Aubrey's Playground

:100:

"It's a little dusty! Very embarrassing..." Janet teased quietly as she followed behind Lori through her brownstone, Lori smiled and rolled her eyes as she carried a small pile of laundry. "Neglecting your home for dick?"

"I didn't say come over to point out my flaws?" Lori replied, she squinted her eyes in Janet's direction.

"Now why you got an attitude with me when YOUR house is dusty!" Janet snickered, Lori eyed her with a frown, "how was Bart's?"

"Eventual!"

"Hmmm, I'll be asking about that later, anyway you told your mom?"

"No."

"You call Morgan?"

"No, not yet..."

"Are you going to!?..."

"I don't want to go..."

"Neither do I!" Janet confessed, "she knows we were lying the last three times!"

Lori dropped the clothes at the foot of her bed, she sighed, smoothed her eyebrows out, then pulled her hair up into a bun, "Technically we DID work!"

"Barley," Janet argued within reason.

"I don't want to bring Aubrey."

"Then don't."

"He's not going to let that happen."

"Rent your own house for the weekend, show your face a few times and go about your business." Janet shrugged while plopping into a chair in the corner, Lori's face softened, her lips slightly twisted, "You don't need an excuse to have privacy," Janet continued, Lori still remained silent thinking harder than she needed to, "still trying to hide him..." Janet interrupted again while shaking her head.

"I'm not."

"You are."

"You already know how this works,"

"You want her to mind her business!? So tell her!"

"Tell her what? Exactly?... and I'm not joking, I need you to tell me what to tell her..."

"Are you trying to convince yourself you're not serious about him?... like, it's a question." Janet humorously asked, she leaned forward with a smile. Lori stood in silence.

"Aubrey has secrets, you and I both know that and I want to keep his secrets... HIS secrets, I don't need her knowing anything other than I'm having the time of my life and he has a J.O.B! That's it!" Lori finally confessed her feelings, Janet laughed but quickly covered her mouth.

"Look, I get it! I'm in no place to judge but I'll forever be your back up so it'll be ok," Janet confirmed, Lori's pout softened and quickly turned into a smile.

"Thank you," she said warmly but quickly narrowed her eyes in suspicion as she crawled onto her bed, "speaking of, you and Mark ok?"

"Ehhh..."

"What is that?..."

"EHHHH!" Janet repeated, adding a shrug.

"Oh, your feelings are hurt!" Lori poked at her, Janet sat in silence but rolled her eyes, "No judgment!"

"I miss the sex..."

"No judgment on that either." Lori nodded as she continued folding, "so, when he does text you!?"