Light of my Life

Despicable Me

LAUREN

"Lauren wake up! How do you work your roommate's hair curler?" I shot up like a rocket and jumped out of my bed. I made my way to the bathroom, busting in and pulling it out of his hands. He gave me an offended look. "I'm not a child, I can curl my own hair."

"You're not curling your hair, and you are most definitely a child." I stuffed her hair curler into a cabinet and slammed the door, snapping back up to give him a glare.

"Well good morning," he grinned. "You look ravishing."

"Go eat breakfast or something," I retorted. He put his hands up in surrender and walked out of the bathroom, then out the dorm door to go find the lounge/community kitchen. I leaned against the bathroom counter, closing my eyes, drowsiness hitting me upside the head. I nodded off a bit, and then Alyssa walked in, yawning.

"What was all of that commotion?" She pulled her brush out of her drawer and began to work at the knots in her hair. I shrugged.

"Miles being Miles, do you want the bathroom?"

"Yeah, thanks."

I walked out, and my phone buzzed on my nightstand, alerting me to a text message. I picked it up, reading it casually.

Alex: Hey, why don't we have an us day? Do you want to just get together? I don't have a concert tonight and nothing happening. 

Me: I actually go to college and stuff you know XD

Alex: Aw come on, Business Administration? Can you skip? This is my only totally free day!

I chuckled and thought for a second, before shrugging. It was his only free day, I suppose it would be fun to spend it with him. A small part of my brain tugged on my sleeve though, reminding me of something.

He wouldn't leave his job to hang out with you, why should you leave school for him?

I pushed it to the back of my mind. It was different. It was always different with him. I bit my lip, hesitating for a second before responding.

Me: Sounds good, you can pick me up whenever you want :)

Alex: How about now?

I laughed and affirmed his response before throwing my phone onto my bed and quickly throwing my pajamas to the floor, pulling jeans and an old, faded red shirt on. I was pulling my converse over my feet, when Miles busted through the dorm door and into the room.

I should probably start changing in the bathroom from now on.

"Hey Lauren, Lauren's roommate!" He called to the closed bathroom door. 

"Her name is Alyssa," I sighed. He shrugged.

"Whatever, so they were out of Reese's Puffs. I think we should go for breakfast at Pier 46? We could get pancakes or something."

"Pier 46?" I chuckled and stood up, finishing tying my left shoe. "That's kind of romantic, isn't it?" He shrugged.

"Like we've established. I'm stupid romantic. So, you're already dressed. Let's ditch this dorm and go get breakfast together before your roommate comes out of the bathroom."

I sighed. "You know she's into you, please don't break her heart."

"What?" He gave me a classic grin and wink. "I couldn't tell. Anyway, come on! New York! Woohoo!"

"I hate to burst your bubble, but I'm actually meeting Alex for the day. So I'm going to have to pass on the whole breakfast down at the pier thing."

"Oh, well when are you meeting? We can go grab coffee at least before he gets here." He quickly adapted. I rolled my eyes.

"I hate coffee," I scuffed. He face was bewildered.

"What? Since when?"

"Since forever. You never took the time to get the little things right, did you."

"Well, I mean it's been a while-"

 There was a knock on the door. I walked over, opening it to Alex's face. He immediately narrowed his eyes at Miles.

"Have a good day, Lauren. Get me a souvenir." Miles smiled grimly. I waved him off. Alex immediately closed the door, not letting him or me get another word in.

"I don't like that guy."

"I know you don't," I chuckled. "We've established this." Secretly, I was pleased that he was jealous, it meant that he cared.

"So, tea first?"

<====><====>

The new March winds swam through the rivets that the buildings of New York created outside. Alex and I sat across from each other in the lounge of his hotel. We each held a small group of cards in our hands, shielding them from each other. Alex made a funny face, and then spoke.

"Red 5?" He guessed. I giggled.

"Go fish."

He made a whining noise and a face, and then angrily snatched a card off of the top of the deck in between us. He looked at the card, disappointment clearly identified. "Your turn."

I intently looked over all of my cards, and then at his face, focused. "Black 9."

He looked down  and groaned. "Seriously, can we just say that you won? How are you so good at this!" He handed me the card, and I set the pair down on the carpet in front of me.

"No, I must win legit."

"Blue 8."

"There are no blue cards," I laughed. He shrugged.

"I'm just trying to move the game along. If you need to win, I'll make it easier for you."

I sighed. "Fine, I win, are you happy?" I teased. He beamed.

"What movie shall we be watching m'lady?" He grabbed my options out from the DVD cabinet underneath the mounted television. We were alone in the dim lounge, since it was so late. The New York skyline revealed itself in the large window above the bar. It let in enough light, plus the one in the kitchen. I looked over the pictures on the movie covers and finally settled on one, holding it up for him to see.

"Despicable Me."

He looked at me for a second, and then back down at all of the other options that I had. Men In Black, the Duck Dynasty Collection, The Notebook, and The Fault in our Stars. Alex looked back up at me, a huge smile on his face. "You are so awesome," he laughed, opening the disc case to take out the DVD. I shrugged.

"I mean, if you say so."

We made some popcorn and settled together on the couch, cuddling closely. Our cards still littered the ground. Alex pulled a blanket around both of us, the popcorn in the middle, and he played the movie.

After a bit of silently watching, I turned and kissed him on the cheek. "Today was awesome."

He nodded. "Definitely. Everything is awesome."

"We should have watched The Lego Movie," I teased. He chuckled, pulling me closer.

"This is a good movie though. It's really funny."

"Yeah, the minions are cute."

He turned and returned my kiss. I rested my head on his shoulder. I whispered quietly, trying not to disturb the atmosphere.

"I know you asked for the us day because you don't want me hanging out with Miles."

He sat in silence for a second, then responded gently. "That would be correct."

After a while, the movie became kind of boring, I had seen it so many times. I drifted off to sleep, my head still on Alex's shoulder. He ran his fingers through my hair softly, making me smile in my sleepy state.