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Chapter 8, Part 2
Once again, Laurie forces Seth to step outside of his comfort zone. Confusion ensues for them both.
Remember, I have split Chapter 8 into 2 parts. Make sure you read the other one first!
o_o
Once again, Laurie forces Seth to step outside of his comfort zone. Confusion ensues for them both.
Remember, I have split Chapter 8 into 2 parts. Make sure you read the other one first!
o_o At first, Seth was stubborn as a mule, but with a little more urging, Laurie managed to get him into her car. As she pulled away from the mansion, he quit asking where they were going. It was clear that she wasn’t going to tell him. “You’re not serious,” Seth cried as they pulled up next to the adoption shelter. When he’d suggested “rainbows and puppies” to her, he’d had no idea what he was getting himself into.
“Come on!” Laurie urged excitedly. “Let’s go!”
“You have a lot of guts, dragging me into this. How do you know I’m not allergic to dogs?” Seth snapped.
Laurie lowered her eyelids. “Are you allergic to dogs?”
Seth stared at her. After a long pause, he said through gritted teeth, “No.”
“Then come along. I’m not taking you home until you do this.”
The minute they entered, the noise of mews and barks from the surrounding kennels made Seth’s hairs stand on end. Laurie clapped her hands and turned pink at the sight of the critters.
The two were allowed to play with a small, black mutt puppy. As soon as Laurie released her from her leash, the little thing bounded over to Seth and tried to climb his pants.
Laurie squealed. “She likes you, Seth!”
“Get it off me,” he said uneasily.
Laurie shook her head—she wouldn’t have it. Seth wasn’t leaving here until he looked straight into the eyes of an adorable puppy without blinking. She picked up the squirming animal and held her out to her boss. “Here. Take her.”
While Seth held her at arm’s length, the puppy gazed back at him with a slobbery, long-tongued smile that only dogs could achieve. She wagged her tail, thrilled to have his full attention. She was soft and delicate in Seth’s weathered hands.
Slowly, Seth’s tense, disgusted frown settled into a calm frown. “You smell,” he said. The puppy just wagged her tail and grinned.
“Finally, someone who can get along with you,” Laurie laughed. “You could insult her all day, and she wouldn’t care.”
Seth raised an eyebrow. “She’s not the only one.” Seth and Laurie took a few minutes to toss toys to the dog. The puppy was undeniably cute, and her calming effect loosened all the tension in the air. Laurie couldn’t stop smiling as she watched Seth’s gray eyes; she had never seen him so relaxed. It appeared that she had finally found his elusive soft spot.
“I can’t believe one of your childish tricks worked on me,” he grumbled, removing a rubber ball from the dog’s teeth.
Laurie grinned in satisfaction. “It’s called puppy therapy. Whenever I had a bad day, my dad would take me to a place like this.” They made their way back to Laurie’s car. Seth’s calm posture was entirely different than it had been. “That experience was tolerable. But I’m begging you, Laurie—no more surprises.”
Laurie smiled widely. “I already know what I want to try with you next.”
Seth grimaced. Instead of sarcastically suggesting "cliff diving" or "skinny dipping," he held his tongue. He now knew it was better not to give her ideas. “Want to play chess some time? I want to see if I stand a chance against you. It’s like an IQ test.”
Chess. That wasn't so bad. Seth snorted, and the faintest trace of a half-smirk appeared on his lips. “I suppose I could be talked into that.” “So where did you run off to after the meeting?” Pierce asked as while Laurie prepared dinner for her guests.
She wiped her hands on a nearby rag. “Huh?”
“I saw you go after Seth,” said Pierce. “While he was all worked up. Did something happen?”
Laurie chuckled. As much as she wanted to brag about her amazing puppy experience with Seth, she knew her boss wouldn’t appreciate the story circulating. Besides, she didn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea about them. “Nothing significant. I just had a work-related question that I forgot to ask.”
Pierce looked unconvinced. “Right.”
That wasn’t the end of the conversation though. When Laurie brought a steaming bowl of spaghetti into the patio to share with her coworkers, the questions began.
“So, Laurie. I noticed that you and Seth have started spending… quality time together,” Harry said with a twitch of his brow.
Laurie looked sideways at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” “Don’t get offended,” Harry said, holding his hands up. “I can see why you’d go for the big guy. Dating the boss must have its perks. If I were dating Valentine, I don’t know what I’d buy first!”
Laurie grimaced at him. “I’m going to hit you.” “Seriously, Laurie. I’ve seen you two talking a lot. Is something going on between you two? We won’t judge you,” Isabella said with a smile.
“No, you guys,” Laurie snapped. “I’m not dating Dr. Valentine. Never have, never will. Now quit it, or you’re not eating!”
Everyone groaned and gave it a rest. “Laur. I can’t believe I remember your phone number after all this time, but I miss you.”
Laurie looked astonished as she listened to Derek’s voicemail. She had recognized the number and ignored the call, but the sound of his voice still managed to paralyze her. She collapsed on her bed, emotionally exhausted.
“…Please give me a call,” Derek continued. “I don’t want anything from you. I just want to catch up. I really don’t want things to be weird between us—we’ve been through too much together to let them stay that way. I can’t stand how things ended, and I want to make up for it if I can. As a friend, I hope you will consider. Have a good night.” “Checkmate,” said a bored Seth.
Laurie blinked in astonishment. The game had lasted for ten moves. “Again!” she demanded. This time, Laurie lasted for nine moves. Then ten moves again. As her frustration increased, she became more reckless, and Seth started consistently beating her in eight moves or less. To his great amusement, Laurie was both ferociously competitive and a sore loser. After her fifth loss, she sat back in her chair.
“Go easy on me this time! I can’t even get my pieces out there,” she whined. While they played, Harry appeared in the hallway behind Seth. He had a giant grin on his face and two thumbs up. Laurie glared at him and tried to silently shoo him away; Seth was oblivious, preparing for his next move.
Harry stayed. He began doing a raunchy dance that made Laurie blush. She covered her eyes and sighed. Before long, Seth turned around. Harry snapped back into his normal posture and began to walk away.
“LESTER,” Seth barked.
Harry turned. “Yes, sir?” “You’re staying here after work. I need a stack of papers shredded, the thermocouple needs repairs, and the floors of the lab need to be mopped,” said Seth while putting Laurie in checkmate for the sixth time.
Harry groaned. “Can’t the maid—?“
“You’re doing it, Harry, or I’m suspending you for two weeks with no pay.” Laurie snorted. As Harry walked away grumbling, she said, “You were supposed to go easy on me this time.”
Seth arched his brow. “I did.”
She groaned and flicked her king over. “We should find a game that I’m better at.”
“Good luck,” the man replied, proudly sweeping up out of his chair.
“You’ll eat those words,” Laurie threatened. One night, Laurie went home to another voicemail from her ex. She didn’t want to hear it—while Derek’s voice played, her finger hovered over the delete button, but sadly, she couldn’t press it.
“Hey Laur,” said Derek. “Just wondering when you were going to get back to me. Even if your answer is no, I’d appreciate some kind of response. Please, don’t shut me out. I walked by a flower stand today and saw some white orchids, and they reminded me of you. I know you love them. I’m pretty sure I remember all your favorites. Well, talk to you later, I hope. Good luck.” Laurie swallowed and pressed the button. The machine droned, “Message deleted.”
She remembered all of Derek’s favorites, too. His favorite color was blue. His favorite band was The Black Keys. His favorite movie was Back to the Future. At noon the next day, Seth stopped working and looked up, expecting to see Laurie skip in. He wondered what she would want from him today—another conversation about black holes, or perhaps a chess rematch?
He waited, but she didn’t walk through the door. Ten unproductive minutes passed before Seth stood from his chair. Frowning, he made his way toward the kitchen. Laurie was there, eating a sandwich by herself. She looked lost in thought.
Seth approached the fridge. “Miss Fell,” he greeted.
“Dr. Valentine,” she mumbled. Seth raised an eyebrow at her, catching on to her somber tone. “Something wrong?” His question sounded more accusatory than concerned.
“Something personal,” she replied, pushing away her half-eaten sandwich.
“Well, it’d better not interfere with your work,” he snapped.
Laurie sighed; she really wasn’t in the mood for his attitude today. “Yes, sir.” Seth stood there, unsatisfied with her response. His tone softened to a grumble. “Perhaps you should do something to take your mind off things. Maybe watch that movie you like so much. Back to the Future, isn’t it?”
Laurie burst into cold, unexpected laughter. “Oh, Lord. That’s the last thing I want to do,” she replied.
Seth looked sideways, bewildered. “…Alright.” He started to leave the kitchen. It wasn’t until he left that Laurie realized what had just transpired. Seth had just tried to make her feel better—in his own way. Which meant he actually cared.
Laurie looked up, and a wide grin spread across her face. “Seth,” she cried, running down the hall after him. He turned. “I change my mind. I do want to watch the movie.”
Seth frowned at her. “Good for you.”
“But you have to watch it with me,” she told him. “It would be a waste if you didn’t.” “I only have twenty minutes before my lunch ends,” he mumbled.
“We’ll just start it then,” she told him. “Come on. Let’s hurry.”
Seth heaved a great sigh. “Alright.” They made their way into the abandoned conference room. As Laurie took a seat next to Seth, a shiver crawled up his spine. She was so close, and they were so alone. He tried hard to stifle the excitement so he could pay attention to her silly movie. When their twenty minutes were up, Laurie switched the lights on. “So, what do you think of it so far?”
Seth’s brow twitched. “Amusing,” he replied stoically.
Laurie pumped her fist, her mood rejuvenated. “Yes! I knew you’d like it!” As she popped the DVD back into its case, she smiled appreciatively at Seth. “Thank you for cheering me up today.”
“I did nothing,” Seth replied, as if he were arguing with her. She only shook her head and walked out of the room. Seth stared at the wall in front of him. This was bad. This was very bad. Something… a feeling other than lust… was poking at his heart, and he knew it. He was getting attached to her. He needed to come down from this high before things got ugly again.
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9 Comment(s) posted so far
#1 On Aug 8, 2012 yellowangela wrote:
the black keys lol
#2 On Aug 8, 2012 ScarlettBlackshire wrote:
Awww, Seth is so cuuute
#3 On Aug 9, 2012 keishafeller wrote:
Oh... I was so caught up in the story that I failed to realize it was over. That says something!
#4 On Aug 9, 2012 katmusic09 wrote:
Thank you guys!
#5 On Aug 9, 2012 Ephy wrote:
I want the little dog xD
It was a great idea to go to the little cute puppies! I can't wait for the day when Seth really realizes that he needs her… And the puppy! xD
#6 On Aug 12, 2012 fruitopia wrote:
#7 On Aug 12, 2012 cat.frame wrote:
Could you please tell me where does Laurie live?
Is the building a custom download or is it in-game? 
great chapter btw ^^
#8 On Aug 15, 2012 Bo0GeRBELL wrote:
Yes! I knew puppies would work!
Great chapter! 
#9 On Aug 18, 2012 Catiarp wrote:
Seth and puppies? Well, that's something I never thought I'd see in my entire life! But, who knows if that cute lil' thing won't make its wonders... Awesome chapter - but you already know that, right?
5*