The next two weeks were quiet. John flirted a lot less and somehow that only made Lori think about him more. They hadn't filmed a scene since the first episode, but John was on set everyday taking care of producer duties and Lori popped in every so often to support the girls. However, it seemed like in passing John did his best to avoid Lori whenever possible. She was upset she had ruined their last dinner together but it needed to be said. Things were complicated. There was just one problem: Lori thought if she placed boundaries with John, her feelings would go away. She was wrong. There was nothing she could ever do to get rid of her feelings for John.
Lori felt almost defeated by their situation and regretted ever having the conversation with John to begin with. She didn't want John pining after her, but at the same time she missed his flirting, his touches, the way he looked into her eyes with such meaning. After all, she was a grown woman; she could handle herself, right? She could handle his beautiful eyes, his perfect hair, that gorgeous smile, and the way he looked at her as if she were the only one in the room, without getting too tangled up in what's appropriate between them and what's not… or at least she hoped she could.
She shook the thought out of her head as she got dressed. Upon finishing her hair and makeup, she looked in the mirror. There was something missing. Then she realized what it was. She rummaged through her jewelry box and found it: the necklace John had bought her twenty-seven years ago. She hooked it on, adjusted it, and then looked in the mirror. Perfect. If that doesn't catch his interest, I don't know what will, she thought to herself before heading to the kitchen. But did she even want to catch his interest? She didn't know herself.
She fixed herself a cup of coffee and then grabbed another thermos and made one for John. She still owed him from the last filming and she thought it would win back his charming smile that she missed.
Lori arrived a couple minutes early in hopes of catching John before shooting started, but he was nowhere to be found. She took a seat to the side as she sat there scrolling through Twitter and sipping her coffee in an effort to look busy.
"Hola Lori!" Andrea greeted almost too enthusiastically, coming up behind her and sitting down, causing Lori to jump. Andrea laughed.
"Good morning," Lori greeted.
"So," Andrea started casually, "are you going to tell me or are you going to make me ask?"
"What?" Lori asked, confused.
"What's going on with you and loverboy? I heard through the grapevine you two were caught playing tonsil hockey in his trailer."
Oh my gosh, I'm going to kill Candace and Jodie.
Lori couldn't help but blush at the accusation. "I'll have you know that is not what happened," she answered nonchalantly. "John and I were just going over the 'Forever' scene together. He wanted to surprise me and he did."
From the look on Andrea's face, she wasn't buying it. "Don't lie to me. He surprised you in more ways than one, didn't he?" she laughed.
Lori laughed too. "No, I swear. He kissed me but it was in the context of our lines, nothing more. But then he was called to work and all Candace saw was me leaving his trailer with my hair all messy and blushing. And then I caught Jodie sneaking and spying on us too. Which one of them told you?"
"Oh no, I'm sworn to secrecy!" Andrea replied, getting up and slowly backing away.
Lori laughed. "Don't worry, it's okay. Just please don't tell anyone else okay? I don't want this spreading any more than it already has."
"My lips are sealed! I was never here," Andrea agreed, turning to walk away and then quickly turning back. "Loverboy at twelve o'clock," she warned Lori in a whisper before finally leaving.
Lori quickly turned, excited to see John, but when she did, she also saw a woman that looked half his age on his arm. She immediately regretted turning around because she knew that, if she hadn't, maybe there was a chance they wouldn't even had noticed her and they wouldn't have to get into an awkward conversation.
The sound of John and the mystery woman's giggling sounded like nails screeching against a chalkboard to Lori. The laughter gradually ended when they stopped in front of her.
"Why, good morning Loughlin," John said with a cheesy grin on his face. Lori watched as John moved his arm, wrapping it around the woman's waist. Within seconds, he was softly caressing her hip, causing the woman to giggle and Lori to shudder.
"Good morning Stamos, and… who's your beautiful, very young friend?" Lori faked a smile as she turned to look at the brunette. "You must be the woman John's been seeing."
"Yes, sure am!" she replied cheerily. "I'm Juliette."
Lori snickered. "Oh, so you're the new Juliette to his Romeo."
Juliette smiled, not catching on to Lori's insult. "That's me. I'm sure John's told you a lot about me."
"No, no not really," Lori responded truthfully through her teeth, the fake smile growing even faker by the second, "But it's fantastic to meet you, Juliette."
"Don't worry, I talk about you all the time, it's just normally when she's acting," John assured Juliette and shot Lori a 'seriously?' look.
Lori shrugged John's reaction off, and simply chuckled at his response. "There are a ton of scenes I'm not in and a ton of times I could have heard about her," she refuted.
Juliette could suddenly feel the tension in the atmosphere. She looked from John to Lori and then back to John, uncomfortable and confused. "I, erm…" she stammered, at a loss for words.
"Hey, look who it is, it's Bob and Dave! We should go talk to them," John declared, trying to edge his way out of the awkward conversation. He tugged his girlfriend's hand in their direction. The three of them could hear them call out "Hey Juliette!" showing that John had truly mentioned her to the other cast members.
"Well, it was nice finally meeting you!" Juliette yelled out to Lori before she was completely gone.
"Yeah, you too…" Lori breathed out. As she watched John confidently show his girlfriend off, give her a kiss on her cheek, and naturally secure his arm back around her waist, Lori could feel her heart fall to the bottom of her chest.
Lori stood there confused with herself and the situation. She knew she didn't want anything to go further and nothing should go further than a close friendship with John, but for some reason as she watched him be happy and affectionate with Juliette, she could feel her heart shatter. It felt like the place in John's heart that had been reserved for Lori all these years was being given to someone else, and that simply was not allowed in her mind. And while that may make her seem selfish, Lori just couldn't stand the idea of John loving anyone more than he loved her.
In attempt to put her mind back at ease, Lori grabbed a muffin off the snack table. She took one bite before helplessly looking back at the couple. It appeared that they were mid-conversation, but Juliette caved into John's charm and couldn't help but full-on make out with him, leaving Dave and Bob to awkwardly exit the scene. John's arms wrapped around her waist, Juliette's around his neck, and their bodies pressed together. The sight made Lori sick to her stomach.
It took a few seconds for Lori to acknowledge Jodie's whispered "Hey, are you okay?" Lori looked at Jodie and found Andrea and Candace in the background chatting and looking pitifully at her.
Instead of responding, Lori crumpled the muffin she had in her hand, threw it on the snack table, and made a dash for her trailer. She slammed the door behind her and tried to keep tears from streaming down her cheeks as she went to sit on the couch.
Lori placed her and John's coffee thermoses on the side table. She stared at John's thermos, shaking her head. She couldn't believe she wanted to treat him special… she could've just given coffees to the whole cast. Why didn't she? Why did she want to catch John's attention?
Lori sat on the couch for nearly ten minutes, trying to recollect herself. So many questions ran through her head: what was she doing? Why was she acting this way? She was the one who told him to back off, but why is she wishing he hadn't? Why is it so painful watching someone else make him happy? Shouldn't she be happy for him?
Lori sighed to herself. Eventually, her eyes fell to her wedding ring. She thought for a moment before pulling her phone out of her purse. She realized she hadn't been spending enough time with her husband since filming started and she wanted to ease his worries about her relationship with John… after all, they were just coworkers and close friends. There was nothing to worry about.
Hey honey, I miss you. Do you want to bring my lunch to set today?
I love you and hope to see you soon!
Lori pressed send and then let out a breath. After a moment of thinking, she smiled, knowing a visit from her husband could make her feel more secure and happy. Mossimo had yet to visit the set and with John kissing someone in-between takes, why shouldn't she?
Of course, I'll be there in fifteen. I love you too!
Lori smiled. Mossimo did love her with all of his heart. Then, she felt guilty. If he loved her with all of his heart, shouldn't she love him with all of hers? No matter what, there was a piece of her heart reserved only for John and there always would be. Just then, she got a text alerting her it was time for her first scene.
The intro scene had passed and Candace and Lori were back on a short break. Candace went to grab a drink while Lori sneakily tucked the necklace into her shirt. She didn't want Mossimo to see her wearing it.
A few minutes passed before Candace heard a voice from behind her.
"Have you seen Lori?"
She turned around to see who it was. "Oh, hi Mossimo! I think I just saw her head to her trailer."
"I'm right here," Lori corrected before looking over and noticing John and Juliette were to the side laughing and kissing.
"Hey honey!" she greeted Mossimo loud enough to get John's attention from across the room as she walked up and kissed him. After a second, Mossimo started to pull back, but Lori opened her eyes and noticed John's glare from across the room and quickly pulled him back in, letting the kiss linger for a bit longer than they were used to.
After a moment, Lori finally pulled away and Mossimo gave her a look, suspicious of what had just happened.
Candace looked at the two of them, confused. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Mossimo," she said politely, "but I have to go work on my next scene, so I'll just leave you two alone!"
Once Candace left, Mossimo lifted the bagged lunches in front of Lori's eyes. "Ready for lunch, hun?"
In the corner of her eye, Lori could see John still staring at the two of them. "Sure am!" Lori answered, giving Mossimo one last peck on the lips before grabbing her bagged lunch and leading him to one of the sitting rooms nearby.
John watched the scene unfold in front of him, causing him to be oblivious to everything else in his surroundings.
"John, helllooo?" Juliette waved her hand in front of his eyes. "What is up with you?"
It took John a few seconds to process Juliette's words. Still, he didn't answer her as he kept his eye on Lori and Mossimo.
Once they were completely out of sight, John finally looked back at Juliette. "Yeah, sorry. Everything's fine."
John then turned to Bob and Dave who were a short distance away from them. "Hey, isn't one of Lori's scenes coming up?" He didn't even give them a chance to answer before he abandoned Juliette to go and talk to the director.
A moment later, Lori could hear, "Lori to stage, Lori to stage," causing her to instinctively drop her apple down and stand up. Mossimo sighed. He had been excited to finally have a meal with his wife, but their lunch had only lasted a few minutes before it was interrupted.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'll be back in a bit," Lori assured him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before walking back to set.
On her way back to the stage, Lori could see John and Juliette in the corner of her eye. Unlike before, John's arms were crossed against his chest, watching Lori, as Juliette was leaning her back against the wall, texting on her phone. The sight caused Lori to smirk.
When Lori finished with her scene, she rushed back to the sitting room so she could finish her lunch with Mossimo. She had no idea that it had already been forty minutes and he was long finished with his meal.
"I'm sorry it took so long," she apologized, closing the door to the window-walled room. Mossimo smiled sadly, standing up and throwing his trash away.
"Wait, where are you going?" she asked him worriedly.
"Lori, I have to get to work, I'm sorry," Mossimo answered. He then turned to look out the transparent wall and found John standing alone, watching them from a distance. He looked down and thought for a minute, before pulling Lori toward him and pressing his lips against hers. They stayed that way for a moment before he finally pulled away.
"Was that convincing?" Mossimo muttered angrily, glaring into Lori's eyes. He then walked out the door, leaving a befuddled Lori behind.
"Honey!" Lori attempted to call out, but he didn't stop. Instead, he continued walking to the exit of the set.
Lori gave up and sat down, defeated, her head in her hands.
After a second, she looked up and saw John watching her through the window; he most definitely saw the entire thing.
When she made eye contact with him, John took it as a sign to join her.
He knocked on the door even though it was open. "Can I come in?" he asked softly.
Lori took a deep breath and tried to hide the disappointment she was feeling. "Can't really stop you, can I?"
John faked a smile. "Not really," he answered, taking a seat next to her.
"Where's Juliette?" She sounded a little more harsh than she had anticipated.
"Juliette had to leave. She had to pick up one of her old high school friends from the airport whom she hasn't seen in awhile."
"You mean since last year's graduation?" Lori spouted out sarcastically.
John laughed. "Make all the jokes you want. You're upset. You deserve it."
Lori half-smiled at his response before looking down at the floor.
After a moment, John finally broke the silence.
"So...what's wrong...trouble in paradise?" he questioned. "Because, you know, if it doesn't work out between the two of you…"
Lori looked up at him angrily. She had thought she wanted to get his attention, but now that she had it, she was irate by his accusation.
"What did I tell you about the flirting, John? Do you listen to anything I say? And I don't think that's really any of your business, but I'll have you know we're very happy." Lori stood up. "How dare you judge my marriage when you have not once experienced real happiness," she snapped at him, defending her relationship.
John was a little taken aback by her reaction but nonetheless continued.
"Then riddle me this: why were you sitting here, trying not to cry when I walked in? I know you better than you think, Lori," John argued, defending his earlier question.
"No, John. That's where you're wrong. If you knew me at all, you wouldn't have paraded your new Barbie doll around set all day," she fought back from the doorway as the director called her name. "I've got to go," she gritted through her teeth.
"What's wrong?" Candace immediately questioned upon seeing Lori. She had obviously noticed the change in Lori's demeanor and it worried her.
"Nothing, let's just do this." Lori uttered, plastering a smile on her face as she took her place on set.
Lori could feel John's eyes watching her as she acted in her scene. It added more pressure, but ended up pushing Lori to work harder. In return, watching Lori act with so much passion only made her more appealing to John.
Once the scene was finished, Lori had a five minute break before the final scene of the episode was to be filmed. She walked off the stage and tried to walk past John, but he grabbed her hand firmly in his before she could escape, and she melted by his touch.
"Can we talk?" he whispered.
"No, John," she muttered back, although she remained stopped in place, her hand resting in his. She was turned toward the production staff while John was looking at the set.
"Listen," John continued anyway, "I just brought her here so I could give us space. I thought it would make you happy to see me moving on."
Lori could feel her heart pounding. "Well… are you?"
"She's sexy, fun, and a great kisser," John admitted, causing Lori to roll her eyes. "But you're all of those things and more. You're the only woman I've ever and will ever want to spend my life with. But you're also the one woman that I can't have."
Lori then dropped their hands and turned to look back at John. She looked into his eyes. "Why did you have to go around kissing her and showing her off? You two were acting like two obnoxious high schoolers— and in front of the kids!"
John raised his eyebrows, "What about you and Mossimo? You two have been married for seventeen years; no marriage involves that much tongue unless it's Jesse and Becky's."
"You don't know, maybe our marriage has more spice than Jesse and Becky's!" Lori yelled in a hushed whisper.
After a moment, they both chuckled, knowing that no marriage could compete with theirs. The moment was only brief, however, before they got back to being serious.
"Anyway, you really shouldn't parade your 'love' for Juliette in front of the kids. It's repulsive," Lori demanded.
John walked a bit closer to Lori. She could feel his breath on hers, causing her heart to beat faster. "And you shouldn't make your marriage out to be something it isn't," he murmured softly back.
John's voice sent a shiver up Lori's spine. It took her a second to process what he had said and shoot him a glare in response.
They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before the director called out, "Okay, places everyone!" causing Lori and John to snap back to reality and walk back on stage.
Lori walked to the living room set and stood alongside Candace, Jodie, and Andrea, while John passed them and stood outside the door to the house. Lori took a moment to adjust her necklace so it showed.
They were cued to start the scene, and garnered more laughs as each 'suspect' for who sent the mystery roses came onto set. Lori's character Becky announced each one as they came into the living room. She took command of the room, excited to figure out the mystery that had been unraveling all episode.
Becky had taken control, ordering the three men to sit.
"Dr. Matt Harmon, did you or did you not give flowers to DJ Fuller?" Lori began.
"I did," DJ's love interest, Matt, answered.
"See, I told you he sent me the roses!" Candace's character, DJ, claimed.
"Oh, I didn't send these."
"Wait you just said—" DJ interrupted.
"Oh, oh, oh, hold on, I'm running this show," Becky butted in. Lori absolutely loved acting in this episode—Becky was so passionately into gossiping and finding answers. Her character claimed there hadn't been this much fun and drama in her life in years.
Once DJ's son, Max, brought in Cosmo and the items their dog had stolen, they had found the card and the three men gradually admitted to not being the man who sent the flowers. This confused Lori's character.
"But we still haven't found the secret admirer!" Becky declared.
"Hey now!" John finally walked into the living room with a big grin on his face. DJ, Stephanie, and Kimmy immediately went and hugged Uncle Jesse.
"Beck, I see you got my roses!" he finally announced. As John looked at her. he immediately noticed the necklace. He couldn't believe it. Lori still had it all these years later.
"These are from you?" Becky looked at Jesse, shocked.
"Yeah, you'd think I would have got a 'thank you' call, or a text, or a thumbs-up emoji or something," Jesse replied before smiling and looking into Becky's eyes.
Everyone could immediately feel the special chemistry between John and Lori radiate throughout the room.
"Oh honey, I love them. They're beautiful, but what are they for?"
"As a thank you…" John began, bringing his hands into Lori's and looking deeply into her eyes, "for getting to wake up next to you every morning and fall in love with you all over again."
Everyone, including Lori, went into a chorus of "aww's." Lori and John both smiled before going into a kiss.
When they kissed, Lori could feel her heart beat faster. She knew in her mind that they were only supposed to kiss for a second, but once her lips met John's, she could feel herself melt into the kiss. Plus, she knew the camera could pan to the girls and they could cut the kiss short, so why not kiss the charming man longer? She was so caught up in the moment, she simply couldn't help herself. She was helplessly entranced by the man. Somehow everything else that happened that day had faded away.
John eventually pulled away and Lori, slowly remembering her surroundings, could feel her heart skip a beat.
"And for that, for the good kissing," Jesse added with a wink. Lori had to hold in a laugh. Somehow she knew that John himself got permission to write that line into the script.
Becky and Jesse looked into each other's eyes and grinned for one more moment before carrying on with the rest of the scene.
Aunt Becky said goodbye to the girls before walking back to the door with Jesse.
"I hope the seats fold down on that rental," she whispered to him, holding his arm.
"Have mercyyy!" Jesse exclaimed with his infamous catchphrase.
Becky laughed, "Not for us! I wanna get all these flowers in the car."
"Ugh, I should have rented a bus."
"Everyone, grab a bouquet!" Becky announced.
"Grab a bouquet," Jesse repeated to the girls and their respective partners.
The scene then finished and John and Lori exited the stage.
As Lori left, she hid her necklace again. She had originally wanted to make it a surprise for John, but now he'd have to wait until he saw it on the show.
"Lori, wait!" John called from behind her as she was on the way to her trailer.
She stopped and turned around. "What?"
"I can't believe you still have that," he breathed, catching up to her.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"The necklace. You kept it after all these years?"
Lori touched the necklace and nodded.
"I thought you said you lost all of the memorabilia from Full House?"
"I did, sadly, but this wasn't from Full House. It was from you. You gave it to me to welcome me to the show. I always kept it in a safe place."
"I just… I can't believe you kept it after all this time…
"Of course I did. I've kept everything you've given me. I even still have that bear you won me on our d—you won me at Disneyland," Lori quickly corrected herself.
"You were going to say date!" John pointed out excitedly.
"I was not! You made me lose my train of thought."
"Well, I do have that effect on people…"
Lori laughed at John and a smile arose to her face.
"Look at that, I made you smile and you forgot how mad you were at me," he pointed out happily, commenting on earlier.
"You always did manage to charm your way out of things," Lori replied sweetly with a smile. A tint of red couldn't help but fall on her face.
"I hope I'm not overstepping, but do you mind if we talk privately?" John asked.
Lori thought for a moment.
"Okay, but this time, my trailer."
