Chapter 30

Chapter 30
Trina was waiting for them at the airport when they arrived, along with a small crowd who had caught wind of the homecoming and came to greet him. They cheered loudly as Sidney stepped into the terminal, holding Lauren’s hand as she walked out behind him.
“Sidney, is this your girlfriend?” someone in the crowd shouted.
He looked at Lauren and smiled before responding. “Yes, she is.” He gave a toothy grin. She squeezed his hand and smiled back at him. She hadn’t minded keeping their relationship a secret, but it felt so good to hear him say that.
Trina took them to Sidney’s house. Lauren couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. It wasn’t too fancy, and it had a simple, classic style that suited Sidney (and her) perfectly.
He showed her all around and then they met some of his friends for lunch at a little restaurant in town. He was recognized by a few people, and they stopped by the table to say hello. Some of the people just looked at Lauren curiously, but others asked who she was. Each time he answered, Sidney and Lauren both got huge smiles on their faces when they confirmed that they were together. So far, people had been very happy for Sidney and Lauren, and he was glad that his fans were supporting her.
After lunch, Sidney invited his friends back to his house. They all decided to hang out down by the lake, and Sidney asked Lauren if she wanted to go out on his jet ski. Her eyes lit up and she went upstairs to change into her swimsuit. Sidney kept his swim trunks in his downstairs bathroom so he was already back outside by the time she came back out.
In typical guy fashion, Sidney’s friends let out cat calls and whistles when she came back out in a black bikini. Their reactions caused her to blush furiously, but she was good-natured about it and jokingly posed for them. Sidney just rolled his eyes at them and grinned at her, more than satisfied at what he saw. He climbed onto the jet ski and offered his hand to help her climb on behind her. He smiled when she tightly wrapped his arms around his waist and they took off out onto the lake.
As it turned out, Sidney drove the jet ski the same way he drove his Range Rover and the same way he careened down a sheet of ice – fast. When they got out to the middle of the lake, he stopped. “Why are we stopping out here?” Lauren asked him.
“I like it out here.” He said simply before jumping off into the water. When he surfaced, he gave her that infamous toothy grin. She laughed at how much he looked like a little kid. She realized that he didn’t have many opportunities to just be a kid anymore, and this was one of those times. She jumped in beside him and he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.
“Thanks for bringing me here.” She said.
“I love being home. And I love you. It seems like a perfect combination for me.”
“I love you too.” She said, kissing him sweetly on the lips.
They splashed around in the water for a little while and then he asked her if she wanted to drive the jet ski back. She nodded excitedly and he climbed back onto the jet ski before reaching down and pulling her up onto the jet ski. He sat down behind her.
“First you let me drive your car, and now you’re letting me drive your jet ski too? Are you sure about this, big guy?” she asked, hoping he would take her joke well.
Luckily, he chuckled into her ear. “Baby, I’d let you drive me to the moon. Besides, you took such good care of me the other night. I love you for that.” He kissed her neck. “But don’t think that I let just anyone play with my toys.” He said, lightening the mood with his double entendre.
She laughed. “So, I better not wreck then, eh?”
He put his hands up on the handle bars over hers. “I won’t let you do that. I got your back. Forever.”
They rode back to his house to find his friends still lounging by the water. His friends raised their eyebrows in shock when they saw that he had let her drive.
“Ooooo somebody’s in loooooooooooooove! Sid never lets anyone drive his jet ski!” Jack said.
Sidney blushed and shoved Jack into the water, but then wrapped his arms around Lauren’s waist. When Jack popped his head back above the water, Sidney looked at him. “For your information, I am in love.” Lauren smiled at him and then he got a devilish spark in his eye.
“You wouldn’t dare…” Lauren said.
“Oh, but I would…” he laughed as he picked her up and threw her into the water. She surfaced a moment later, sputtering and glaring at Sidney. For a minute, Sidney thought she was really upset until her face broke out into a grin.
“Oh, it’s on, Crosby.” She said sweetly.
Later that evening, after the sun had gone down, they were sitting around his outdoor fireplace laughing and joking around. “Need a refill anyone?” Lauren asked, getting up out of her chair. She disappeared inside. No one had noticed Jack slip inside a few minutes earlier.
When she got to the kitchen, she looked at him and grinned. “Ready?” she asked.
“Oh yeah. He’s got it coming.”
When they came back outside a few minutes later, Sidney had his back to them. Lauren ran up behind him and broke a giant water balloon over his head.
“Ahhhhhhh!” he yelled.
“Something wrong, baby?” she asked innocently when he turned around, soaked.
He started to say something but then Jack started throwing balloons at everyone else.
A short while later, they were all soaked and laughing hysterically. “Sid, I like this one. I think we should keep her.” Jack said, wrapping an arm around Lauren.
“Yeah, I think I’ll keep her.” Sidney said, winking at Lauren.
Around 1:00 that morning, Sidney and Lauren couldn’t stop yawning anymore. Sidney told his friends they were welcome to crash at his place, and then they headed up to bed.