*all rights to the original author*
Thanks to Zayn and his itchy punching fist, I hadn’t seen Lauren all week, and I was stuck with nothing but my thoughts to entertain me at school. Not good. All I could think about was the fight and how it was my fault.
And then, of course, there was Celine. She was still just as withdrawn as she’d been for weeks now, but she seemed more content to be that way. I knew the change could only be because of what happened with Lauren, and that got me thinking even more.
By the time Lauren showed up Sunday morning, just as she’d promised, I was completely out of it.
Seeing her should have cheered me up, not depressed me even more, especially when she demanded we work out together. You see, there’s Lauren Jauregui, and then there’s Lauren Jauregui working out. Sports bra, sweat glistening on her soft skin, slow focused breathing forcing her chest to expand just as her abdomen tightens around each individual muscle in it… It should have been enough to scorch my eyes and render me useless, but I didn’t even notice the perfection in front of me.
I didn’t realize just how somber I was until Lauren pulled me from my thoughts with a chuckle.
"You know," she said, now merely using her bench press as a front-row seat to witness my workout. "I think you were right. Making you work out was a really bad idea."
"Why?" I frowned at the truck I was bench-pressing. Lauren had spent the last three weeks trying to convince me that I needed to work on my super-strength. She said that for a superhero I was "superwimpy."
"Aside from the fact that the F-250 you’re pumping is making me feel extremely inadequate," Lauren said, "I’m afraid that if you don’t stop doing that, you’re going to end up throwing it at me."
"Why would I throw a truck at you?"
"Because you usually get really cranky when I try to kiss you, and if you don’t stop looking so downright sexy, I’m going to have to do just that."
I took a slow breath, lowered the truck, and pushed it high above me again. As I did, I could feel my ponytail sticking to the back of my neck. I was sure I looked anything but sexy, and Lauren seemed to be able to read my thoughts. "I’ve never seen you break a sweat before," she confessed. "It’s got my mind in the gutter big-time."
The heat I felt in my neck now was from embarrassment instead of a raised heartbeat. I sneaked a quick glance at Lauren’s face and suddenly felt like the sports bra and workout shorts I had on were not nearly enough clothes. On the bright side, I forgot about sulking. "Quit objectifying me right now, or I will throw this truck at you! Go take a cold shower or something while I finish."
"I’ve got a better idea. Why don’t you call it quits and come in the hot tub with me."
"Oh yeah, that’s a brilliant idea. Why don’t you just take a soak with a blow dryer?" Lauren gave me an annoyed glare, but dropped the subject and gulped down a bottle of water before throwing herself down on the patio swing and closing her eyes.
I continued my workout in silence for a few minutes. It was so peaceful at Lauren’s cabin that I never minded when things got quiet between us, but as I listened to the nature around me I noticed a strange noise that didn’t seem to fit in with the sounds of the woods. "Do you hear that?" I asked before realizing what a dumb question that was. Of course she couldn’t hear it; I could barely hear it.
"Hear what?"
"A really quiet humming noise. I can’t exactly place it, but I’ve never heard it out here before." I set the truck carefully back on the ground and listened again.
