For the second time Joey woke up next to Lauren, and it definitely wasn't a sight he was complaining about. He opened his eyes on Sunday morning to see her chest rising and falling peacefully as she slept beside him, and he thought about how at home she looked in his bed. Her eyelashes fluttered open, clumped together with mascara, but he still thought she was perfect.
He pressed a slow, lazy kiss to her lips, revelling in the fact that they had nowhere to be. She propped herself up on her elbow, and was staring at him with a strange look on her face.
"What?" he asked her, frowning.
"I love you," she said, smiling at her revelation.
He felt his heart melting at those three words, and he pressed a kiss to her cheek.
"I love you too."
He would have been happy to stay in bed all day, marvelling at the fact that the incredible girl in front of him loved him, but then Lauren started dropping hints that she wanted breakfast and he forced himself out of bed.
"Do you want something to wear?" he asked her as he pulled tracksuit bottoms on.
She nodded. "I know you wouldn't mind, but I'd rather not wear that uniform," she said.
He threw her a t-shirt out of his drawer, laughing. She tugged it over her head and Joey felt his heart stutter.
"You know, I might like that more than the shorts." And it wasn't just the way he could see even more of the tanned stretch of her legs; something about seeing her in his t-shirt was just right.
She grinned at him, and he was still staring at her until she marched over to him, laughing, and shoved him in the direction of the kitchen.
They spent the day lounging around together, sharing kisses in an unspoken agreement to make up for the time they'd wasted.
Joey tried to convince her to stay the night, but she refused to go straight to work from his place for the second time. He walked her to the door, and they kissed on the doorstep for so long he thought that if it weren't for the shred of dignity she had left, she would have just come back inside.
Eventually she shoved against his chest.
"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, reaching up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
Joey arrived at seven. The coffee shop was unusually busy that morning, but Lauren couldn't stop herself leaning over the counter to kiss him even as a line formed.
To his frustration, her boss called her name from behind her, and Joey watched Lauren steel herself and then turn around to face her determinedly.
"Either you leave or he does. I'm not having you losing us business. It's nothing personal," her boss told her, arms folded across her chest. Joey was about to stand up, ready to apologise sincerely and take the fall for her. He'd hate not getting to see her every morning, but he knew he no longer needed his regular coffee visits to spend time with her. But before he could do anything, Lauren spoke.
"Bullshit. You're just doing whatever you can to ruin my day," she said, releasing the anger that had been building up in her for weeks. "Well, not anymore. I quit," she finished, pulling her apron over her head.
Joey gaped after her as she stormed away into the back.
He was waiting for her when she came out of the back door. He searched for the right words for a moment, trying to figure out if she was mad or sad or both. From the expression on Lauren's face, he wasn't sure that she knew either.
"You didn't have to do that, Lo," he said finally.
"Yeah, well, some things are worth it," she said, smiling up at him as she echoed his words.
He looked at her incredulously. Hearing her say those words - the words he had used towards her - about him made his heart surge with love for her. As he was gazing at her he could see the beginning of a question form on her lips, but he suddenly took hold of her waist and swooped down to kiss her. The force of the kiss forced her to stumble backwards until her back hit the wall, and he pressed his body against her. She grabbed onto his belt loops, pulling him even closer, and he grinned into the kiss.
He suspected they could have stayed there until Jaime inevitably came along to ruin the moment, but Joey pulled back first with a groan.
"I wish we didn't have to stop," he said, ducking down to press another kiss to her lips just to prove the point, and Lauren tiptoed to maintain the contact as long as possible. "But I have got to get to class."
Lauren sighed. "Okay. Will I see you later?"
"I actually meant to ask if you'd come to a dance rehearsal for the show?"
"Of course I will."
"Great. I'll pick you up at 5."
He walked to class in a daze, unable to believe she'd actually quit her job. He could only hope that he wasn't the whole reason; she had talked to him about how draining she sometimes found it. He had no idea what she was going to do now, but he hoped it really was worth it.
As promised, Joey picked her up at 5 and they drove to the studio. When they walked in, she looked up at him in confusion at finding the space empty.
His cheeks flushed. "It's actually just me that needed the rehearsal. I've been having a lot of trouble with it."
She reached out for his hand, squeezing it to show him he had nothing to be embarrassed about in front of her, and he was insanely grateful for how she always knew exactly how to make him feel better.
"Let's see it."
She watched Joey dance, verbally coaching him through the routine. Then she demonstrated some of the steps for him, although he might have been more distracted by watching the effortless way her body moved than he was concentrating on the technique.
She could obviously see the frustration on his face, because she got up from her chair at one point. His eyes followed her as she approached, and he held his breath as she placed her hands on his thigh, guiding him through the movement.
"You need to work on your posture," she said, her hands forcing him into a more upright stance.
Every touch was making him less and less focused, but Lauren was oblivious to it.
"Joey!" she whined, after he messed up a basic step. She lay on the floor, her arm thrown across her face in exasperation, and he sank down beside her.
"I've never taught someone as terrible as you," she said with a laugh.
As unfunny as he had been finding the situation, he was glad that Lauren was able to make light of it. He propped himself up on his elbow to look at her.
"You're a great teacher though," he said.
She shook her head. "I'm out of practice."
"You looked perfect to me."
He looked into her brown eyes and could swear he saw them dilate as he shifted his body over hers, careful to keep his weight off her, one leg sliding between hers. He lowered his lips to hers, feeling her straining up for the contact.
"We should get going," he said before they could go too far, and he clambered to his feet, pulling Lauren up after him.
There was no surprise from either of them when he followed her in after he drove her back to her apartment. There was never a point when Joey made a conscious decision to stay the night; the decision was already made the second he walked in the door.
The exploration of each other's bodies seemed somehow entirely different in Lauren's bed, and Joey came to the realisation that it wasn't so much that she belonged in his bed, but that they simply belonged undeniably together.
