Camila wasn't seeing anyone. After Lauren, Camila had tried to get into the swing of things again. She'd gone on a few dates in the first month, but both guys, while nice, seemed utterly pointless to Camila. The old her might have taken one home just to clear her cobwebs, but Camila couldn't. It just didn't feel the same anymore. Her hands and her battery-operated toys had been her only lover for the better part of a year now and her sexual thoughts were consumed by her night with Lauren.
Camila had tried to break the habit. Tried using her old masturbatory fantasies. But each time they'd left her frustrated and, when she'd break down, she'd again find Lauren in her minds eye. Not just in one of the acts they'd engaged in but in new ones. Fantasies that Camila found herself having as she invariably would continue masturbating.
That had been one of the reasons for the package she'd sent. She'd hoped that shooting herself dressed up for some of those fantasies might get them off her mind. Cooking for Lauren before sex on the kitchen floor. Lauren coming home to untie that yellow ribbon. Even the bridal lingerie was the result of the idea of a hetero fantasy Camila used to have being transferred over to Lauren. Camila had joked in bed about Lauren turning her into a lesbian, but, more and more, Camila was starting to believe it was true. Even scarier, Camila didn't even mind the thought so much.
That was why now, a few days away from Lauren's return, Camila was so tense. She didn't know what she wanted to happen. The thought of Lauren showing up in the bar in a few days terrified her. The thought of Lauren not showing up terrified her. Camila had no idea what to expect or how she'd react. She felt like she was back in school with a book report due and she hadn't read the book.
"I'm going to go get another bottle from the back, Jim," Camila said, letting the business of running her bar interrupt her sexual identity crisis for the umpteenth time in the last few months.
Camila made her way to the back. She stood there for a second, thoughts of Lauren again distracting her from the simple task, before she shook her head clear and grabbed a bottle. She made up her mind to get good and plastered once she kicked Jim out. She stood in the cool back room of her bar for a second before walking out to something she hadn't expected.
Standing in the doorway, large green bag slung over her shoulder, was Lauren.
At first Camila thought it was a mirage. Some sort of sex-starvation induced hallucination, but that idea was quickly dismissed. It was Lauren. Tall, well built and pretty, her raven black hair still in the ponytail beneath her camouflage cap and dressed in fatigues. There was no mistaking the girl she hadn't managed to stop thinking about for five consecutive minutes for lunch. She looked harried and exhausted, but no less appealing for it. Absence, it seemed, had really made the heart grow fonder.
"Days," Camila blurted, trying to think of what to say but not finding much. Eventually her mouth and brain reached some sort of tentative agreement and a passable sentence left her lips, "You're not supposed to be back for days."
"Caught an earlier flight," Lauren said. Immediately Camila could see that fierce, intense desire in Lauren's emerald green eyes. The same that had made her feel so uncomfortable the first time she saw it and that had made her feel so sexy when they'd fucked. Camila felt her heart skip a beat and her mouth dry. "Don't mind, do you?"
"No, I'm just not ready is all," Camila sputtered. This was true. In her fantasies, Lauren had come back to a perfectly made up Camila who'd planned ahead. Camila had bought the white bridal lingerie for their next night together. Candles, roses, a bubble bath together, other things. She had planned it all out in her head. "I look like a mess."
Lauren walked into the bar, a broad grin on her face.
"Camila, you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Lauren said as she leaned forward and passionately kissed Camila. It was a repeat of their kiss at the bus station, hungry but restrained. Camila felt herself melt into Lauren's strong arms. The kiss lasted longer this time, breaking only when Camila felt the need to break for air.
"Even if you're a bit of a tease for that fucking package," Lauren winked as she looked down at Camila.
"I thought you'd like it," Camila said slyly.
"I'm here, aren't I?" Lauren said plainly.
Looking up at Lauren, being held in her arms, remembering Lauren's power and performance in the bedroom, all doubts were erased from Camila's mind. She knew exactly what she wanted.
"I was thinking, by the way," Camila said. "You know how I said I should set a time limit on your nights?"
Lauren nodded. "I know, I know, we went a long time last time but I'm thinking--"
"I'm thinking I've set a fair one." Camila said, interrupting Lauren with a determined voice. "I'm thinking weeks. Months. Hell, years and years and years if you're inclined."
Lauren smiled broadly. Camila could instantly see that her feelings were reciprocated, fully and completely. Lesbian, straight, Camila didn't give a shit about labels any more. All she knew was that she wanted to be with Lauren, now and for as long as she could see into the future.
"That's a lot of fucking," Lauren said. "Might even wear me out."
"Well, you know," Camila shrugged, "I figure there'll be breaks for eating, sleeping, work, taking me to the movies, things like that."
"Sounds good to me," Lauren said with a wink. "Because I meant what I said you know, I loved fucking you."
The words hung in the air for a second. Both women knew exactly what Lauren meant.
"Me too," Camila said softly, looking down at her feet. Both women knew what Camila meant as well. As far as romantic moments went, it may not have been traditional but, Camila had to admit, it fit her and Lauren pretty well.
"Soooo," Lauren said, motioning her head upstairs. Camila just nodded and turned back towards the bar.
"All right Jimmy, it really is time for you to go now," Camila said firmly. The older man rose unsteadily to his feet and walked towards the door.
"Alright, alright, what's so all-fire important that it's got you so worked up?" Jim asked as he made his way past the two women, seemingly not noticing their embrace.
Camila considered the question, looked at Lauren, then back at Jim.
"My girlfriend is back from overseas and wants to fuck the hell out of me," Camila answered.
Jim grabbed his hat and coat from the rack before opening the heavy door into the cool night air.
"Well, as reasons go..." Jim said with a bit of a twinkle before quickly and silently disappearing into the night.
As they watched him leave, Lauren wrapped her arms around Camila's waist, kissing her neck softly from behind.
"Now you, missy, have about thirty seconds to get that gorgeous ass of yours upstairs," Lauren said as she placed a kiss just below Camila's ear and began groping the soft body that had been on her mind for far too long.
"Mmmm," Camila moaned as she felt Lauren's hands on her breasts. "Is that an order?"
"It is," Lauren confirmed.
"And if I don't comply, I assume I get punished severely?" Camila asked breathlessly.
"You do," Lauren said, biting her ear gently. Her words hung in the air several seconds without any movement from Camila . "Well?"
"I'm thinking. I'm thinking."
And with that, Lauren leaned down and threw Camila over her shoulder, lifting her easily, and made her way to the small staircase to their apartment amid Camila's delighted shrieks of laughter.