The Quiet Types

Chapter 23

I did as I was told and pulled my hair out of my face in a small ponytail. I fixed my blouse as I made my way over to the window. It was Theo.

"Ugh," I groaned as I left the room.

"Laurie, wait!" called Dexter as I ran down the stairs and out into the freezing cold night.

"What the hell is your problem!" I shouted at him from the front porch, "I have neighbors and my mom is home! If you had woken up Billy, Theo, I swear!"

We shared a moment of staring. He was high. His eyes were empty.

"Oh my god, Theo. You're high," I said slightly defeated as I wrapped my arms around my torso.

"Surprise," he chuckled as he took a step closer to the porch.

"What's going on?" asked Dexter as he appeared at the doorway.

"And it's no surprise your new boyfriend is here," laughed Theo hysterically, "I tried saving her too, you know? It's just that the cool touch of something else gets her off."

"Theo," I warned.

He shrugged. "What, New Yorker doesn't know? Have you seen her hips? There are scars upon scars on them. She's sneaky and smart."

"Do you have Tess' phone?" I asked.

I was done having this conversation. He was just making an ass out of himself.

"I'm not done, Ren," he made clear as he looked over at Dexter, "I mean besides the cool touch she's also obsessed with murderers. You may think that's sexy, but she would much rather pick up a book than make out. That's why I had to start doing things with Jada. Jada at least listened to me. She wanted me in a way that she didn't want me."

Dexter shook his head amused.

"Well!" pushed Theo.

"He knows, Theo," I answered.

His eyes were now on me. "What?"

"He's seen the scars, he knows about my thing, and he was around when everything happened with my brother. Sorry to disappoint your tyrade of trying to destroy my person in front of a possible stranger, but it's not like that with Dexter. He's not a stranger and his sister was my first friend ever. She's the reason why everyone found out. So congratulations on making yourself just a bigger ass than you already are."

"No! You're trying to play it off! I don't believe you!" panicked Theo as Dexter joined me on the side of the porch.

"We need to get you inside. You're going to catch something," he insisted as he put his hands on my shoulder.

"I'm fine. I need to make sure Theo gets home. Can you go check on Billy?" I asked as I looked over at him.

He sighed, but did as I asked.

"Why did you make it so hard for me, but tell this guy everything?" questioned Theo. He looked as if he was going to be sick.

"It's not like that, Theo. There is still a lot Dex doesn't know about. We're not anything. He's a good friend from back home," I lied as I looked down at my boots.

"That's tough to believe, Lauren, especially with your shirt looking the way it does right now and your lipstick being completely gone."

"You and Jada aren't together," I countered.

He nodded in agreement. "That's because I'm hung up on you! I needed my girlfriend's attention, but she ended up going to New York for nearly a month! She ignores my calls and my texts! Then she comes back to tell me that we can't be a thing because we've got baggage!"

"Look at yourself, Theo!" I was now in tears, "You're high! Yelling at me in the freezing cold! A boyfriend isn't supposed to do that! He's not supposed to use my flaws against me to get what he wants! I didn't want my first relationship ever to be like that!"

"Ren, I'm sorry. Please don't get upset," he pleaded as he hopped the small railing across the porch to join me.

I shook my head no as I wiped my cheeks clean of any tears that had escaped. He pulled me into a hug and rested his head over mine. I let this go on for a few moments before pushing away.

"You need to get home, Theo. It's freezing and the roads are probably deathly slippery. Please just go home. I need you to go home," I made clear as I zipped up his jacket.

"I need there to be an us, Ren. I can't do this without you," he admitted as he pushed the hair that had fallen over his face back.

That's when Dexter cleared his throat behind us.

"Your mom is asking you to come inside now. She says Theo is more than welcome to stay in the downstairs office if need be," he announced as I looked over at him.

"Where are you going to stay?" I asked as I fixed my glasses on the bridge of my nose.

"Billy's room. She's going to set up the air mattress," he assured.

I looked over at Theo for an answer. He was watching Dexter though. I took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'll get some coffee started," I said as I stepped away from Theo and then made my way into the house.

Theo eventually came inside with some coaxing from my mom. My mom agreed that he was definitely high, but nothing he couldn't come down from in a few hours. She insisted he get food in him and to drink the coffee we had made for him. It was the only way he was going to sober up for school tomorrow. She assured me that she would get a hold of his mom to let her know that he was going to be staying the night with us due to unsafe road conditions.

I had decided to shower and to my unfortunate surprise found blood trickling down my thigh. Lovely. It's as if the universe was reminding me that we did not finish what we had started. I finished up and pulled on pajamas. It felt nice to be bare faced and in something warm. I walked out towel drying my hair to find Dexter in my room sitting on my bed.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered with a small laugh, "You should be in Billy's room. If my mom found you in here she would die."

My dad was staying in New York because of the roads. He said that three of the main roads were shut down due to weather conditions. My mom had told me while we were trying to get Theo ready for a long night of coming down.

He put his index finger up to his lips as he stood up and joined me on the other side of the room. I giggled as he pulled me close and kissed me quickly. I kissed him back as I wrapped my arms around his neck dropping the towel on the ground. He picked me up by either thigh and got us onto the bed.

"What if Theo comes in?" I asked as he kissed my neck several times.

"Door's locked," he assured as he sat up and pulled his shirt over his head, "And when the conditions clear up we can have an entire house in Stamford to ourselves."

"You think my parents would let you take me on a romantic getaway?" I scoffed as I pushed up onto my elbows and forearms.

"Who said anything romantic? To them we're still friends," he reminded as he got back to practically making out with my neck, "Think of it as destressing."

His baby blue eyes were even prettier at night. The hints of gray inside just made them even more alluring. He smiled at me as we shared a few kisses and helped me get my top off. My bra had been traded in for a sheer bralette. There was barely enough fabric to cover the outline of my nipple, but then again I didn't plan to find him in my room.

"Let's see if I get any luck with round two," he joked as I pulled him over me and began to undo the button on his jeans.