Reality Love Bites
Chapter 11
Kenzi couldn't believe the state her friend was in when she returned from her gig. Bo lay slumped on the couch surrounded by empty beer bottles and junk food. She was still in her loose fitting yoga pants and black tank top that she had slept in the night before. The front of her black top was coated in the orange dust from the gigantic packet of cheeto's resting in her lap. Kenzi put away her DJ equipment before quietly going about cleaning up the disaster area that her friend had created around her.
She left the television on, noticing that Bo had been watching yet another chick flick and she noted the pile of tissues that the pining woman had tossed into the open cardboard box with a partially eaten extra cheesy pepperoni pizza within. Screwing her nose up, she just closed the lid and dumped it straight into the garbage shoot out in the hallway of their apartment building. Bo had been forlorn and despondent since arriving home a couple of days ago. Kenzi had been surprised to hear her best friends key in the lock and had realised upon seeing her friend's face that Tamsin's plan to get Bo and Lauren together had failed. She had crossed the area between them in seconds and had wrapped her arms around Bo. She had tears in her eyes as Bo dropped her bags and had gripped Kenzi tightly as she cried and mumbled about how she had probably made the biggest mistake of her life.
Kenzi had led Bo to her room and had held her until she had cried herself into complete exhaustion and had fallen asleep. She had had to wait until late this afternoon to actually get a coherent explanation about what had happened. She hadn't been surprised that Bo's moral compass had come into play and had forced the brunette to make what much have been one of the hardest decisions she had ever made. It was the fact that she hadn't been able to see Lauren before she left, that she hadn't been given the chance to explain why she was leaving the show, that weighed on Bo so heavily.
The brunette didn't doubt her or Lauren's feelings for one another and wholeheartedly believed that they belonged together. No, it was Bo's fear that Lauren would think that she had run away from their love because it had been her that had told Lauren that the show hadn't mattered and that whatever they had to do to get to the end wouldn't mean anything. Bo also had no doubt that Vex would throw gasoline on the fires of confusion and doubt that Lauren would have at her abrupt and sudden ejection from the house.
Bo woke up and peered at Kenzi through bleary eyes when she lifted the half eaten bag of cheeto's off her lap. "You're back. What time is it?" Bo rubbed her eyes and looked down at her top. Bo started to brush the crumbs off her chest halfheartedly.
"This has to stop, Bo." The brunette didn't respond, but Kenzi knew her friend had heard her because she saw the muscles in Bo's jaw twitch. When Bo stood up and looked set on heading straight to her room without a word, Kenzi decided that she had to put on the tougher gloves, because the gentle and supportive gloves weren't helping Bo get out of her funk. "You need to stop feeling sorry for yourself and you really need a shower, you smell! Do you really think Lauren would be impressed by this!"
That made Bo spin around, "Don't, Kenzi. I'm warning you..."
"You are better than this. Stop wallowing in self pity. You did what was right and Lauren will search for you when this is all over or you will search for her. Either way you will see her again and you will get your chance to explain what happened."
"You look so sure. You can't know that. She may believe whatever Vex says to paint with me in a bad light. She probably hates me by now."
"Vex? What does the annoying producer have to do with anything?"
Bo threw her hands up in the air. "He hates me! He thought I was just in it for the money. But I'm sure my confession that I was in love with another contestant will have him determined to crush me completely. Tamsin is his best friend and the best way to hurt me for deceiving Tamsin will be to go after Lauren."
"I think you are over reacting, Bo Bo. That your emotions are just so crazy right now that you are creating scenario's in that head of yours."
"It's his show and I made a mockery of it."
"I still don't think..." A knock at the door cut off Kenzi's next statement. "Who the hell is knocking on our door in the middle of the night," she said as she looked into the peephole before opening the door to the bored looking man holding an envelope. She signed for the delivery before closing the door and handing the hard cardboard envelope to Bo. "It's for you."
Bo tore open the envelope with a frown and pulled out the smaller envelope within. "It's from the studio," Bo said as she began to read.
Kenzi watched her friend visually pale before her eyes. "What's it say?"
"Well, I guess you were right about what Vex would do." Bo looked up at her friend. "They want me to come back to talk about the legal ramifications for breaching my contract. At least if he is focusing on me Lauren should be safe." Bo screwed the letter into a ball and tossed it in the direction of the bin. Want a free plane ticket?" Bo asked, shoving the ticket at Kenzi.
"You're not going?"
"Let him sue me. I have no job and my savings are dwindling by the day! I have nothing that they can take from me."
Kenzi had no doubt that this was a false way to get Bo back on the show. She felt that Tamsin was behind this telegram because she had also breached her contract by being found in the closet with Hale and she hadn't been handed a letter threatening legal action. "I really think you should get on the plane, Bo."
"Why? I don't deserve to be punished for falling in love. It's not like I planned it."
"I know you didn't, Bo. But what if the same thing is happening to Lauren. Tamsin made you tell her who you had fallen for in the house, right?"
"Yeeaahhh," Bo said the word slowly as her mind quickly switched to Lauren.
"Well, what if Tamsin told Vex and he has used the information to create more drama for the show and has called her out in front of the remaining contestants. What if he plans to make an example of you both just because he thinks it will bring more ratings. You should be standing beside her Bo and even if Lauren hasn't been outed, you may be able to get a message to her or find out some contact information for her."
"I can explain why I left and she can see I did it for her, because I love her." Kenzi watched her friend transform before her eyes and she couldn't help but smile. Her Bo was back and filled with that spark that always had her making the most out of every opportunity in her life. Bo was a force to be reckoned with and her open and honest heart was one of the reasons she had become friends with in the first place. Bo evened out Kenzi's wild and reckless behaviour, they were two parts of a whole. "You're right, Kenz. Either way I need to try to get back to Lauren and make sure she knows that I love her and want us to be together when this stupid show is over." She grabbed the ticket from Kenzi's hands and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you for being the bestest friend in the entire universe." Bo pulled back a look of determination and hope on her face as she gazed at her friend. "I'm going to go pack a few things. Will you drive me to the airport?"
"Sure I will, but ahh, Bo?"
"Yeah?"
"I think you should take that shower first because you still smell," Kenzi said with a smile and a small laugh.
Bo looked down at herself and ran a hand through her neglected hair, "Right you are! Shower first."
Kenzi just shook her head as Bo rushed into action, eager to do whatever it took to get back to the woman that she loved...
Lauren's heart hurt and it was affecting her mood. Bo had been gone for two days and it was shocking how much pain Lauren felt with the loss. She had tried to push down the discomfort, longing and sadness she felt with Bo's absence but she had failed miserably. Lauren had started to rival Evony with her snarky remarks and short temper. She was irritable and unhappy. She wanted to hear Bo's voice, her laugh. She wanted to feel her stomach flip whenever she saw Bo's incredible dimples when she smiled widely at her. She wanted to gaze deeply into Bo's dark and passionate eyes. She wanted to kiss Bo again, hold her and never let go.
Lauren sighed and tried to focus on whatever Ciara was saying. Nadia gave her a small knowing smile, her eye filled with compassion. Lauren was grateful to them both. They had both noticed her change in demeanour and Lauren wished that she could confide in them, but the camera's made it impossible. Lauren suspected that they knew that it was Bo's absence that had upset her, but she doubted that they knew the depth of her feelings for Bo. She had never loved and felt so connected to another human being and having that connection severed without an explanation was excruciating.
Lauren shook her head and really tried to concentrate on something else besides Bo. Ciara was nervous about her date with Tamsin tomorrow. "What if my declaration of feelings ruins our friendship? I think I'd die! I'm so stupid. I should have just kept my feelings to myself. I had my chance back in college, but I stood back and watched my then best friend Jess win Tamsin's heart. It was the right thing to do and I don't regret it but...," she let her voice trail off and she took a deep calming breath.
Lauren reached out and rubbed Ciara's arm supportively. "You and Tamsin were together in college?"
Ciara shook her head, "Not really. I was shy and awkward and Tamsin was like this shiny ball of energy, so full of confidence and attitude. I had a huge crush on her, but I kept it to myself. Jess was my only friend and I didn't even share it with her. I felt foolish for wanting someone so clearly out of my league."
Lauren watched as Ciara's voice changed and a far away look replaced the stress and worry from her features. Ciara wasn't in the room with them anymore, she was reliving her time in college all those years ago. Even Evony and Crystal were listening intently now as Ciara shared her story of how she missed her chance to win the girl of her dreams.
"Jess was everything I wasn't. She was self assured and was very beautiful, but she was also sweet and kind. I would see people question our friendship whenever we were out together. Jess gave me confidence and made me feel safe. I begged her to go with me to the sorority party because I had heard that Tamsin was going in the hallway as I had been heading to a lecture. Jess tended to shy away from parties and it may have been one of the reasons behind our friendship. I never asked why she talked to me in the cafeteria on the second day of my freshman year, because I was just so happy that she had and was genuinely my friend. When we arrived at the party the juvenile game of spin the bottle was already in session and I saw Tamsin sitting in that circle, laughing as some jock had to kiss one of his teammates. I am sure I just stood there gaping at Tamsin as I always did and that is what had Jess asking me if I wanted to play."
Ciara burst out laughing at the memory, making everyone in the group smile along with her.
"What did you say?" Evony asked, her usual bitchiness absent as she waited eagerly for the rest of the story. Perhaps Evony was eager for any information that may give her an edge to be picked for the top three, with the elimination just around the corner. Ciara was still lost in her memories and probably wasn't even aware that it had been Evony that asked the question.
Ciara laughed again, "I shook my head at Jess and probably looked like a deer caught in headlights. Watching Tamsin from afar was completely different from sitting across from her and her actually seeing me and making eye contact. But Jess smiled at me and said that it might be fun. So I allowed her to take my hand and drag me to the circle. I should have known that Tamsin would never notice me when I had Jess sitting next to me. As the bottle continued to spin I saw Tamsin make several attempts to get Jess's attention and it was not subtle at all. When the bottle landed on me, I didn't even notice because I was too busy trying not to burst into tears. Jess poked me in the ribs getting my attention, completely unaware of Tamsin's suggestive glances. She informed me that the bottle had landed on me and my eyes almost popped out of my head as I shook my head no. The cheer from the rest of the group had me turning my attention to the bottle in the middle of the circle and I followed it to the person it pointed to. I swear my heart almost exploded as I looked into Tamsin's piercing eyes. She was smiling and laughing with her friends as she beckoned me with her finger to come into the centre of the circle to claim my kiss. She crawled like a predatory jungle cat and I was her prey. I was lost in her confident and playful gaze as Jess and the guy on the other side pushed me towards her."
"Please tell me you didn't throw up on her or something," Crystal added ruining the magic of the moment as everyone hung on to every word out of Ciara's mouth.
Even Lauren felt like she was right there looking at a terrified younger Ciara being drawn towards the woman that she had loved for so long. "Ignore her and continue," Lauren added with a smile. "Did you kiss her?"
Ciara nodded, letting out a small chuckle, "Well, she kissed me, as if it was no big deal at all... and I ... I just melted. My world exploded into technicolor and then it was over and everyone was clapping and cheering. I left the game after that, telling Jess that I needed a drink and got up on shaking legs, my lips still tingling from her kiss. Jess accompanied me like the great friend she was, much to Tamsin's disappointment. But she found us about twenty minutes later and started the conversation by expressing her disappointment that Jess had left before she had been able to win a kiss from her. I felt the spark between them instantly, it was palpable, I could taste it. Tamsin introduced herself and Jess introduced herself and me. The rest of the night we chatted and got to know one another. Tamsin was sweet and included me. She made me feel important, because I was clearly important to Jess, but there was no denying the undeniable connection the two had. I had never seen Jess light up the way she did with Tamsin's attention and I knew that my crush was nothing compared to the genuine love blossoming between my best friend and Tamsin."
Ciara was sad, but it was obvious to Lauren that it was because she missed her dearly departed friend and the memories had opened that painful loss. Evony spoke and it was surprisingly kind as she asked a question bringing Ciara back to the present, "Did you ever tell Jess about the crush you had on Tamsin, which clearly developed into love as time went on?"
Ciara shook her head, "No, never. If I had said something back then Jess would never have pursued a relationship with Tamsin and she would have missed out on many years of happiness with a woman who loved her with all her heart. Their love was beautiful, epic and I would never have been brave enough to pursue Tamsin back then. I was way too shy and self conscious, unlike the woman I am today. The friendship I shared with Jess and Tamsin expanded my world and gave me the belief to spread my wings and be who I am and not the shy, awkward girl i was. I wouldn't have changed what happened back then, for anything in the world. I am taking my chance now and I know that Jess would be cheering me on right now from her place in heaven. I just really hope that Tamsin doesn't feel that she would be betraying Jess's memory if she pursued and chose to love me the way I love her with all my heart and soul."
"Well, no offence, but I hope for the complete opposite because you have the huge advantage over the rest of us and I was a shoe in for Tamsin's affections and attention until you arrived. Come on, Crystal, sappy story time with Ciara is over. Let's go do something fun," Evony said, back to her usual self making Lauren shake her head and suppress a laugh as Crystal scurried after the bossy woman, who clearly hated to admit that she may lose.
Nadia excused herself to have a shower and get ready for bed. Lauren offered Ciara a little support before she headed off to her room to get some time alone. She had struggled to figure out the reason for Bo's departure from the house and for the first time she felt that it didn't matter. She wouldn't worry herself sick about the reasons because she felt that she should have more faith in her feelings for the buxom beauty who had completely stolen her heart. Bo wore her heart on her sleeve and had shown Lauren during their weeks together in the house how strongly and passionately she felt. What Lauren had felt radiating from Bo, the raw intensity of her feelings, could not have been misinterpreted. Lauren just had to keep the faith that she would see Bo again soon and they would have the rest of their lives to enjoy what they had found with each other.
