Thursday 15 December 2016
So today was the second day of the Christmas presents idea. Joey sat in the office checking out what he had planned for his gifts for Lauren. He was pretty sure that Lauren expected him to do silly gifts for his days... and yes, he was going to do a couple of silly ones but he had serious ones planned too. In fact he had very specific plans for the gifts he was giving her and he hoped she liked them.
His relationship with Lauren had been... eventful. Both of them had made mistakes; Lauren with her drinking and Joey with sleeping with her friends. In some ways he viewed his mistakes as the biggest out of the two of them. He now understood that her mistake was an illness and was a result of the many issues that had been thrown at her throughout her life. It had built up to the problem she'd had over a long period of time and by that stage she was reliant on the drink and didn't even realise it was a problem. His mistake had been a conscious decision... a poor one, obviously... but he chose to sleep with Whitney and Lucy. He had known how much sleeping with those two girls would hurt her and maybe subconsciously that was the reason he did it. He tried to convince himself it was because he was missing her... and he had been. He had even said it was because he didn't think she was coming back but in his heart he knew she would be back. If he was truthful, he had wanted to hurt her; it was spiteful, but he had.
He thought back to his gift from her last night... And how he'd almost screwed that up too by first of all forgetting that yesterday was the first day of Lauren's idea and then by nearly being late. The meal had been lovely, as had his gift. He made a promise to look into bonsai tree maintenance in the next few days. The dessert had been even greater. The dessert had been Lauren... and she had tasted divine.
He walked over to the safe and unlocked it; he pulled out his gift for her for lunch time. It was already wrapped and had been for several days. He smiled as he thought about her reaction when she opened it.
He put the gift in his desk, locking it inside. He sat down again and looked at the computer, seeing a couple of emails about the next few days in his inbox. He smiled and then he started working on the accounts as Phil wanted them before the Christmas break so he needed to do it this morning because the evening shifts were getting manic now, even though he had hired new bar staff, he was still covering more shifts than both he and Lauren liked.
His thoughts drifted back to Lauren; like they always did these days. He still clearly remembered the second hardest day of his life; almost three years ago. Boxing Day 2013. The only day harder had been the day he'd ended their relationship. He'd thought that was difficult and it had been. Then he left the square. And he'd asked Lauren to go with him. Their relationship had improved a little since Alice was arrested. For a few seconds he'd thought she was going to say yes. He'd really wanted her to say yes. He needed her to say yes. Then she broke his heart and said no. He understood why she did; he knew she would need her family around her, in order to get better but he was being selfish because he needed her too... and he'd hoped that she needed him.
So he'd left the square, sharing one last kiss with Lauren before he went. He poured every ounce of emotion he felt for her into that one kiss and then left. Remarkably changed from when he'd arrived in the square eighteen months earlier. Eighteen months and one girl had changed him, changed him forever.
*JL*JL*
You would think that everything was over for the two of them then... but never say never with Lauren and Joey Branning. Their relationship was always a challenge. Joey guessed it always would be and that thought made him happy. He liked a challenge and Lauren was most definitely that, at times. He was sure she would say the same thing about him too.
Anyway two weeks after he'd left the square, she turned up at his mum's house, a small overnight bag in her hand and said she'd changed her mind. She stayed for a couple of weeks, both of them re-affirming their relationship in the best way they knew how. Sex. It had always been an easy part of them being together. It was something they both enjoyed... and dare he say it, they were good at it too. It was the other stuff; the talking to each other, trusting each other, relying on each other, those were the bits they struggled with.
Those were the bits they'd been working on ever since. Lauren had, of course convinced him to return to Walford within the space of six months and they'd moved into Jack's old flat. He'd got a job running R&R's for Phil, since Roxy and Ronnie had departed for sunnier climates, and the two of them had settled into a happy, peaceful life.
They'd still had their ups and downs. Last Christmas in particular had been a challenge. Lauren, bless her, thought she was being subtle but she really wasn't. Joey had easily picked up what she wanted and when he didn't give it to her, well, it had led to a tense few days.
*JL*JL*
Joey settled back into his work, when he was finished he made his way home, smuggling the wrapped gift into the flat without Lauren seeing it. He hid it in their bedroom, on his side of the bed. He would get it for her again after they'd had their lunch.
He was in the kitchen getting it ready, when she got home from her counselling session. He glanced at her as she put down her things and took off her coat, trying to assess how it had gone. Sometimes she would come back from the meeting and she would be happy; almost at peace. Then there were days when she would be upset and needing comfort or she'd be angry. She turned around and smiled at him softly. He smiled back and when she walked over to him, he put his arm around her waist, pulling her against his body and she curled into him. Joey kissed the top of her head softly and finished heating the soup.
"Would you like your present now? Or lunch first?" he asked her softly.
"Lunch first..." she said, her face flushing because she knew that if she was to open the present now... lunch would become a dim distant memory.
"Sit down then, babe." He said, reaching up with his hand and brushing her hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear and seeing the soft smile on her face. She looked up at him, her eyes shining as she pressed her cheek into his palm. It was only when he turned back to the hob and picked up the saucepan to serve it up that Lauren moved away, going to sit down at the small table.
They ate the soup in a comfortable silence, Joey's hand holding hers as they lay on the table. His excitement was building at the thought of her opening his gift and he was sure she could tell because she kept looking at him intently. "That was lovely..." she whispered once their food was gone.
He smiled at her, "So I guess it's time for your present now then..." he said softly.
"Mmm..." she said, squeezing his hand and smiling at him.
He stood up, bending down to kiss her on the mouth deeply, "I'll be back in a minute." He breathed against her lips. He walked as slowly as he could force himself to, to their bedroom, reaching inside his bedside table for the gift bag. When he got back into the kitchen he saw that Lauren had tidied away and rinsed their bowls and the saucepan, ready to be washed that evening. He sat back at the table and slid the gift bag across to her.
She looked at him when she saw it, "I thought we were doing silly little gifts?" she said.
"We are... but I saw this and I couldn't resist..."
Lauren looked at the gift bag, seeing a small grey kitten sitting in a Christmas stocking on the side of the bag. She glanced at Joey again, seeing the anticipation... and was that a little fear... on his face. She opened the gift bag and saw a wrapped box inside. Her heart began to race because suddenly she knew he had brought something extravagant. Her gift from the previous day suddenly seemed silly. She pulled the present from the bag, feeling the weight (or lack thereof) of it in her hand. "Joey..." she whispered, glancing at him.
"It won't explode, babe..." he teased her.
Lauren tore into the paper and bit her lip when she saw the dark blue box inside, the tiny silver writing in the centre of the lid. She glanced at his face again, the darkness and intensity of his eyes briefly making her lose focus from what she was doing. She put the box on the table and undid the lid, inside was the grey spongy stuff that padded the contents and she pulled that out. She gasped as she saw what was nestled within. Two Swarovski crystal turtle doves. One of the doves had a metal heart hanging from its mouth with tiny crystals around it. "It's beautiful, Joey..." she whispered. "It must've cost a fortune."
"It didn't but if it had... you're worth it..." He said.
Lauren got to her feet and moved around the table, bending down and kissing him tenderly. He grabbed her around her waist and pulled her onto his lap, deepening the kiss. "I love you, Joey..." she said softly as they pulled apart, her hand raising and caressing the side of his face.
"I know that, babe..." His eyes searched hers, "I hope you know how much I love you too... I know I don't always show it... that I'm not the most open of guys... but I really do love you." He said softly. He lifted his hand and pushed her hair back behind her ear.
"You may not say it often, Joey... but I always know. You tell me all the time..." she whispered, as she turned her head and kissed the inside of his wrist, his hand still cupping her face. "Do you have to go back to work this afternoon?" she asked him softly, her eyes staring into his.
"No, I got the accounts finished this morning... I've just got to be back there to help them get ready for the party we've got booked this evening." He smiled at her, leaning forward and kissing her softly. "Did you have something in mind?" he asked.
"Maybe..." she whispered, her face flushing slightly. She looped her arm around his neck and crushed her mouth against his, feeling him respond in kind. Joey lifted her in his arms, brushing his hands over her body, easing her clothing from first her body and then his, all the while kissing her passionately. Lauren sighed as he sank into her, caressing her expertly in a way that only he had ever been able to do to her satisfaction. She was already close to the edge and when he got to his feet and carried her over to the kitchen worktop and sat her on it, she clung to him tightly, not wanting the moment to end. His sole focus became pleasuring her, his hands brushing over her body, his length moving gently in and out of her, his lips on hers. Lauren literally felt like she was on fire and she moaned into his mouth as he pushed her body so she was leaning back on the worktop. His hands cupped her boobs, thumbs brushing over each peak. He pulled away from her and stared into her eyes, his eyes so dark she could almost lose herself in them. Joey slowed the movement of his hips, seeming to get deeper with each achingly slow stroke. Lauren found she couldn't hold back any more and she screamed out his name, her back arching off the worktop as she gasped for breath. He came moments after she did, his face buried in the nape of her neck. They lay there, both trying to catch their breath. "See, you show me all the time, Joey..." she whispered into his ear and heard him chuckle.
"Happy second day of Christmas, babe..." he murmured into her neck, his voice just audible.
*JL*JL*
Lauren stood near the window, watching as Joey walked across the square, heading back to R&R's. She really was a lucky girl. She had the hot guy who loved her and cared for her deeply. So, she didn't have a ring on her finger. It was really just a bit of paper. It didn't mean anything if Joey didn't want that. She had him and that was what was important.
She picked up the box from the table and carefully lifted the two crystal birds out of it. She carried them into the lounge and put them side by side on a shelf on the wall. They looked perfect together. She could see now that it was the male bird that was holding the heart... almost seeming to pass it to the female bird and Lauren knew what Joey was trying to tell her with the gift. He was telling her that she possessed his heart. She smiled slightly, her boyfriend was a big softie... even if he only showed it to her.
She picked up her mobile and sent him a text.
Thank you again for my beautiful present. It is much more than I was expecting... Tomorrow we're back to a gift from me to you... it'll be ready for you when you get up for breakfast. I hope you don't have to work too late. Love you. L xx
Less than a minute later she got a reply from him.
I'm already looking forward to it. Love you, babe. J xx
AN: So there you go, Joey redeemed himself for his almost messing the whole plan up the previous day. And yes, those turtle doves really exist and are beautiful. Isn't Joey a sweetheart though? And they had hot sex in the kitchen... I sure hope they remembered to clean afterwards...
Crazy Chick 74 here, and this is my first chapter in this little story. Eastendersfan444 and I would be interested on your thoughts on the story so far.
Hope that you are enjoying the story.
R&R as always
Back tomorrow with… Three French Hens by Eastendersfan444.