Wasted

Lauren and Justin lounged on the sofa, her feet resting in his lap as he laughed at his favorite show on the television- The Looney Tunes. His fingers worked circles on her ankles, soothing her so effectively she had to fight her sleep. She yawned and wiggled her toes to get his attention.

"Sweetie, not that it doesn't feel amazing," she began with a grin, "but if you don't stop I'm going to fall asleep."

Justin winked and brought her foot up, placing a small kiss on the top of it. "What are you readin'?"

His question brought forth a fire in her eyes. She sat up slightly, her back against the armrest. "Pride and Prejudice."

He smirked and shook his head. "How many times have you read that book?"

"I wouldn't know," she laughed. "It's my favorite book of all time, though. Have you ever read it?"

"No." He said slowly, a brow raised at her response. "I didn't really read in school, sweetie."

"Of course not," Lauren scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You should try it, you'd love it. Well, maybe not," she reasoned, "it doesn't have any anvil falling on people's heads." She pointed her finger at the flat screen that loomed on the wall.

"Hey," he defended his inner child. "I've seen you laugh at it, too."

Lauren grinned and flipped the page gently, as if to preserve it forever. "You should seriously try reading it," she urged. "You never know..."

He pursed his lips and gave a nod, "Fine. When you take your nap I'll look into it." Lauren eyed him suspiciously and smiled in disbelief. "I promise. I'll even bookmark the page I get to."

"Okay," she agreed. They leaned forward and sealed their deal with their own special seal- a small, chaste kiss.

[img]http://i991.photobucket.com/albums/af32/understandreams/istockphoto_4961954-floral-dividers-illustration-6.jpg-/img]

Justin woke by the alarm he set on his watch and glanced over to find his girl still asleep.

Thank God she sleeps like a log.

He stealthily moved to her side of the bed, knowing she'd be up bright and early in the morning to read a small insert of her book, just like she did every morning, and replaced her bookmark with a small piece of paper he crafted especially for her.

With a satisfied smile he tiptoed back across the room and snuggled into her side, a sly smile on his lips as he did so.

"Hope that tides you over, baby." He whispered against her shoulder.



The next morning Lauren rose with the sun, stretching against the bed with a yawn. She pawed at the nightstand beside her for her bottled water and took a few sips before sitting upright in the bed. With her glasses on she opened her book with a smile.

"That ass," she whispered hotly when she discovered her favorite bookmark was gone. "I know he didn't read this far."

She licked her lips and flipped the paper over, expecting a blank piece of paper, but instead saw Justin's scratchy handwriting. It nearly stopped her heart. She jumped from the bed, her spot in the book forever lost, and ran into the living room in desperation for answers.

"Justin?" Her voice cracked hesitantly. She peeked around the wall into the kitchen to see her boyfriend kneeling before her on the tiled floor. "What- what are you doing," she asked, her breath coming out in puffs.

"I figured if Darcy could do it I could too." Tears flooded her eyes when he shrugged his shoulders with a grin. Lauren ambled toward him slowly, her legs feeling like they could give out at any second. She sank to her knees in front of him, lightly framing his face in her hands. "Make me the happiest man in the world and marry me, Lauren."

"Yes," she whispered. "Yes!" Her head couldn't move fast enough for the nods she wanted to produce, so she simply crashed into him, sending them both flying onto the floor. Justin wrapped his arms around her as they both exploded into laughter.

"You know Elizabeth turned him down once, don't you?" Lauren looked up to him with a face-splitting smile.

Justin blinked slowly. "Yeah, well it's a good thing I didn't read that book, isn't it."