The Hook-up

Chapter 109

Lauren sniffed away the tears feeling Bruno behind her reaching for her waist.

"Come with me...I have some rice for you..." he said softly in her ear.

"Oh...right.....I want to talk to your mom...don't let me forget...." She said being pulled away from his mother. Bruno smiled at his mom mouthing thank you to her as he pulled her toward the food his sister had made especially for her with short notice. Bruno made a plate for her as her friends and some family bombarded her with questions, congratulations and birthday wishes. She reached for the plate he handed her smiling at him not sure if she should be holding onto him the whole time or if she should let him go out with everyone else. I need him. There are too many people here. She thought to herself grabbing his hand pulling him into the circle he squeezed her hand acknowledging her nervousness. After talking to her friends she pulled away from them to go to another group. As she walked to the next clump of friends Bruno leaned into her to say something.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you nervous and anxious....." he admitted.

"It's okay, I miss seeing all these people. They're all important...." She said sitting down on an empty chair feeling him sit on the edge of the chair wrapping his arm around her leaning down to kiss her head.

"I love you, Elle." He said sweetly hearing his sisters aww at them.

"Shush." He laughed at them.

**

After finishing the food that everyone had made the group proceeded to play silly baby shower games like guessing baby foods, crossword puzzles and baby questions that even the best mother couldn't answer let alone Bruno and Lauren. They laughed so hard they could cry. Lauren lost herself in all the things that bothered her about him and where they were in their lives. Larissa pulled Lauren to the kitchen while everyone else set up for the last game of the party, where everyone would answer questions about her.

"Laur...I don't think I have ever seen you so happy. Like, yes you're glowing but I think it's more than that. He really does make you happy doesn't he?" she asked.

"He makes me so happy, Larissa. He cares and he shows it. And he doesn't try to change me or where we are. Sure, it would be nice if we had gotten married and then had the babies, and he was trying for the first few months to change it all, but now...he's just so into where we are, the babies, us, his music, my work, he's just a thousand percent into everything...." She told her sister as she led her back in the room.

"Okay..." Larissa stood up in front of everyone to start the game. "The person who wins gets this awesome baby bag..." she pointed to a polka dotted bag.

"I want that!" Lauren laughed. "You better win, Bruno!"

"Okay...when is Lauren's birthday?" Larissa asked.

"I know!" Bruno shouted. "May 22nd."

"One point to Bruno!" Larissa answered.

"And what year was she born?" Larissa asked.

"1986!" Estee yelled out.

"One for the boss!" Lauren laughed.

The questions progressively got harder, but Larissa had somehow rigged the questions so Bruno would win. How is he doing this? Lauren sat and asked herself as he answered what elementary school she went to.

"Okay..last one..it's between Bruno and Rose..." Larissa said pointing to their mother.

"Where is Lauren's birth mark?" Larissa asked.

"It's on the back of her right leg, near her butt." Bruno said without emotion waiting for everyone to react to his answer.

"Shit." Lauren responded shocked. "How did you get that faster than my mom?"

"Boo, I'm all knowing." He smiled at her. "Like how I know that the babies are awake right now..." he said pointing to her stomach.

"Give me my bag." She said in a silly tone.

"Here..." he handed it to her carefully. "But I'm only letting you borrow it. I want it back in the morning..." he said standing up to kiss her on the cheek. "Hang on...we have presents too..." he said watching one of his sisters wheel out a table covered with a pile of wrapped presents. "Some are for your birthday..." he said lifting two up wrapped in bright pink...but there are some for the babies. You have to see which ones are which..I'm not telling. " he smiled handing her a present.

"But you don't know what's in all of them do you?" she asked scooting over on the couch for him to sit next to her.

"Naw. I don't know. I think I know what's in one..." he told her. She used her painted nails to scrap off the wrapping paper for the presents. They opened several boxes and bags finding accessories, clothes, and toys for the twins. "How many more do we have?" she asked after she gave over the opening of presents over to Bruno because she was feeling a bit tired.

"One more..." Lauren and Bruno's fathers drug out a giant toy chest that didn't look very heavy to them, but obviously had to have been if both fathers were dragging it.

"We could have come over there...." Bruno said to them.

"Well, don't tell us now or anything...my baccckkk..." Bruno's dad laughed. "Here..." he handed them a small bag with a key in it.

"It's like a treasure..." Lauren said watching Bruno bend down to turn the key. "Open it..." he smiled at her. "What's in it?" she asked him confused.

"I don't know..." he responded as confused as she was. Everyone watched them turn the lock and open the heavy top to the chest. He pulled her into his side as they peered into the chest to see smaller boxes of their own baby items.

"Look!" Lauren exclaimed pulling out a baby blanket. "I love this thing...they are going to use this..."

They dug through everything finally reaching the bottom pulling out two books, one pink and one blue. "What are these?" Bruno asked.

"Open it...." His mother told him as they both turned to the first page of the book.

Lauren turned the page reading out loud their birthdates, time of birth finding a blank under a date of marriage and then blank space for the same information for each baby. They turned the pages some more finding ultrasound pictures and pictures of the two of them before she was pregnant, all happy with not a care in the world. "This is so perfect." She said standing up to hug her parents and Bruno's parents. The sentimental hugs signaled the end of the festivities. Siblings and other family members started to clean up as Lauren and Bruno said good bye to everyone. After the good byes Bruno led Lauren back to the room where the chest was sitting. Lauren plopped on the floor digging through some of the things on the top of the chest. Bruno sat down behind her leaning his head on her shoulder digging through the same things. He pointed to a few things and told her stories about his childhood that she hadn't heard before. "Bruno...." She yawned after a little bit of time on the floor. "My feet are falling asleep and my leg is going to start to cramp up...."

"Come on..." he placed the things back in the chest lifting her up as she tried not to fall on him because her foot had already fallen asleep.

"Oww, oww, oww...." She responded feeling his arms around her. "Ohh. That's better." She sighed still in his arms. As she settled into her now awake feet, she looked back at the piles of things that they had accumulated. "My favorite is still the treasure chest..." she smiled at him.

"My favorite part is my treasure." Bruno said with a smile.

"You're treasure?" she asked him.

"Yeah. You." He smirked leaning in to kiss her lightly.