The Hook-up

Chapter 116

The group could cut through the tension with a knife through the whole meal. Even Tahiti's youngest son could feel it. At one point in the meal he leaned over and asked her if he could go play to get away from it all. "Take your brother with." She instructed pointing the small playground outside the hotel. After they left Tahiti turned to Bruno and Lauren. "Whatever the fuck is going on with you two, stop. You're too perfect for each other to mess it up."

"There's nothing going on." Lauren told them. "I just was tired and everything. I think I'm going to go upstairs and go to bed, anyway..." she yawned.

"That wasn't nothing, Elle." Presley said. "It sounded like when mom and dad would fight, Bru. Like remember running outside and still being able to hear them? It was bad."

"No it wasn't. We just talked about it. We're fine." He responded playing with the pieces of food left on his plate.
"We fight. We get over it." Lauren shrugged. I know it's not safe. She said unknowingly pulling at her shirt to reveal the bruises from a few days earlier.

"Bru...did you do that to her?" Presley asked touching the small marks.

He avoided eye contact nodding his head. "It was stupid." He told them.

"Damn right it was stupid." Both his sisters answered. "Are you okay, Lauren?" Tahiti asked.

"I'm fine Everything is fine. We're fine .The babies are fine. We're fine." She half snapped. "I really am tired. If you want to go out, Bru, go ahead, but I am almost falling asleep."

"Let me walk you upstairs, mama...." Bruno said looking at her with genuine concerns.

"Okay." She smiled reaching for his hand as he helped her bulging body stand up.

Lauren hugged his sisters good bye and went to see Tahiti's nephews promising to play on the beach with them the next day. "Tonight was kind of crap." She said to Bruno after the elevator closed.

"I know." He said in a defeated tone.

"I hate defending our relationship. I know it's a not perfect. You know it's not perfect, but it works." She told him.

"I know, Elle. It's hard, but we do it." He said squeezing her hand as they walked down the hallway to the room. Lauren threw her clothes on the floor running to the bathroom as Bruno changed his clothes to go out with his sisters.

"Wow..." Lauren smiled at him looking at the bright red shirt and green shorts he had on.

"Sexy right?" he smirked at her running his fingers through his hair looking at her with a seductive look.

"No." she said trying not to laugh. "No. I am literally about to fall asleep."

"Okay. Fine." He said taking her hand leading her to the bed. "Go to sleep. I won't stay too long." She nodded her head burying herself in the giant blanket on the bed making him laugh. "You're too big for me not to know where you are, Lauren."

"Don't care." She laughed at him feeling him fall on the bed next to her.

"I'm going to go, babe. I love you." He said kissing her through the blanket.

"Good night, Bruno." She said hearing the light turn off and the door close.

**

Bruno squinted at the bright light of the bar he was at with Ryan and his other friends from high school trying to figure out exactly what he was doing. The music blared and floor started to shake with bass. He blended in so effortlessly talking to friends and laughing about their past.

"Bruno!" he suddenly heard a high pitched melodic voice that he hadn't heard in ages.

"Oh...hi, Rory..." he said looking up and down at the girl that could have ruined his relationship with Lauren almost a year ago.

"Your hair looks so much better like that..." she said running her fingers through his hair. He reached over trying to down whatever was left in his glass.

"Woah, slow down." She giggled in a way that anyone could tell was influenced by alcohol.

He laughed returning the alcoholic induced stare. "Lorelei, no." he said to her.

"It was one time, Bruno. How do you even think that that is what I'm thinking about?" she asked him. "Grow the fuck up. You're Bruno Hernandez here, not Bruno Mars. Your dick wasn't even that big." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Wow, shhhh. There are too many people here for that." He said to her putting his hand over her mouth feeling her bite his hand. "Ouch." He exclaimed over the music.

"But it wasn't so bad that I wouldn't do it again..." she winked at him walking away.

"Oh god." He said finishing his drink turning to Ryan to tell him about what just happened.

"Let me kick her ass." Ryan told him.

"I just might do it myself." Bruno told his friend stepping away from his friend to go talk to Rory. Shit. I am going to regret all of this. Every last piece of it. "Lorelei...I need to talk to you..." Bruno pulled his friend from high school away from her group of friends.

Please stop trying to get in my pants." He told her. "I'm engaged. My fiancé is pregnant. It's not like it was before when it was just fucking around...." He told her.

"That's so stupid." She said too drunk to regret what was about to happen. "She's not right for you. You've known that for a while..."

"I'm not 17, Lorelei. You're not 17. We were cute then. Not now." Bruno tried to reason with her feeling the room start to spin and the lights get darker, the same way it did when he would drink before.

"But we can pretend....right?" Lorelei leaned in to him smelling his breath. "Damn. You haven't changed at all, Peter." She said kissing his lips. No, no, no, no no, nooooo. Bruno thought as his lips touched hers.