The Hook-up

Chapter 165

A few weeks later Bruno sat at the kitchen table holding Ezra in his arms singing a song to him while Lauren cleaned the dishes and prepared dinner for the two of them. Everlee laid sound asleep in her bassinet completely oblivious to what was going on. Bruno watched Lauren from behind trying to keep his mind off of her body that had changed since the babies were born. Her hips had spread out just enough to make her go up a jean size and her shirts clung to her side to accent her curves even more. It was driving him crazy. He wanted her so badly, he wanted to touch those curves and get inside those jeans but knew that what he wanted to do to her would hurt. He continued to replay the story that a father of three had told in the one birthing class they had attended. The story that made every single first time father in love with the mother of their children cringe. He told a story of not being able to wait, he was so in love with his wife, that the eight weeks recommended by the doctor could not wait. And he had his wife with everything that he wanted and she wanted, but minutes after they showed their affection for each other he walked into the room to see his wife laying on the floor, collapsed in a pool of blood. Their love making had caused a hemorrhage, a hemorrhage that had it not been treated within the few minutes they had, she would have died. Bruno could not stand to lose her, the story stuck with him and knew that whatever he had inside him that wanted Lauren could wait.

"Bruno?" she turned around to see him staring at her while holding a sleeping Ezra. "Bruno?" she asked again realizing he was so dazed and in his own world that she would have to do something drastic. "Brunnnnoooo/ Earth to Mars!" she exclaimed throwing a paper towel in his direction making him jump. She smiled at him as he returned her smile. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Oh. I'm fine. I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something." He shook his head placing Ezra next to Everlee.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked taking his hand sitting down in the chair next to him.

"Nothing. It was silly." He said shaking his head again trying not to laugh.

"Bruno!" she punched him playfully. "Come on!"

"Okay!" he laughed playfully. "I was just thinking..." he said leaning in toward her face. "That I really need to kiss you..." he said against her lips kissing her lightly but passionately. She returned the kiss reaching for his cheeks to hold him against her.

"I really like it when you do that.." she told him holding onto him looking at him in the eyes.

"I like it when you hold onto me like that." He answered her.

"Bruno....don't forget that story you told me....." she said pulling away a little.

"God, you know me so well. That is the only thing keeping me from touching more than just your face...." He said running his fingertips down her shoulders.

"Ughhhh..." she moaned in frustration. "Stopppp..." she pushed his hands away from her jumping from the ring of his cell phone. He kept one hand on her reaching for the phone to start to talk to someone she didn't recognize. He smiled at her as he started to listen to the person nodding his head. He let go of her as they heard Everlee start to cry. "I'll get her..." she said letting go of Bruno letting him continue the conversation.

A few minutes later Lauren sat on the couch holding Everlee in her lap talking to her about how pretty she was forgetting about Bruno's phone call. "You are so pretty!" she told her daughter with a giant smile on her face seeing Everlee's lips move into a smile. "You have pretty eyes..." she pointed to her daughter's eyes that looked exactly like Bruno's when he was a child. "And your nose is just perfect..." she said laughing as her daughter crinkled her nose at her mother's touch.

"She's pretty like her mother." Bruno said with the same enthusiasm that Lauren had just moments ago.

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, dad..." Lauren laughed holding Everlee toward Bruno. "Who was on the phone?"

"What are you doing in two days?" he asked her with a secretive smile.

"Taking the babies to their eight week check -up..." she said to him with a shrug. "Do you need to go to New York again?" she asked.

"Nope." He said with the same secretive smile.

"Just reschedule the appointment and come with me...." He said with a sweet tone.

"Who is going to watch the babies?" she asked. "And what are we doing? I'm still so fat..."

"Laur...you're beautiful. Don't even say stuff like that...." He reached over to touch her again.

"Okay...okay...whatever...." She smiled. "What are we doing?"

"So...." He started. "That was Will Ferrell's agent on the phone...and I was thinking...." He tried to be secretive in his statement.

"Tell me!" she exclaimed causing Everlee to close her eyes a bit startled by her mother's reaction. "Oh...mama...It's okay..." she reassured her daughter kissing her gently on the head.

"We were thinking of doing like a bigger better Liquid Lavender thing...." He said.

"Oh god. That was so funny, Bruno." Lauren responded. "But why do you need Will Ferrell? Are you going to add cowbell?"

"Well no...maybe...that would be cool..." he started to think. "We're going to do a video to some 90s song. We haven't decided yet....but I want you in it. I want you in it. It will be my way of telling everyone about us..."

"But why do you need me? You never want me out with you...especially like that..." she questioned.

"It's just going to be so good, Laur. I want you to be in it....please...." he pleaded.

"Okay...okay...I'll do it." She responded with a sigh giving in to his demands.