The Hook-up

Chapter 75

Bruno glanced down at his phone while driving home not seeing any response from Lauren. She would have at least texted me back no. He thought to himself as he turned down the street to the house they shared. He saw her car in the driveway opening the door lightly trying not to make the dogs bark with little success. "Shh!" he said quietly petting Geronimo as he walked into the open living room. He saw Lauren's feet dangling off the couch which instantly meant that she was sound asleep. Damn. This is going to be impossible. He thought to himself. I'll just do the sweet boyfriend thing tonight. We have time. He said to himself leaning down near her closed eyes kissing her lightly hoping to wake her up. While his lips neared hers he felt her hands move around his hitting him right in the nose where he had been hit earlier in the day.

"Oh, shit! Bruno!" she exclaimed seeing him back up rubbing his nose looking down at the little specks of blood on his hand. She jumped up seeing the blood stumbling quickly to the kitchen. "Put this on! Quick! Bruno...." She paused looking at his swollen nose completely oblivious to where he was earlier in the day. She saw a giant swollen nose with blood dripping down which made her assume that she had beaten him up. "I am sooo sorry...." She whined sympathetically handing him a wad of Kleenex for his nose. "Lean forward..." she told him.

"How am I the only person in the world not to know you're supposed to lean forward when your nose bleeds?" he inquired.

"I don't know. That's how I've always done it..." she told him sitting down next to him in the chair taking a hold of his Kleenex holding it for him. "Did I really hit you that hard?"

"You're like Laila Ali, Laur. You gotta start training." He laughed at her.

"Oh my god...." She touched his nose again feeling bruising all the way down the side of his cheek. "There is no way I did this...." She said him. "Who beat you up?"

"You did!" he said with a smile and frown at the same time.

"No! I did not! I am not that strong!" she told him.

"Yes you did!" he said seriously trying to see how far he could push her.

"Oh my god..." she watched him pull the Kleenex away revealing the other side of his face which was equally as bruised. "You need to go to the hospital. I could have broken it...." She paused moving her hands to his nose watching him cringe not knowing that he was still playing games with her.

"Oww...." He moaned. "But no. I can't...." he told her.

"Yes! It's so bruised! Bruno! Come onnn...." She pulled him up nearing the door.

"Lauren....stop...." he pulled her closer to him.

"Your nose! Bruno! Come on! Your half-awake pregnant girlfriend just broke your nose! Come onnnnn!" she started to drag him toward the door again.

"Lauren, it's not broken." He said plainly.

"But how do you know? How?!" she asked him confused.

"Because you didn't bruise it..." he told her watching her expression go from concern to confusion.

"What?" she asked. "You came in here with it bruised like that?"

"I was with Omar...." He said walking her back to the kitchen. "He kicked my ass." He told her watching her start to laugh at him.

"Oh, Brunz..." she placed her hand on his cheek touching the edge of the bruise. "Why?"

"It's like when you run. It helped everything go away." He told her. "I feel so much better. I can't wait to go to the studio." He told her.

"Oh...I get it...." She said stretching her legs out on top of him settling into her spot. "But you gotta keep your face pretty..." she smirked at him. "I don't date guys that can't win a fight."

"You haven't seen how he looks, yet." He smiled at her.

"Quit playing with me!" she laughed at him.

"Whaaattt. I'm not! I won!" he said trying not to laugh through his lie.

"Okay, Bruno." She said giving up on his story. "Just be careful. If it helps you then keep doing it."

"You didn't get my text did you?" he asked her leaning over her legs to look at her phone.

"I fell asleep when I got home." She yawned reaching for her phone. "I am not going out tonight." She told him.

"I'm okay with that." He said to her sweetly. "Let's just make in a movie night."

"Okay..." she said watching him reach over to cover her up with a blanket. "Thank you." She told him starting to tell him about her day and planning for her trip to New York. "But I have you there so you can carry everything."

He started to laugh at her. "I think you're going to carry my bags for me...." He told her.

"But it's going to be sooo heavvvyyy...." She whined.

"I'll think about it. But right now it sounds like you're talking in your sleep." He told her.

"Shush. I'm going to get you to carry my stuff." She answered pushing him.

"Okay, Laur. But only because you're pregnant." He answered her.

"Yes!" she said doing a dance on the couch.

"Lauren...you make me happy." He smiled at her moving her legs over pulling her into his chest kissing her on her head distracting her from the remote changing the channel to an action movie on Showtime. As the movie started Lauren pretended to snore.

"That's not going to stop me." He said still holding onto her not getting a response from her. "Lauren?" he moved his arms over feeling that she was asleep. "Damn." He said to himself moving her over a little to pick her up taking her to bed.

"Bruno?" she asked him keeping her arms down.

"Go to sleep, boo." He said to her pulling the blanket over her.

"I'll quit being tired soon." She told him. "I can't stop sleeping. I'm sooo tired. I'm sorry." She told him turning around to lay on her stomach.

"Good night, mommy." He said kissing the back of her head looking down at his blinking phone walking toward the door grabbing onto a cigarette watching the dogs run out the door.