A soft shuffling traveled through the sand behind me. Lauren sat on the log beside me, drawing a deep breath, releasing it slowly. The flames danced in her eyes as I pulled her marshmallow from the fire and set it between the chocolate and the grahams.
“Ready to start practicing?”
She accepted the s’more and pulled her knees to her chest. One of them peeked at me through the gaping hole in her jeans.
“Not really. I’ve been trying to envision the conversation, but it’s making me nauseous.”
I could only imagine.
“Not sure if that feeling will go away, but by the time we’re done practicing you’ll be able to muscle through it.”
Taking a bite of her s’more, she closed her eyes and released a soft little moan. “Give me a sec,” she said, her head dropping back and putting her slender neck on display. “This is amazing.”
I turned back to the fire. Something pinched in my chest and I remembered how real pregnancy cravings could get.
“Want anything else? I think the store’s still open.”
Lauren cracked an eye open and shook her head. “This is perfection.” She closed her eye again, taking a deep breath, like she’d found her own little slice of paradise.
I grinned and threaded another marshmallow onto my stick, resting it on the edge of the fire pit, just close enough to toast without getting burned.
“Let me know when you're done with your hot little trance over there, and we’ll go over some details.”
She grinned and popped the rest of her s’more into that pretty mouth, dusting her hands while she chewed. “Okay. Go.”
“All right. So, tell me what this graham cracker’s like. I need some background if I’m going to play his role.”
“The graham cracker . . .” A small grin tugged at her lips. “Um. He’s name brand. Like, definitely not the generic graham. He’s probably more classic honey than cinnamon, though.”
“Okay.” I scratched my beard, studying the darkened lake. The stars’ reflections bobbed across the surface, like they were in the middle of a dance. “And, where’d you meet him again?”
“In LA. I was trying to find an internship, styling models for magazine photoshoots. I was tanking at that, so I started looking into getting a modeling job myself, for the contacts. Ren’s a modeling agent. He signed me on and asked if I wanted to model some dresses in his Mom’s line. She’s a designer.”
“Did you?”
She nodded. “Yep, and he asked me out after.”
I made another s’more and handed it over. She stared at it like she might say no. “This one’s for the marshmallow.”
Her dimples pricked as she took it.
“So, how long did you shop with your graham before you . . . made s’mores with him?”
“Why is that relevant?”
“Because it gives me a better idea of him. If it happened on day two, I have my answer. But, if the graham was patient, it’s a different conversation.”
She sighed. “We shopped for six months before s’mores happened.” She dusted some crumbs off her lap and swallowed. “The s’mores weren’t planned, though. At least, not on my end.”
“You’re full of surprises.”
“Touché.”
I chuckled. “So what made you change your mind?”
She sighed. “We shopped for six months before s’mores happened.” She dusted some more crumbs off her lap. “And before that, I hadn’t s’mored for about two years. I had a bad track record in high school, and I wanted to be different after graduation.”
“Why did you, uh, s’more with him, then?”
“Toward the end of our relationship he was getting so distant, and I hoped giving him what he wanted would make him stay. Things got out of control so fast . . . He didn’t worry about protection at all on his end and I wasn’t on anything. I should’ve stopped it. I knew marshmallows were a tiny possibility, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. Not to us. Not after one time.”
“Did you love him?”
“I think I still do.”
Something pinched in my chest again.
“But sometimes I wonder if it’s really love, or if I’m just infatuated with the dream of the life I could have had with him. I mean, money isn’t an issue for him. Like, ever. And then, his mom’s one of the biggest designers in LA.
“She got me an internship with one of my favorite stylists last fall. It was amazing being an actual part of the fashion industry. If things would’ve worked out with Ren, I could’ve styled for pretty much any designer I wanted to.
“Did he take care of you, Lauren?”
“He was so good to me—when we were together. But after the s’mores, he pretty much ghosted me. I confronted him at work one day. He said he’s trying to build his career. That he needs to focus. And I get it. I really do. This call could ruin him.”
My nails were digging into my palms and my jaw was aching from grinding my teeth. I wanted to tell Lauren this guy was an idiot for choosing his career over her. For getting what he wanted and bailing. I took a deep breath, and forced myself to relax instead. Smile. Lauren had to do the best thing for herself and her baby.
“Maybe. But, I think it might wake him up instead. It sounds like you have the compatibility thing down. And you already made a marshmallow together.”
“I don’t want to be with someone who’s in it because of pity, or because it’s the respectable thing, though. I want someone who’s in it because they can’t see being with anyone else, you know?”
“I see where you’re coming from.” I felt exactly that way about Megs when I met her. There wasn’t another girl in the world who could’ve turned my head once I realized I loved her. But, Lauren’s situation was different. “What do
