Page 18 of Loving Lauren
Lauren didn’t move. “Why? You afraid to slow dance with me?”
Sierra hesitated. “Maybe.”
Lauren stepped closer, hand extended. “Good thing I’m not.”
Sierra didn’t even try to play it cool. She slipped her fingers into Lauren’s and followed her onto the middle of the floor.
They settled into each other’s arms, finding a rhythm without even trying. Lauren rested her head on Sierra’s shoulder. After a long moment, Sierra pressed her cheek against Lauren’s hair, breathing her in. They fit.
Sierra held her as if she were both precious and fleeting.
Around them, their friends couldn’t help themselves.
“Y’all aredisgustinglycute!” Jett called.
Calliope whistled. “You’d better spin her, Sierra!”
“Shut up!” Sierra called back, but she never loosened her hold.
Lauren laughed against her neck. The sound was soft and private, like a secret just for her.
Across the booth, Raven lifted her glass. “Carry on. I live for a good rom-com moment.”
As the song wound down, Lauren pulled back slightly and tucked a strand of hair behind Sierra’s ear. Her eyes lingered, quiet and unreadable.
“Let’s grab another drink.”
Under the slow pulse of neon light at the bar, Sierra brushed Lauren’s arm by accident and felt it everywhere.
Lauren passed her a drink, fingers lingering longer than they needed to. Still no kiss. Not yet. But every glance, every brush of skin, said they both felt it.
Lauren didn’t just blend into the friend group. She filled the gaps Sierra hadn’t realized were still empty. The quiet ones. The ones between comfort and curiosity. It wasn’t just physical; Sierra wanted to memorize every version of her, and she would. If Lauren let her, Sierra would learn her shadows, her stutters, her favorite brand of chaos.
They spilled out of the club after two, still laughing, still glowing. A flickering streetlamp buzzed above them as if it were in on the joke. The night air felt like a reset. Crisp and full of leftover adrenaline. Sierra’s boots clicked against the sidewalk.
“I had fun tonight.” Lauren bumped her shoulder gently.
“Me, too.” Sierra tucked her hair behind her ear. Tried not to smile too big and failed.
There was a beat. Just enough time for a kiss, if either of them dared, but headlights cut across the sidewalk as their ride pulled up.
Lauren opened the car door with a small, teasing bow. “After you, Camera Girl.”
Sierra climbed in, heart skipping like it was scoring a teen drama.
They dropped Lauren off first. Before stepping out, she gave Sierra’s hand a gentle squeeze, quiet but deliberate. Then she disappeared through the lobby doors, and Sierra stared after her, lips parted, heart very much not okay.
Back home, she collapsed onto her bed still fully dressed. Salem jumped up beside her with a grunt and made himself comfortable.
Her phone lit up with notifications. Her cheek was still warm where Lauren had kissed it. She looked at Salem, eyes wide and dazed.
“What even is my life right now?”
The cat blinked once, unimpressed.
Sierra grinned and stared at the ceiling, the echo of Lauren’s laugh still buzzing in her ears.
Chapter 11
