What's crackin' ladies and gents.
So, I sat down to start writing this chapter with a clear scene in mind. And then I didn't write it. I got working on this and realized i I went all the way through the scene I had planned this chapter was going to be insanely long, so instead, I'm going to break it up. As a result, this is a pretty short chapter. We're also keeping it pretty low key. You know, as I type that I realize I lie to you all a lot...so maybe this is the chapter where all Hell breaks loose. You don't know.
As soon as I get time I'll write the next part. Until then, hope everyone likes this piece.
Enjoy!
Bo: Made it home. Only hit four pedestrians and clipped two street signs. Got a concussion, but it's healing nicely.
Lauren read the message and couldn't hold back the laughing smile that came over her face. She was about to text back when Michael spoke. "Good Lord, you have it bad," he said with a laugh.
"What?"
"That look you got when she texted you," Michael said.
Lauren hesitated for a moment, debating how hard she wanted to fight this. "You don't know that it was Bo texting…" she said, lamely.
Michael didn't say anything, opting instead to give Lauren a withering come on, seriously? look.
Lauren sighed. "Alright, so it was Bo."
"Oh, really? It was? I had no idea," Michael said with an eye roll.
Lauren hit him playfully. "Shut up. Like I haven't watched you make your fair share of goofy faces when you were talking to Jenn."
"So, what are we thinking? Wedding in two months? Three? I know it's going to be soon," Michael teased, slouching down further into the couch.
"We've only been dating for a little while. We're happy. I'm not trying to rush anything."
"So, like, four months, then?"
Lauren rolled her eyes, laughing.
Michael laughed as well. "Alright, alright, fight it all you want. I'm just saying, you didn't get that goofy look when you talked to Nadia."
"I loved Nadia," Lauren defended.
"I know you did," Michael said, nodding. "I'm just saying you didn't love her like you love Bo."
Lauren thought about the statement for a moment. "She's just…I don't know. She's Bo. She's special."
"She's the one," Michael said in a matter of fact tone.
Lauren didn't answer, taking a sip of her wine.
They sat in quiet for a few moments, absentmindedly watching TV. When Michael spoke again, he did not move his eyes from the screen. "Mom said you haven't been returning her calls," he said, his voice calm and low.
Lauren gave no reaction.
After waiting a few moments and hearing nothing, Michael continued. "She said she hasn't talked to you in about six months, actually. So, by my math, you haven't really talked to her since you started dating Bo."
Lauren took another sip, still not saying anything. When she continued to remain quiet, Michael glanced over at her, sighing.
"Look, I get it, okay? I get that you two have issues. But she does care about you," Michael said.
"I wasn't interested in telling her about Bo and then hearing how this was a phase, or that I shouldn't tell anyone, or that this is just a phase Bo is going through, or that this could be bad for my career, or whatever else," Lauren said.
Michael nodded. "Yeah, that's fair. For what it's worth, I think she's starting to accept it."
"Six years later. How progressive."
Michael sighed again and reached over, pulling Lauren against his chest. "She misses you. And when she misses you, she calls me. Please stop making me talk to my mother. It hurts my street cred."
"You work with computers. You have no street cred."
"Still, talking to my mother every day isn't helping."
"True."
Lauren laid against Michael a while longer, relaxing against him. A few minutes later, she heard his phone buzzing. She glanced up when he pulled it out and looked at the screen, a bright smile flashing through his eyes.
Lauren sat up, patting his shoulder. "Go talk to your wife," she said with a smile.
Michael grinned at her, standing up. "What can I say? She's the one," he said, hitting the button on his phone to accept the call and exiting the room.
When he walked out, Lauren grabbed her phone again.
Lauren: Glad you made it safely. I still wish you had stayed.
Bo: Yeah, in retrospect this was a dumb idea. You don't need time with your brother. That's what Thanksgiving is for.
Lauren smiled.
Lauren: Great. So come back.
Bo: Don't tempt me, Lewis. I'm trying to make a good impression on your brother.
Lauren: We need a two bedroom apartment to avoid this issue in the future.
Bo I found some places for us to look at. I meant to show you earlier, but I got distracted by all the pictures of you.
Lauren: God, those pictures are horrible.
Bo: You were adorable. Still are, as a matter of fact.
Lauren: You have an unfair advantage. I'm petitioning Kenzi and Dyson for embarrassing Bo photos and stories.
Bo: You can try, but I have a lot of dirt on them. You might find they have very little to say.
Lauren grinned. Bo and Lauren continued texting back and forth for a while, and after what felt like only a few minutes, Michael walked back out, tucking his phone back in his pocket.
"Still texting her? Geez, I was talking to the mother of my future child and I managed to wrap it up in thirty minutes. You really do have it bad."
Lauren smiled. "Hey," she said, "you're going to be a dad. My big brother is going to be someone's dad."
"Don't remind me, I'm having a heart attack every twenty minutes as it is," Michael said with a smile.
"Well, don't worry, if you screw up it will only affect the kid for life."
"Helpful," Michael said with a laugh.
Bo plugged her phone into the charge in her bedroom and slid under the sheets. Well, this sucked. It had been a while since she had last slept alone; had she really been a fan of this in the past? It seemed like a long time ago now.
She turned over on her side, facing Lauren's side of the bed. This was ridiculous – she was sleeping alone, she could sleep in the middle and give herself more space. But the problem was, that was Lauren's side. It didn't belong to Bo anymore. And sleeping there would just underscore that fact that Bo was in this bed alone. At least if she stayed on her own side she could pretend that Lauren had just gotten up for a minute, that she was on her way back.
God, she really was pathetic.
With a sigh, Bo let her eyes fall closed and waited patiently for sleep to find her.
When Bo woke up she was on Lauren's side of the bed, her face pressed into the pillow. She took a deep breath and caught the smell of Lauren on it, and smiled. Well, she made it through the night. At least that was over. She took one last deep breath and pushed herself up, refusing to acknowledge in her mind that Michael wasn't leaving town today, or even tomorrow, and there was a reasonable chance she wouldn't get to spend the night with Lauren until Tuesday night. Whatever.
She stood up, stretching her back, and looked at the time. 6:07a. Okay, so too soon to text Lauren. With a slight yawn, Bo crossed to the bathroom, carrying her phone with her.
Bo had just finished brushing her teeth when the phone buzzed on the counter beside her.
Lauren: Good morning.
Bo grinned and texted back what are you doing up so early?
Lauren: Michael snores. And kicks.
Bo: Sounds like you had a fun night.
Lauren: Hey, go to your door real quick.
Bo read the message, feeling confused. Grabbing her robe, she dropped her phone in her pocket and walked to the door.
When she opened she found Lauren, clad in jeans and a hooded sweatshirt, waiting for her, holding two cups of a coffee.
"Morning," she said with a smile.
Bo grinned back. "What are you doing here?"
Lauren shrugged. "Michael sleeps late, and I missed you. Coffee?"
"God, you do know the way to my heart," Bo said, accepting the cup and letting Lauren in. Bo took a sip and hummed her appreciation as Lauren crossed the room to sit down at the counter. Bo followed her. "How did you know I would be up?" Bo said.
Lauren looked at Bo out of the corner of her eye and smiled. "Because you're always up by this time," she answered.
Bo smiled and leaned in, giving Lauren a kiss. When they broke apart, Lauren looked at Bo quizzically. "Did you just brush your teeth?"
"Yeah…"
"And you're drinking coffee?"
"What, is that like a weird health risk or something?" Bo asked.
"Doesn't it taste terrible?" Lauren asked, bewildered.
Bo looked at her, her face showing confusion. "It's coffee, Lauren. It can't taste terrible."
"You have a problem," Lauren said, shaking her head.
"Hey, you're the one out getting coffee before 7a, who really has the problem," Bo joked. "You know, you could have just come over, I would have made you coffee."
"Yeah, but if I just showed up I would look needy and pathetic. I needed a ruse to get over here. Hence the coffee."
"Clever," Bo said. "I'll never see through that."
"I know, right? It's brilliant," Lauren said, smiling.
Bo and Lauren finished their coffee at 7:30a. After a kiss goodbye, Lauren headed back home, trying to enter quietly.
"Mornin', sunshine," Michael said with a grin as she walked in.
Lauren startled slightly, not expecting to see him. "Oh…hey," she said.
"So, where have you been?" he said, a wide grin on his face.
"Oh, just, you know…out for a jog," Lauren answered.
Michael nodded. "Right. Because you always go for early morning runs wearing jeans."
Lauren rolled her eyes, kicking off her shoes.
"So, how's Bo?" Michael asked, the shit eating grin still plastered on his face.
Lauren sighed. "She's fine. Shut up."
Michael just laughed.
Ridiculously short? Yes. Still, please let me know what you think.