Hot and Humid (Laurmani)

Chapter 10

It wasn't long before I got over that debacle at the nudist resort, and things between Lauren and me returned to normal. It was the middle of May, and Houston Community College was holding its commencement ceremony. I was so relieved to finally be graduating, but I was also nervous about fully stepping out into the world.

Lauren drove us both to NRG Stadium where the graduation was being held. There, we met up with my family and friends. After saying my hellos, I split off from the group to find my place in the graduation lineup. It really wasn't much different from my high school graduation. I knew Lauren brought a large sign she made that said "My Girlfriend is a College Graduate!" It wasn't until after the ceremony that I found out that Lauren almost got into a fight with the family sitting behind her. They were angry that they couldn't take pictures of their graduate as he was walking across the stage. A police officer working security almost threw Lauren out for refusing to put the sign down.

After the ceremony, everyone drove over to my favorite chicken wing place. My parents rented out a section of the restaurant for the party. I took a seat between Lauren and my dad. Our food came out quickly due to it being preordered. While eating, my dad leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Lauren asked your mom and me before the ceremony if we would give our blessing to her asking for your hand in marriage."

I gave him a dumbfounded look and whispered back, "I think it's a little too early to be thinking about marriage."

My dad shrugged his shoulders. "She said she wasn't going to propose to you any time soon, but she's sure you're the one."

"What did you two tell her?" I asked him.

"We gave her our blessing, of course."

I pondered for a moment about how accepting my parents have been of Lauren. "Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Mmhm," he said as he was taking a bite of his chicken.

"How come you and mom embraced Lauren so quickly?"

He answered, "I can only speak for myself, but your last relationship and all the pain it caused you is still fresh in my mind. It's just nice to know you're with someone who would do anything to make you happy. I saw that immediately when I met Lauren."

"Hmm."

"It's time to open up presents!" my mom announced.

This was the part I was anticipating. I got a lot of gift cards. The coolest one was to a uniform store. I really needed more scrubs and an expensive pair of comfortable shoes. Then, came time to open Lauren's gift which she held nervously on her lap. "Are you going to give me my gift so I can open it?" I inquired.

"Um, I think we should wait until we get home."

"Ugh," I huffed and snatched the bag out of her hand. I removed the tissue paper and pulled out a box. At first, I was confused about what it was just going off the picture on the box. Then, I read the label. Vibrating Dildo. Oh my word.

"Mommy, what is that?" one of my little cousins asked my aunt.

My aunt looked at the box, and her eyes widened. "Normani! Put that away!"

I quickly threw the box back inside the bag and threw it under the table. Brandee was sitting across from us practically in tears from laughing so hard. Jordan hid her face in her hands as if she were suffering from secondhand embarrassment. I nudged Lauren. "Why did you let me open that in front of everyone?"

"What was I supposed to do? You forcefully took it away from me," she responded.

Is she really going to blame me for this? "You could have told me it was inappropriate. Actually, you could have just left it at home and told me that I would get my gift later.

"Are you going to stay mad because I kind of want to use that tonight?"

This chick; I swear. "Just...don't."

Lauren frowned and folded her arms across her chest. "You could at least tell me 'thank you.'"

She was really trying my patience. "Shut up. Just shut up."

My mom waved her arms to get everyone's attention. "Derrick and I have a very special gift to give to Normani." She held up a check for everyone to see. "We were going to buy you tickets, but we thought it would be best to let you decide where you want to go. It's not much, but here is a $1,000 check for you and Lauren not to spend on toys..." If I weren't black, I know my faced would have looked like a cherry at that point. "...but to spend on a vacation."

Lauren and I hopped up and down in our seats, hugged each other, got up to hug our parents, and returned to our seats. "Thank you so much mom and dad."

Lauren added, "You two are literally the best parents I've ever had."

My mom peaked around my dad to get a good look at Lauren. "Lauren, what about your parents?"

"You two are literally the best parents I've ever had," she repeated.

We finished our food, put the gifts inside our car, and said our goodbyes. Lauren took the wheel again on our way home. As she was driving, she started up a conversation. "Dude! You're going to be making bank. Does this mean I no longer have to take out student loans to pay my half of the rent?"

"Uh. I'm not trying to be your suga mama," I replied. She didn't bring up that subject again.

We pulled into our apartment complex and saw a police car parked near our building. "Ugh. Why are the police here?" said Lauren. "I hope this place doesn't turn into the ghetto." I'm just going to act like she didn't say that.

We walked to our apartment, and when we got close, we saw two police officers, one male and one female, knocking on our door. They heard us approaching from behind and turned around to get a look at us. "Do you live here?" the male officer asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Do you happen to be Lauren Michelle Jauregui?" he questioned pointing at Lauren.

"Errr...yeah," she said nervously.

The female officer broken in, "We're here to place you under arrest for identity theft and credit card fraud."

"What?" I exclaimed.

The female officer ignored me and continued to speak to Lauren, "I'm going to need you to place your hands on the wall and stand with your feet apart."

Lauren hesitated, "Can we do this inside?"

The male officer pointed out, "We're going to have to walk you out in handcuffs to the vehicle anyway."

"I know, but can we still please do this inside? I don't want our neighbors to see me being patted down," she begged.

The two officers looked annoyed. They stared at each other for a moment, and it was as if they both came to a decision without saying a word. "Alright," said the female officer.

Lauren unlocked our door, and we all walked in. The female officer signaled with her hands for Lauren to get into the pat down stance against the wall to which she complied. I blurted out while sitting on the couch, "Where are you taking her?"

"For now, she's going to the Harris County Jail. Later, she might be transferred to the federal jail in San Antonio. She's facing state and federal charges," answered the male officer.

I could barely hear Lauren curse under her breath. "Fuck."

At this point, I was crying. I was so scared for Lauren and didn't know what to do. I guess there was nothing I could do. After the female officer put her in handcuffs, Lauren twisted at the hips to get a look at me. Her eyes were red and cheeks were wet with tears. "Please don't tell your parents," she pleaded. "I'm so sorry. I love you."

I choked through my tears, "I love you too." With the female officer's hands on Lauren's cuffs and the male officer's hand on her shoulder, they led her out the door. I got up from the couch to walk outside and watch them put her in the squad car. They pulled out of the parking lot, but I didn't go inside until I could no longer see the car on the street.