Page 16 of Loving Lauren
The way Lauren deflected made Sierra want to ask more, but she sensed a boundary. Instead, she asked, “What made you choose makeup artistry? Was it always the plan?”
“God, no.” Lauren laughed, but it held a note Sierra couldn’t identify. “I was supposed to be a lot of things. But makeup... it was the first time I felt like I could help people see themselves the way I saw them. Like I could give them permission to be beautiful. I was obsessed with watching makeup artists online. Nikkie de Jager was huge for me. Seeing someone who was so confident and talented and herself. She made me believe I could do this, too.”
“Permission?”
“Some people need it. The world tells us we’re too much or not enough, and makeup becomes this armor. Or this revelation. Both, maybe.” Lauren’s eyes met Sierra’s. “Photography does that, too, doesn’t it? Shows people versions of themselves they didn’t know existed?”
Sierra felt that recognition again, deeper this time. “All the time. My art students especially... they’ll create something and look at it like they can’t believe it came from them.”
“Exactly.” Lauren leaned forward. “It’s not about the makeup or the camera. It’s about the moment someone realizes they’ve been holding back.”
Lauren tilted her head. “You’re easy to talk to. Like suspiciously easy. Are you a therapist in disguise?”
“Only if we bill by awkward monologue. I’ve got enough material for a ten-part series.”
Lauren laughed again and glanced at her watch. “I hate this part. I have a client in forty.”
“Real life ruins everything.” Sierra managed a small smile.
Lauren grabbed her bag, then paused. “I liked this. We should do it again. Not only for work.”
Sierra’s heart threatened to break through her ribs. “Yeah. I’d love that.”
Lauren reached out and gently touched her wrist. Her fingers lingered.
“See you soon, Camera Girl.”
Then she turned, walking toward the exit with all the devastating calm of someone who knew exactly what she was doing. The bell over the door chimed. Sunlight poured in, and she was gone.
Sierra sat there, clutching her chai of poor decisions, her brain looping the same phrase over and over.
She called me camera girl.
From across the café, the barista gave her a look that said,girl, yay. With a hesitant smile, Sierra offered an awkward thumbs-up to signal she was okay, and somehow, beneath it all, she was.
Chapter 10
Friday night. Sierra bit her lip and stared at her phone, thumb hovering over Lauren’s contact. Salem watched from the windowsill like a judgmental roommate who’d seen this whole thing unfold in slow motion.
“Okay. Worst case, she says no.”
She tappedcallbefore she could overthink it to death.
Lauren picked up on the first ring. “Hey, Sierra.”
That voice. Like soft velvet and static electricity. It lit up something in Sierra’s chest.
“Hey! I, um, was wondering if you wanted to come out tonight. Just a casual club night with my friends. No pressure.”
“Only if there’s dancing involved.” Lauren’s reply was smooth as always.
Sierra grinned. “Oh, there will be. See you at nine?”
“I’ll be there. Text me the details.”
As soon as she hung up, Sierra face-planted into a throw pillow with a muffled groan. “What am I doing?”
From the windowsill, Salem blinked once, slowly and deliberately, like he’d been asking himself the same question for weeks.
