chapter threeAfter they cooked dinner, they sat on the couch and watched a few rounds of Jim Carrey movies. They laughed nonstop, whether it was because of the movie or Brian's stupid impressions. Lauren hadn't felt so good in the longest time.
Lauren had finally fallen asleep, with her head on Brian's shoulder. Brian hadn't noticed at first, but he finally heard her measured breathing and knew she was sleeping. Her hair tickled his neck a little and he neatly tucked it behind her ear. He watched her pink lips pierce and silently form words in her sleep. He smiled, and flicked off the TV. He got up without waking her up and took their dishes into the kitchen. When he came back, she had woken up.
"I should go," she said, half-awake.
"It's too late, Lauren. Just stay here for the night."
"No, that's okay," Lauren declined. She unlaced her tennis shoes and slipped them on. Lauren put on her jacket and stood up. She plaited her hair in a loose braid and walked to the door.
"You walked here?" Brian asked, noticing for the first time his driveway was empty.
"Yeah. It wasn't far. I took a cab to a club and then walked from there."
"Let me drive you home, then," Brian said.
"I'm fine, Brian, honestly."
Brian shook his head firmly and grabbed his coat and keys. He led her to his car and drove out of the gated community.
"You gotta help me find your place soon, cuz I'm not very good with directions," he told her later on, turning a corner.
"It's a couple lights down and then a right turn."
He nodded. "You will keep in touch, right?"
"I'll try ---"
"Don't try. Either you do or you don't."
Lauren shook her head, smiling. "You sounded like Michael for a moment there."
"Will you?"
"Yes, I will," she replied. "I'll give Alex and Howie a ring tomorrow, too. Just to humor myself."
"Kev would like to hear from ya. I suggest not calling in the morning, though. He's a grouch before he has his coffee."
Lauren giggled, remembering when Ni--- never mind. Those were past memories. There were certain things she wanted to forget and she promised herself she would. Thinking back would be no good.
"I'll call him, too. He hasn't moved or anything, right?"
"Right."
"Okay. Turn here," she directed him. He obeyed and then she said, "Look for Turner Drive."
He found it, and turned down it. He cruised slowly down the street until she stopped him.
"Not too shabby," he said, pulling up the driveway. It was a modest condo with a nice little bay window in the front.
"It's no gated community mansion, but I'm proud of it," she said. She unbuckled her seatbelt, leaned over and gave Brian a hug.
"Keep in touch, Lauren," Brian told her, giving her a polite peck on her cheek.
"I will," she said and got out of the car. She looked over her shoulder, smiled and opened her front door. She waved and shut the door. She locked it and walked to her answering machine. Two messages.
First one was from her mother: "Lauren, this is your mother. It's ten o'clock, why aren't you home? I hope you aren't out at a club. Those places are a complete waste of time and money. Anyway, how are you and Michael doing? He is such a nice boy. Well, I guess I'll go. Call me when you get in. Merry Christmas."
Lauren rolled her eyes. Her mother loved having conversations with the machine. Lauren wondered if that was because that's all she ever got. Oh well.
The second message was from AJ, surprisingly enough. He didn't have her number: "Hey, Lauren. Merry Christmas. Sorry I didn't catch ya. Just wanted to talk. Nothin' big. If you feel like company, I'm here. Well, peace. Oh, by the way, today's color is blue. I felt stupid, so I dyed my hair blue. Bye."
Lauren laughed and padded to her room. She changed into her PJs and made a note to herself to consider visiting AJ. She missed him. It had certainly been a long time. Lauren climbed into bed and fell asleep easily.
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The next morning, Lauren decided to visit AJ after all. She needed some cynical humor this morning. She took a shower and dressed in a nice burgundy dress that ended at mid-shin level. She wore a comfortable pair of clogs. She pulled her hair back in a low, tight ponytail.
Lauren decided to grab some breakfast at McDonalds before hitting Alex's house. She munched mindlessly on her danish, trying to wrack her brain to remember where the hell he lived. She made a wild guess and cruised down a street called Quint. She knew she was right because in the back of her head it looked somewhat familiar. She didn't have to guess which house was Alex's. Like AJ, there were extreme decorations on his house.
Lauren knocked on his door and waited for him to answer.
"C'mon, Alex! Open the damned door!" she yelled.
The door swung open and there was Alex. His hair was tipped red and green today. He grinned and gave her a big hug.
"I thought you said blue," she stated.
"Woman, you're talking to me. Me." He laughed raspily. He raked his hand through his hair. "Does it look okay?"
"It's fine," she replied. "In the Christmas spirit."
"Rad. How've you been?" He let her in and she immediately was hit with a wave of Alex's cologne. She missed that, too.
"Your guess is as good as mine. Hey, have you called Howie yet? I wanted to give him a holler."
"Go ahead. He's on my speed dial. Number two."
"What's number one?" Lauren cocked a suspicious eyebrow and put her hands on her hips. "I thought I told you to get off that call girl obsession, Alex."
"It's my mom, I swear!" AJ protested.
Lauren smirked crookedly and put the phone on speaker phone before hitting the button labeled "#2 - Howie D."
"Dorough residence?"
"Hey, Howie, Merry Christmas," Lauren greeted.
"That is not Miss Lauren," Howie said. "Lauren! It's so good to hear from ya." She could hear him yell in the background to his family, "It's Lauren!"
"It's good to hear from ya, too, D."
"How are ya?"
"Great. How's the family?"
"A hundred percent, so far. Momma D sends her love."
"Tell her I promise I'll stop by soon and catch up on everything," Lauren told him.
"Will do. Where are you now?"
"Alex's place. He's right here next to me."
"Hey, Age. Merry X-Mas."
"Right back at ya," AJ said.
"Well," Lauren said, "I just wanted to say hi. Talk to you later, all right?"
"Okay, stay out of trouble, you two."
"We will," they replied in unison. Lauren hung up the phone and turned to Alex.
"What now?"
"I have a gift for you," AJ said. "Be right back." He jogged out of the room and came back with both hands behind his back. He told her to pick a hand. She pointed to his left hand and he produced a small box. "Merry Christmas, Lauren."
Lauren took the box and opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver chain with a single diamond pendant. She smiled, closed it and gave it back. "It's gorgeous. But, no thanks."
AJ unlatched the necklace and put it on her. He directed her to the mirror to show her. It looked spectacular on her.
"I can't return it so the least you can do is keep it," AJ said, making Lauren laugh.
"Alex, it's perfect," she told him. "But I don't have anything for you."
"You're here, aren't you?" AJ stated. "You and I both know that five months is too long."
Lauren looked in the mirror and stared at her reflection. She twirled the diamond between her fingers and caught Alex's eyes quickly.
"I just needed to get away, that's all," she explained.
"You could've given us a little warning," AJ said, accusing her a bit.
"Yeah? Well, so could have he," she snapped. She shook her head and looked away.
AJ frowned. "Nick is young. Very naive. Doesn't know one thing about commitment, Lauren."
"I know," she replied.
"I'm glad you found a new guy. I mean, me and Nick are as close as brothers, but you don't deserve him."
Lauren said a little hoarse, "Don't badmouth him like that. Just because he dumped me doesn't mean he's a terrible person."
"You don't believe that crock of shit, do you?" AJ said, skeptically.
She replied hotly, "I've been believing it ever since I left, why should I stop now?"
AJ watched her, severely amused. He finally let out a chuckled and said, "You are still so feisty. I like that."
Lauren put her hands on her hips. "And you never cease to amaze me, Alex."