Lauren POV

The shower sex was mind-blowing. Now we were lying in bed in towels, cuddling. It was comforting having him close, no problems in the world to bother us. He was healed, free of Emilia, and free of any kind of criminal record. I was putting my troubles behind me. It was just us now and the warmth between us. I love him so much and I know he knows it all too well.

"So, Mia Foster is back in town and is throwing this lavish, fancy New Year's Eve party," I said.

"Oh yeah?" He said, kissing my fingertips.

"Yeah. It's black tie and I want you to be my date, of course. I need a New Year's kiss."

He hummed and kissed me. "I can't baby," he responded.

"What? Why?"

"I have family coming in from Omaha and they wanna spend it with me."

I can't even protest or argue with that. I'm not going to be selfish and tell him to choose me over his family, I'd never do that. But I was still sad about it. Last New Year's Eve I had no idea my then-boyfriend Chase was tonguing down another girl. I didn't have to worry about that with Jack. The old me would probably think he was lying but I'm free from any old negative feelings stemmed from my sham relationship with Chase. I trusted Jack and he trusted me despite everything I've gone through.

I sighed and pushed back his damp hair with my fingers.

"You look sexy with your hair pushed back," I joke.

He laughs. "Don't start quoting Mean Girls, babe."

"It's my right as a human being to always quote Mean Girls," I chuckle.

He smiles and suddenly pulls me on top of him.

"Oh well hello there," I said.

He pokes his lips out and I kiss them over and over again.

. . .

I invited Shawn, Mahogany & Matt to Mia's party although Shawn wasn't able to make it. Mahogany and I opted for little black dresses. It seemed like a classic NYE option. Matt opted for a black tuxedo and a top hat, he felt like being dramatic knowing he was showing up to a ball with one girl on each arm.

What made this party different than the rest was that it was a mixture of people our age and older adults. Her parents were there so they had invited people they knew as well. Those of us that were under 21 were supposed to have sparkling cider while the rest had champagne. But the Australian bartender, Liam, was cool enough to sneak us some bubbly. I suppose that's all thanks to Mahogany since she flirted with him practically the entire night. 

While she chatted up with Liam, Matt looked a little jealous and almost protective of her. When I brought it up to him, he denied it, shrugged it off and went to scout out random girls at the party; most of whom blew him off. Poor Matt. But he was adorable and eventually found a nice brunette to talk to. As long as it wasn't his ex.

I found a seat on a nearby white chaise lounge. I was bored, I felt lonely, and I took a few selfies to send to Jack before playing with my gold bangles. I was on my 3rd glass of champagne but I was barely buzzed. Servers walked around with silver platters of various hors d'oeuvres. There was bruschetta, caviar (which I didn't touch), jalapeno poppers, deviled eggs, mozzarella sticks, shrimp cocktail, oysters (which I also didn't touch), and potato skins.

I felt the lounge puff up a bit beneath me and looked to my right to see Chase sitting there sporting his crisp black suit & hands in his pockets. He comically sighed and looked around until he looked at me.

"Oh, hello," he joked. "Figured I'd drop by since I'm back in town."

I shook my head and gave him a hug. He seemed more sculpted, if that were even possible. I know he's been living at the gym while at UCLA.

"You look good," he said.

"You don't look so bad yourself," I replied with almost no emotion.

"I do what I can," he said in a cocky tone, raising one eyebrow and touching his chin.

He knew I used to like when he did that. It made him look like a model. I used to call him my personal Clark Kent, well, before all the lies surfaced. Then he just became a straight-up Judas.

The in-house band began to play a classic slow song from the 50's. Chase stood up and extended his hand toward me.

"May I have this dance?"

It would be rude of me to turn him down. It was just a dance. So I placed my hand in his as I downed the last of my champagne, putting the empty glass on a nearby table. We joined the others on the dance floor and he spun me around ultimately pulling me in close. We swayed to the rhythm and I looked everywhere but up at him as we moved.

"So tell me what's been going on this past semester," he spoke.

I nervously laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

I took a deep breath. "After Jack's accident, we kind of broke up or as he called it, had a hiccup. This girl Emilia stayed by his side and I couldn't do anything about it. So in a sick attempt to get him back, I joined forces with Cameron Dallas by publicly flirting with him at some party where she was in order to get her upset. It backfired because Jack and I ended up not even talking for months. But then we got back together. And it turned out Emilia had drugged me at that party and Austin Mahone felt me up as she filmed it all and posted it online...all to embarrass me."

"Well shit," Chase said. "Where is Jack now?"

"He's home with his family. They came out of town from Nebraska."

"I see. Well, I'm sorry for everything you've gone through. I had no idea." He rubbed my back.

"Yeah, thanks."

"Two minutes everyone!" Mia Foster shouted in her magenta gown. She's always flawless when it comes to fashion. That's what happens when you've competed in beauty pageants since you were a fetus.

We stopped dancing and went to grab two more glasses of champagne. Jack hadn't texted me back yet and I heard that tiny voice in the back of my mind telling me this New Years would be the same as the last one. But I shrugged it off. Like I said, I trust him.

"Care to be my...platonic...New Years kiss?" Chase asked me.

"Not happening."

"You know it's good luck if you kiss someone at midnight."

"Oh? Had no idea." It was sky's the limit with my sarcasm.

I looked around and saw Mahogany making out with Liam already. Everyone else seemed to be coupled up, minus the children of course. I sighed and just looked up at a towering Chase while everyone around us seemed festive. I could tell that he missed me. I missed him too but not enough to kiss him. I saw on the flatscreen TV behind him that the clock now had 15 seconds to go. He started inching toward me and took my hands in his. He looked up at the other flatscreen behind me as the 10 second countdown began.

10...9...8...

He gently squeezes my hand and smiles, turning me around. He wasn't looking at the television at all, he was looking at Jack who was standing all the way by the front door. He was out of breath but dressed in his black suit & tie. His eyes found mine.

7...6...5...

My heart pounded and I forgot how to move. I was becoming overwhelmed but he quickly moved through the thick crowd toward me.

4...3...2...

He ran up to me and grabbed me just in time as the clock struck midnight. He kissed me, dipping me backward like a classic romance film. Suddenly it was as if no one else was around. He brought me back up, still kissing me and we swayed as we heard everyone else sang Auld Lang Syne. We kissed through the booming fireworks outside and the majority of the party guests ventured out to the massive backyard. We remained there, entranced in each other. He breathed me in and played in my hair which I had curled.

"Let's blow this joint," he whispered into the kiss.

I watched everyone's fireworks both near and far as we drove. I kept my hand out the window, making waves in the breeze. When Jack drove past the turn to his house, which I thought we were going to so I could meet his family, I got confused.

"Where are we going," I asked him.

"I have something to show you," he smiled.

We pulled into a gated complex filled with garden apartments. Some kids were outside chasing each other with sparklers and other families were setting off little fireworks they had bought at those side-of-the-road tent shops. We parked and Jack walked around to get my door. I carefully stepped out in my gold strap heels as he took my hand. We walked back to the drivers side and just stood there.

"Umm," I began. "This is what you wanted to show me?"

"See that apartment on the 2nd level? 42-A? That's mine," he explained.

"Nuh uh."

"Yuh huh. My parents and grandparents have been working on getting it for me. A little starter apartment. They're gonna cover 6 months rent until I get a decent job and then they're only gonna help me pay half until I graduate. They even did a little decorating for me. Called it a late birthday & Christmas gift."

"They so spoil you," I chuckle. "I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks. Wanna check it out?"

"No, I kinda wanna go home."

His face falls. "Oh."

"I'm kidding!"

He laughs and guides me up the steps to his new home. It was very nice inside. Of course it wasn't luxurious but that wouldn't be Jack anyway. He's more like the fly boy next door. It suited him. He only had one couch, fit for two. There was a nice little kitchen but no dining room table, which was fine because he had a breakfast bar. The bathroom was all white including his shower curtain but I was prepared to buy him a nicer one. Then we get to the bedroom where there was a full bed and a cute simple wooden nightstand with a fancy silver lamp on it - the overhead light didn't have a bulb in it yet but the fan still worked.

"I'm so jealous of you right now," I told him.

"We do have another entire week of break before we go back to school. If you want, you can spend it here," he suggested.

"Ooh, can we order pizza?"

"All the time. We don't even have to-" he pulled me in closer. "-leave the apartment." He kissed me deeply and I pulled away, trying to resist temptation. Sex sounded great right about now but I just wanted some down time. All I had to do was look at him and it was as if he understood. He took off his coat, loosened his tie, took off his shoes and laid down on the bed, patting the mattress beside him for me to join him. I took off my heels and crawled into the bed, getting cozy next to him.

"So Johnson and I are thinking of making a few songs, venturing into the music biz," he began.

"You're just full of news tonight, aren't you?"

He laughs through his nose. "Yeah, I guess I am. It's just we used to make songs as kids and figured we'd do it for real now."

"What kind of music," I asked.

"Just like pop, rap, r&b type of stuff," he shrugged.

"That's dope...I still don't know what I wanna do with my life." I sighed.

"I thought you wanted to do graphic design."

"At first but now, I just don't know. I kind of want to travel. Kind of want to dance professionally. I'm all over the place."

"Travel agency, travel blogger, uhh...background dancer? Dance teacher?"

"Maybe. We'll see. But for now I just want to relax here with you." I kiss his nose.

We talked for hours and fell asleep right as the sun rose.

The next week was pure bliss. We did exactly what we said we would. We stayed in that apartment. We ate together, watched Netflix, sometimes slept all day, tried out his new Illadelph bong, drank, even wrestled...playfully of course. Every time we made love was more passionate than the last. I wouldn't trade our time together for the world and neither would he. We fell deeper in love. We kind of joked about it while I went down on him, of all times. I really had gotten into it and he said: Damn, we're getting married after this. I knew it was a joke but I couldn't block out how that made me feel. I don't like to rush into anything, but the way I've felt about him up to now, I'd probably do a stupid thing like elope with him. But no worries, I won't. At least not anytime soon.

I was sad on Sunday when he dropped me back home. My lips were numb from kissing him so much but I couldn't stop kissing him in the car. I was going to see him tomorrow anyway. We had chosen a couple classes together for the new semester. Our first class of the day was Intro to Astronomy. We exchanged our I love you's and I went inside, straight to bed.

I woke up the next morning and looked over at my desk chair. For every first day of every school year, I had placed my first-day outfit on that chair. This time, I didn't. It wasn't that I forgot, I just didn't care. I was probably going to throw on one of Jack's hoodies & a pair of jeans anyway. When I slowly got out of bed, I did a couple stretches. But then the room started to tilt. I suddenly felt sick as if I drank too much and ran to the bathroom to vomit. Everytime I tried to leave the bathroom, I threw up again. I was afraid to move. This is what happens when you eat a week's worth of pizza and junk food.

Even during the drive to campus, I threw up at a stop light, holding up the cars behind me. They all honked at me and I pulled over completely. Going back home seemed like the most reasonable option but I couldn't miss the first day. When I got into class, I was groaning and holding my stomach. I found Jack and sat down next to him.

"Babe, you alright?" He asked.

"No," I uttered. "I've been throwing up all morning. I'm never eating pizza again."

"That's a terrible thing to say, pizza is amazing," he joked.

I began to laugh but I felt it again and darted out the classroom taking my bag with me. I didn't quite make it to the ladies room so I found a nearby bush. Soon I felt a hand on my back and see that Jack had rushed after me. He rubbed my lower back. I finally stood back up straight and the dizziness kicked in again. This time...thud. Everything goes black.

I wake up in a hospital but still in my regular clothes. Jack was seated next to me, holding my hand.

"There she is," Jack softly speaks. "I have to go let the doc know you're awake, okay?"

I nod as he steps out of the room. Moments later, the female doctor walks in with her clipboard.

"Hello young lady," she smiles. "You were one dehydrated girl! How do you feel?"

"Okay I guess," I say in a weak voice.

She looks up at Jack with the same cheery disposition. "Hey, mind stepping out for a bit while I talk to Miss Turner?"

Jack agrees and leaves the room.

"Needed to talk to you in private," she said. "Your bloodwork came back. Were you aware of your pregnancy?"

I laugh nervously. "I'm not pregnant. I take birth control. You must've gotten the labs mixed up."

She looks down at her clipboard. "Lauren Turner, right? Age 18. Your boyfriend told us you had a weeklong binge of junk food and sugary drinks. Barely any water. So we figured it was simple dehydration. Your labs tell us it was more than that."

I think I stopped breathing right then and there.

.............................................

Author's Note: *gasssssp* bish whet?! Lol. Story is almost over! I'm thinking a couple more chapters. But no worries, I have more fanfic ideas in the works. Stay locked on "Temptation" til the end! Luv u guys. xx