As if he were reading her thoughts, Nick leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear. “You don’t have to say it back, but I love you, Lauren.”
“I like you a lot, Nick,” Lauren replied hesitantly, not quite ready to use the L-word. He didn’t take offense.
At the moment, Nick and Lauren were cuddling on the couch, as they had done so often before, but until now, it had been platonic. The television was off, as was the radio, and both of them were lost in very similar thoughts; thoughts of their relationship and how happy they would be from now on.
After a few minutes, Nick broke the silence. “I was thinking of inviting the guys over for dinner in a few weeks,” he announced. “They all want to meet you.”
Lauren tilted her head back and looked at Nick with a puppy dog expression. “Do you think they’ll like me?”
“Of course they will! How could anyone not like you, Lauren?” Nick exclaimed sincerely.
“Well, when we first met, I could see why you wouldn’t like me,” Lauren replied simply. “But I won’t act like that toward them, since I know they’re your friends, and they’re probably as nice as you.”
“Then they’ll like you,” Nick assured her. “Their girlfriends will probably want to come, too. Is that okay?”
“Nick, it’s your dinner party thing, not mine. Don’t ask me if it’s okay,” Lauren giggled. He looked at her blankly, still wanting a response to his question. “Fine, it’s okay. They can come, too. In fact, I would rather they did because I don’t want to be the only girl there.”
“Okay, soon, you’ll meet the other Backstreet Boys.”