Jeez, why would you…do this?”, I al

Jeez, why would you…do this?”, I almost shivered but got in to prove that I was just as though without flinching any more.

“Because I’m almost back to normal speed tomorrow while everyone else is slacking”, she smirked smugly.

“I always wondered why you never seemed sore even though you run more than most of the other players”, I let her know.

“Now you know my secret”, she winked at me and I felt my heart fluttering in a very strange way.

“Tell me this, though. Why did you want to be my roommate?”, I asked more seriously.

“I have to prove to you that I’m not an asshole, remember?”, she alluded to our text messages and the deal we made. “How am I doing so far?”, her smile softened and for the first time in a long time and I saw a sweeter side to her. My heart fluttered again. Shit.

“I’m not sure if torturing me with ice-water is the right way to win my friendship back”, I teased and saw her rolling her eyes. She splashed a little water right in my face and I was definitely startled at first.

“Stop! I’m serious”, I said but couldn’t hide a little laugh. “I’m going to drown you in here if you do that again.”

“I’m so scared”, she mocked me and suddenly shoved me lightly against the shoulder so I fell back and was submerged almost completely. Only my head was not being flooded with the freezing water. I wanted to yell but my lungs froze it seemed while all I heard was Camila’s adorable giggle.

“You’re dead”, my lips quivered a little as I got up and wanted to wrestle the other brunette down but she jumped out of the tub quickly. I was laughing now as well even though I would have murdered anyone else who would have done that to me. The slender one was running out of the bathroom but I followed her.

“Ok, ok, truce?”, Camila offered now that she knew I was about to have the upper hand. There was no denying that I was stronger than her physically. She was faster but I had a lot more strength than her and could have dragged her back to the bathroom if I wanted to. Her smile was wide and I couldn’t remember seeing her joyful and silly…ever. She was happy when we won but it wasn’t like this. I felt like I saw her in a completely new light.

“Here”, she held up a big towel as if she was waving the white flag symbolically.

“Ok, truce”, I agreed. “But I need that towel now because I’m seriously going to freeze otherwise.”

Camila walked over with a little hesitation but then smiled when she realized I was accepting her peace offer for real. She put the towel around my shoulders and I couldn’t help myself but admire the delicate facial features in front of me. Her gaze was lowered as she adjusted the fluffy fabric hugging my trembling body.

“You’re shaking”, she noticed and sounded truly concerned now. The brown orbs lifted to meet my gaze when I could have sworn I was close to a heart attack. The slender fingers dug into the towel and gripped it more firmly as if she needed something to hold on to. I swallowed the lump in my throat as the damn tension between us got worse with every time. After she had kissed me, I had assumed we had in fact gotten it out of our system but that I was wrong. So horribly wrong.

She looked like a deer in headlights but still eager somehow. I wasn’t sure what to do as her eyes focused on my lips for a second but shot upward again. Instinctively, I brushed my tongue over the dry lips to wet them. I saw something in her eyes I hadn’t seen before: fear. Fear of what she could possibly feel? Or fear that I would do something she didn’t want me to do?

I was at a point of no return by now, though. Slowly leaning in, I saw her holding her breath and decided to place a very soft kiss on her cheek instead of her trembling lips. The younger one breathed again and seemed to relax. My lips touched the warm skin again and very gently kissed a trail leading to her lips. When I reached the corner of those, I inhaled deeply and felt Camila slowly easing up.

“It’s ok”, I whispered to hopefully diminish whatever the other girl was so afraid of further.

Just a second after, my lips pressed against hers: full of tenderness and affection. It was the complete opposite to what Camila had done in Costa Rica. She had basically assaulted my mouth with her own. Not that I was complaining but I knew I needed a different approach this time.

Her lips were so wonderfully soft. The way her lower lip seemed to perfectly fit in between mine was making my head spin. There was a very subtle reaction on her part but I felt a little pressure. My hand lifted to join hers, still tightly clenching the towel. I stroked the back of her hand and felt her grip loosening. Although I didn’t want it to end, I couldn’t go any further without knowing that I wasn’t somehow forcing the situation.

So I broke the gentle kiss after a few seconds that seemed like hours to me. Camila was panting almost and I held on to her hand before meeting the brown eyes. They were filled with confusion but also tenderness.

“Lauren…I…”, she s