The Reunion (Lauren): House Hunting

"I hate this kitchen," I say, looking around and wrinkling my nose.

Alex cocks an eyebrow at me and snorts.  "You hardly even cook, Laur, why does the kitchen matter?"

"The kitchen is where you entertain people," I reply, rolling my eyes.  

Now Alex just laughs.  "You don't do much of that either," he points out.

I huff in irritation and wander towards the next room.  "Well someday maybe I will."

Our realtor isn't hiding his disdain for my attitude and I don't blame him. "Hey," Alex says quietly, out of earshot of the realtor.  He lightly touches my back and I glance at him.  "What's up?"

"I'm frustrated," I tell him, sighing and briefly leaning my head onto his shoulder.  "This sucks."

"It does," he replies, kissing the top of my head. "Let's get through this one and then I'll take you out to dinner.  I think you might be hangry."

I glare at him from the corner of my eye and stalk into the living room.  This house is laid out stupidly.  I frown at one of the windows.  "This window frame is moldy.  I'm done here."

"Sorry," I hear Alex say to our realtor.  He catches up with me (impressively quickly, he's well-recovered from his skiing accident) and hisses, "Would you cut it out?  You can be honest without being bitchy."

I bite my tongue to keep from snapping back at him, because he's absolutely right.  "I'm sorry, Rick," I say repentantly to our realtor.  "I think the process is getting to me."

"Maybe you guys should take a break," Rick suggests.  "Even just a few weeks."  He must really be over my bullshit if he's passing up an opportunity to make money.  Or, maybe he senses the futility of the situation and thinks he's wasting his time.  I'm not sure he's wrong, at this point.  Anything I like, Alex hates.  Anything Alex likes, I don't.  There have been lots of jokes of side by side townhomes and having nothing in common.  It's not really funny anymore, though.

"We'll talk it over at dinner and let you know what we want to do," Alex answers, nudging me towards the door with a hand on my lower back.  

I say goodbye to Rick and walk out to the car with Alex.  Alex opens the passenger door for me and I manage a smile as I slide inside.  Once I'm settled into the seat I sigh and push my hands into my hair.  "Alex, I'm sorry," I tell him when he gets in the car.  "I just feel like we've been looking forever."

He laughs.  "It's only been a few months, Lauren.  But it has been frustrating.  With me recovering from my accident and getting back to work, and you starting a new job, maybe it isn't the best time to be looking for a house."

I stay quiet for a minute, then say, "So what are you saying?"

"Maybe we should put things on hold for awhile," he replies.  "You can get a little more settled in your job, and we can try again in the fall."

"And until then?"

He shrugs.  "We keep things how they are.  You've got your place, I have mine."

I consider this, but I'm not sure I love that idea either.  "I need food before we can have this conversation, I think," I respond.

"Well I probably should have fed you before we even looked at that house," Alex says with a smirk.  "So I'll definitely feed you before pushing you into any conversation about our future."

I glare at him, and even though he's looking at the road, he laughs.  I'm sure he can feel my eyeballs boring into his head.  "So much wit, so few brains."

"You're right, I should know better than to provoke you when you're hungry."  He reaches over the center console for my hand and I let him take it, winding my fingers through his.

Once Alex and I have drinks and an appetizer in front of us, I say, "Well, taking a break from looking for a house seems like a good idea."

"I agree," Alex replies with a nod.

"Well I imagine you would," I tell him, matter of factly.  "So in the meantime it just makes sense for me to move in with you."

Alex, who is taking a drink, sputters and coughs.  He sets his drink down and grabs his napkin.  Once he's gotten it together, he says, "I'm sorry, I think maybe I misheard you.  Did you just say it makes sense for you to move in with me?"  For once, he wasn't being sarcastic.

"Yes," I say, rolling my eyes.  "That's what I said.  Unless you don't want me to."

Alex shakes his head.  "Of course I want you to," he replies quickly.  "I'm just a bit surprised."

I shrug and take a sip of my drink.  "Well why pay for two places when we spend most every night together anyway?  And I thought about my place, but yours is closer to work for both of us and there's a bit more room, even if your house is laid out inefficiently."

"Oh, my house is inefficient?  That seems like a significant issue.  Are you sure you can handle it?"

I purse my lips and sigh.  "Of course, it won't be as big of an issue if I have more room because I've killed you for your insolence."

Alex laughs, shaking his head as our food arrives.  "I knew my mouth was going to get me in trouble eventually."

Once our waiter is a safe distance away, I smirk and say, "Your mouth can make up for its bad behavior later."

Alex cocks an eyebrow and nods knowingly.  "If you're lucky."


On the way out, Alex says, "So, shall we stay at your new place tonight or your old one?  Maybe the old one, so you can savor your last nights there?"

"Well at the rate you're going, I won't be having a new place, I'll just stay at the old one.  Forever."

Alex slings his arm around my shoulders and kisses my cheek.  "I love you, Laur."

"I love you too," I say, nestling into him in a rare show of public affection.  "Let's stay at my place."

We stop at Alex's to pick up some clothes for him for tomorrow, then head to my place.  When we get there, he settles onto the couch, but I have other plans.  "I believe your mouth has some redeeming itself to do," I remind him, straddling his lap carefully.  He claims to feel great, but I'm still paranoid about hurting him.

"That's right," he replies, dropping his head to kiss along my collarbone.  "I should have known you wouldn't let me forget."

"Shut up and kiss me," I demand.

Alex laughs and obliges me, grinning as he presses his lips to mine.  "Let's go upstairs," he whispers, letting his lips trail along my jaw to my neck.  "This couch is terrible.  We're keeping mine."

I gasp in indignation and smack his arm lightly.  "Fine, but my bed is the clear winner over yours."

"I think we'd better test it out, I don't remember," he replies, gripping my hips and shifting his weight so I could stand.

I lead him upstairs and into my room, and I'm turning around to kiss him again when he shoves me onto the bed.  The skirt of my flimsy summer sundress flips up around my upper thighs as I land, laughing.  "Well?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow at him.  "You've got me here, now what?"

He climbs onto the bed, nudging my legs apart slightly with his knee as he positions himself above me.  "Now my mouth pays its penance."  He kisses me softly, then moves his lips to my neck.  I groan softly as he gently nips at my sensitive skin before moving lower.  His mouth glides along the neckline of my dress while his hands slide beneath the skirt.  He tugs my thong down, dragging his fingertips along my thighs as he removes it and lets it fall to the floor.  When his fingers slip back under my skirt, I gasp.  Alex teases me until I'm practically begging for more.  He finally positions himself between my thighs but continues to tease me by trailing kisses up and down my inner thighs.  When I grab his head to try to pull it closer, he grabs my wrists and pins them to the bed next to my hips.  "Patience," he says, his breath warm against my skin.

When he finally puts his mouth where I want it, my orgasm takes less than a minute.  I'm so worked up by that point that he probably could have gotten me off by merely breathing on me.  I'm glad he doesn't waste any time after that getting rid of his pants.  He pushes into me while I'm still twitching from my orgasm, not even bother to take off his shirt or my dress.  We're in a weird spot at the edge of the bed but it doesn't matter.

When we're done, we get re-situated on the bed and I turn my head to the side to look at him.  "You're right," he says, settling against the pillows.  "Your bed is better."

"I know," I reply, smirking.

He rolls his eyes, but laughs.  "So hey, if you want to think about moving in with me a little before you decide for sure--"

"I already thought about it, and I already decided," I interrupt.  I push myself up on one elbow and narrow my eyes.  "Unless you need some time to think about it."

"Absolutely not," he replies immediately.  "I've wanted you to move in for a long time.  I'm still just surprised."

"Well get over it," I say, "And make me some room in your pathetic closet."