Right Place, Wrong Time

59. Make It Work

Those few days spent with Lauren were the happiest of Joey's life. Neither of them wanted to think about when it came time for him to leave. But the day of his flight back to Michigan arrived, his suitcase packed — bar the sweatshirt Lauren had stolen and was wearing as she sat across from him at the table, legs crossed on the chair, gazing at him sadly.

"I'm not ready for you to leave," she murmured.

"I'm not ready to go," he said. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"I'm gonna miss you." She stared down at her plate, toying with the food he'd made her, barely any of it eaten.

He reached across for her hands. "I promise we'll be okay."

"Mhm."

"It's gonna suck," he said, and she gave him a sad smile. "But we can do it. I'll call you every single day."

"You shouldn't promise that."

"I will. You don't have to answer every day," he said, eliciting the smile he loved so much, "but I'll call."

"Okay," she murmured.

"You don't regret this, do you?" he asked. He'd been worried about that all day, that she would realise she really couldn't do a long distance relationship and she'd slip back away from him.

"No," she said, squeezing his hand as she shook her head vehemently. "Not for a second. It's just hard."

"I know," he said.

"But it's not forever."

"That's right," he smiled. Dreams of the life they could have together one day, an apartment to make their own, a lifetime of waking up and falling asleep beside each other; that would get him through all the days where he would long to kiss her, where he would miss her so much his heart would feel like it would never be whole again.

They showered together that morning, taking turns to gently wash each other, getting a taste already of how they were slipping away with the soap under their fingers, the water splashed on their faces hiding their tears but not the taste of salt as they kissed each other.

It was silent as they both got dressed, the only thing on either of their minds the fact that he was leaving, which was the last thing they wanted to talk about.

"Do you want this back now?" she asked, standing in her bra and holding his sweatshirt.

He shook his head. "You keep it until I see you again."

She smiled gratefully, and slipped it over her head. They snuggled on her bed for another few hours, making out, trying to memorise every sensation, until she had to drive him to the airport.

There, she walked in with him, holding his hand. He looked down at her, seeming so tiny in his sweatshirt, the sleeves dangling over her hands. Before saying anything, he pulled her into a tight hug, his eyes filling with tears.

"I love you so much," he whispered right in her ear, her hair tickling his lips. "So fucking much."

"I love you," she whispered, her arms wrapped tight around his neck like she was never letting go.

One of them had to, though, so he forced himself to do it so she wouldn't have to. He made sure she was steady on her feet, then straightened up, pulling his backpack higher up his shoulders. She had tears in her eyes too, now, and they wiped them away for each other. Her eyes, her smile, they were almost too painful to look at, but he couldn't look away. He kissed her, deeply, until he couldn't draw it out any longer.

"I'll see you soon, Lo," he said.

"Mhm," she nodded.

He didn't trust himself to speak again, so he kissed her forehead and headed off, turning once and waving goodbye.

Numbly, he went through the motions of security, boarding, staring out the window the whole flight, and getting a cab back to his house. Just hours ago he was kissing Lauren and now he was in a whole different world, the one that she had first made him feel like he belonged in and would never be the same without her.

Before he unlocked his front door, he looked at his new lockscreen, a selfie of them both, rejuvenating a little of the happiness he felt at finally being her boyfriend. That steeled him enough to head inside.

He walked in on the middle of a video game tournament, apparently the last one to arrive back from break.

"Hey, dude," Brian said, looking up at him for a second. Then, "God fucking damnit."

Joey set his bag down on the floor, pulling up a chair beside the couch.

"How was your trip?" Brian asked, still focused on the screen.

"Good," Joey said, smiling in spite of how much he already missed Lauren.

Brian looked at him now, frowning a little. Probably because he'd seen firsthand how miserable he usually was after a goodbye with Lauren.

The few days at hers where the relationship was just theirs had been bliss, but they'd both agreed they weren't sure how long that secret could be kept from their friends. And right now, it seemed impossible to try.

"I have something to tell you guys," Joey said.

"Yeah?"

"Lauren and I are dating now."

Several of the boys laughed.

"What's funny?" Joey said.

"No, seriously, we're listening. What did you want to tell us?"

"I'm dating Lauren," he repeated.

Brian's head snapped up. "Oh shit, really?"

On screen, the players were killed off one by one as everyone stopped paying attention, 'Game Over' flashing up as they all stared gobsmacked at him.

"You're dating Lauren?" Pomme said.

"Yeah."

"You're dating Lauren Lopez?"

Now Joey laughed. "I know she's out of my league, but is it really that unbelievable?"

There was a chorus of "yes".

"Seriously?" he said.

"We were all rooting for it," Pomme said. "But we didn't think it was actually going to happen."

"It seemed like you were gonna keep pining over each other for the rest of your lives."

Joey had to admit he had thought that too. "Well, it happened."

"That's great news, man," Brian said, dropping his controller onto the couch so he could pull Joey into a hug. "She's staying in New York though?"

"Yeah, for now," Joey said. "We'll see what happens, I guess."

Brian gave him a sympathetic smile.

"But I'm happy," he said. Really, truly happy, because his dream had come true.

"Well, this calls for celebration."

Joey let himself be sucked into everyone else's excitement for him, allowing himself this happiness. Because he meant every word of the promise he made to Lauren about making this work, no matter how hard it would be.