The Hook-up

Chapter 202

The couple somehow was able to make it through Thanksgiving without incident. The babies were getting bigger and growing into their own individual personalities. As suspected, Everlee became more adventurous and expressive while Ezra was more reserved and watched before doing anything. While Bruno and Lauren were sitting at the kitchen table with Eric and Cindia planning how they were going to survive for the next month and a half without any tears from the separation Bruno suddenly blurted out, "I think I want to do the album release in New York."

"You what?" Lauren asked letting go of the bottle of water she was holding on to.

"I want you to come..." he answered. "It's just easier time wise and then I can do all the radio stuff there and not be all like 'what day is it? What millennium is it?' because it will be like 3 in the morning here..." he said not sure how he was going to explain why he wanted to be in New York.

"You know I can't come. There's no way that I can do that. I am not leaving them..." Lauren said ignoring the stars that his brother and sister-in-law were giving them settling in for one of Bruno and Lauren's legendary arguments.

"It's for like two weeks, baby. I think you can make it." he told her.

"No. No I can't." she said looking over to Cindia for support. "You're not going to go are you?"

"No. There's no way I'm going." Cindia answered.

"Aww. Well that's too bad." Eric said with a smile already knowing that his wife would not be traveling with them anywhere.

Lauren looked away starting to stand up to get away from the conversation they were having. "Laur...come on..." he said in a soft voice.

"It's stupid. We're going to fight about it and I don't want to fight before you leave..." she told him walking toward the backyard where the dogs were. Bruno excused himself to go get his wife who was sitting at the patio table tapping a pack of Bruno's cigarettes that were laying in various parts of the house.

"Are you going to smoke that? The last time you did that you threw up." he told her sitting down not saying anything else to her watching her pull one out reaching for the lighter. She moved her body away from him trying to get away from him. He watched her trying not to laugh at the way she was holding the cigarette. "Give me this..." he said puling it from her hand.

"I don't want to fight." she said still sitting away from him. "It's bullshit. We were doing so well. Like it was like things were normal. We were happy. And things were working.."

"They still are, Lauren." he told her waiting realizing she wasn't going to turn around. "I will be gone for like two weeks...we've gone longer baby..." he tried to reassure her.

"We have gone longer. But that was before I knew that Damaris is holding onto your balls tighter than I am." she said still not looking at him. "Don't even try to pretend that you don't talk to her and try to tell me that I'm a great mother by staying here when we both damn well know that you are going to at least sleep with her once. Do not think that I am that fucking stupid, Peter Hernandez." she snapped turning to grab the cigarettes lighting it up. "And yes, I am going to smoke this."

"Lauren you are being ridiculous." he told her. "You are creating something that isn't even there."

"Well, you'll have to excuse me for worrying about my husband's girlfriend may find him after she has somehow found him every single time they've been in the same city. Am I paying her cell phone bill too? Do I pay for the hotel room you hook up in? Or the flowers you send her instead of me?" she asked him coughing through the thick deep smoke going through her lungs.

"What do you want, Lauren?" he said in a frustrated tone. "What the hell do you want? Do you want me to be by your side every single day? Do you want to have eyes on me everywhere I go? Do you really not trust me?" he asked now a bit saddened by her treatment. She finished half of the cigarette throwing it in the trashy ash trash on the side of the table reaching for his phone.

"Should I have a reason to not trust you?" she asked scrolling through his phone's text messages reading texts from his mother, father, bandmates about their rehearsals the next day and coming to the last text message he had received from her. The same text that she had seen weeks earlier about the Victoria's Secret Fashion show.

"See.." he said taking his phone from her. "There's nothing for you to worry about." At least not right now...he thought to himself looking over at her hair seeing pieces falling out of her side braid that were starting to curl from the random humidity that had hit Los Angeles in the early winter.

"Damn." she sighed finally turning around to face him.

"What?" he asked still a bit tense from their argument that was very close to yelling and throwing things.

"I was kind of looking forward to angry make-up sex." she told him with a half smile.

"Lauren!" he said shocked looking at her starting to laugh at what she had admitted to.

"Do you trust me?" he asked leaning over to kiss her lightly.

"Yeah...." she responded not sure what he was thinking about.

"That's good. Stay here. Pretend like you're on your phone talking to your mom. Or call her. Whatever. I'll get rid of them. And then your mine.." he said kissing her head as he stood up. "And stop smoking that's gross." he finished turning toward the back door.