Right Place, Wrong Time

60. Feels Right

Never in her life had Lauren received so many phone calls. Gossip spread like wildfire, and she'd had to stop answering to her well-meaning but incredibly nosy friends, letting her inbox fill with texts instead. But she was waiting to hear back about a job as a coach for an audition workshop, so when an unknown number called her she picked up.

"Hello?"

"Lauren!" cried Meredith's voice on the other end, even bubblier than usual.

Lauren sighed, shifting the phone to her other hand. "Hi, Mere. Where are you calling from?"

"Work. You were ignoring me when I tried you on my cell phone."

"I was just busy," Lauren lied. And Meredith probably knew it.

"Is it really true you're dating Joey now?" she demanded, getting right to the point of her call.

"Uh huh," she said, secretly taking enjoyment in these reactions.

"Why did I have to hear about this from Brian?"

"It started like a week ago," Lauren said.

"But this is the biggest news this year."

Lauren laughed. "I think there are more important things than my love life."

"Not when it's you and Joey," Meredith said, like she was explaining it to a child. Lauren heard noise on the other end of the line. "Okay, I have to go now, but you have to call me later and tell me everything."

"Sure," Lauren said, with the intention of doing no such thing. "Bye, Mere."

She hung up the phone and slumped down on the couch. "Why do people care so much?" she said to Julia, who sat next to her, typing away at her laptop.

"Because you've been in love forever."

Lauren twirled her phone in her hands, smiling. There was something touching about the fact that their friends cared so much about their relationship, that they saw something special in it as much as she did. And it only made her more sure she'd made the right decision.

It was still overwhelming, though, and she needed to get out of the apartment for a bit. Leaving her phone on the arm of the couch, she got up.

"I'm gonna head to Target. You need anything?"

Julia shook her head, so Lauren grabbed her purse and the grocery list she'd made that morning and headed out.

Retail therapy was what she needed, but she was on a budget now visits to Joey were even more of a priority, so she ended up wandering the aisles for an hour looking at all the things she couldn't buy. At last, she headed towards the stuff she actually needed.

A guy stood looking down at his phone in the snack aisle, and with someone's shopping cart on the other side he was blocking her way.

"Excuse me, can I-"

The guy turned, and recognised her as she recognised him.

"Darren! Hi."

He pulled her into a hug. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Are you in town long?" she asked, sidestepping to let someone else past them.

"I'm just playing a gig here."

"Nice."

His smile turned playful, knowing. "So I heard about you and Joey."

Lauren rolled her eyes. "Yeah, who hasn't?"

"Well, it was a long time coming."

"You think?"

He nodded. "Something clicked with you guys. I saw it that first night at my party."

"Yeah," Lauren said, smiling. She had felt it, even if it had taken her a while to realise exactly how much it meant. That party seemed a lifetime ago now, a point in her life when Joey wasn't the centre of her world but was just entering her orbit, but she wasn't sure if it was still a sore spot. She had been with Darren at the time, after all.

"I'm glad you two are together," he said, settling the matter for her.

"Really?"

"He's a really good guy. And he makes you happy. Happier than I could have done."

There was nothing Lauren could say to that truth. She gave Darren a grateful smile for saying it. "You're a really great friend."

"Yeah who knows, maybe one day we'll be going on double dates."

She laughed, but she was genuine when she said, "I'd like that." It would make a lot of sense for them, somehow.

He glanced down at his phone again. "I gotta get going, but I'll see you around," he said, touching her arm.

"Have a good show," she said, stepping back against the shelves as he passed, then turning to them, forgetting for a moment what she had come here for. She was struck by the insignificance of all the little relationship things she'd worried over before, the heartbreaks she didn't think she'd get over, the settling for relationships that weren't right. All of that had been stepping stones on the way to this — the relationship that everyone agreed was right for her.

She pulled her phone from her pocket to send an 'I love you' text to Joey. Just seconds later, she received an 'I love you' back. She smiled to herself, lovestruck in the middle of Target like she had been the target for Cupid's arrow. As much as it hurt to be so far away from him, this relationship felt so right, so simple. And it wasn't something she ever planned to let go.