Chapter Fifty
Joey led her into the bedroom, 'you need to take a hot shower to warm up' he told her 'I'll make a hot drink and then I want you to get into bed' he stroked her cheek. 'There are clean towels in the bathroom in the cupboard under the sink' he said 'and I'll lay out some clothes you can wear' he told her. Lauren went into the bathroom and closed the door. A few minutes later Joey heard the shower start up. He laid some of his clothes out on the bed for her, leaving the room to make the hot drinks and to give her some privacy.
The shower felt good, it warmed her frozen skin. It was longer than it should've been before she stepped out of the shower, taking advantage of the warm water for several minutes, not wanting to get out of the warmth for as long as she possibly could. Eventually she had to though and she wrapped a towel around herself. She opened the door and peered shyly into the bedroom relieved when she saw the room was empty and she darted into the room. She dried herself quickly and pulled on the black jersey boxer shorts and t-shirt he'd left out for her, wanting to get back into some warmth. She pulled back the covers on the bed and got in, snuggling under the covers as she tried to warm herself. Joey came in a few minutes later with two steaming mugs of coffee. He smiled seeing Lauren already in his bed. She sat up as he handed her a cup. 'Thanks' she said as she cradled the mug between her hands.
'Feel better?' he asked her softly, setting his cup on the bedside table. He sat down on the bed with his back to her and started to get undressed.
'I feel less cold' she replied 'I don't know about better' she looked away as he changed.
'Did something happen between you and Jake?' he asked her, pausing what he was doing as he waited for her answer.
'No' she shook her head and Joey continued to undress. 'Surprisingly nothing happened' she told him. 'Your Uncle Jack gave me £200. He said it was a long overdue pay rise. Cash in hand of course not through the books'
'Where did you put it?' he asked her.
'I haven't got anywhere to hide it…' she told him. 'It's been in my bra since he gave it to me'
Joey opened one of his drawers and pulled out a pair of socks. Undoing them he gave one to her.
'Put the money in here and you can keep it at the flat' he told her. 'So if you ever need it you can just come and get it' Lauren put her coffee down, taking his sock from him. She climbed out of bed and picked up the money, slipping it inside the sock and giving it back to him. He put it back in his drawer. 'There. It's in a safe place now' he said softly. Lauren slid back under the covers, glancing at Joey as he took off his trousers and socks. 'I just need to use the bathroom' he told her.
'Okay' she reached for her coffee again as he disappeared into the bathroom, starting to get a little nervous about what was going to happen next. Not that she knew what that was at the moment.
*JB*JB*JB*JB*
He returned 10 minutes later, a pair of grey pyjama bottoms on that hung low on his hips. He smiled at her as he crossed the room and got into bed beside her.
'Is this okay' he frowned 'I can go sleep on the sofa if you'd rather' he told her.
'It's okay' she said softly 'it's your bed and flat after all. I'm the one who should be sleeping on the sofa…which I can do if you'd rather…' she trailed off, smiling as she realised she'd echoed his words to her.
'I'm good' he told her with a small smile.
'I'm sorry I called in sick' she told him.
'We weren't busy so…no harm, no foul' he shrugged 'Ricky took off early too…had a hot date'
'Oh?' Lauren raised her eyebrows, her curiosity piqued.
'Yeah a long legged blonde, he's punching well above his weight there, of course' he scoffed.
'Is that right?' Lauren asked him.
'Yep' he nodded his head 'Ricky likes to think he's a big hit with the ladies, but not everyone has what it takes' he told her, unable to keep the smugness from his voice.
'Oh and what's that exactly?' she asked him.
'Charm, charisma, the ability to undress someone with your eyes, make them feel completely naked whilst still fully dressed' he smirked as he glanced at her. 'Oh and having dimples helps. Girls can't resist dimples' he teased her.
'Yeah… that was the first thing I noticed about you. Your dimples' she said teasingly.
Joey smirked at her again 'What did you notice about me first?' he asked her putting her on the spot, intrigued to know her answer.
'You know this coffee is really good' she said changing the subject.
'The first thing I noticed about you was your eyes' Joey told her softly 'you have really pretty eyes, such a deep brown colour, mesmerising pools of…'
Lauren started to giggle 'shut up, you idiot' she told him 'my eyes are not mesmerising pools of anything' she shook her head. She took a sip of coffee and placed the cup on the table, turning slightly to look at him.
''It's good to see you laugh again' he told her softly. 'It's also good to see you without your cast' he said sitting upright and turning towards her. He picked up her right hand and looked at her arm, running his fingers over it lightly 'looks good' he told her 'does it feel okay?'
Lauren swallowed as she watched his hand moved along her arm, his touch sending tingles through her entire body. 'It feels good' she whispered. She slowly raised her head to see he was watching her intently. 'Are we okay, Joey?' she asked him 'After what I said at the house?'
'That depends' he told her.
'On what?' she frowned.
'On what you meant' he told her 'Are we just friends again or are we more than friends?' he asked her.
Lauren stared at him. 'I don't want to put you in the middle of me and Jake' she told him softly.
'You didn't, babe. Jake put me in the middle of you and Jake' he told her.
'It's not fair for you to be in the middle' she shook her head. 'I don't want you to get hurt'
'It works in our favour' Joey reminded her 'Jake thinks he can trust me. Which means you and I are free to do whatever we want to…if that's what you want' he looked at her. Lauren closed her eyes and she took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. 'I don't want to force you into a relationship with me if it's not what you want' he continued 'it's your decision and whatever it turns out to be I will respect it and we'll still be friends, that won't change' he promised her. Lauren looked at him. 'I know you're scared, Lauren, I understand why you are scared, you're putting a lot on the line here…you have so much to lose…'
Lauren shook her head 'you're wrong, Joey' she told him softly. 'I don't have anything left to lose' she told him 'as far as I'm concerned my marriage is over…it was over before it even started. And I'm tired of not living my life, of being too scared to take chances…to go after what I want…'
'And what is it exactly that you want?' Joey asked her huskily.
AN: Thanks for all your reviews. So Joey warmed Lauren up with a shower! And he's planning on letting her sleep in his bed. Joey mentioned the R word too! I wonder what Lauren's reply is going to be to Joey's question? If you want to find out then you have until 2:00pm to leave me a review…if I get 20 reviews or more then you will find out today…if not you'll have to wait until tomorrow. Leave me a review! Oh on another note there will be a sequel to 12 days of Christmas which will be posted around 14 December! So you might want to refresh your memory on the original story which you will find on my site!
