Chapter Text
The last time he saw her was a couple days after they graduated high school.
He, just barely walking in cap and gown from one too many skipped classes, arrived at her place around 12 minutes after he got the text: can you come pick me up?
He parked in his regular spot, about 20 feet from her house and texts back a quick ‘ I’m here ’. The sun had left the sky about half an hour ago, leaving faint trails of pink and orange along the skyline.
He checked his texts to see if she responded.
Nothing.
He examines his hair in the rear-view after he ran his fingers through, once, twice, and fluffed it a little on the side. Acceptable, he shrugged.
Checked his phone again.
He twisted his lip between his finger tips.
Checked again.
Adjusted his collar after deciding it looked a little crooked. (he didn’t know if he should dress up so he went with a button down)
Checked again.
Read 8:46
He let out a heavy exhale once he caught sight of her sneaking the house. Donned in a sundress and a heavy bag, she hastily made her way to his car, looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was to catch her.
When she was close enough, he stepped out to open the door. She slipped in and he shut the door behind her, jogged into the other side and climbed into the driver’s side.
Lauren.
Kieran.
Her chest rose and fell as she tried to catch her breath. He thought he must've fallen in love, at some point, with the way that Lauren's eyelashes curled slightly upward, the way they were naturally a dark red but she painted them a dark brown.
Where do you want me to take you?
Mmm… far.
Okay. What does ‘far’ look like?
There was a long pause when she opened her eyes to gaze at the darkening sky.
The beach. Take me to the beach.
There were very few times that Kieran has been genuinely stunned to the point where his mind goes quiet for once.
The moment Lauren had kissed him on the couch of her parent's beach house was definitely up there. Only to be topped moments later by her wandering hands that had to have manipulated some kind of electricity. His whole body had activated his nerves on every touched area of his skin to 'on'.
Or maybe it was the fact that she was supposed to be attending her graduation party and he was definitely not supposed to be here. They never really did address why she didn't want her parents to see her hanging around him. Or the majority of her friends. It was almost like he was a bad influence or something.
But he guessed it was too late to bring it up now. It wouldn't matter now that she was going to be a three and a half hour drive to her future and he squinting to see if he even had one at this point.
He didn't pay much attention to those thoughts because that's when her fingertips teased the top buttons of his shirt. She licked a trail following his jawline and kissed down the side of his neck, right over that part that sticks out.
Lauren.
She bit him lightly.
Hmm?
He swallows. It takes all of his energy to try to find some common sense. Why was it so difficult? Oh.
We're drunk.
She leaned back. Locking his gaze with her own eyes, she dragged the bottom of her dress, up her hips, then chest, then over her head and waited. Watched his face as he tried reading hers with wide eyes.
She placed her hands around his wrists and moved them carefully to rest on her thighs. He looked down out of instinct then shot his head back up after realizing what he did. He hoped she couldn't see his red face with the minimal moonlight streaming through the deck windows.
She looked at his lips then to his eyes again. He could've sworn her face was getting closer.
I'm okay with that if you are.
All of sudden, there was her lips, catching his answer in her mouth.
Fuck.
"I thought you moved across the country?!"
She throws her arms around his shoulders and captures him a tight hug.
He cautiously moves his arms to wrap around her petite frame. A body so familiar and a person so foreign. He takes in her new scent. Something expensive. Go figure.
There’s not enough time spent in her embrace before she pushes away to look at his face. He knew if she looks hard, she could see age setting upon his face. And from the way the sides of her eyes crease as she smiles, she was no immortal either.
Her arms drop to her sides.
In all honesty, he never thought that their paths might cross again. So the idea of running into Lauren Sinclair at the coffee shop below his apartment - he won’t deny he’s fantasized it more times than he’d like to admit - was probably what had him in shock.
“So how have you been?”
“Uh good, I guess. How - How about you?” Damn nerves.
“Good! I got a job here about a month ago so I'm just adjusting to the place. What about you?”
“I’ve been here a while”
“Do you like it?”
“Yeah. What about you?”
“It’s been great so far! Other than the traffic, that is.”
“Nice.”
There’s that stellar awkward silence that haunts him since puberty. He never did learn the right things to say to carry on conversations. Lucky for him, the barista calls out his name, to-go cup in hand.
“Well it was nice seeing you again, Lauren.”
“Wait, if you want, here’s my number. I know you aren’t really the best at maintaining contact but,” she shrugs “I don’t know… if you ever need anything.” She hands him the napkin she scribbled her number on.
"Oh. Thank you."
It took two shots of tequila and a verbal kick in the ass from his best friend to send the first text.
He nearly lost it when he saw the notification from her pop up. He moves to open it but then recalls something that his friend had texted.
Don’t text them back right away. Drives chicks crazy, but then she’s the one chasing after you.
Yeah, fuck that advice.
He was so willing to do anything to spend a couple more minutes. They had dipped back into the old pattern of late-night texts with consecutive messages, impatient for the other’s reply, ignorant of the courteous rules against interruptions. The dead only knew if he would get another opportunity like this again.
‘ I was thinking about you recently. Kind of funny how we ran into each other ’
Shit. This wasn’t getting any easier.
With the dreaded ' well i'm off to bed' text making its way closer and closer, Kieran decides to send the text he wants to, pushing aside all fear of rejection.
'Do you want to go on a date?'
He panics when he sees the little bubble with the three dots disappear.
Then reappears.
Disappears again.
With his heartbeat practically audible, he drops his phone on his nightstand and admits defeat with the switch of his lamp.
As soon as he buries his head in the blanket, ready to submit to sleep, his phone lights up. He rolls onto his side and delicately picks up his phone.
A notification.
Her.
‘I’d love to :)’