15th April 2013 - So, as a treat... here's a second chapter. It will be the only night this week with more than one chapter... so enjoy! I think you might...

Chapter 4.

Joey sat on her bed, watching as Lauren dashed back into the room, only partially dressed. In fact all she was wearing was underwear and her shoes. It was an arousing sight. "Babe..." he moaned, causing Lauren to turn and look at him. "Come here..." he whispered. The two words caused her to smile and she walked over to him. He grabbed her hips and tried to pull her onto his lap.

"Joe, we don't have time for that... Later." She said gently.

"I need you now..." he mumbled as he pressed his lips to her stomach, "You can't parade around like that in front of me and not expect me to react."

She brushed her hands through his hair and looked into his eyes when he lifted his to meet hers. With a small smile she pulled away from him and walked over to the door, shutting it firmly. "You're going to have to be quick... and quiet." She said as she strolled back over to him.

"Don't worry... it won't take long." He groaned as he felt her hands work on his jeans. Lauren was kneeling in front of him now and he watched as she yanked his jeans and boxers down his legs. She looked up into his eyes briefly before taking his length in her mouth, enthusiastically working him to his peak. As he promised it only took minutes before he pulsed in her mouth and he moaned softly as she continued to move on him, encouraging every drop he could give her.

She pulled away from him with a smirk of satisfaction on her face, "That'll have to keep you going till later."

"Later?"

"My parents are taking us out for dinner tonight, after the ceremony and then you're coming back here. For the night." She told him shyly.

"They're letting me stay? In your room?" She nodded and her smirk reappeared as she saw his chin drop in shock. She picked his jaw up from the floor and then kissed him softly on the lips.

"I need to get ready. If you're going to keep distracting me, maybe you should wait downstairs."

"Still processing what you've just told me, babe." He whispered, his eyes following her around the room as she re-did her hair and make-up.

Lauren was aware of him watching her and when she turned to face him she smiled, "You getting dressed, babe? I'm not sure if there's a dress code for tonight but I think my mum, at least, would prefer to not see that." She giggled as she spoke and watched as the realisation and embarrassment washed over him. He pushed himself to his feet and re-dressed his lower half. He began to remove the shirt he was wearing and it was Lauren's turn to drool as she saw the benefits of all the therapy he'd been doing. He moved to his bag and pulled out a fresh shirt that was neatly folded at the top. Lauren took advantage of his inattention and moved to stand behind him, kissing between his shoulder blades and up the back of his neck. Her arms wound around his waist and she pressed her body against his.

"I thought you didn't want any distractions?" he asked her quietly.

"You're a permanent distraction, babe. You just have to look at me and I'm distracted."

"You just have to be in the same room to distract me, baby girl." He responded. "You'd better get dressed before we both get carried away and you miss your ceremony." He reminded her.

"Later..." she whispered against his skin.

*JL*JL*

Ten minutes later the pair was walking back down the stairs. Joey was holding Lauren's hand as he walked in front of her. Max and Tanya were waiting in the hallway. All four were in the car just minutes later and leaving the square, heading back towards the college.

"We should've got the train, dad. Then you could've had a drink with dinner."

"It's fine." He said, "We're having a drink free night tonight anyway." He said.

Lauren blushed, knowing she was the reason for that, "You don't have to do that..."

"It's fine, babe. Neither of you can drink... so it's not a problem."

*JL*JL*

Lauren hadn't realised how many people would be there when she led Joey and her parents into the auditorium. There seemed to be hundreds of people there, a lot of them students at the college. Suddenly Lauren realised what her being in the top five meant and she felt a little overwhelmed by it all.

Joey's arm was around her waist and she leant against him, needing his support. "You okay?" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded, "Just worked out this was a big deal. I hadn't really realised..." she told him. She spotted her tutor coming over to see her and pulled away from Joey, still holding his hand, tightly in hers.

"Lauren, it's good to see you here..." She said with a smile, "I didn't see you leave earlier this afternoon so I wasn't able to speak to you."

"Is there a problem?" Lauren asked.

"No... I just wanted to check because the college would like to open up your show to the guests of the college tonight. All of the top five students have been offered this. There are some pretty influential people in the art world here tonight, Lauren. It would be a good opportunity for you to show your work, even if you don't make the top three."

Lauren bit her lip, her natural insecurities getting the better of her. Joey squeezed her hand reassuringly and she heard her dad tell her tutor it was okay with Lauren. Her tutor smiled at Lauren and wished the family well before leaving them alone. Lauren moved towards Joey, needing his support. Suddenly she was petrified of all these people seeing her work. She'd only just got her head around her friends and family seeing it. It was too much to consider complete strangers looking at and judging her work. She began to shake in his arms as the fear really kicked in.

"Baby... what's wrong?" Joey asked her softly.

"I'm scared..." she whispered into his shirt.

"Of what?"

"What if they think my work is rubbish? That I'm not good enough and I'm just a fraud." She spoke a bit louder this time and both her parents heard her.

"Hey..." Max said, stepping closer to her. "Firstly your work is not rubbish. I told you this earlier. They are going to love those pictures, Lauren, you wait and see. Secondly, if your work was rubbish, you wouldn't have been picked as one of the top five students, would you? This isn't just us telling you what you want to hear; your teachers decided you were one of their best students. You should be proud of what you've achieved, babe. We are." He pulled her from Joey and hugged his daughter tightly, kissing the top of her head. Tanya wrapped her arms around her husband and daughter, telling Lauren how proud they were of what she'd achieved.

TBC

A/N: Presentation ceremony tomorrow... and it really will be tomorrow this time.