The Hook-up

Chapter 13

Lauren laughed dragging him back in the house with her. "My hair was not purple then. It was maroon. Now give me a break. I was in the middle of a crisis."

"A crisis?" Bruno asked.

"You know those really preppy girls in high school; that are suddenly exposed to the world the second they step out of the four walls of their high school and then go crazy?" she asked him.

"Yeah...I know those girls. I try to stay away from those...." he said trying to see how far he could push her. He knew that's the girl she was. She was wearing a short skirt from Anthropolgie and a bright white shirt from the Gap with Steve Madden sandals.

"I was dating another musician then..." she paused not saying who it was. "And he was kind of where you are now...just starting out...and leaving and stuff. But I went with him to a lot of shows and stuff. And my dad approved. He still wants us to get married....and the people he was around were hipsters. So I thought I was a hipster. Until he decided that I wasn't hipster enough for him...that was a few days before we saw each other for the last time. I was waiting for you to leave so we could go get my hair fixed the way it is now. It was a huge mistake." she told him.

"Is that why you said something about my world?" he asked her moving her closer to him so she could feel comfortable.

She shrugged her shoulders not quite sure how to answer the question. "Maybe."

"None of that is going to happen again, Elle." he answered sweetly.

"I love you just the way you are.." he said covering his mouth quickly as she started to laugh.

"Bullshit.": she answered him.

"I didn't mean for it to come out that way! I swear!" he said starting to blush.

"Bruno! I know you didn't mean for it to come out that way. It was sweet." she reassured him.

"Well, I am charming." he said trying to get her to laugh again. "But, Laur...I liked you before I knew you were Mr. Holt's daughter. I hope this doesn't change anything."

"You are very charming." she said pinching his cheek. "But you'd be a lot more charming if you weren't moving and I could just be with you all the time."

"Laur...I'm seriously moving down the street." he got up taking her hand."Come on...we'll walk over there. Get your sunglasses. You don't want anyone to see you."

She gave him a weird look but followed his directions walking through the narrow winding streets admiring the houses "Oh...that's Justin's house....walk faster...." she drug him fast past the seemingly familiar house.

"Oh right...the guy said that he lived here." Bruno said glancing toward the big house set back from the rest of the houses not noticing the tenseness in her voice. He stopped a few houses down looking at the mid century modern home. "That's it..." he took her hand pointing to it pulling out his keys. "It took us 10 minutes." he told her.

"That's not too bad. It's like 5 in the car..." she told him walking in front of him. "Let's go in...." she said. He opened the door to the open home with stone tile and a bright white kitchen with a stunning chandelier over where a kitchen table would sit.

"Wow...Bruno...and the fire place...look at it...does it work?" she asked.

"Yeah. That was something I really wanted. I wasn't going to move until I found the perfect place." he smiled sitting down on the empty floor. She sat down next to him.

"What made this perfect?" she asked him.

"Honestly?" he responded.

"Honestly." she said.

"It was the closet house to you." he answered.

"What? Bruno!" she exclaimed pulling away a little. "I just....I don't get it. We just started dating...."

"I didn't mean it to sound creepy, Lauren..." he told her.

"It did!"

"Yeah. It probably did, didn't it?" he replied.

"But I think I understand you now, Bruno." she told him moving back closer to him.

"You understand me? But you...." he started.

"No...I get you. You're in love with the girl in the office. You always have been. But, I'm a lot more than the girl in the office. And you're a whole lot more than the boy that my dad dropped 6 years ago." she told him.

"You're right." he smiled.

"So, let's get to know those people. Maybe we'll find the others while we're at it. But I want to know more than that, Bruno." she paused seeing him calm down a little still tense from the things he had said. "What's going to go where we're sitting?"

"I think a couch. I haven't decided on the couch yet though. Come shopping with me tomorrow?" he asked.

"I can't. I have class." she said sadly.

"Oh." he said sadly.

"But I have the rest of the night." she smiled. "Let's go home..." she said standing up holding her hand out for him.

"Okay. Let's go home." he said following her out the door.

Oh my god. What have I gotten myself into? She thought to herself as she grabbed his hand to walk home.