Page 37 of Loving Lauren
Sierra fell into work mode, moving around the shoot with her camera as if she were dancing. Lauren was in their element, too, touching up makeup and adjusting hair while the ocean breeze tried to undo all their work. They moved around each other as if they’d been working together for years, occasionally brushing shoulders or stealing glances when they thought no one was looking.
By noon, they were done and exhausted but happy.
Lauren stretched their arms above their head. “Okay, new rule. We didn’t fly all this way to work and sleep. Let’s explore.”
They wandered through this incredible outdoor market, taking in all the colors and smells. The energy was incredible. Street vendors were selling everything from hand-carved jewelry to fresh coconut water. Lauren stopped dead in their tracks when they spotted a small sign advertising free hula lessons.
“Oh my God, Sierra. We have to do this!”
Sierra backed away. “Are you joking? Me hula? I can barely walk in a straight line. I can twerk a little, and that’s literally it.”
“That’s complete bullshit!” Lauren grabbed her hand and started dragging her toward the instructor. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”
The lesson was a beautiful disaster. Sierra tripped over her own feet multiple times. A hip-shimmy by Lauren nearly resulted in a face-plant against a tiki statue. The instructor, this sweet older woman with flowers in her hair, gave them the most polite pity claps Sierra had ever witnessed.
They thanked her way too many times and continued wandering, eventually stopping at a food stand to try poi for the first time.
“It’s very... earthy.” Lauren was trying to be diplomatic, though their face screamed otherwise.
Sierra made a face. “You mean it tastes like someone mixed sand with disappointment.”
They both tried hard not to offend the sweet lady who kept offering them more samples.
Back at the resort, they had enough time to shower off the beach sand and change into fresh clothes before the evening shoot. Lauren touched up their makeup kit while Sierra transferred the morning’s photos onto her laptop. As if they had always done this, they moved around the room with a gentle rhythm.
Just before the light turned golden, they returned to the beach with their things.
The second shoot went even better than the morning one. Sierra expertly captured every perfect moment as Lauren flawlessly blended bronzer on sun-kissed skin. In between setting things up, they’d share smiles, eye contact, and light touches.
By the time they wrapped, the first stars appeared in the darkening sky. They were both sun-drunk, salty, and ridiculously happy.
Back in their room, they had every intention of recreating some of the romance from their last night together. They began showering together, rinsing away the salt and sand, until Lauren yawned mid-kiss and Sierra almost dozed off.
They toweled off, changed into soft pajamas, and fell into bed, utterly spent.
Sierra’s face planted into her pillow. “Tomorrow.”
Lauren curled up against her side. “Definitely tomorrow.”
And they were both asleep before either of them could say another word.
Chapter 21
The alarm went off like an air-raid siren at four-thirty again.
Lauren made a noise that sounded like a dying whale and pressed their face deeper into the pillow. “Remind me why we’re voluntarily torturing ourselves at this ungodly hour?”
“Because they’re paying us stupid amounts of money.” Sierra forced herself to sit up even though her entire body was protesting.
“Ugh. Okay, that’s a brilliant point.”
They stumbled through their now-familiar morning routine. Coffee that was too hot, equipment that felt heavier each day, and the sleepy fumbling around that somehow still got them out the door on time. The morning shoot went off without a hitch, but by the time they finished packing up all the gear, they looked at each other with matching expressions of pure exhaustion.
Sierra looked at Lauren. “We’re dead.”
“So incredibly dead.”
They both started laughing, which probably looked insane to anyone watching, but they were too tired to care.
