The Hook-up

Chapter 93

"Brunnnooo..." Lauren whined as they walked into the house later that night. "I'm going to bed." She harrumphed throwing her heels in a pile where Geronimo would find them later. "That was fun, tonight. Thank you for making me come." She turned around looking into his tired eyes. She reached over for his waist pulling him close to her stomach not able to get as close as she wanted to. "Now you're done. You can just be you and your music until the album comes you." She said sweetly looking at him with a sigh of relief.

"I know. Tomorrow I'm just going to sleep. All day. And no one is going to stop me." He smiled at her.

"Do you want me to stay home with you tomorrow?" she asked still close to him. "I'd be working, but I can go upstairs if I can't concentrate..."

"If you want to." He said to her.

"So you want me to go to work? Because I can..." she said bending down to take off her flats throwing them in the same direction as her heels. "It was distract you from writing..." she stood up walking toward the bedroom. He reached out to grab her before she could make it in the bedroom.

"That's not what I meant, Lauren. Stay home. I miss you. I didn't see you like at all last week. I love being with you. Please stay home." He told her.

"Okay, fine if you say so." She smiled kissing him on the cheek. "I'm going to bed."

"Okay, boo. I'm going to call my mom. I'll be there." He said leaning in to kiss her lightly. "I love you. tulog ka nang mahímbing, mahal ko."

"Good night, Bruno." She answered him letting go of his hand running her fingers through her hair sprayed hair dropping her head to get it out of the braid that it was in as she walked toward the bedroom. "Quit turning me on, Elle. Geez."

"I'm sorry." She laughed turning around sticking out her tongue. After taking off her dress and placing it back on the hanger that it came on and would be returned on later the next day, she reached over for a USC t-shirt and a pair of her sweat pants to put on. "Uggghhh. Babies. You are a pain." She moaned throwing herself on the bed attempting to lay on her stomach. Unsuccessful in her attempt, she stretched her legs out onto his side of the bed on her side getting comfortable hearing his muffled voice on the other side of the wall where the porch he sat speaking to his mother. She could tell he wasn't lying because of his tone of voice and laugh. She fell asleep to his laugh completely unaware of what he was talking about.

"Mommmm...I want to do something for her. Like surprise her and make her cry." Bruno told his mother.

"What do you want to do?" she asked him.

"I don't know. That's why I'm asking you." He laughed.

"You have the ring, Bruno. What happened?" she questioned her youngest son. Oh shit. I can't tell her what really happened. He thought to himself. "Brunito....you didn't lose it did you?"

"No. I have it. I just haven't found the right time. I don't think she's ready. She is so non-traditional, Mom. She doesn't think we have to be married to be a family." He told his mother. God. I'm going to hell.

"That doesn't sound like her, Bruno. Are you sure that's what she said? I know that she would cry her eyes out." Bernie answered.

"I just know, mom. I need to do something else." He told her getting a little short.

"Bruno. Calm down. What about a baby shower? Or those baby pictures that parents always do? You could get Jamie to take the pictures, or one of her friends." She told him.

"That doesn't sound bad. I could do it around her birthday in May...." He told her. "Or later. I mean, whenever."

"I think she would love it if you did something like that on her birthday, Bruno. And you will know what you're having by then so it shouldn't be hard to buy things....not that you need anything...." She told him.

"I don't want to know what they are, Mom." He told her. "I want to be surprised. If it's two boys or two girls or one of each. I want to know that very moment. All this has been so crazy that it just makes sense." He waited for his mother to answer unsure of what she was thinking.

"Bruno...Lauren is not going to be okay with that." Bernie said to him.

"No, mom. She won't be. But that's how I want to do it." He told her. "She already knows I don't want to know."

"She can't keep a secret anyway so I don't think I'm going to get what I want anyway." He said a bit defeated. "I give it a week before she tells me either in her sleep or when she's just waking up. She rambles when she sleeps."

"Okay, Bruno. If that's the way you want it. We can plan on coming to see you around Memorial Day and we can have something that weekend or the weekend before. Because her birthday is the 22nd, right?" Bernie asked.

"Yeah. It's the 25th." He answered. "It's a Friday."

"Don't worry about it, Brunito. We'll plan it. It will be amazing." Bernie told him.

"But you hardly know her..will you be able to do it?" he asked.

"I have Rose's phone number. We'll work as a team." She told him referring to Lauren's mother.

"But don't let Larissa know. They communicate telepathically. Like she knows things that happen before they even happen." He said to his mother.

"I will try my best, Bruno." She responded.

"Thank you for being an amazing mother, mama." He said to his mother.

"It's late, Bruno. You need to go to bed. I'm so proud of you for tonight and for everything else you are doing." She responded.

"Thanks, Mom. I am going to go to bed. And I'll talk to you tomorrow about Lauren's birthday." He replied.

"Okay, my love. Good night." They hung up their phones. Bruno stared out at the light of the pool in the distance shivering a little in the slightly cooler February air finishing his cigarette. After flicking off a bit of the cigarette he put it out walking back in the house hearing the dog run over to him. "Come on, G. Let's go to bed." He said taking off his shoes throwing them in the same place Lauren had thrown her shoes. He unbuttoned his shirt taking it off stepping out of his pants with just his boxers on as he walked into the bedroom. Eww. I'm sweaty. I'm going to take a shower. He thought to himself getting into the shower quickly glancing at all of Lauren's things in the bathroom.She is just something else. He thought to himself picking up her shampoo smelling it before putting in his own shampoo and conditioner. He got dressed again tripping over a few of their things stumbling toward the bed trying not to wake up the dog of Lauren.

"Brunnnooo. Stop making so much noise. I can't sleep." She moaned half awake.

"You can't sleep?" he asked her.

"Nooo..." she flipped to the other side of the bed on her side seeing him about to get in bed with her.

"What can I do to help?" he asked her getting into the bed looking into her half awake eyes.

"Will you rub me back? I feel like it needs to be cracked, but I can't crack it...." She answered feeling his hands move against the back carefully and softly.

"Is that okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah. That's good." She yawned curling her legs up next to her body as Geronimo's body started to take up more room than she did. "You're dog is too big, Bruno." She told him.

"Hey, he's your dog too." He smiled against her back.

"No, mine is over there on the chair sound asleep." She responded.

"Go to sleep, Elle. Geez." He joked.

"I'm trying." She said as he continued to rub her back. After a while she declared the back rub as a loss, even though he heard her fall asleep for a few minutes as he focused on her lower back. "It didn't work, Bruno." She sighed.

"Come 'ere..." he said pulling her close to him.

"This better...." She yawned. "work." She said laying her head against his chest closing her eyes matching his breathing as his hands found a perfect spot against her stomach. "Good night, Bruno."

"Good night, sleeping beauty." He said to her feeling something move against his hand. Oh wow. He thought drifting to sleep a few seconds after she did.