Lauren woke up in the morning in her own bed, with no recollection of how she got there. When she walked out into the living room, she saw Joey curled up on her couch, not even able to stretch out. She watched him for a minute, entranced by the way a strand of hair had fallen across his face, before she realised she was being creepy and went into the kitchen to make coffee. By the time she returned, he was awake, sat up as he ran his hands through his hair, making it even more untidy than it had been before. He smiled at her when he saw her, and she passed him one of the mugs.
"You didn't have to stay all night," she said, tucking her feet up under her as she took a seat next to him.
He shrugged. "It was late."
"Did you put me to bed?"
"I thought it would be more comfortable than the couch."
"At least I'm small enough for the couch!" she laughed.
"Wow, I thought you'd have a little sympathy," he joked.
"I do. I'm sorry. I wouldn't have minded if you took the bed, you know." She wouldn't have minded if he'd stayed in her bed with her, as it happened. There was something about Joey that made her feel like she was safe when she was with him.
"No, Lauren. You've given too much already." She had no idea what he meant by that, so she kept sipping her coffee despite it still being a little too hot, and they stayed in companionable silence.
Joey drained his drink, and held his hand out for Lauren's now empty mug.
"You're a guest, Joey, you don't have to-"
He kept holding his hand out, though, so she passed it to him and he went to wash them up. In the meantime, she changed her clothes.
"Need a ride home?" she asked Joey when she went out into the kitchen.
"Don't worry, I can-"
"I need to go to the store anyway. Let me drop you home."
He smiled gratefully at her. "Have I ever told you how glad I am we're friends?"
"Maybe once," she said, giving him a gentle push towards the door.
"Holy shit, JoJo," she said once she had climbed into her car and put the heating on. Joey paused in the process of putting his seatbelt on.
"What's wrong?"
"How long are your legs?" She pulled her seat forward, finally able to reach the pedals. He burst out laughing, his nose scrunching up as she turned to him.
"How short are yours?"
"You are never driving my car again," she said through her own laughter.
"Hey, you didn't have to let me drive you home," he said, and her face fell, remembering the events of last night.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"Don't apologise. Please. It's fine. I'm fine."
She reached across the console and grabbed his hand, squeezing it, and he smiled weakly at her. Then she started the car, about to turn the radio on while she drove when Joey spoke.
"You deserve better than him, Lauren. You know that, right?"
She was glad she'd already started driving, because it gave her an excuse not to have to look at him. She really didn't want to see his face right now.
"Let's just not talk about it," she pleaded. She was doing perfectly fine pretending the whole thing had never happened - apart from a brief lapse last night - and she wanted to keep it that way.
