chapter twenty-six

Lauren looked at herself in the mirror. Although Samantha and Cicely insisted that she was glowing, Lauren felt ugly. Perhaps more on the inside than out. Right now, she wore a velvet burgundy dress that ended at her knees. Her strappy shoes matched her dress. Lauren's hair was swept up in a whirlwind of pins, only allowing a few tendrils down to frame her face. Lauren wore her neck AJ gave her.

Cicely came into view in the mirror. She inquired, "You ready, Sweetheart?"

Lauren turned around and smiled numbly. "Why am I even bothering to go there when I know all I'll get is sore feet?"

"Because if you don't, your feet won't be the only thing that'll hurt," Samantha warned, walking past the door to grab her coat.

Cicely gave a disapproving look to her girlfriend and said to Lauren, "I know you don't want to, but it'll be fun. Trust me, there has never been one dull Bah Hum Bug Ball."

"I swear to God, Cicely, if you tell that story of me and Rick Stewart..." Samantha bellowed, throwing the others their coats.

"Later days," Cicely whispered to Lauren with a wink.

The weather was horrible that night. Flurries of snow became the mild beginnings of a blizzard. Cicely took over the wheel of the car, knowing well enough that Samantha was too edgy to drive. She always was before her parties. Right then, she kept telling Cicely how to drive. Lauren only giggled at how they bickered at each other.

At the hotel, everything was set. The catering was picture perfect, the decorations fabulous. All that was needed were the guests.

Soon after Lauren, Samantha and Cicely had arrived, the guests poured in. Lauren was amazed by how many people those two girls were acquainted to. Lauren was glad when she was some familiar faces. She walked over and made conversation.

Samantha excused herself and walked to the pay phone in the hotel lobby. She punched in a couple of numbers and listened to the monotone ring.

"Hello?"

"Kev, this is Sam. Party's in full swing. Lauren's mingling. What about your end of the situation?"

"Still oblivious, as always," Kevin said.

"Where are you?"

"Uh, we just passed Hartford Street. We'll be at the hotel in like, five minutes."

"Good. I hope this goes well. She'll be mighty pissed at me if this doesn't work."

"Join the club. See you later."

"Bye." Samantha hung up the phone. Her heart was racing. This had to work.

Oh God, let it work.

--------------------------

Kevin had told Howie, Brian and AJ the plan he and Sam had created. At first, they were all skeptical. Kevin made them promise to act dumb and follow through with the plan.

They arrived at the hotel and checked in, as they normally did. Kevin set up a scenario as if they were going to Kev's old friend's party. Which wasn't a complete lie. It just distorted a few truths...

"This is going to be boring," Nick said to Brian as all five walked down to the banquet hall.

"Yeah, well, we should stick around. You know, be Kev's posse," Brian joked.

They entered the party and were awed by the glamorous decorations. This woman sure went all-out. In the middle of the room was a large figurine of Eboneezer Scrooge -- old, bony and with a scowl on his face. Red velvet was everywhere. You could smell the wonderful scent of cinnamon in the air.

"Ah, Kevin!" a tall, brunette approached them. "I'm so glad you could make it. Who's your posse you got here?"

Kevin knew it was Sam, he could recognise that voice anywhere. He introduced his friends and they all made small talk.

Brian elbowed Nick as they walked through the crowd. "I told you we're his posse."

Nick smiled and kept walking around. Kevin had stayed with Sam up front. AJ and Howie made their way to the banquet tables to grab some food. Airplane dinners always made you even more hungry for real food.

Samantha seemed so familiar to Nick. He didn't know how or why, but his brain kept giving him these freaky signals. Like he'd seen her before. It kept nagging at him.

Brian had spotted Lauren. She had her back to them, but he definitely knew it was her. It was so good to see her. If he could've Brian would have ran up to her and hugged her and never let go. She couldn't leave them a third time.

Nick and Brian mingled around a little. Nick didn't make much talk, but Brian insisted that he stay with him. Brian was wondering how long it'd take for Nick to see her.

He finally did. His jaw dropped and he glanced at his partner. Brian was grinning. Nick gave a big hug to him. "Where did y'all find her?" Nick inquired quietly, his eyes glued to her.

"Samantha is actually Lauren's good friend. Lauren moved in with her. Somehow, Sam contacted with Kev and they've kept up-to-date on you and Lauren for a while now. Thank Kev for this ingenious little trip up here."

"Why couldn't you just have told me where she was so I could come up here on my own?"

"We wanted to make sure you didn't screw up again."

"Third time's a charm," Nick shrugged.

"Yeah, well, the first time would've saved us a lot of hassle!" Brian joked.

"Oh, God. What the hell am I gonna say to her?" Nick asked. "She's gonna run away from me."

"She can't get too far. There's only one exit out and Kev's got it covered." Brian thought for a second. "I got an idea."

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chapter twenty-seven