US: Chapter 2


This is the point in our story where things start to get tense.

Looking back, it was a weird time
with a lot of emotions moving quickly.

There were some awkward confrontations
and some ugly moments...
both from others & my own.

I try to keep the drama excluded as much as I can here,
because it really is a good story...
it was just really difficult to live through.

But knowing what I know now, 
man, it was worth it.

Fall 2005

Lauren has returned from spending my summer in London & traveling Italy
and is gearing up to start her senior year of college.

She is feeling refreshed after an amazing summer
 filled with lazy days on the Italian coast,
dining and playing with her family in France,
and enjoying the fruits of a difficult long-distance relationship:
quality time in an awesome setting.

Lauren is also feeling really relaxed-
at last, her boyfriend is moving back to the states
and is going to start the next chapter of his life.

After a year and a half of late-night phone calls,
tearful near-break ups over the strain of living in different worlds,
and awkwardly explaining the situation to people at school...
the "real" them can finally get started.

Well, sort of, since her boyfriend will actually live six hours away in Dallas...
where Lauren will, eventually, move when she graduates in a year.

All she needs to do is get through 20 hours of awful classes 
with names like "Managerial Accounting" & "Business Law"  
and the rest is smooth sailing.

Tyler, on the other hand, is whipped.

Apparently, he's "fraternizing with the ladies" is starting to catch up to him.

Editor's note: Dem hoes will get ya.

His fling from the summer is starting to go psycho on him,
he has a co-worker that won't stop calling,
and he is starting to enjoy hiding out from the social scene.

He decides to focus on his semester ahead
and start making plans to move to NYC after graduation.

The first week of classes, 
Tyler finds himself on the back row 
of a night section of Business Law.

In front of him are two girls.

The first is a bubbly girl named Meredith 
who took him to her formal in the spring
but now is dating some older guy from Dallas.

The other girl is her roommate who never turns around to join the conversation.

Tyler and Meredith chat throughout the first weeks of class...
while Lauren, her roommate, ignores Tyler.

Because the last time they had crossed paths (literally)
he was too cool...
and, as every 21 year-old knows, two can play that game.

This continues on for weeks through the semester until Halloween rolls around.

Sometime in that three hour class, 
Tyler writes the two girls a letter.

He even draws a pumpkin at the top of the page.

When he slides it down for them to read,
Lauren finds it be hilarious
 and decides he must not be as bad of a human as she thought.

In fact, he reminds her of her brother-in-law.

As Lauren climbs in her car that night after class,
she calls her sister, Brooke, to tell him about this guy, Tyler.

She's giggling so much the words aren't coming out right
there's drool sliding down her chin as she laughs.

Her sister replies that if he is so much like her husband, 
why didn't she just marry him?

The conversation immediately downshifts from fun to awkward.

The drool is wiped off Lauren's chin
and she snaps back a defensive reply 
involving her love for her boyfriend
and how sick she was of everyone suggesting that she date someone else.

Why didn't anyone like her boyfriend?

The semester continued down a normal track,
but from that point on...
Lauren & Tyler were friends.


Spring 2006

The next months are really cloudy in retrospect.

No one from the outside really knows what is going on
except Lauren Bryan & Tyler Knight are inseparable
and that she is in a really serious relationship... 
with someone else.

Like, isn't her boyfriend about to propose?
Didn't he accept a scholarship for law school in Dallas 
so they can be close to each other?

Every day Tyler & Lauren spend time together.

On campus.

Off campus.

Each afternoon starts with a text that says:

"What are the plans?"

And plans would be made to go out to dinner,
to go out dancing with friends,
to cook dinner at some one's house,
to attend a speaker on campus...
and every time they were together,
it was really easy.

No drama. No awkwardness. Nothing was forced.

Just a good natural fit...
one that could only start as friends.



One weekend "the plans" involved a trip to stay with Tyler's family
to go see Coldplay's concert...
and to have Lauren's boyfriend there.

So they did.

And it was super awkward.

Like, this awkward.
After that weekend,
Lauren realizes she saw Tyler more than just a friend
 decides it's time to suppress those feelings,
and be a better girlfriend to her man in Dallas.

 Tyler begins to try to find every fault in Lauren
to stop him from feeling this way 
about another guy's girlfriend.

Editor's note: This is a very short list.

But they still continue to hang out together every day.

 One night at Lauren's apartment in late April
as she hugs Tyler farewell, 
Lauren awkwardly bemoans that she's attracted to him.

He just looks at her and replies
"It makes things complicated,  doesn't it?

Yup.

A few more weeks pass
and suddenly, it's
 weekend before graduation.

This falls on a holiday celebrated south of the border
 under the name of Cinco De Mayo...
and it deserves to be celebrated with honor.

Lauren's brother comes in town to see her room mate, Meredith...
and naturally, Lauren & Tyler are there, too.

The night is full of hilarious moments.

Her brother picked up the tab for a table of Hondurans,
ridiculous scenes involving mechanical bulls & a sticky dance floor,
a visit to Taco Bell at 2 am,
and eventually getting stranded at Tyler's house afterwards without a car.

As they lay talking on his couch,
 Tyler quietly tells her he thinks
if they ever dated, they would get married.

And that if they got married,
it would be really, really good.

Lauren starts to cry,
because, the truth is: 
she agrees.

She often looks at her boyfriend and feels trapped...
but with Tyler, 
she knows life would be different.

Being with Tyler would be what she had always wanted...
what she had always imagined love should be when she was a little girl...
and while these are all great thoughts,
she cries because it's impossible to have that with him 
now that she was supposed to marry someone else.

And then, for the first time, they kiss.




*ahhhhhhhhh!!! i am sweating after writing this... 
and the next installment is worse, albeit shorter.

48 comments:

  1. Oh this is amazing! What a great story, you two were written in the stars.

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  2. Ahhh - this is so intense! I love it!

    Jurgen and I had a similar situation when I first came to South Africa. I was in a relationship when I came of about 6 months which we decided to continue during the semester I was spending here. Then I met Jurgen and within two weeks I was completely smitten with him and we were attached at the hip. But, unfortunately my bf had bought a ticket to come out already and it ended up being absolutely the worst week of my life. Looking back i should have just paid him for the ticket and not had him come out.

    And now, 4 years later, me and Jurg are still going strong :) Sometimes the right choice is hard, but oh sooo worth it!

    xoxo
    Jenna

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  3. omg aaaahhhhh indeed! can't wait to read the rest :)

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  4. Love this. Keep going. So glad you chose the right guy!! You two are soul mates. It should be as easy as it is for the two of you both. xo

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  5. can I just say how much I love the editor's notes? Haha

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  6. I am LOVING these posts so very much!
    And can I just say that I'm a bit jeal of all the traveling you did during this time?
    Can't wait to read the rest!

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  7. What's up 8:00AM, crying in my living room? "Nothing's wrong, Mom, I'm just reading a story...it's just a reaahhhllly good story and Tyler is not going to make her feel trapped anymore."

    I'm very thankful you are writing all of the story...it's familiar and yet so comforting. So, thank you! Looking forward to tomorrow :)

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  8. Awwww :) Love these posts so much. And seriously jealous of the travels you got to do while in College! Thanks for not posting just one a week! I can't handle that! <3

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  9. I love that you ignored him in class! This story is really sweet, even though I'm sure at the time it was not that way. Thanks for sharing this with us!

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  10. gaaah, loving this!!! um, is it weird that i am on pins and needles about what happens next, even though i know you get married?!

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  11. This is sooooooo good!!!! Ok, not fun that someone else got hurt, but it was meant to be!

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  12. I"M SWEATIMG!!! This is so good! You're such a great story-teller...and this is one fab story. Please keep going!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  13. Such a sweet romance! The heart knows what the heart wants! This would make for an awesome movie - all the angst coupled with the sweet moments! Can't wait for tomorrow!

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  14. GAHHHHHH! This is so good! And so well written, mind you. I am on the edge of my seat here, lady!!! Well, I mean, I obviously know what happens but I cannot wait to hear the awkward break up. Yikes!

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  15. asjda;lsdkasd Lauren!!! This story is too good for words. And it brings back so many memories for me & my own love story. I can not wait to read the rest!! One thing I can say for sure - it's so hard to be that age! So much going on at one time.

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  16. No wonder you like Jane Austin so much. She could have written your life! Love it, Lauren! You guys are such a sweet couple!

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  17. I love this, especially the part where he told you that if you were together, you'd get married and it'd be good. What a sweet thing to hear! And, he was obviously right!

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  18. i am dying of anticipation lauren!! this is the best.

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  19. and i also have to say jb and i have a bit of an unrequited love story as well ... but too many of his very own band of hoes read my blog now to share.

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  20. These are so stinkin' adorable!

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  21. HOLY MOLY, L! You are killing me here. I love this story and you spin it with the best of 'em. Bravo bravo, let's get to Act 3!

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  22. This is amazing. I am dyingggg to read the next installment. And to be honest, I can tell you feel guilty about sharing this, but sometimes good people do not-so-good things for the right reasons. It was obviously meant to be!

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  23. Ahhhh! I can't wait for the rest!!!!

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  24. Your writing is just excellent and as I love mysteries, I am intrigued!!

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  25. Chills, you gave me chills!
    Seriously, write a book, it needs to happen!!!

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  26. I agree! You could definitely write a book!

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  27. I LOVE IT!! Can't wait for the next installment. :)

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  28. AHHHH!!! Love it! Any good love story has to involve some star crossing. Thanks for sharing!! :)

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  29. I've been a reader for a while and OMG this is GOOD juicy stuff...Keep sharing! I think you should write a book :)

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  30. Ahhhhh!!! So good. I've been looking forward to your posts every day, all week!

    Also, Sarah T's second comment above made me laugh.

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  31. like. im dying.

    a. that third picture made me seriously laugh out loud.

    b. taco bell is always the 2am go to.

    c. if you dont give me part 3 tomorrow ill hurt you. and i know multiple places to find you now..

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  32. You are such a great writer! You've got me boo-hooing at work!! I love love! :)

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  33. Sooo good. I am anxiously awaiting the next part! Coming out of anon land to say that. Haha.

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  34. I think you should write romantic novels for a living! Seriously.. this is amaZING. Like.. chills and shortness of breath amazing. Eeeeeek! Can't wait to read chapter 3!!!!

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  35. Now I have to wait until tomorrow? :(

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  36. gah! this is too good!

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  37. You should write a book girl!!! You are a great writer. I feel like I am the only single girl in the world and this gives me hope!

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  38. This is so good. Write the next installment ASAP

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  39. Love this can't wait to read the rest!!

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  40. I'm dying...dying...dying!!!!

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  41. Eeeeek! My heart is all a-flutter reading this!

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  42. You should write a book. This is Hollywood movie stuff! But the really good movie type! Is Meredith like your sister-in-law now?!!! Ultra cool I love it. No wonder you guys celebrate some Cinco day that I'd never even heard of - this calls for some serious celebrating.

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  43. i hope you let your kiddos read these posts eventually... they are SOOO sweet. and offer pratical advice: Editor's note: Dem hoes will get ya. ha! cant wait for the next one.

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  44. LAUREN you are killing me! i'm late for work and all i want to do is keep reading! this is SO great! move over danielle steel, we've got an aspiring romance novelist! (ha! "aspiring"!) xoxo

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  45. Wow I am loving your love story!!

    M x

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  46. I really love the way you write. Amazing story

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  47. ah man I just started reading these posts, and knowing everything that has gone after from reading the other posts. I actually can't help but cry. This is such a great story. I need to get the tissues and a cup of tea before I move on!!!

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