The Bachelor and Bachlorette...Part 1

It's early afternoon, a week before Michelle and Benjamin's big day. Phoenix has just woken up from his afternoon nap and is playing in his crib. Hearing the playful babbling, Luke comes into to the room to check on his son, who is playing with a toy. 

Phoenix drops the keys and smiles, when he sees Luke, ready to be picked up out of the crib. Luke scoops him up quickly and Phoenix smiles...

*Luke* "Hey! Little man....awake already?'

*Phoenix* "Da..da da..."

*Luke smiles* "You almost got it...Let's go find Ma..ma...Mama."

Back downstairs in the kitchen, Laura is keeping Michelle company while they wait for the rest of the ladies to arrive for the Bridal shower.

*Michelle* "I must say you look really happy..."

*Laura* "I am.We both are..."

*Laura  continues* "And what about you? Getting nervous about the big day?

*Michelle smiles* "I'm more nervous by the day! I can't believe we're gonna be married a week from now. Were you that nervous?"

*Laura* "Of course I was nervous...but the second you walk down that isle and
stand next to Benjamin it'll all fade..."
Just then Luke walks into the kitchen, holding Phoenix.

*Luke* "Phoenix is awake..."

*Laura* "Perfect timing..I was just about to go wake him, set him
down in his high chair."
Luke walks over and slides Phoenix into his high chair.

*Michelle* "I can't believe he's gonna be a year old next month...Are you gonna 

plan a first birthday for him?"

*Laura* "I know...the year went by so fast. Yeah, I've been thinking about it a little bit.
Since he's born the day after the 4th of July, I'm thinking well do a BBQ, his
birthday is on a Sunday this year."

*Luke* "I'm gonna go ahead and leave,Babe.  I gotta pick up Peter and Shaun for
 Benjamin's Bachelor party."

*Laura* "Okay..."
*Michelle* "Hey, Luke...where is the party at?"
*Luke smiles* "Do you really want to know?..."

*Michelle* "Um...Yeah, Benjamin couldn't tell me cause Cruz
wanted it all to be a surprise."
*Luke* "It's at some fancy strip club near downtown. Cruz rented out a party room."
Michelle freaks out, she figured the boys might tease about something like that but she can't believe they actually did.
*Michelle* "What?! Ohmygod! And you trust him to go this...strip club?"

*Laura looking at Luke* "Yeah...I do. I don't think the guys will do anything that
would put Benjamin in a compromising position."

*Michelle* "I'm not worried about Benjamin...My sister may trust you Luke, but I still don't!"

*Michelle continues* "And I know she keeps a nice collection of kitchen 

knives...*eyes darting to his crotch*....Just saying."

*Laura* "Michelle...."

Luke figured sooner or later Michelle would get on the defensive about his infidelity, she hasn't seen him in months since they were separated.

*Luke* "Not that it's any of your f*cking business but I promised Laura I'd stay sober tonight, even though she'd already told me she was okay with me going. I get you're trying to protect your sister but this is between me and her..."

 *Michelle* "Well I think it is my business!...You never came back that night
she fell apart...She was....a..."
 Laura stands up she's heard enough, and Luke is right it's none of her business, they have worked it out together and are still working on it.

*Laura* "Michelle...that's enough. I appreciate you defending me and being there for me that night, but Luke and I have worked it out and I think you need to let us continue to do that on our own."

*Michelle* "I'm sorry...I just got caught up thinking about how upset you were that night. I just don't want to see that again."
Luke decides to chime in, he's ready to get out of there 
before a whole gaggle of women swoop down on him and more ladies arrive for the Bridal shower.

*Luke* "Babe, I don't have to go if it makes you uncomfortable...The guys and
I can do something else or hangout at Peter's..."

*Laura* "No...it's fine you already made plans, no need to change it."

*Luke* "Okay...then I'm go gonna cause I gotta drive across town to pickup
Shaun then, back again to get Peter..."
*Laura* "Okay..."
*Michelle* "Sorry I gave you a hard time there, it's just...it was hard
seeing Laura that upset."

*Luke* "It's okay...I don't blame you for being overprotective...
I'd expect nothing less from you."
Laura turns to Michelle...

*Laura* "Can you watch Phoenix for a minute, while I see my husband out the door?"
*Michelle smiles* "Of course...take your time."
So Laura and Luke exit the kitchen while Michelle keeps 
an eye on Phoenix.

*Luke smiles and in a playful joking tone* "You know, we could just ditch everyone
and spend our evening in hotel room under the sheets."
*Laura laughs softly* "As nice as that sounds, I think I'd better take a rain check...."

*Laura continues* "Besides come to think of it, you still owe me a
proper honeymoon...but enough about that. Go have fun with the guys and make sure
Benjamin stays out of trouble for his sake...."
*Luke laughs* "I'm sure it'll all be harmless...."

Luke and Laura kiss each other goodbye and Laura locks up the door after he is gone. She heads back into the kitchen to check on her sister and Phoenix.

 *Laura* "So? We ready to get this bridal shower started?"
 *Michelle* "Of course we are....You ready for the ladies to Oooo and
Awww over you Phoenix?"
*Laura smiles* "He might freak out with some people he's getting to that age where he recognizes faces.... Well, guests should be arriving soon...In fact I'm surprised Mom is not here yet."

*Michelle* "I know, she's usually always early...and I'm sorry about giving Luke a hard time.
 I'm still kinda in shock that the party is at a strip club...."
*Laura* "Don't worry about it anymore, Luke and I are fine. And I'm sure that the guys are just wanting to give Benjamin a party to remember...they wouldn't do anything that would jeopardize y'all's relationship."
Then the door chimes signaling the arrival 
of their first guests...





This last week has been busy, so I am pushing back the 
Wedding to June 14th. 
My kids have one more week of school and its a busy one and I want to be able to give the wedding episode more of my time.


To Be Continued in Part 2

Togetherness...

Upon coming home from her sister's house, Laura finds Luke and Phoenix asleep. Luke is stirred awake by the gentle movement of Phoenix. He greets Laura with a sleepy smile and hello. She smiles back, her face still a little flush from the wine.

*Luke smiling sleepily, in a hushed tone* "Hey!..."
*Laura can't help but smile back, whispering* "Hey!..."
Luke sits up a little and still in hushed tones they talk.
*Luke* "What time is it?..."

 *Laura* "A little past midnight...I didn't plan to stay that long, decided to stay and
 talk with Michelle for awhile."
*Luke* "It's okay...did you have a good time with your sister?"

*Laura nods* "Mmmhmm, she's super excited about the wedding."
*Luke* "I bet she is.."
Luke tries to get more comfortable in the bed, so Laura 
offers to pick up Phoenix.

*Laura* "Let me put him in his crib..."
*Luke* "It's fine...I got it. I haven't tucked him into bed in a long time."

*Laura* "Okay...then I'm just gonna go change."
Laura leaves the bedroom and Luke slowly gets up, making his way across the toy littered room to place Phoenix in his crib.

 *Luke whispering and gently patting his back* "Sleep tight, little man..."

Meanwhile Laura is in the bathroom,  she fiddles with 
undoing her ponytail, still smiling about how she found 
the two of them sleeping. A few minutes later Luke's voice 
can quietly be heard in the hallway between the two bedrooms.

*Luke* "Laura?..."

*Laura* "I'm in the bathroom!..."

Luke makes his way into the bedroom, then rounds the 
corner to see Laura standing there brushing her hair, her beautiful long red hair. She smiles at him as he enters the room.
*Laura* "How'd it go?"

He stands just outside the doorway making sure he doesn't make her uncomfortable, but then again he'd love to walk up to her, twist his fingers in her hair and kiss her, till her knees buckled.

*Luke* "He's sound asleep..."
 *Laura* "That's good...hopefully he'll sleep through the night after
his busy evening with you."
*Luke* "I think he will....Well...I guess I'm gonna go then."

*Laura* "Oh...Okay..."
*Luke* "Goodnight, Babe..."
Luke is about to turn around and go gather his things from
  the other room when Laura stops him.
*Laura* "Luke...Wait!..."

 *Luke* "Yeah?..."
*Laura* "It's late...you can stay here tonight if you want."
 *Luke* "Are you sure?"
*Laura* "Yeah...It's fine."

*Luke continues* " That'd be great. Cuz, you never know what I'd find going on at Peter's at this hour, him and Willow are getting pretty serious. I think she might move in..."
*Laura* "That's good, I think she's good for him....We've hung out a few times."
*Luke* "I've heard...You know, I miss these talks."
Laura smiles, she thinks...yeah she's missed their talks
and him as well...and the fact that he's looking mighty fine right now.

*Laura* "Me too...It's one of the reasons I fell in love with you. We used to talk for hours." 
*Luke smiles* "Yeeeah...I remember lying there in bed talking for hours, among other things."
Laura blushes, thinking about those "other things" and the 
heat from her face drops down low in her belly. The air suddenly feels electrified, and they can both sense it.
*Luke* "You know what else I miss?..."
*Laura* "What?..."
*Luke* "I miss kissing you..."

*Laura replies sweetly and seductively* "Then kiss me..."

Luke doesn't hesitate, after her sultry request, he quickly pulls her in and Laura wraps her arms around him. Kissing each other gently at first, but as each second passes the kiss gets more heated, more passionate. Their bodies closing the gap between them...

Laura pulls away and walks Luke backwards towards the bed, knocking him back. She quickly and clumsily climbs on top of him.
Then she leans down and starts kissing him again.

 Luke decides to let her call the shots, not wanting to be to aggressive. So they stay like this for a good while, Laura controlling the kiss and how deep she wants to take it. Luke finally pulls back.
*Luke* "You taste like wine..."

Laura props herself up, still quite giddy from the many 
glasses of wine she did consume.
*Laura* "Yeah, I may have had a little too much..."

*Luke* "A little?...You've had more than a little..." 
*Laura* "Make love to me..."
Luke smiles, it seems like forever since he's heard her speak those words, he was beginning to think he'd never hear them again...As bad as he wants to be with her, he doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize it.

*Luke* "Babe, you're drunk...I don't want you regretting this
in the morning."
*Laura* "I'm not regretting anything...and I'm not drunk..."
*Luke smiles and laughs* "Yeah...you are..."
*Laura* "Okay, so I'm a little tipsy...but I know what I want, I want you to make love to me."
Luke flips her onto her back, and Laura giggles from the swift 
change in positions...
*Luke* "You still sure about this?"

*Laura reaches up and touches his face* "Yes...I love you, Luke Allen Cooper."
*Luke* "I hope that's you and not the wine talking..."
*Laura* "It is...it's just giving me the courage to say it."
*Luke* "I love you too, Babe but I want everything to be right between us again."
*Laura* "So do I...I want you back. I want my husband back..."
Then Laura pulls him down into a kiss.

Insert Fireworks Here...

After about an hour of good heart throbbin', ground shakin', show stoppi'n, amazin', SEX!
They lay in bed and talk till the early
 morning hours.

 *Luke* "I'm sorry I ever hurt you, it's not what I intended..."

*Laura* "I know you are, and I have forgiven you...I realize now that what happened is not entirely
all you're fault.  I didn't make things easy for you constantly complaining about Rufus."

*Luke* "I know, but I don't want you to take any blame for this, I should have realized

 how much it upset you. I mean, I knew it bothered you, but like you said we just

 need to talk to each other."
*Laura* "I just want you to be able to tell me anything...Even if you think it'll upset me, and I'll do the same, I'm sorry I never told you about the prenup."

 *Luke* "I know you...And I'm over all of that. You think we can make it work for good this time?"
*Laura* "I don't see why not, just don't give me any reason to doubt you ever again...
I need to be able to trust you."
*Luke* "Yeah...Trust is the key word there. Believe me I don't ever want you
 to have to doubt me again, but I'm glad I told you the truth. The guilt of what I did,
 was eating me up."

*Laura* "I know...now can we change the subject?"
*Luke* "Definitely...What's on your mind, Babe?"
Laura sits up propping herself up on one elbow.
*Laura in a cute, playful tone* "Sooo...I have this wedding I've been
invited to....Will you be my plus one?"

*Luke laughs* "Of course, Babe...I'd love to be your date."
*Laura* "Plus I need someone to watch Phoenix, since I'm the Maid of Honor."
*Luke* "Wait! I don't have to wear a tux, do I?"
*Laura giggles* "No, you're not in the wedding party...Just a nice button down shirt is
fine and maybe a suit jacket."

*Luke* "Cool...I've only worn a tux once in my life and that was to senior prom...Damn! I hated that f*cking thing, wore it for like five minutes. Then snuck out back behind the school
to smoke a joint..."
*Laura* "I remember this story, this is how you met Peter, right?..."
 *Luke* "You remember, huh?..."
 *Laura* "Of course...You told me this story that same night, after we ran into Peter..."

*Laura continues* "It was also the same night I got pregnant with Phoenix.
I'm sure you remember that part..."
*Luke smiles* "Oh yeah, I remember that night, I remember it very well...Shall I continue?"
*Laura* "Please do..."
Laura puts her head back down on his chest, his body a warm and familiar scent she's missed for a long while now. In fact she slept on his side of the bed these past months he was gone.
 *Luke* "So the whole reason I went to prom and got all dressed up was to get into, Stacey Sanders pants...and that all that sh*t ended up f*cking backfiring on me...."

 *Laura with sarcasm* "Because what other reason is there to go to prom, than to get layed?..."
*Luke laughs* "Exactly why else would a guy go?"
*Laura* "To get dressed up and wear a tux?"
 *Luke* "Not any guy I ever knew...So anyways...
She really wasn't my type and I didn't realize it at the time,
until it was too late..."
Laura sits up in the bed leaning over Luke. 

*Laura* "So what is your type?"
*Luke* "What? Blood type?"
*Laura smirks* "You know what I mean..."
Luke reaches up and pushes her hair back.
*Luke* "You are, Babe..."
*Laura smiles* "Just checking..."

*Luke* "Keep going?..."

Laura lays her head back down and responds.

*Laura* "Of course..."

*Luke* "Now where was I...Oh... So she annoyed the hell out of me and all she wanted to do was make some other guy from the football team jealous, which meant dancing out on the floor. All I wanted to do was find a dark corner to make out in...So I ditched her and the shirt, tie, and jacket I was wearing."

 

 *Laura* "I bet your Mom was pissed you threw away half that tux..."
*Luke smiles* "Yeah she was, I had to pay for it by getting a summer job...So, like I was saying I trashed half the tux and went outside to where most of the skater kids, who I felt more at home with would hang out. Peter was there with his cousin Jake, who went to school with me, he was a year younger, I think.  Him and Peter liked to hang out a lot, even though they went to different schools, so we all started to hang together. "

 *Laura* "And Peter had the pot...like always."
*Luke laughs* "Hahaha...Yeah...Peter the pothead. Yeah, he always has pot on him...his place smells like it almost constantly, I'd have to change into clean clothes before I came over here,  otherwise I'd probably wreak of it."
*Laura surprised* "Oh my gosh! Really?!..."
*Luke* "Yeah, I didn't want to come over to see Phoenix smelling like that..."

*Luke continues* "So anyways...they offered me some and I took it willingly. Cuz I really needed to chill after what happened inside. We got to talking a lot, and found out we had a whole lot in common, we both wanted to start a band, he played drums, I could play guitar. We both had single Moms who raised us, except Peter has a younger sister...And we both loved the same music, we were completely compelled by it. So that summer I found a job at a club working the stage and Peter got in there too. Life was never the same for us again..."
 
*Laura* "So you don't regret ever starting a band?"
*Luke shrugs* "No not really, I got to experience it plenty touring with Rock Candy, and I like running the record shop and not having to pack up and leave..."

*Laura* "I thought Peter wanted to still start up a band? That's what Willow said."
*Luke* "Maybe...it'd be more like a hobby, you know a garage band...At this point I think I'm past the whole fame and fortune thing, and the touring, constantly packing up your bags...Being here with you and Phoenix is what really makes me happy."

*Laura* "Good, cause I don't think I could get used to some groupie
asking you to sign her boob!"
*Luke laughs and plays if off* "Do they still do that?!..."
*Laura smiles* "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they do..."

*Luke* "If you were a groupie, I'd sign your boob..."
Luke rolls over, laying on top of her. 

He's ready for round two.

*Laura* "I think I'd want you to do more than sign my boob..."

*Luke's smile darken* "Oh, I'd do more than sign your boob, Babe..."
Laura smiles, there's no doubt in her mind, she'll always
 be drawn to this man. 
*Luke* "I love you, Babe...and I know I've said it before but I promise to spend the rest of my life 

making it all up to you, I don't want you to ever doubt me or be hurt by me again...but I can't promise it will be perfect."

*Laura smiles* "I believe you, and I don't expect perfect, I just want you to talk to me when things do get rough. We've got a son to raise, and I want you there, Phoenix does too..."
Luke starts kissing her neck.
*Luke* "I'm not going anywhere...as long as you still want me." 

 *Laura* "Yes, of course I want you...I was more miserable 
without you..."
*Luke* "I'm sorry, Babe..."
 Then he continues the soft kisses along her neck,
 Laura leans back and closes her eyes...And they become 
one again once more.

Fade to black...The End!
For Now...
^_^