Chapter 11:
"Who?"
James doesn't respond to my question right away. I stare away from him, trying not to get upset.
He gently places a hand under my chin and turns my head to face him. His face is inches away from mine. I stare into his eyes for a few seconds, getting lost in them.
James finally responds. "You," he says, and closes the small distance between our lips. He kisses me, and I smile against his lips. I feel him smile too before he pulls away briefly. "I've wanted to do that for so long."
I wrap my arms around his neck and smile at him. I lean in and kiss him, running my hands through his hair. He kisses back as he puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer.
We pull apart to breathe, and he gently pushes a piece of hair out of my face. He smiles at me. "I finally figured out who your song is talking about."
"About time," I jokingly say and give him a quick peck on the lips.
"Well, I had thought I figured it out on Thursday, and then a little birdie confirmed it for me…" he fades off, unsure if he should say who.
"Carlos," we both say at the same time. We look at each other for a second before bursting out into laughter.
"So then I just had to find the right time to tell you. But I've wanted to tell you for a while now."
I look at him a bit confused. "Why didn't you?"
He sighs, then smiles a bit and shakes his head. "I was intimidated by you. You're absolutely perfect, and for the first time ever, I was afraid to tell a girl how I feel."
I start grinning and hug him tightly, not wanting to let go. "Well, you don't have to worry about that now. Especially since I feel the exact same way."
We sit there for a minute just holding each other in a tight embrace. "I have to ask you something, Lauren. Will you be my girlfriend?"
I smile and laugh a bit in joy. "Of course, James! Do you even need to ask?"
I start to pull away from the hug as the door burst open. Carlos and Rachel are both standing there, and their faces immediately show disappointment when they don't see use in the middle of kissing.
"Really?" Rachel says as we stand up and walk out. "All you did was hug each other?"
I look over at James and see him smiling at me. I smile at him and respond to Rachel, "No, we didn't just hug. We also did this." I reach over to James and put both hands on his face and pull him down a little and kiss him. I hear people start cheering.
I pull away and he smirks at me. He chuckles, "That was pleasantly unexpected." I smile up at him, then reach for his hand and intertwine it with mine.
I look over at Rachel and Carlos, who are both standing there with huge smiles. "I so knew he likes you, Lauren! I told you so!" Rachel practically shouts at me, she's so excited.
I smile at her. "I guess you were right." I start walking back to my seat holding James' hand, which I swing back and forth happily. "Alright, let's continue with the game."
James sits down on the couch, and before I could sit next to him, he pulls me onto his lap and wraps his arms around me. I giggle at the affection he's showing me. I turn to look at him. "What was that for?"
He smiles at me. "Just showing my girlfriend the love that she deserves." He gives me a kiss on the cheek, and I blush slightly.
I look over at Rachel and Carlos as they sit back down in their spots. "Rachel, you're next."
She laughs as she jumps off the couch and walks to the bowl. "I already figured you would make me go next." She pulls out a piece of paper and reads the name. She smiles and looks over at Carlos. "Alright, let's go Carlos."
His jaw drops in surprise, but then he quickly leaps off the couch, smiling like an idiot. He runs over to the closet, and Rachel follows after him, laughing at his eagerness.
I lean my head on James' shoulder and smile. "Five bucks their going to end up kissing."
"Deal," he says and kisses the top of my head. "I don't think they will."
We sit and talk to everyone while we wait. After the seven minutes are up, Camille walks over and opens the door. Sure enough, they are kissing.
I laugh and turn to James. "Ha! I was right! You sir, owe me five bucks."
He starts to lean forward and I can see him looking at my lips. "How about I pay you a different way?" He kisses me sweetly. When he pulls away, he keeps his forehead resting against mine.
"Ok, that payment works," I say and smile. I kiss him quickly before pulling away. This night is so fantastic. James is now my boyfriend… I smile as I think about that.
And, the night has just begun.
~BTR~
I wake up and keep my eyes closed, and snuggle up against my pillow. I run my hand down the length of it and feel the well-defined abs. I smile and lay there for a minute, trying to go back to sleep.
Wait… Why does my pillow have abs?
I slowly open my eyes and squint against the light streaming in my windows. My head starts pounding as I look around. And I see that what I thought had been my pillow, was really the shirtless chest of James.
I sit up right away, trying to remember what happened last night. I remember being with James in the closet, and finding out that he likes me back. But I have no idea how I got in my room, and why James is laying there shirtless.
I glance down at him, and see the sheet is low enough that I can tell he's naked.
I jump off the bed and start pacing around my room, panicking. "Oh, god, what happened last night?" I mumble to myself as I go around and quickly get a shirt and sweatpants on.
I hear a buzzing come from my dresser. I walk over and see my phone vibrating with a call coming in. "Hello?" I say as I answer.
"Lauren, where are you? You were supposed to be at the studio an hour ago!"
I pull the phone away from my ear as Kelly yells. "Sorry, I just woke up!"
"Well why were you still sleeping? It's almost two," she says in a bit of a calmer voice.
"I had my party last night." I sit down on my bed, and the panic really starts to hit me. "Kelly, I don't remember what happened!"
"Ok, Lauren, relax," she says and I hear a door close from her side. "I'm sure nothing really bad happened."
I hesitate to answer and look over at James. "I wouldn't be so confident about that," I finally respond.
"Oh boy, what's wrong?"
I start stuttering, trying to figure out what to say. "James," I finally end up just saying.
"James?" she asks confused. "What about him?"
"He's sleeping in my bed right now. And he's naked."
She doesn't answer right away, but I can hear her start her car. "Ok, I'm going to be over there in a little bit to help you sort things out. You try to talk to James, ok? Figure out what happened."
"Please hurry," I say and hang up the phone. I set it back on my dresser, and then go back to my bed. I lay down next to James, trying not to think about what could have happened last night.
I look at him and can't help but smile at him. He looks so cute as he's sleeping, his hair slightly tussled and a slight smile turning up the corners of his lips.
I run my hand up and down his abs, admiring how well defined they are. After a few seconds, he grabs my hand and brings it up to his lips, kissing it. He smiles and keeps his eyes closed.
"Morning," I say quietly.
"Hello, beautiful." I smile at his comment. "I had the craziest dream last night that after the party, you and I…" he trails off as he opens his eyes and looks around my room. He looks at me, "That really happened?" he says slightly shocked.
I shrug my shoulders the best I can while laying on my side. "I don't know, James. You tell me."
He covers his eyes with his arm and shakes his head. "Oh my god, I can't believe that really happened. I'm so sorry, Lauren."
His tone of voice surprises me, how upset he sounds. "James, what happened last night?" I ask, wanting him to confirm what I'm thinking.
He just shakes his head and lays there. I sigh and move his arm from his face. With my other hand, I turn his face so he has to look at me. I stare into his eyes and know the answer to my question before I ask. "We had sex last night, didn't we?"
He nods his head and my breath catches. This is exactly what I feared. "I'm so sorry, Lauren. I was drunk and not in full control of my actions. And you were kinda throwing yourself at me, which made it really hard for me to not agree."
I sigh and lean back against my pillow, covering my face with my hands. "My first time, and I don't even remember," I mumble to myself.
"If it makes you feel any better, that was my first time too, and I don't entirely remember it either."
I don't respond and I hear him sigh. I can feel him move closer to me on the bed. "Lauren, look at me." I don't move, so he grabs my hands from my face and holds on to them. "I'm sorry that it happened like this. But I can't go back and change the past, so we'll have to live with it."
"I know," I say and sigh. "Well, at least it was with you and not some random guy." A thought hits me, and I'm surprised I didn't think of it soon. "Um, James?"
"Yeah?" he asks and smiles at me.
"Did you, um, use a…" I blush as I get embarrassed.
"Use a what?" he says, smiling at me, encouraging me to continue.
"Um, a condom?" I finally say and scrunch my face, super uncomfortable.
He laughs at me being so reluctant to ask that. "It's not funny, James!" I say and lightly smack his arm.
He stops laughing and looks at me. "You're right, it's not. But to answer your question, yes, I did. I at least wasn't that drunk to not remember to use one."
"Oh, ok. Good." I lean against his shoulder, and he wraps his arms around me. I lay there for a couple minutes, not really knowing what else to say.
"Anything else happen with me last night at the party that I should know about?" I ask him, a bit curious since I can't remember a good majority of the party.
I look up at him and see him scrunch his face. "Well, we played spin the bottle at one point. You had to kiss Carlos, and you both were so drunk that you kind of made out with him."
I lift my head off his chest to look at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding me?"
He shakes his head. "That's not all. Later during truth or dare, you decided to pick dare, which wasn't a good idea. So the Jennifers dared you to give Logan a lap dance." The look on his face shows that he is quite jealous.
I groan as I lay my head back on him. "That's so embarrassing. Hopefully they were both so drunk they don't remember it."
"Most likely. Just try not to do that again; I might end up punching them in a rage of jealousy." He chuckles a bit and I can feel his chest shake.
I lay next to him for a few minutes, content in his arms. I smile as he starts to run one hand through my hair. We don't say anything for a bit, just enjoying being in each other's arms.
"Hey, Lauren?" James finally says.
I smile and look up at him. "Yeah?"
"This won't affect you being my girlfriend, will it?"
Instead of answering, I lean up and kiss him. He smiles as I pull away from him. "Does that answer your question?"
"Yes. Yes it does," he says and kisses me again.
After we pull apart, I jump of the bed. "Now, you need to get dressed because Kelly is going to be here in a few minutes to help sort everything out from the party."
I walk around the room and gather his clothes that were thrown all over. I toss them to where he's now sitting up on the bed. "Here, I'll turn around while you get dressed."
"You don't have to turn around," he says and winks at me. "You've already seen me naked."
"Yes, but I don't remember. So I'm turning around," I say while blushing. I turn and face my door and can hear him moving around.
"Are you almost done?" I ask after a minute, getting a bit impatient.
He doesn't respond. Instead, he wraps his arms around me, and kisses my cheek. "Yep."
"Ok let's go see how trashed my apartment is," I say as we start walking out of my room. We walk into the main area, and it's not too messed up. There's food and cups everywhere.
But then I see where the guys are all sleeping, and I can't help but laugh. Carlos is on the counter, surrounded by cups. Kendall is half on the couch, with his head on the floor. And Logan is just lying in the middle of the floor.
I walk over to Carlos as James goes over to Kendall. I shake him to wake up, and he jumps, knocking over all of the empty cups. He groans and holds his hands to his head as his hangover hits him. "Morning, sleepy head."
James wakes up Logan as Kendall looks at his phone. He gets a panicked look, and immediately starts calling someone. I look at him confused.
As he starts talking to the person, and I figure out it's his mom. Rachel walks out of her room, and she stretches her arms above her head as she yawns. "That was some party last night. I know someone sure had a lot of fun," she says and looks right at me.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I ask her, but she just smirks and starts texting someone on her phone. When she stops, my phone vibrates with a text. I open it and see it's from her. "I could totes hear you and James last night."
My jaw drops open and I look at her. She burst out into laughter at my response. The guys look at her confused. She just shakes her head and responds, "Nothing, nothing."
She goes back to her phone and I wait for her text. James comes over and wraps his arms around me. My phone buzzes and I open the text right away. "I don't really care, though. I'm just so happy for you! And I'm totes jealous of you, James is quite a hottie."
I start texting my response as James says, "So when is Kelly going to be here?"
I finish saying, "Back off! He's mine ;)" to Rachel and look up at him. "Hm? Oh, she should be here any minute now."
The guys walk over and sit down at the counter. "So you guys are now dating?" Kendall asks, and I can see a bit of sadness in his face.
"Yep, we are," I reply and smile.
I glance at the text I just got from Rachel. "BTW, nice hickey."
I clutch my hand to my neck and start walking quickly to my room. "I'll be right back, just got to go to the bathroom!" I shout as I run into my room.
I go to the mirror and stare at my neck. Sure enough, right there is a large hickey. I grab my make up and start putting concealer on it. "Oh my god, why didn't James say anything to me?"
"Why didn't I say what?" he asks, and I jump, not knowing he was there.
I glance at him in the mirror. "Why didn't you say anything about my large hickey?" I ask and point at my neck.
"Oh, um, well, I-" he's cut-off by the sound of Kelly entering the apartment.
"Lucky you, Kelly's here." I glance at the mirror, and decide that it's covered up enough. "Oh well, let's go."
We walk back out and James grabs my hand. I smile up at him, and then look over at Kelly.
"There you are," she says and looks at me and James. "Everything fine?"
"Everything is great," I say and smile at her.
"Ok, good. Now, I told you uncle that you weren't feeling well, and that's why you couldn't make it today. But he's going to expect you to be there tomorrow."
I go up to her and hug her. "Thank you so much! Now, can you help me clean up around here?"
We all start going around the apartment, cleaning up the spilled food and all of the cups. By time we end up finishing, it's 4:54.
"Thanks so much for helping, Kelly," I say as she starts to leave.
"Oh it's no problem. I'll see you tomorrow," she says and leaves.
I turn to look back at the guys. "We would love to stay, Lauren, but my mom really wants us home now," Kendall says.
Kendall, Carlos, and Logan all start walking to the door. "Alright, I'll see you guys tomorrow," I say as they leave.
Rachel has gone over to the couch as James walks up to me and hugs me. "Tomorrow after you get done at the studio, we're going to go on a date, ok?"
I look up at him and smile. I wrap my arms around his neck. "Can't wait." I stand on my toes and kiss him.
He smiles as we pull apart. "Bye, Lauren," he says and leaves the apartment.
I smile about kissing him. I still can't believe I'm dating him. I walk over to the couch, smiling like a fool and sit down next to Rachel.
She turns to me and smiles. "Details, now!"
"About what?"
She smacks me lightly on the arm. "You know exactly what I'm talking about! What happened with you and James last night in your room?"
"Oh, that," I say and chuckle at her. "Well, I can't really give you details, because I don't even remember what happened. It's all a blacked-out blur."
She frowns a bit at this. "But did you and James talk about what happened?"
I sigh before responding. "Yes, we did. And apparently, we had sex."
She squeals out of excitement. "Really?" I nod my head. "Too bad you can't remember, I bet he looks really hot naked."
"Rachel!" I say and hit her lightly.
She laughs, "I'm just messing with you, Lauren!"
I smile at her. "Of course. So what do you want to do tonight?"
She shrugs her shoulders. "Eh, let's just watch some movies."
"Sounds good to me," I reply and jump of the couch to put movies in and get popcorn.
The rest of the night we spend watching the movies Bridesmaids and Friends With Benefits, and laugh our butts off until we fall asleep.
