Short Kings Anthem

Part 7

It had now been nearly three weeks since the first triathlon shoot and Lauren and Chris had established somewhat of a routine. Two to three times a week the pair would get together, mainly at Lauren's as Chris just preferred her flat. Although they didn't talk about their new dynamic to each other when they were apart it was all they could think about. Why now? Obviously they were in relationships for five years they had known each other but what had changed in the four months or so since they were both single? Why weren't things left as they were from Ibiza, why keep coming back to each other? Why hadn't the other one suggested moving forward or stopping it completely? Was the other once just as confused as they were? Should they bring it up to the other person? What were they scared of?

Lauren sighed as she stared at the scratched wooden table in front of her, right hand clutching her glass of red wine as the left drew circles around the rim.

"Come on, this is meant to be a fun girly night," Nicole nudged Lauren in the ribs slightly. They were out with Ellen and Hannah's cousin Chelsea as they were planning Hannah's upcoming hen night as bridesmaids. The leg work had mainly been done and everyone now had their dedicated tasks so the rest of the night was free to relax and enjoy as they drunk cocktails and wine, dancing would for sure be on the agenda for later. Lauren looked at her brunette friend and nodded not wanting to bring the down.

"I know I'm sorry, I just got distracted there for a minute."

"Who is it?" Nicole asked shuffling round on her chair at an angle so she was facing Lauren more. The redhead fiddled with her nails a little, suddenly really noticing she needed her gel infills doing. After a few moments she decided that she really needed to get this off her chest and hoped Nicole could find a new perspective for her.

"You remember in Ibiza when I didn't come back that night?" Lauren started and Nicole nodded, sliding the bottle of wine towards them both and opening it up, refilling their glasses as it looked like Lauren might need it. Lauren wasn't great at opening up, if she spoke to you about anything you knew you were a trusted few. "I ended up back at the guys place. You know Chris? And, well since then me and him have been...well having a little thing I guess but I dunno." Lauren knew she was being vague but everything was vague in her head, talking about it out loud didn't make the situation any clearer at all.

"You want to break it off?" Nicole asked not quite knowing what Lauren was asking from her. In her mind Lauren actually getting over Tom was a good thing,

"No. I guess, I don't know I'm just confused about the whole thing. We've known each other for years and now we're sleeping together I don't know where it's come from, don't know where it's going, don't know where I want it to go." Lauren picked up her glass and took a big swig out of it before looking at Nicole.

"Look. You're just living in the moment, why is that such a bad thing? He's kinda cute and if the sex is good then what's the problem? You're two consulting adults who can do what they like." Nicole shrugged not really seeing what the big deal was. Lauren was a chronic overthinker, quite often it was Nicole and Ellen who had to talk Lauren off the edge. Hannah was the calmer out of the three, her and Lauren were definitely the most methodical and broke problems down. Still Lauren thanked Nicole for her advice and agreed to just try and live in the moment and try not to worry about anything else, she had been with the same guy for five years and was used to thinking about the future, maybe living in the moment wouldn't be so bad for a change.

"Don't say it's all dried up already," Simon replied to Chris's admission he was in playing Fifa because he didn't have any dates, in fact he hadn't had any in weeks. The truth was he felt a bit odd checking his dating profile since him and Lauren had become a regular thing; he didn't know why but it just didn't sit right with him.