Richpez - A Tale of Two StarKids

Chapter 5: The Vacation Part 2

After lunch and the market, they had come back to the house and disappeared into their respective rooms to change for New Year's Eve dinner. They liked the tradition of dressing up, so they all wanted to look their best. They had plans to hang out before the ball dropped at midnight and Lauren had a plan.

As Lauren was putting on her make-up in the bathroom, she peered into the bedroom and saw Joey buttoning up the last couple buttons on his shirt. Wow, he looks really good, she thought. She suddenly realized she was staring and was worried he would notice, so she went back to finishing her make-up. She always enjoyed dressing up for special occasions, especially when she got to see all of her friends, Joey mainly. She knew she didn't have to look nice for him. He accepted her for who she was, and she didn't need make-up or a nice outfit to impress him, but she still enjoyed looking nice for him sometimes.

She had thought about how she would get Joey alone tonight to kiss him at midnight. She wanted to have a moment to themselves so they could talk. She had decided to ask to speak with him on the porch outside about five minutes before midnight and tell him that she had feelings for him. Then, as the clock struck midnight, she would kiss him, and she hoped he would kiss her back.

They heard a pop coming from the kitchen.

"Lauren, you ready?" Joey asked as he put on his belt.

Lauren was slipping into her cocktail dress for the night and was struggling to reach the zipper. "I'm almost ready. Can you help me with the zipper? I can't reach it." She stepped into the bedroom and Joey caught his breath. She was wearing a tight black cocktail dress that made her look more stunning than she normally does.

"Joey? Are you okay?" Lauren asked.

Joey hadn't realized that he was staring at her, wonder in his eyes. "Oh, yeah. turn around." Joey zipped up her dress, slowly, letting his hands linger on her shoulders after he has finished.

"Thank you, Joey," Lauren said and placed a kiss on Joey's cheek. "Now I'm ready."

They walked downstairs and grabbed their champagne flutes before sitting in the living room with their friends.

"It took you two long enough," Walker said as he went to refill his glass.

Joey chuckled and said, "Lauren couldn't manage to reach her zipper so I had to help."

Lauren smirked at Joey and gave him a small punch on the arm. Joey winced like it hurt and laughed at her.

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It was now a couple of hours later and they were all good and buzzed. Some were worse than others. Walker and Julia were laughing at some nonsense Jaime had said and Darren was watching them as he opened another bottle of champagne. Meredith and Brian were cuddled together on the couch looking like they were about to fall asleep.

"C'mon you two," Lauren said talking to Meredith and Brian. "You only have to make in another," she glanced at the clock, "twenty minutes. They laughed at her and went back to talking. Lauren immediately felt her butterflies return. Only twenty minutes left until she was supposed to kiss Joey. Joey returned from the kitchen with a refill of champagne for Lauren. Lauren had a nervous look on her face.

"Everything alright?" he asked her. He was starting to get nervous too. Wasn't it tradition to kiss someone at midnight? He knew Mere would kiss Brian, obviously, and then Jaime and Darren would probably kiss. They've been talking for a while, so he figured that they would kiss at midnight. Then there was only Julia and Lauren, but Walker was the only other guy. Lauren wouldn't want to kiss Walker because of their history, so that just left Lauren. Would she even want to kiss me, Joey thought. She said she doesn't like me in that way. But it's a tradition. It can be platonic.

Lauren kept glancing at the clock on the wall over the fireplace. It was nearing ten minutes to midnight. Everyone was laughing and having fun just being together. She was happy that they were all here. She missed them over the break and was grateful that everyone could make it. They were a great group of friends that she made, and she wasn't ready for the week to be over. Thankfully, it had only just begun. 

They were watching New Year's Eve in Times Square on the television, and the reporter was talking about the ball drop. Suddenly from the TV, Lauren heard, "Only five minutes left until midnight!" She gulped. It's go time, she thought.

"Joey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Lauren called across the room to where Joey was sitting on the couch. He nodded and got up as she did and they made their way through the kitchen, led by Lauren, over to the front door. "Let's go outside," she said as she pulled on her coat and shoes. Joey followed suit and they stepped outside into the cold night.

"What's up, Lo?" Joey asked, curiosity and concern growing on his face. He grabbed her hand when he noticed that she looked nervous. "Is everything okay?"

She looked into his eyes, took a deep breath and said, "Joey, what I said in the car yesterday was a lie. I do have feelings for you, and I have for a long time. Maybe since the day I met you. I haven't done anything about it because I wasn't sure you felt the same and I didn't want to ruin our friendship. But you do feel the same, and when you told me how you felt in the car yesterday I was scared. But I'm not scared anymore. I love you, Joey Richter."

She didn't regret anything she said, but she was nervous because he didn't say anything. He just stared at her, moth open, awestruck at what she had said.

At the same time, they heard yelling from inside the house.

"Five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!" and Joey kissed Lauren.

It was as if fireworks were being set off as Lauren wrapped her arms around Joey's neck and rose on her tiptoes to meet him. They moved together like two perfectly fitting pieces of a puzzle, and their lips explored every inch of each other's. It was so passionate that the whole world disappeared and it was only them, together. They held each other like they never wanted to let go, and they didn't. Joey pulled her into his body tighter, realizing that he wanted this forever. Then they pulled back to the point that their lips were barely brushing, just breathing and remembering what had happened. Then, they started laughing.

Holding each other there on the front porch, they looked into each other's eyes like they never had before, seeing the love and passion pouring through. Lauren ran her fingers through Joey's hair and he kissed her forehead, never wanting the moment to end.

Joey was the first to speak. "Wow," he said as he kissed her softly. "Why didn't we do this sooner? I love you so much, Lauren." 

She brushed his hair out of his face, and responded, "I love you too. I think we were just scared. We have an amazing relationship, and we didn't want to do anything to mess it up. But this was meant to be."

He kissed her again, even more passionately than the first time, and when they finally pulled away, they decided it was time to leave their little bubble and head back inside.

Joey turned to Lauren and grabbed her hand. He asked, "Are you ready to start the rest of our lives, together?"

Lauren kissed him softly and said, "Yes."

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Over 100 reads?! Thank you to everyone who has read this story and I hope you've enjoyed it so far!

I wasn't sure where this chapter was going to go so I just started writing. I didn't expect to write so much , so expect part 3 within the week! Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions!