After a week of training, with Joey and Lauren progressively warming up to each other until it was as if they'd never been apart, the whole team was ready to let off some steam before they made the trip up to the lake to set up for the incoming campers.
They all met up at a local bar. It was a short walk from Joey's apartment, and he got there earlier than he intended to, seeing only a few of his fellow counselors. He got a drink and settled in to wait for the one person he really cared about. She was there not much later, wearing a skin-tight dress that should have been illegal, but he got up to hug her and then bought her a drink.
"So how are you finding it so far?" he asked her.
"It's pretty good," she told him. "I am really glad you're here."
"Yeah, me too," he smiled.
"What were the chances though?"
Joey liked to think it was fate bringing them back together. He truly believed Lauren was his soulmate, and what better proof than them ending up working at the same camp? That was sure to scare her off, though, so instead he said, "I guess we got lucky." She hummed in agreement.
Lauren bought their next drinks. He knew she didn't normally drink much, but tonight she seemed to be letting go a little, and he decided to pace his own drinking just in case. With the water he had between drinks, it wasn't long before he had to go to the bathroom. He left Lauren at the table, giggling excessively over a joke he'd said. When he returned, Jackson was sitting beside her, and she looked like she was trying to hold back more giggles. It was a sight that might have made him jealous, if it weren't for the fact that Jackson was gay.
"What's up?" he said in greeting, as he approached the table.
Jackson grinned. "I was just keeping Lauren company. She was telling me about the hot guy who left her by herself." He turned to Lauren, who hadn't yet seemed to notice Joey was there. "Is this him?"
She looked up at Joey, and beamed. "You're back!" Then, in a very loud whisper to Jackson, "That's him."
Joey tried not to look too smug as he sat back down with them. "She didn't get herself into any trouble?" he asked.
"No, she just had a lot to say about you."
"I hope it was all good things, Lo," he said, but the girl looked outraged.
"I wasn't talking about you. I'm mad at you," she pouted.
"Because I left you? I only went to pee."
"No," she said, and he began to get nervous. Their friendship had been going so well. "You're too beautiful," she explained, her voice child-like, and making it even more difficult for Joey not to laugh as he was flooded with relief.
"Thank you."
Sensing he hadn't taken her seriously, she shuffled closer and put a hand on his cheek. "No, Joey, you're so beautiful," she said, her fingertips stroking his skin making breathing difficult for him.
"I don't think I'm needed here now her hot guy is back," Jackson said, and left, which Joey couldn't help being grateful for even if his presence might actually have been for the better in keeping things from getting out of hand.
He gently took Lauren's hand off of his cheek, and held it in his own.
"You're beautiful too," he said softly.
"Really?" she asked, eyes wide.
"So beautiful." It pained him that he couldn't tell her just how much. "Your dress looks nice." Again, an understatement.
Lauren looked proud of herself. "I thought you'd like it."
He swallowed, thinking about the implication that a much more sober Lauren had been thinking about him when she put this dress on for tonight. But the last thing he'd be doing would be taking advantage of her current state, so he put a little bit of space between them.
"Do you want to dance?" she asked him.
Figuring if she was dancing she wasn't drinking, which was probably best for her right now, he agreed, and led her out to the dance floor. The music was loud, the beat fast, and Lauren's dancing sensual. It was almost a relief when a slower song came on, because even holding her in his arms was better than feeling, more than watching, her dance just inches away from him. Her head lay against his chest, with his heart beating a million miles a minute. He sensed she was beginning to get sleepy, so he held her tighter against him. He lost himself swaying to the music, so even when the beat picked up again it took him a while to shake himself out of it, and longer still to pull away from her. She murmured inaudibly, and he decided it was time to get her home. He went back to their table to pick up her bag, and then walked her outside.
"Hey, Lo. Can you tell me your address? We're gonna get a cab." There was no way he was letting her go home by herself.
She blinked a few times to bring him into focus, then reeled off an address in a surprisingly clear voice: a Michigan one.
"That's your old address. What's your new one, here? In LA?" he tried.
Her face screwed up in a frown. Then she seemed like she was about to cry. "I don't know."
"Okay, okay." He rubbed his hands over his face as he thought about what to do, increasingly grateful he'd only had a few drinks tonight. He could probably use her phone to call her roommate, but he didn't particularly want to wake up someone he'd never met in the middle of the night.
"Do you want to come back to my place?" he asked, nervous about offering but unsure what other option there was. "You can stay there for tonight, and we'll figure out how to get you home in the morning."
She nodded immediately, unhesitating.
"Okay," he said, stroking her back comfortingly as he called a cab to his own place.
"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen," she said sadly.
He had no idea what she was talking about. Their relationship? Tonight? Dare he think... going home with him?
"It's okay, Lo," he said, wrapping his arm around her and pushing those thoughts aside. "You'll feel better in the morning."
The cab pulled up, and he helped her in. Though the journey was only a few minutes, she fell asleep on his shoulder, and he had to wake her to get her inside. She sat down on the couch as soon as they walked in while he went to see if he had a spare toothbrush and some clothes for her to wear. He returned ready to offer his bed to her, but found her already asleep. Without the heart to move her again, he got a blanket to put over her, and carefully slid a cushion under her head. There was nothing he could do about her dress to make her more comfortable - not that falling asleep had been a problem for her, he supposed - but he did unclasp her necklace and set it on the table. He brushed her hair back from her forehead, then left the room before he could do anything else that would make him fall deeper for her, something he certainly didn't need any help with.
It was hard for him to fall asleep that night, thinking about Lauren, and not just worrying about whether she was comfortable enough out on his couch. He had to make a concerted effort to keep his feelings for her at bay, and it was difficult enough when she was reminding him that they couldn't rush into things. But it had been made clear to him tonight that her feelings were still very much present, and that made it all the more difficult. His best hope was that she would forget all about it tomorrow, and he would do his best to do the same. But he could still feel the warmth everywhere she had touched him tonight, and he knew it was easier said than done.
