Laney, Tom and Zoey walked a short distance from her apartment to a cozy little hole in the wall diner which served brunch that Zoey claimed was to die for.
They grabbed seats near the back, although in New York City no one really paid attention to who you were. Laney forgot how much she loved the city. Just as the waitress brought their drinks to the table Chris pulled open the diner door, looking around he lit up into a smile when he saw Laney.
"Chris is here." Laney scooted over to the chair next to her making room for him to sit down.
"Hey man." Tom stood up clasping his hand in Chris's and slapping him on the back.
"Hey guys. Did you order already?"
Laney shook her head, "No but I got you an orange juice." She nodded towards the table.
"Thanks." Chris slid his jacket off and sat down.
"Do you guys trust me?" Zoey asked.
"Not really no." Laney laughed.
Zoey wrinkled her nose, "Come on."
"Ok...."
Zoey turned to the waitress. "4 of the brunch all you can eat specials please."
"All you can eat?" Tom rubbed his stomach, nodding his head with a grin.
"You guys are gonna flip when you eat the food here. I've eaten all over this city. This place cannot be beat."
"Sounds perfect." Chris leaned back in his chair his stomach growling.
After brunch the 4 of them walked the lower east side checking out different boutiques and shops.
"We should go to Times Square and be total tourist guys." Zoey suggested popping a gummy bear in her mouth as they stepped out of Economy Candy.
"What does that all entail?" Laney cracked a smile.
"We can go to the M&M store, the Disney store. We have to go buy some cheesy souvenirs. We can go to Grand Central, Central Park and the Empire State Building. Oh I know!" She clapped her hands together, "The Statue of Liberty!"
"That actually sounds kind of fun." Chris piped up.
Laney shrugged, "I'm up for it. What time are we supposed to meet the parentals for lunch though?"
"Oh not till late maybe 3. And that's at the Gramercy Tavern so we'll be right there."
They spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon hitting every tourist area they could think of, taking silly pictures and having one of the best days Laney could remember having in a long time. Chris was being super attentive and even affectionate with her. He grabbed her hand on a few occasions and wrapped his arms around her while waiting in line to take the ferry to Ellis Island.
At 4:00 they met Laney and Zoey's parents at the Gramercy Tavern along with Mike and Courtney.
Exhausted Laney plopped down in the chair and slipped her shoe off as discreetly as she could.
"You all seem to be having a blast today." Courtney leaned over to Laney. "I'm very much enjoying your Instagram stories."
Laney laughed. "To bad you're not up to walking around with us."
Courtney sighed and rubbed her stomach. "After this trip I'm pretty sure I will be restricted to bed rest." She frowned.
"How's my little niece doing?" Laney rubbed Courtney's stomach.
"She's good. Active little booger. We chose a name." Her eyes sparkled.
"You did?! What is it? You're not going to make me wait, are you?" Laney pouted.
"No." Courtney laughed. "You don't have to wait. Mila Rose."
"I LOVE IT!" Laney squealed.
Chris, who was sitting next to her raised an eyebrow.
"They named the baby." Laney explained.
"Oh. I just thought you were really excited about the appetizers." He teased.
"Why? What do they have?" Laney's interest perked, and she grabbed her menu. Her stomach growled. All that walking had made her starving.
Chris laughed leaning back in his chair he stretched his arm out resting it on the back of Laney's chair.
After another amazing meal Laney was ready to go back to Zoey's and take a long nap. Exiting the restaurant Courtney pulled Laney back behind everyone.
"What's up with you and Evans?" She nodded toward Chris who was walking with Mike and Tom telling some elaborated story which required him to wave his arms and hands around excitedly.
Laney blushed with a shrug. "I don't know. It's nice to finally be away from Tom and to spend time with Chris outside of filming. I really do like him."
"He really likes you too apparently." She nudged her as Chris looked back at them giving Laney a small smile.
"I don't know. We'll see. He goes to Boston next week and I'll be back in LA. One day at a time."
Laney, Chris, Tom and Zoey all went back to her apartment after lunch, although it felt more like dinner. It was 6:00 and everyone wanted to go back out that night but Laney was in desperate need of a nap.
The pullout couch was still out and the 4 of them somehow all managed to lay somewhat comfortably on it as Zoey put a movie on.
"I think this thing is going to break." Laney winced scared to breath.
"If it does y'all owe me a new one." Zoey punched the pillow under her head in attempt to fluff it. "Just saying."
The couch creaked loudly causing Laney and Chris to exchange a worried look before busting out laughing.
"Stop!" Zoey moaned trying not laugh herself. "My couch is vintage."
This caused them to laugh harder. The couch thankfully didn't break and they all dosed off crammed together on the extremely too small pullout bed.