The Hook-up

Chapter 18

"Do you know what you two are doing tonight?" Yana reached over Lauren's chair at the library loking at Bruno's text message that said to make sure to dress warmly.

"I don't know. I have no idea. He confuses me so much. But I think it will be good." Lauren answered continuing to type on her laptop. "I just...I don't know. I think those few weeks apart did us good. Like he was smothering and just everywhere with me for that time and it freaked me out a little. But now I can't stop thinking about him."

"I think that's usually how the whole love thing works, Elle." Yana told her.

"Well if it is, I never want to stop thinking about him." Lauren replied.

**

"Is this coat okay? Is it too much? What are we doing? Oh my god. Do I need gloves? My Uggs? What am I doing? A hat?" Lauren ran through the apartment trying to decide what to wear while Caitlin and her best friend Heather sat and laughed at her. "Come onnn....this is good right?" she said coming out in a bright yellow beanie, a red sweater, skinny jeans and black Ugg boots.

"I think you'll survive. It's like 45 degrees outside." Heather, originally from Minnesota, laughed.

"Okay..good..." she flopped on the couch hearing a knock on the door. She opened it seeing Bruno standing at the door wearing a green plaid shirt, a blue t-shirt, jeans, brown boots and a maroon beanie.

"Where are you going, Lauren? Antartica?" he asked her.

"You said to dress warm!" she exclaimed turning around.

"Lauren, Lauren, Lauren...." He sang to her grabbing her hand. As she walked back to her bedroom. He watched her sit down on the bed looking up at him confused.

"Now I look like an idiot." She sighed.

"Babbbyyyy...." He laid his head down on her forehead. "Just take off the sweater and put on some different shoes. But keep the hat..." he moved away from her touching the ends of her curly brown hair sticking out from underneath it. "Because it looks cute."

She looked up at him with a smile. "So, mystery man...." She asked taking off the sweater revealing a vintage Madonna t-shirt. "What are we doing?"

"Just you wait and see.....you'll be amazed." He said with a laugh taking her hand leading her to his car.

"Bruno...when are you moving?" she asked as they walked toward his new car.

"When I get back from Hawaii and Europe...so like before the Grammy's." he answered.

"Are you nervous? That's a big house to be all by yourself in." she responded.

"No it won't. Because you'll be there with me, right?" he asked her.

"Wait...." She paused looking at him.

"No! Lauren! I mean you'll come over. I wasn't asking that. Oh my gosh. You and your jumping to conclusions." He laughed.

"Oh....oh....oh...yeah." she smiled trying not to be embarrassed again. "You're right."

"Lauren. You make me laugh." He told her kissing her on the cheek. "We're here...."

"What are we doing? We're just at the Grove...." She wondered as he opened the door for her.

"Just come on...." He grabbed her hand walking through the open air mall stopping over a small walkway. "Look..." he wrapped his arms around her tightly lifting her hands up toward the horizon.

"What? I don't see it..." she said confused.

"Just wait a few seconds...." He put his head on her shoulder keeping her hand in the air. "Just wait....." he mentally counted down a few seconds waiting for her reaction.

"The snow!" she gasped. "Oh my gosh. Bruno...I've never seen it start....I mean...we came here all the time when I was little...but it was always already on the ground and it was gross and sticky and.....not white like it is now." She told him referring to the fake snow that was falling on the ground. "That's why you told me to dress warm!"

"We're not done yet...." He said to her.

"No! I'm not ice skating! I'm not!" she told him as he started to pull her off the bridge toward the outdoor winter wonderland. "Nooooooo....I fall every time!"

"Laur...come on. It'll be funnn....." he whined continuing to drag her along the sidewalk with people starting to see them.

"Bruno...those girls know who you are. Stop." Lauren told him seeing girls stopping on the sidewalk.

"I don't care. Come on." He said letting go of her wrapping his arm around her waist guiding her to the icy area.

They got their ice skates putting them on walking carefully to the ice where a few couples and families were on the ice. "Bruno...you better know what you're doing because the last time I did this I was 14..." she said stepping on the ice holding onto him tightly.

"I thought you would know...." He said wobbling.

"No idea." She answered laughing as he held onto the edge. She let go skating a little ahead of him.

"Wait! What are you doing? Lauren!" he said still struggling on his ice skates.

"When I said the last time I did this was when I was 14 I didn't say I was bad at it." She laughed taking his hand skating backwards with him.

"Who are you, Kristy Yamaguchi?" he asked her still struggling to stay up. She held onto him as he started falling toward her. She wrapped her arms around him catching his fall.

"My mom made me take ice skating lessons in middle school. I stopped sophomore year. I won a couple of competitions. At one point I thought I was going to go to the Olympics." She told him.

"Oh my god, Lauren. Really?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I was so going to make it to Nagano." She told him.

"Oh. I don't know what that means." He admitted.

"That's where the Olympics were that year." She answered holding onto his hand skating with him.

"Well. In 1998 I was going to win a Grammy." He told her.

"You're still going to do that, Bruno. I'm definitetly not going to the Olympics." She replied.

"You never know, Laur. You could still make it." He told her with a smile slowing down. "Come on...let's go...you still have homework to do..." he led her off the ice slowly trying not to fall.

"Bruno..." she paused as she unlaced her rented ice skates.

"Yeah?" he looked up at her from the bench they were sitting on.

"I don't think I've had this much fun on a date ever." She smiled.

"Well, then you haven't been on enough dates because you haven't seen nothin' yet." He told her.

"Oh?" she asked.

"Yeah. Friday. We're going out again." He responded. "Be ready to be amazedddd!" he said leading her toward the bridge where they saw the snow earlier. She stopped halfway to the end watching the faux snow fall heavily.

"I want to see the real thing with you." She told him.

"Okay, Laur. You need to get home..." he told her kissing her head.