When was Lauren not waking up with a hangover?
All the alcohol she consumed the night before started to come back up and she quickly made a mad dash to her bathroom to empty her stomach into the toilet bowl.
She felt like a slumped sack of bones and flesh on her bathroom floor. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to have several more drinks after she came home from her night out with Carlos.
Water and an Advil was the perfect cure for a hangover.
Lauren spent a while in the shower and brushed the taste of vomit out of her mouth before throwing on a random outfit and running out her apartment. Of course, she made sure to lock it before Carlos got onto her again.
The store was already open when she arrived.
"What happened this morning, Jauregui?" Tina sat on the front counter typing something on her phone.
Opening the store completely slipped her mind. It's a good thing Tina arrived before Jeff.
"I over slept." Lauren said, placing her purse behind the counter .
"It's not the first time."
"Give me a break, T. I'm going through a lot right now."
Tina placed her phone down and stroked her blonde her that was starting to darken at the roots.
"Like what?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Lauren sighed.
"Trust me, I do."
Tina hopped off the counter and turned to face Lauren who was on the other side. Dark circles formed under her eyes from her lack of sleep and her hair was still damp from her shower that morning.
"Remember those guys from that gallery? You know, the one with the eyes and the British one?" That was the best way to describe them.
"Dean and Zayn? How could I not remember them?"
"Well, Zayn and I sort of...."
There was a long, eerie pause before Tina finally caught on.
"What? You guys fu-"
A customer walked in and the two of them smiled and welcomed the stranger. Lauren turned her attention back Tina who was wide eyed and in disbelief.
"Seriously?" Tina raised an eyebrow.
"Yes." Lauren sat her head on the counter in shame. Her head was still pounding like crazy.
"You say that like its a bad thing."
"But that's not the bad part. Dean walked in on us and just watched. I can't believe they live together."
The words sent Tina into a fit of laughter as Lauren blushed like crazy. How was that funny?
"Oh my, God. That made my whole week."
"I'm glad one of us finds this funny."
Tina's laugh died down and she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
"So, what did Zayn say?"
"Nothing! He though the whole thing was funny and he had the audacity to say that I liked it."
Tina raised an eyebrow. "Well, did you?"
Lauren turned red in the face.
"Of course, I didn't."
"Sure."
"I'm serious." Lauren said through clenched teeth. "And to make matters worse, Dean was at the bar I went to last night."
"First of all, why would you go drinking without me? Second, what did you say?"
"He thought it would be funny bring up the other night so I lost my temper and slapped him."
Tina's jaw fell to the floor and Lauren winced at her own words. It sounded way better in her damn head.
"You slapped Dean? You assaulted that fine piece of male?" Tina gasped in amazement.
"Oh, please. It was barley assault. And that "fine piece of male" was being an asshole."
"Or maybe he was flirting and you took it the wrong way. You have been extremely sensitive lately."
Lauren furrowed her brows. "I am not sensitive!"
Tina could barley hold back a giggle at Lauren's outburst. A few customers turned to look at the commotion and she lower her head, embarrassed.
"And you just proved my point."
Lauren let her arms fall to her side from the counter and started walking to the back to get started on unloading packages.
"I'm not sensitive," She mumbled.
The day came to an end and of course Lauren was asked to close up shop. It was around ten when she finished counting the register, which was later than usual. Not to mention she had to make sure every record was in place for the next day or Jeff would have a fit.
Lauren set the alarm and walked out of the shop, locking the glass door behind her.
Faint footsteps approached her from behind and her first instinct was to reach in her bag for her bottle of mace. But when she turned around , it wasn't a stranger.
"It's about time you got off." Zayn stopped directly in front of her with his hands buried in his pockets.
Was he waiting on her?
"How long have you been out her?" Lauren dropped her mace back into her bag, no longer alarmed.
"Just an hour," he shrugged. Just an hour?
Lauren said nothings and awkwardly shifted her weight on each foot. What was she supposed to say? For the past few days she'd dogged his phone called and ignored all his text. Was she distancing herself from him? Hell, she didn't even know.
"You avoiding me, green eyes?" He asked. Lauren looked up at him with her brows drawn together.
"No, I just..I have a lot going on."
Zayn sighed. "That's usually a woman's way of saying 'I don't have time for you.'"
Time? She had plenty of that.
"It's not that, Zayn."
"Then what is it? Did I do something?"
Lauren bit her lip, thinking of something to say. Should she sugar code how she really feels? No. She just wanted to clear the air quickly. Like ripping off a bandaid.
"It's Dean. Honestly, I'm just confused. I don't understand why you were so ok with him there when we were..you know. And I saw him last night and he brought up the other night just to taunt me. And if you say I was being sensitive, I'll slap you just like I did him. Also, what kind of man lives with another grown man? I know I'm rambling but I have so many questions-"
Zayn shut her up the only way he knew how to. By kissing her anxious lips, and stealing the unsaid words right from her mouth.
"Come to my house tomorrow night. I'll tell you everything." He paused. "I'll show you everything."
Zayn's hands cupped her cheeks as his lips lingered over hers. There was something about his skin touching hers that made her body heat up all over. Something deep down inside her wanted him to take her right there on the concrete. Lauren's hormones were raging.
Lauren nodded.
"Under one condition," he said.
There just had to be a fucking condition.
"What condition?" She whispered, his thumb tracing her bottom lip.
Zayn's wet his lips and looked away for a second. What's he reconsidering?
"I'll show you everything if you promise to keep an open mind."
Lauren tried to think of every possible secret. Maybe she was right about the whole serial killer thing. Suddenly, she knew it was going to be merely impossible for her to wait till tomorrow night. But she would try.
"I promise," Lauren said.