PENULTIMATE CHAPTER ALERT! Although I should say, this very nearly wasn't in it... so thank Popscb who suggested this film back at the very beginning of my starting to post this story... because otherwise this would be the last chapter! It was a film I wanted to put in the story (just so I could get one line from the film in it) and once I got Popscb's review... I found a way I could put it in... although it's a little cheesy - but hey, we're talking Dirty Dancing here... I think we can be a little cheesy. I think Joey is going to make you all swoon in this one. Enjoy!
Oh and my second favourite line from the film - "I carried a watermelon..." - Just saying... there was no way I was going to get that in this chapter! :-)
Chapter 39: Dirty Dancing.
Lauren shifted in Joey's arms, her hand stretching out towards her mobile. Joey pulled her back towards him, not wanting to relinquish his hold on her.
"Joe, I'm just getting my mobile." She whispered and he loosened his grip. She picked up her mobile and opened the text she'd received earlier, moving back into Joey's arms quickly. "It's from Whit." She said. "She wants to know if we want to go to R&R's tonight." She said, turning her head and looking at his face, "You haven't got work tonight, have you?"
He shook his head, "No, I'm off for the next two nights." He told her.
"Do you wanna go out with them?"
"Who's going to be there?"
Lauren went back to her mobile, "I'll check and see if Lucy is going to be there..." she whispered.
"You can't avoid her forever..." he said softly, brushing her hair back from her face tenderly.
"I know... I just don't want there to be a drama... so if she's there, I think it best if we don't go." Her phone beeped again and she quickly opened the message. "Her and Tam have gone down to Devon to see her gran for the weekend."
"Let's go then..." he said. "We'll sort out the Lucy issue another time."
"Do we have to? I can live without her in my life."
"It's not fair to the rest of your friends, babe... or you. Either you'll end up losing all your friends or she will, which will make you feel bad." He kissed the side of her head, watching as she sent a reply to Whitney. He knew it was something they would have to talk about at another time.
*JL*JL*
"Do we have to go out...?" he asked.
"You were the one who said we should go." She said as she walked towards him, putting some earrings in as she did so.
"That was before I knew what you were going to be wearing..." he said. She was wearing the same red dress she'd worn when she came over to the B&B after the Branning family dinner. It was a dress that brought back good memories and Joey was already thinking about when he could take it off her.
"What was it you said to me earlier?" she asked, kissing him softly on the lips, "All good things come to those who wait, wasn't it?" she said, smirking at him. He pouted slightly but she wasn't affected, "And don't try that on me, Joe... it won't work." She said. She walked back across the room and slipped on some red high heels, bending over and giving him a nice view of ass. He moaned softly and shut his eyes, feeling his groin start to tighten within his jeans. It was going to be a very long night.
*JL*JL*
Lauren and Whitney hugged as Lauren and Joey walked up to the group in R&R's. "You look amazing, babe..." Whit whispered.
"It's Joey's punishment..." Lauren said with a smirk.
Whitney frowned, "What's he done?"
"He teased me earlier..." Lauren said, her face reddening slightly at the admission, "So I thought he should be punished a little."
The pair walked over to the bar and ordered a couple of drinks, Whit raising her eyebrows when Lauren ordered a lemonade. "He teased you...?"
Lauren smirked at her friend, "You don't want to know, Whit..." she murmured, smiling into her drink as she took a sip.
"So how's the flat? Sorry, Ty and I couldn't help today, we had to look after Tiff and Morgan and didn't think they would help with the move."
"Don't worry. Jay and Dexter helped out and Oscar and Abi were there too. It only took a couple of hours." They walked back to the rest of their friends and Joey pulled Lauren onto his lap as she gave him his beer. She smiled at him and he kissed her gently.
"That's going to take some getting used to..." Anthony said, receiving a slap from his girlfriend.
"Ant..." She said. "Leave them alone..."
"I was talking about Lauren smiling, Al..." he protested. Their friends laughed and Lauren poked her tongue out at Anthony.
"How are things with your mum and dad, Lauren?" Fatboy asked.
She shrugged, "Not great... They're barely speaking to me. It was a relief to get out of the house to be honest."
"So they're not as accepting of your relationship as they said then?" Whit asked.
"Nope... Uncle Jack is furious with them. He said he's going to speak to them about it but, well I'm really not that bothered. If they don't want to be involved in our lives, it's their loss."
Joey kissed her shoulder, his hand settled on her back, knowing that despite the bravado the subject was a sore point for Lauren and she wasn't really as blasé about it as she was stating now.
"Have you spoken to Lucy?" Tyler asked.
Lauren rolled her eyes, "No... probably not going to happen either. Sorry if that puts you all in an awkward position..."
"She'll come round..." Poppy said.
"I won't hold my breath." Lauren muttered, sipping on her drink again. "Dance with me, Joe..." she whispered as she put the glass down. He smiled and nodded and they both got to their feet, walking out onto the dance floor.
Their friends watched as they began to dance with each other. "I can't believe we didn't realise..." Tyler said.
"Yeah... you could heat the room with the sexual tension between them..." Anthony murmured, receiving another slap from Alice.
"That's my brother you're talking about."
"Come on, Al... Look at them..." he said, waving his hand towards them.
"They make a beautiful couple," Poppy said.
"They adore each other," Alice said, smiling as she watched her brother and cousin dance. She looked away with a slightly uncomfortable expression as her brother began to kiss his girlfriend passionately. It was almost as if they'd forgotten where they were and who was around them. "I'm happy for them, truly I am and I hope that everything works out for them but really, I don't need to see a rendition of dirty dancing right in front of me." She said, glancing at her best friend, "I mean, look, if someone doesn't stop them in a minute they'll probably start having sex in front of everyone." The three boys turned towards the couple as they heard the tail end of the conversation between the two girls, suddenly interested in watching the couple on the dance floor, earning each of them a slap on the back of the head from their respective girlfriends.
*JL*JL*
Alice appeared to get her wish just two minutes later when a guy walked up behind the couple and tapped Lauren on the shoulder. None of them recognised him but they could see the look of shock on Lauren's face when she turned to look at him. She turned back to Joey and stepped closer to him; his arms wrapping around her a little tighter.
*JL*JL*
"Baby..." Joey asked her in concern, seeing how pale she had turned when she saw this stranger. It was clear she knew who he was. His hand brushed the side of her face and he tucked some hair behind her ear. She turned her face slightly and kissed the inside of his wrist.
"It's fine, Joe." She told him softly, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Good to see you again," the stranger sneered, sizing up Joey and reaching for Lauren.
Lauren flinched away from his outstretched hand and Joey clearly saw fear in her eyes, along with the tears that were rapidly pooling. "Lauren...?" he breathed, "Talk to me, baby..."
"He's the guy from that night..." she whispered in his ear.
He pulled her a little closer, kissing her on the temple. He knew exactly what night she was referring to and now he knew who it was that caused those bruises on his girl's skin. Joey looked over towards their friend's, meeting the eyes of Tyler and managing to communicate with him silently. Tyler got to his feet and him and Fatboy were soon at his side. "Fat's, can you look after Lauren for me?" Joey said, glaring at the boy opposite him, preparing himself for what was about to happen.
"Joe..." Lauren whispered, looking at his face and knowing what he was planning on doing. "Please don't do this..."
He heard the concern in her voice and he looked at her, "I've got to, baby. He can't think he can get away with doing what he did to you..."
Lauren knew hitting a woman was a sore subject for Joey but she still tried to stop this from happening, "But..."
"Baby, you remember what I told you, yeah?" She frowned slightly, "I always protect the people I love..." he murmured, "Now, please go with Fats, he'll look after you. I won't be long... I promise."
Lauren looked like she wanted to argue with him more but she could see in his eyes that there was no changing his mind on this. He nudged her in the direction of Fats but she stopped and spoke to Tyler before she went, "Don't let him get hurt, Tyler..." Tyler nodded, standing near to Joey, seeing the other guy's friends looming nearby.
Lauren was gone then and Joey took a couple of steps towards the other guy. "I know what you did to her..." he growled in the guy's face.
"She was pretty fucking fantastic..." He sneered back at Joey and Joey clenched his fists, tension increasing in his whole stance.
"She doesn't even remember you!" he told her one night stand. He saw the look of shock, followed by anger appearing on his face. "And when she left you... she came straight to me." He flexed the fingers of his right hand, "I've seen guys like you before... guy's who like to knock girls around." He stepped closer, his voice dropping a level, "Like to show a woman who's boss, do you? You think hitting a girl makes you a man?" he asked, fury dripping from every word he said.
"You'd have hit her too if she'd done what she did..."
"I would never hit a girl... Never... and definitely not someone like Lauren."
"You're telling me that if you were in the middle of fucking someone like her and then she said someone else's name and not yours, you wouldn't be a bit upset?" He spluttered.
Joey smiled smugly because he now knew what it was that had happened and it was definitely a boost to his ego. "What name was it she said?" he asked.
"I can't remember..."
"Like fuck you can't..." Joey growled. His hands rose and he gripped the front of the guy's shirt, lifting him off his feet and causing the guy to look scared. "What was the name?" he asked again.
"Joey... she said Joey..." he gasped.
He dropped him back onto his feet, pushing him backwards at the same time and the guy stumbled slightly. "If you ever come near her again, I will hit you, like you did her that night... except my punches will do lasting damage. Do you understand me?" He nodded, "Let me introduce myself, by the way. I'm Lauren's boyfriend..." He smirked at the guy, "The name's Joey..." he added simply before turning and walking away from him. Tyler stayed watching the guy and his friends as they all bustled around him, helping him back to his feet. He only turned back to where the rest of the gang was sitting when they walked away, tails firmly between their legs. Not bad really, not even a punch thrown.
Tyler started to walk towards his friends when he saw something he never thought he would see in his life. He saw Lauren clamber up off her chair and literally throw herself into Joey's arms, her legs lifting off the floor as she clung to him, her head buried in his shoulder. All of her friend's watched in shock as Lauren broke down in Joey's arms, literally shaking from head to toe.
Joey carried Lauren over to a chair and sat with her on my lap, his hand brushing up and down her back as he tried to comfort her. "I thought he was going to hurt you, Joe..." she whispered to him over and over, her breathing on the point of hyperventilation.
"Not a single punch thrown, baby." He reassured her. She started to calm down once he'd told her that and when he was sure she was okay, he placed his finger under her chin and lifted it so he could look her in the eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"What?"
"What you did that made him hit you?" he murmured to her.
"I don't remember..." she whispered.
He could see the lie in her eyes, "Don't lie to me, baby..." he breathed, resting his forehead against hers.
"I was embarrassed..." she said softly. "This was before we were properly together and I didn't want to admit what had happened."
"Why not?" he asked, staring into her eyes.
"Because if I did that, I had to admit how I felt about you and I was scared... scared you wouldn't want me as much as I wanted you."
"Would never have happened, baby." He whispered.
"I know that now... but I didn't at the time."
"Do you know how good it was to have you back in my arms that night?" he breathed in her ear, "Then you were gone the next morning... and it almost killed me."
"I'm so sorry, Joe." She whispered.
"Why don't I take you home?" he said softly, brushing her hair behind her ear. She nodded her head, suddenly feeling exhausted. They made their excuses to their friends and Joey led her out of the club. Their hands were tightly clasped as they walked in the direction of their flat.
"I do love you, Joe..." she said softly. She glanced at him, "I'm glad you didn't hit him..."
"You are?" he asked, surprised by what she'd said.
She nodded her head, "If you'd hit him, you'd be just as bad as he is... You were the bigger man, Joey." She said softly, "And you just proved that you aren't like your father at all." She added. "Which makes me very happy..."
"It makes me happy too..." he said with a smile. He opened the door to their flat and they were soon inside. They went to their room and changed into more comfortable clothes. It was still relatively early and neither of them was ready to go to bed yet... not even for extracurricular activities. Joey was waiting on the couch, the TV on some comedy programme when Lauren came out of the bedroom, dressed in one of his T-shirts and small pair of shorts that were barely visible beneath the hem of her top. She walked over to him and sat on the couch, leaning against him and kissing his neck when he wrapped his arms around her. In some ways she looked even more beautiful now than she did before when they went out. She had removed all her make-up and her hair was tied back in a messy bun but she looked so naturally stunning.
"Alice told us off when you were dealing with him, by the way..." she said softly, her eyes focused on the screen.
"What for?"
"She said we were being embarrassing... apparently you went all Patrick Swayze to my Jennifer Grey and we were dirty dancing with each other..." She glanced up at him and he can see the smile on her face.
"Well you know what they say..." he whispered, his hand coming up and brushing the side of her cheek, "Nobody puts baby in the corner... baby."
Lauren blinked several times, staring at her boyfriend, somewhat in shock that Joey had just quoted a line from the iconic film. He still managed to surprise her... even when she thought he couldn't any more, he still did. "You can quote from the film?" she whispered.
He smiled and shrugged, "My mum likes the film... Alice and I have watched it a lot. How do you think she knew what she was referencing at the club?"
Lauren shook her head and stretched up and kissed him on the cheek, "Are there any other movies you can quote from?"
"A few..." he admitted, his hand brushing through her hair as she leant against his shoulder.
"Which ones?"
"Jerry Maguire..." he whispered, "Pretty Woman, Titanic and Sleepless in Seattle."
Lauren quirked an eyebrow, "My boyfriend... the movie geek..."
"No, just a son trying to keep his mum happy..." he murmured.
"You know that just makes me love you even more, right?" she asked him.
"Maybe..." he smirked.
She looked at him and then moved so she was straddling his lap, "You should be kissed, every day, every hour, every minute..." she whispered, interspersing each word with a kiss. He looked a little surprised and puzzled, "It's from The Lucky One... I really like that movie and have a bit of a thing for Zac Effron."
"Should I be worried?" he asked with a smirk.
"Nope... because I have a lot of a thing for you... so you should be okay." She whispered, biting her lip as she looked at his face.
"I'm glad you said that because I feel the same way, baby."
"Kiss me..." she whispered.
"What film is that from?"
Lauren rolled her eyes, "Kiss me, Joe..."
His face went a light shade of red and he pulled her towards him and kissed her. He pulled her against his body and shuffled forward on the couch, lifting her in his arms as he stood up. She wound her legs around his waist automatically. He walked her into the bedroom and dropped her on the bed and threw himself on the bed beside her. His hand reached out and he pulled her towards him, "Now I think I've been patient enough, don't you?" he breathed against her neck before kissing him.
"Maybe..." she murmured. His mouth continued to work on her neck and she moaned as he caught that sensitive spot. She knew he had just marked her skin and it felt nice to know she no longer had to worry about anyone seeing it. Everyone knew now that they were together and while some people obviously didn't like it, there was no more lying. His hand brushed down her side and the slipped under the shirt she was wearing, rising up her body and cupping a breast. She pushed her body forward, pressing herself into his hand and feeling him smile against her neck. "Okay... I give." She moaned.
She felt his smile grow against her skin and then he was removing her T-shirt. She closed her eyes, trying to compose herself and she could've sworn it was just seconds but when she opened them again he was naked. How had that happened? It was unusual for him to have removed all his clothes while she was still wearing something. Having said that, his hands were now slipping into her shorts and they were being removed. Now they were both naked. He didn't pause in his endeavours and was soon pushing into her gently. "I'm glad I found out..." he said softly.
"What?" she whispered to him.
"I'm glad I know what it was that made him hit you..."
"Was it a boost to your ego?" she asked, her face reddening slightly.
He smiled at her, "A little bit... but that's not why I'm glad I found out."
"Then why?"
"Because I now know you felt the same way as I did all that time."
"And you didn't know that already?" she asked with a frown.
"Yeah, I did... but this was proof..." he kissed her softly. "Why did you go off with him?" he asked her.
"He reminded me of you... a little bit." She whispered, "But it wasn't the same... nothing was the same. His arm around my shoulder was wrong. He wasn't as tall as you are. Kissing him was nothing like kissing you. Having sex with him wasn't the same either." Her face darkened in colour. "He was awful, Joe. I just wanted it to be over so I closed my eyes and tried to pretend it was you." She closed her eyes but opened them as his fingers brushed the side of her face, "I guess I got a little caught up in my thoughts because it was them that made me come... certainly nothing he was doing. And I cried out your name..." She whispered the last sentence and Joey kissed her gently. "I froze once I realised what I'd done and he was looking at me with horror on his face... then it turned to anger and he hit me. He hit me several times and I guess I blacked out. The next thing I was aware of was waking up in bed with him. My first thoughts after I got out of his flat was about coming back to Walford and seeing you. I know things between us were ropey at that time but I needed my best friend to tell me everything was going to be okay... that I was going to be okay. I didn't intend for us to have sex again... and when I woke up and found myself in exactly the same position for a second time that day, I felt guilty for what I had done. I still thought you had got back together with Debbie and I was ashamed of the way I'd behaved, with you and him. So I did what every Branning does best and I ran." Tears were falling down her face now and Joey kissed and brushed them away.
"I understand, baby..." he told her softly. "I didn't at the time but I do now."
Lauren looked up at his face, "Make love to me, Joey..." she whispered.
"Anytime, baby." He said softly and proceeded to do just that.
TBC
A/N: So what did you think? Too cheesy? I kind of like the thought of Joey watching all those movies with his mum so she would be happy. Bless him.
COMING SOON... TO A FAN FIC SITE NEAR YOU... BEFORE SUNSET...
Seemed appropriate to end the story with this one... but will they get their happy ending? You'll have to wait and see...