October to October

{Chapter Thirty-Five}

  "MORNING SUNSHINE!"

  Lauren screamed as a body thumped beside her, and then she was face to face with her girlfriend. Joan was laughing at Lauren's reaction. Lauren felt a rush of emotions at the sight of Joan's happy face. Lauren spent most of the night crying and feeling terrible about going out with Paul. Nothing had happened, but it made Lauren feel that Joan wasn't a part of her real life, and she wanted her to be so badly. Joan had her hair in a messy bun and a mascara smudge below her eye that was irresistibly adorable for some reason.

  "What are you doing here?" Lauren demanded as she saw it was only six in the morning.

  "I couldn't stand not seeing you yesterday," Joan admitted as Lauren pulled Joan into her arms, and Joan hid her face in her girlfriend's shoulder. "I missed you very, very much."

  "I missed you too," Lauren said.

  "Oh really?" Joan asked as she raised her head and gave Lauren a kiss.

  "Yes really," Lauren said slightly breathlessly as the kiss ended. "Is the door locked?"

  "Of course," Joan said. "We don't want to give any of your other friends a show."

  Lauren had to smirk at the memory. "Oh hush."

  "So," Joan said after a moment. "I hear you went on a date yesterday."

  Lauren felt like someone had punched her in the stomach, but then she looked at Joan, and she was grinning and then burst into giggles at the look on Lauren's face.

  "Don't laugh," Lauren said even though she was now laughing herself. "Ruth and Monroe ambushed me to set me up with a friend of theirs."

  "Yeah, Monroe told Wren," Joan said. "They talk on the phone occasionally, but it's super top secret, and we're not to tell Ruth ever."

  "Oh really?" Lauren was surprised.

  "Yeah, and I'm glad because I think Wren misses her little group," Joan said. "Not that she isn't happy being with Henry, and her new crew but you know..."

   "Yeah," Lauren said quietly.

  "So how was it?" Joan asked Lauren. "Did you get lucky?"

  "Shut up," Lauren said as Joan continued to laugh at her. "He was actually really nice which is surprising since Ruth and Monroe approve of him. I thought he'd be Alex 2.0 or something."

  "Do I need to be jealous?" Joan mocked and sat up on her knees to make a muscle man pose. "Fight for my woman or something?"

  "As if you could fight," Lauren smirked.

  "I know. I'm such a wimp," Joan admitted and fell back down beside Lauren and snuggled into her body.

  "But really... are you mad?" Lauren had to ask.

  "Of course not," Joan said and looked surprised. "They ambushed you as you said. I can't count the number of times my friends would set me up in high school, and I had to pretend to be interested in these guys. I'd sometimes even make out with them a little so no one would get suspicious."

  "Well, I didn't do that," Lauren said emphatically which made them both start laughing again.

  "You better not," Joan said gently as she kissed Lauren's bare shoulder.

  They stayed in bed most of the morning as neither of them had work or any classes. It was a rare, quiet afternoon between them although Ruth knocked occasionally and told Lauren that they needed to talk. Lauren ignored her while Joan giggled silently at what she called Ruth's 'Mom voice' that she liked to use. Lauren had to tell the story about what happened, of course, and Joan was sympathetic and made Lauren feel better as she always did.