Chapter 2: Lauren

Breezy carried her Prom dress and overnight bag into Lauren's room and tossed them on the bed. "I can't believe you're still letting Bruce take you to Prom," she announced.

Lauren's best friend best was actually named Breanne, but she'd just been Breezy ever since they met in elementary school. Standing at the full length mirror in her sliding closet door, Lauren continued silently applying her eye shadow.

"Why didn't you let me bust in on them last night?"

Lauren glanced in the mirror to see Breezy's livid anger as spots on her pale cheeks. She was a true redhead, in coloring and in spirit. Seeing her friend rising to her defense caused a weak smile float up for a moment.

"Patience."

"Screw patience. I want revenge!"

"That's already taken care of." Lauren returned to applying her eye makeup. "Go shower and I'll do your hair. We're running out of time."

"We're going to discuss this," Breezy warned as she grabbed her robe from the hook behind Lauren's bedroom door.

Lauren stopped to look at herself in the mirror and sighed. When Breezy had texted the pic of Sammy Deluca leading Bruce by the hand towards her bedroom, it had seemed like the end of the world. Bruce was her first real boyfriend, her first lover, and was now her first heartbreak. His good looks and easy charm had gotten him a first date just after school started and by Christmas break he'd won her heart. All that wasted time and energy, Lauren mused.

Breezy would be relentless until they discussed his betrayal, but Lauren hated how foolish it made her feel. She should have listened when Breezy had warned her. She knew Bruce had a reputation, but Lauren believed him when he said he loved her. Now the truth would come out and everyone would know she was an idiot.

Breezy came back in wearing the robe with her hair up in a towel. Lauren got her hair dryer and brush from the dresser and sat in the middle of the bed.

"Come sit," Lauren said and patted a spot that faced the mirror.

Her friend shook the towel against her hair while hanging her head upside down, then flung her long auburn locks back as she stood quickly. She sat down on the edge of the bed, giving Lauren a stern look in the mirror.

"So what's the plan?" Breezy asked.

Lauren turned on the loud hair dryer with a smirk and began to brush out the damp hair with long strokes. Conversation remained impossible until Breezy's hair was dry.

While her hands were busy, Lauren allowed herself to think about what had happened with Josh. If she hadn't been reeling from Bruce's betrayal, she'd never have mustered the nerve to just kiss him like that. And once she found how good he was, her reticence had crumbled.

One truth was undeniable—Bruce sucked in bed. She recognized now that he was a selfish lover. The horror stories about how first times could be painful had lowered her expectations of sex and Bruce had never raised them. His foreplay was just enough to get her cooperative but not enough to get her off. They'd had sex a dozen times since Christmas and she'd had to finish herself off afterwards each time.

Josh oozed a kind of primal honesty about his lust. He didn't dress it up in fancy words or try to fool her. He'd simply promised orgasms, then proceeded to deliver two of the most powerful she'd ever experienced. Yes, he was a player, but he didn't lie about it like Bruce had done. And the fact that she had lusted after him for years was just the icing on the cake.

"Tell me whatever you're thinking about right now," Breezy demanded as soon as Lauren turned off the hair dryer. "I don't know what that smile is about but I want to."

"My revenge," Lauren chuckled.

"So tell me!" Breezy stood up and put her fists on her hips. "Right now!"

"I was babysitting at the Alexanders' house last night."

"Duh, I know."

"But I didn't mention Josh came home to do some laundry."

Breezy's eyes widened. She knew all about Lauren's crush because they'd been giggling about him ever since she started babysitting the girls. "Tell me every detail."

"No," Lauren said, keeping a straight face. "I don't kiss and tell."

That made Breezy's jaw drop. "Oh. My. God. Please tell me he's your revenge."

"I can neither confirm nor deny that statement ... yet," Lauren said. "But I promise you'll know everything by the time we get back here after Prom tonight."

They spent their remaining time cutting up and laughing as they dressed. Lauren had picked a snug red dress that matched her nail polish, over black stockings and strappy heels. She twisted her hair on top of her head in an artful pile leaving a few loose strands curling near her ears. Her only jewelry was the gold chain and charm of laurel leaves Bruce had given her at Christmas.

Breezy had gone for a sheer emerald dress that clung around her shoulders but then hung loose straight down to her bare thighs. Lauren had straightened her curly red mop and pulled it back through a golden tiara that had the same sparkling designs as her gold filigree heels. A dozen gold and emerald bangles on her wrists added elegance and matched the metallic gold nail polish on her fingers and toes.

When they descended the stairs, Bruce, Breezy's boyfriend Todd, and Lauren's parents waited speechless. Lauren saw her mom cover her mouth with both hands as she stifled her tears. Her dad watched with a stunned expression of pride. Then everyone burst into spontaneous applause.

Lauren had to fix a smile on her face when Bruce leaned in to kiss her cheek. He wore a dark suit and red tie that matched her dress. Once she'd found her Prom dress, finding a tie that matched the exact shade of red had taken weeks and a dozen different stores. It had seemed so important before. Now the only thing that made his presence bearable was her revenge.

"Come stand in front of the fireplace so we can take your picture," Mom said as she waved the foursome over. "Breezy, your mother made me swear I'd text her a picture before I let you leave. And I'll post them all online later for your parents, boys."

They took pictures of each couple, then more pictures of the four of them together. By the time they got out of the house, Lauren was so flash blind she couldn't see the handle on the car door. Bruce opened the passenger door for her while Todd opened the rear door for Breezy.

"Thanks," Lauren said as she sat. She felt Breezy's hand squeezing her shoulder as the guys went around to get in on the other side.

Across the street at the Alexanders' house, Lauren saw Josh's car in the driveway. A part of her wished she could just run over there and let him take her mind of things the way he had the night before, but he'd been clear about what he wanted. No dates, no overnights, no talk of the future. The memory of the pleasure he'd given her made her sigh in frustration.

"Hang in there," Breezy whispered.

"I'll be fine," Lauren whispered back, telling herself as much as Breezy.

"Here we go," Bruce said as he sat down and put on his seatbelt. "I hope you're hungry."

"I'm starved. Where are we going?" Breezy asked.

"Bruce and I decided on that new Brazilian steak house," Todd said. "I can't get over how great you both look."

"Thanks," Breezy giggled. "You're not so bad yourself."

Bruce tried to take Lauren's hand like usual, but she pulled it away without looking at him. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yup," she answered as she looked out her window. "How was the party at Sammy's last night?"

"Fun." His voice was steady and clear, like he had nothing to hide. "But I was lonely without you."

Breezy let out an annoyed sigh from the back seat. Lauren wondered how many times Bruce had gone around behind her back.

"What did I miss?" Lauren asked.

"Not much. It was pretty chill, except for Sean getting drunk and throwing up in the back yard."

Sean was Sammy's older brother who was home on leave from the Army. Lauren decided to turn up the heat. "It wasn't that chill. People were posting pics online all last night. I almost felt like I was there."

Bruce looked over to meet her eyes. She kept her expression blank, but cocked an eyebrow at him. "Yeah?"

"Oh yeah." If she hadn't been watching she might have missed him swallowing hard.

"Well, I mostly hung out in the back yard with Sean. Maybe there was more going on inside."

"No doubt." Lauren couldn't look at his smug, lying face any more and turned back to stare out her window. "Where did you say you were again, Breezy?"

"In the kitchen with Jerry and Jonathan."

"Oh, were you there?" Bruce asked. His voice had lost some of its confidence.

"Uh-huh," Breezy growled.

"I thought you guys were going out last night." Bruce sat straighter as he looked in the rearview mirror.

"Naw, the regular delivery guy called in sick and I had to go into work at the last minute," Todd said. From his light tone, Lauren assumed he hadn't picked up on the underlying tension in their conversation.

"Oh." Bruce drove on without another word.

Breezy and Todd had a cute conversation in the backseat while Lauren steamed silently. Their banter reminded Lauren of Josh's comment about chemistry. They had it in spades. Breezy had confided that she wanted to hook up with Todd at the hotel later. She wasn't a virgin, but her first time hadn't been entirely voluntary. Todd knew and had promised to take things as slow as Breezy needed. He was sweet that way.

Lauren thought about Josh's offhand remark that love wasn't a feeling. She hadn't gotten his point at the time. It struck her, as Bruce the Cheater drove them to the restaurant, that loving someone had more to do with how you treated them than how you felt about them. Bruce said he loved her but had slept with Sammy Deluca behind her back and lied about it. No matter how he felt about her, he didn't really love her or he would never have done that.

"Here we are," Bruce said as they stopped at the valet stand.

The valet came over and opened both passenger doors. Lauren stood next to Breezy and Todd while Bruce handed over his keys. When he walked up, Lauren saw the tension in his expression. He tried to put his arm around her waist, but Lauren stepped out of his grasp.

"Tell me what's wrong," he whispered to her.

She gave him a blank look in response, then turned to the hostess. "Williams party of four," she said for him.

"You all look so wonderful," the hostess said with an indulgent smile. "Follow me, please."

After they were seated and ordered their drinks, Lauren and Breezy gave each other their secret bathroom glance. "Be right back," Breezy said as they both stood up and walked away from the table.

"He's dying," Breezy whispered to her best friend.

"Not fast enough for me," Lauren sniffed.

"So what's the plan?" she asked as they stepped through the restroom doorway.

"Step one is for him to admit he slept with Sammy." She examined her makeup in the mirror, then pulled a red lipstick pencil from her clutch.

Breezy went into a stall and closed the door. "How long are you going to make him grovel?"

"I'm not." Lauren traced her lips with the lipstick pencil.

"How is that revenge?"

"That comes later." She pressed her lips together to even the color. At the sound of the flush, Lauren turned around to watch Breezy come up to wash her hands. "You'll see."

"You're killin' me," she complained.

"It'll be worth it. Trust me." Lauren didn't know exactly how she'd pull it off, but she was going to make Bruce pay.

When they were walking back to the table, Breezy squeezed Lauren's arm. "Look."

She nodded her head off to the left at a group of familiar faces. Some of their single friends had planned to go to the Prom as a group rather than scrounge for dates. Right in the middle of the group, laughing without a care in the world, was Sammy Deluca.

Lauren kept walking for a moment while her stomach churned, then she stopped so fast that Breezy bumped into her. Looking over at the group again, she pasted a wide grin on her face.

"Hey, Breezy, look who's here," she exclaimed as she dragged her friend along by the arm. "Wow, y'all look great!"

Those sitting at the table turned to smile at the compliment, some of them standing to hug Lauren and Breezy hello. Sammy had a glint in her eye when she recognized Lauren. Since she was on the opposite side of the table she hadn't risen to greet them.

"I didn't know y'all were coming here," Sammy sang in her overdramatic way. "We missed ya' at the party last night."

"Hey! I was there," Breezy said with mock outrage. "I even saw your brother hurl while I was hanging out in the kitchen."

"Yeah, he's gotta get it out of his system before he gets deployed this summer." Sammy pursed her lips like she was enjoying the flavor of her secret. "Are Bruce and Todd around somewhere?"

"Yeah, we're sitting over there," Lauren said and gestured in the direction of the table. "Be sure to come over and say hi."

"I'll do that," Sammy said with barely concealed amusement.

"See y'all at the hotel," Lauren said to the others as she stepped away, then dropped the fake smile when her back was to their table. "Bitch."

"He's so gonna die," Breezy giggled.

"Still not fast enough."

Back at the table, Bruce looked like he'd pulled himself together. Both guys stood as their dates returned.

"Y'all wanna go hit the salad bar first?" Todd asked.

"I do," Breezy said as she took his hand.

"Not me." Lauren sat and scooted her chair in before Bruce could help her. Then she flipped the service card to green to indicate she was ready for one of the waitstaff to cut her portions off the sword-like skewers of meat they carried from table to table.

"Come on, tell me what's going on," Bruce demanded with a little heat in his tone as he sat. They were alone now, so he obviously felt like he didn't have to pretend he wasn't annoyed by her cold treatment.

"We ran into Sammy on the way back from the restroom. She said she wanted to come by and say hello, so I told her where we were." Lauren was careful not to look directly at him, but did watch him from the corner of her eye. His flush and quick glance around the room said more than his words had so far.

"So? You think there's something going on between us? You're being paranoid."

His guilty conscience made him jump to that conclusion, she thought, then squinted at him without responding.

"Lauren, you know I love you. I don't know where that crazy idea came from."

You're gonna double down on me, you bastard? A waiter came up offering a skewer of filet mignon. Lauren nodded and told him, "Rare, please."

He sliced some blood red meat onto her plate. Bruce shook his head when the waiter asked to serve him, then waited until he walked away before speaking again.

"Will you just talk to me," he begged.

Lauren suddenly knew why he wanted her to talk. Bruce had proven he was a skilled manipulator but he needed to know how much she really knew before he could spin it.

She cut her meat without acknowledging he spoke, silently predicting his next tactic would be to get angry.

"Damn it, Lauren, if you're gonna be like this all night I'm gonna take you home."

She allowed her amusement to show as she chewed. Bruce was clearly more worried about Sammy coming to the table than getting her to talk now. When she didn't say anything, his mouth became a twisted white line that cut across his red face.

"They're coming back. I'll tell them I'm taking you home while they finish their meal." When Lauren didn't respond he added, "I'm serious."

She smiled up at Breezy as she sat with two salad plates. "Anything good?" Lauren asked.

"I've got some heart of palm and arugula salad, and caviar on those crisp crackers you love. Want some?"

"I'd love a bite of the caviar." She took a cracker off the plate and relished the light brine flavor.

"Lauren's not feeling well. I'm gonna take her home while you guys finish here," Bruce announced as he wiped his mouth and stood.

"Sit down and shut up," Lauren snapped at him, then waved over a passing waiter with a smile. He cut her some spiced pork before moving away.

"What the fuck is wrong with you tonight," Bruce growled as he leaned to tower over her. Some of the people around the table began staring at his outburst.

"I apologize for my date," Lauren whispered to Todd and Breezy. "He thinks I'm an idiot and it makes him crazy."

"I'm crazy?" Bruce sputtered, but before he could finish speaking Sammy walked up to their table.

"Hey y'all," Sammy sang as she reached out to give Bruce a one-armed hug. He froze with a look of utter panic on his face. "Lauren said you guys were over here."

Lauren showed her teeth as she smiled. You deserve each other, you bitch. "Bruce is really tense tonight. What in the world did you do to him last night?"

Sammy's smile faltered. "W-what do you mean?"

"Oh, I know all about it." Lauren waved like it was no big deal. "I don't mind if you take him out for a spin, but you need to make sure you change his oil before you give him back." Then she grinned like they shared an inside joke.

"You don't mind?" Sammy looked bewildered and Bruce had gone pale. "I thought you guys were serious."

"No, we're just friends with benefits." Lauren fixed Bruce with a piercing stare. "He's too much of a free spirit to be a one-woman man."

"Wait ... I can explain," Bruce sputtered.

"No need," Lauren said. "I was a little surprised at first, but it's working out really well." She turned her gaze back to Sammy. "You know Josh Alexander, right?"

"Oh my God, yes," Sammy chuckled. "He and Sean have been friends for years. I would give my left tit for a night with him."

"Remind me to give you his number sometime. That man can get all the kinks out, if you know what I mean. After I found out you and Bruce were hooking up last night, Alex showed up at his parents' house where I was babysitting his little sisters." Her mouth twitched because Bruce was clenching his jaw so hard it made his temples pulse. "It was the best hour and a half of my life."

"An hour and a half?" Sammy laughed and clapped. "What did he do for an hour and a half?"

"He made sure I was happy twice before he finished," Lauren said directly to Bruce.

"Oh, Lauren, I'm so sorry I misjudged you ... we definitely need to compare notes," Sammy said as she shot Bruce a look of pity. "I'm really glad there's no hard feelings."

"Sisters before misters," Lauren said and raised her hand for a high five.

"Preach it!" Sammy slapped her palm and then kissed Bruce's cheek. "Save me a dance later, lover boy."

When Sammy swayed back towards her table, Bruce slowly sat back down without meeting anyone's eyes. Breezy sat with her mouth open in stunned shock. Todd was suppressing a smirk as he glanced between Bruce and Lauren.

"Let me know if you see the guy with the filet again. It was amazing." Lauren cut the last of the spiced pork loin and fed herself a bite. "The pork is so tender it melts in your mouth."

It might be said that revenge was a dish best served cold, but just then Lauren was certain it was much better with rare beef and pork loin. The tension and anger she'd felt all day seemed to evaporate after her vengeful revelation. Telling Sammy made it even better because she would repeat the story all night, likely telling the same people who knew she had hooked up with Bruce at the party. Now instead of Lauren looking like a fool, Bruce would.

"There he is," Todd said as he waved down the guy with the filet mignon for her. The waiter sliced more of the rare steak into her plate and left her smiling.

"Did you already check into the hotel?" Lauren asked Bruce. When he didn't answer, she looked over at him. "Bruce?"