Lauren kissed her cheek as they arrived at the car. “It was my fault. I engaged first.”

“No. You’ve never experienced them before, and actually, you kept a very cool head. Color me impressed, as always.” Carly popped the trunk and loaded them up.

“Wait.” Lauren stared.

Carly turned. “You okay? What’s wrong?”

Lauren took a giant step back. She pointed at the car. “This is it. This is the 911. The luxury vehicle you call when you have one hot emergency.”

Carly laughed, which took her mind off the airport incident. “Live and in person. Did you just call me hot or the car?”

“You are the hottest person I’ve ever seen in my life, but this car is something else.”

Carly touched her heart. “Don’t leave me for a car. How would I explain that?”

“Between you and the car, you win,” Lauren said, getting closer to Carly’s lips with each word, and ending with the kind of hello kiss they should have been afforded twenty minutes ago. “God, I missed these lips,” Lauren murmured. “Gimme more.”

“You are such a good kisser,” Carly said. She pulled away briefly. “I will never tire of the way you kiss. Do they teach kissing in stage management school?”

“Yes,” Lauren said simply, going back in with a dreamy sigh.

* * *

Sunshine for days. That’s the best way Lauren could describe Los Angeles that early November. You wouldn’t actually know it was fall unless someone pointed it out to you. The trees still stood tall, vibrant, and green. The blue skies seemed to scream, Spend the day outdoors, you fool. There was a chill in the air, but nothing near as harsh as Minnesota this time of year.

Lauren had traveled briefly to California when deciding where to pursue her career after college, ultimately deciding on New York City for a while. But this trip felt different. Low stress. Breezy. It was her second day in LA, and she planned to take it all in.

She woke just past eight, placed a kiss on a sleeping Carly’s cheek, and snuck out of bed. She looked back because she loved the way Carly slept, with a fist tucked just below her chin. Lauren shook her head at the serenity of the image and marveled at how it made her chest squeeze happily. She wanted to bottle and store this moment. Instead, she took a mental snapshot and resisted the urge to climb back into bed with the beautiful naked woman before her. There would be plenty of time for that ahead.