Chapter 74

The next morning, Lauren met Jordan at Starbucks. She smiled when she saw him sitting at a table in the corner, her passion tea already waiting for her. “You remembered my drink?” she asked, surprised.

Jordan chuckled. “You have one of these teas in your hand like every other day. Occasionally I pay attention to more than just your hotness.”

Lauren blushed. “That’s sweet…I think.”

“So, I’ve been thinking about this thing with Sid.” Jordan said, no longer skirting around the reason they were there.

“What he said really hurt. Does he really think I’m afraid of being with him?” Lauren said, pain evident in her eyes.

“I know it did. He shouldn’t have said it. I’m not sure if he even realized what he was saying or not. That was very un-Sid-like last night.”

“Jordan, if he really thinks the reason that I didn’t say yes right away is because I’m afraid of being with him, then I don’t know what the hell we were even doing together all this time.”

“I know that’s not why you didn’t say yes right away. And you’re probably going to get mad for me even asking this, and Sid would surely kill me if I knew I was bringing this up with you, but if he hadn’t asked you to move in…if he had proposed instead…what would you have said? Would you have said you needed some time to think?” Jordan asked quietly.

“Of course not. I love him and I want to marry him someday.” Lauren said without hesitation.

Jordan’s lips curved into a small smile. He paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully. “Okay…so what you’re saying is that you’re willing to marry him, but not move in with him?”

“I never said I didn’t want to move in with him! I just wanted a little time, as in a couple of days, to process everything. I didn’t even know he’d been looking at houses again – we hadn’t talked about it. I was just caught off guard…and after everything that happened, I’m not too keen on surprises anymore.”

“Have you told him all of that?” Jordan asked, gently resting his hand on her arm.

“I tried to…I thought I did…but then last night he just freaked…Jordan, he was so angry.” Lauren said, tears stinging her eyes.

“I know. But now he’s had some time to calm down. I think you should talk to him.”

“What if he doesn’t want to listen? He certainly didn’t seem to care about anything I was saying last night…”

“You let me worry about that.”

“Jordan, I hate for you to have to get pulled into Sidney and I’s problems. It’s not fair to you.” Lauren said.

“I told you – don’t worry. When two of my best friends are this upset, I’ve got to at least do something to fix things. I’m going to try and talk to him this afternoon.”

Jordan kept his word and convinced Sidney to call Lauren after practice. “Hey.” He said quietly.

“Hey.” She responded, hoping he couldn’t hear the quivering in her voice.

“Listen, I uhh….I talked to Jordan. Can I come over? I really think we need to talk.” His voice was calm, and Lauren relaxed a little, figuring he was thinking rationally.

“Sure…okay. I’ll see you in a little while.”

About twenty minutes later, Sidney knocked on Lauren’s front door. Her mom let him in and quickly disappeared, giving them some privacy in the living room.

Both of them stood awkwardly for a minute before Sidney spoke up. “I’m sorry.” He said, looking into her eyes.

“Sidney, did you mean what you said? Do you think I’m afraid to be with you?”

“No….god no…I don’t even know what the hell I was thinking when I said that. Lauren, I love you, and I just want to be with you as often as I can. I want to take care of you and protect you and love you forever. I thought the house was perfect for us and I was excited for you to see it. I should’ve talked to you about it first. We can wait…I can wait…until you’re ready…until the time is right for both of us.”

Lauren took his hand into hers. “Sidney, I love you too. I know I already said this, but it really did just catch me off guard, that’s all. I don’t want you to read anything more into it.” She looked deeply into his eyes, hoping he would understand the deep meaning of her words.

“I’m really sorry. I was a jerk last night. Will you forgive me?” Sidney said, biting his lip.

“Yes, you were a jerk last night, but yes, I will forgive you.” She said with a smile.

“Can I kiss you now?” Sidney whispered shyly.

Lauren chuckled. “I would like that very much.” She said as he leaned down and kissed her firmly on the lips.