To Have And To Hold

16 - Presumptuous Proposition

The few short days away passed in a blur, but Joey and Lauren had enjoyed the time together and were ready to get back home. They drove straight down to his parents to pick up Diane, neither of them able to stand being away from her for longer than necessary.

"Hi baby girl," Lauren said when she was reunited with her, scooping her up into her arms and planting kisses all over her head.

"Thanks again for looking after her," Joey said, pulling his mom into a side hug.

"She was a delight," Denise said.

"You really missed her?" Joey said to Lauren as they walked out to the car. She was still refusing to let go of her daughter and Joey wouldn't have been surprised if she hadn't even heard his question.

But she turned her head towards him with a grin. "So bad."

"Me too," he said, looking fondly at his two girls.

As soon as they opened the door to their apartment when they finally got back, Diane went running to her bed. Joey found the familiar sight of the place very welcome. He was surprised to realise just how much it had become home over the last few years. But he knew that so much of that was down to Lauren, too.

"Have you ever regretted moving out here?" he asked her, surprising himself.

She reached out for his hand, gazing into their apartment much the same as he was. "Never for a second," she said, turning to look at him with a smile.

She tiptoed up to kiss him at the same time as he leaned down to kiss her, and their lips crashed together. Joey reached out blindly to push the door closed. He started walking backwards, aiming for the bedroom, but clipped the couch and stumbled, gripping Lauren's hips to steady himself.

She broke away, cackling. "We've been away for too long."

Joey chuckled, unable to be mad about his clumsiness putting a stop to their make out session when he got to see her face light up with a laugh like that. He pulled her down beside him on the couch, putting his arm around her shoulders, and she rested one leg on top of his.

"It's nice to be back," he sighed, and Lauren hummed her agreement.

"It feels too soon to go back to work though," she said.

"I know, I've got a meeting with the boys tomorrow."

"What time?" 

"9am," he said regretfully.

She leaned her head back into his arm with a groan.

"I know babe," he said, stroking her hair. "But it means I'll be back by lunch, and then we can do whatever we want."

Lauren still wasn't happy about him going the next morning. "Are you sure you want to leave?" she whined, reaching out for Joey's hand.

He walked back to her side - where she was still tucked up in bed, Diane curled up on her lap - and took her hand in both of his.

"No," he told her. "But I have to." She definitely didn't make it any easier to leave her, but he didn't have a choice. He leaned down to kiss her forehead goodbye. 

He made to walk away, but she clung onto his hand.

"Lo," he protested, laughing as he managed to free his hand from her grip. She tried to pout, but couldn't stop a smile creeping onto her face.

"I'll see you soon," he said, backing out of the room. He blew a kiss to her then turned into the hallway.

"I love you," she called after him.

"I love you too," he shouted back. 

"So what have you guys been up to while I've been away?" Joey asked as he sat down on the couch in Corey's apartment, his hand diving into a bowl of chips.

"Still working through editing, trying to pitch to more people," Corey said.

"We've been working on that idea for a new show," Brian added as he came into the living room carrying his laptop. 

"It's kind of completely changed from what we were discussing before," Corey warned him. "We were thinking you'd play the main character."

"Cool, what's the plot now?" Joey asked. 

He nodded along to the outline the other boys had come up with, interjecting with his own suggestions here and there, but eventually his mind began to wander. He couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he still wanted to have with Lauren, and wondering if he'd ever be brave enough to work up to it.

"And we'd obviously love to have Lauren involved."

"Yeah, she'll definitely be up for it," he said, only half-listening. It was practically a given that Lauren would be part of their projects, and Joey knew it absolutely wouldn't be the same without her.

"So, we were thinking she'd be playing the love interest," Corey explained.

"Uhuh." Joey nodded distractedly, still thinking about how he was going to broach the subject of marriage with Lauren again.

Brian kept talking in the background, while Joey zoned out. He wished he could focus, but it was impossible for him to get away from his thoughts about proposals and weddings and Lauren. Eventually he snapped back to attention, feeling bad that he hadn't been listening, just in time to hear Brian say "and then you propose to her."

"What?" Joey said, startled.

"You propose." 

Joey gritted his teeth. "That's not happening." He hated getting angry at his friends, but he didn't want to make Lauren uncomfortable and it frustrated him that no one else seemed to understand that.

"Come on Joey," Brian said warily.

"That's not fair," Joey said, his tone sharp. "Is anyone else even thinking about what Lauren wants?"

Corey and Brian exchanged a look that Joey couldn't decipher. He felt an irrational sense of betrayal, thinking that they were supposed to be there to help him.

"It's supposed to be funny, no one's gonna take it seriously," Corey tried to appease him.

"Yeah, well I'm not finding it very funny," Joey muttured darkly.

"You could at least talk to Lauren about it, maybe she'd be more interested than you think," Brian said hesitantly.

"Are you saying I don't know her?" he said, his eyes cold as he stared between his two friends.

There was a tense silence. Corey sighed. "Well, we've come pretty far with this idea, it's gonna be difficult to change the plot that much now."

"Find someone else then," Joey said, running a hand over his face.

"We've got no other roles for you guys though."

"Then we won't be in the cast," he said, fixing them with a stare. Brian and Corey exchanged another look, as if they were unsure whether he was being serious. 

Brian shifted uneasily. "You don't think you're overreacting?" 

Something sparked inside of Joey. "No, I don't. I don't want Lauren to feel uncomfortable, but apparently I'm the only person who cares," he said. He grabbed his phone and keys off the table and stormed out, letting the door slam shut behind him.

A/N Uh oh, things are getting tense again. But I wouldn't be too worried, I'm sure things are gonna work themselves out in the next chapter.