The Way Your Heart Sounds

Lauren was in Jimmy’s kitchen cooking dinner when Jimmy sprinted into the room, almost knocking a chair over.

“I have good news,” he announced.

“What’s that?” Lauren asked, putting down the spoon she was using to stir soup.

“Remember the show I told you about? Well, it's finally coming up, and I’d love for you to come. It’s probably the last show we’ll play before releasing the next album,” Jimmy said, resting his frame against the kitchen counter.

“That sounds awesome. I can’t wait,” Lauren smiled at him. Jimmy gave a few excited claps and pecked her on the lips.

After dinner, Jimmy asked Lauren for some quiet time to work in the studio on some music. She agreed, and used her free time to shower. Then she figured she should catch up on laundry. As she walked past Jimmy’s studio with a basket of dirty laundry, she could faintly hear him singing. She couldn’t make out the words. He was probably filling in lyrics for a demo, like Matt had told her about before.

A little while later, Jimmy emerged from his studio again.

“I have to go to AA now,” he grumbled, throwing on a leather coat.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Lauren asked.

“It’s fine, you stay here and relax. I’ll be home in a little while,” he said. He smiled and winked at her before leaving.

After he left, she climbed into bed and put some music on. She must have nodded off while he was gone, because she woke up to Jimmy tickling her sides. Laughing, she lazily pushed his hands away.

“I got something to show you,” he said, kissing her cheek.

“Show me.”

Jimmy reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled something small out. He placed it into her hand and watched her face with anticipation. She sat up in bed a little bit and squinted because it was pretty dark in the room, but recognized the object.

“Is this a sobriety coin?” she asked.

“Yeah! Since it was my first meeting they gave me this to show the start of my journey and stuff. I thought you’d like to see it.”

“That’s awesome, Jimmy. I’m so proud of you. Can’t wait to see you earn more,” she said, hugging him. He took his jacket off and tossed it onto a nearby chair before climbing into bed with her. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“Did you get a lot of work done on your song before?” Lauren asked him, absentmindedly playing with his hair.

Jimmy nodded and stretched his long arms, but didn't have much else to say. Lauren knew he was secretive about what he was working on until he was ready to release it, but she was still curious.

“So, I wanna ask you something,” he said. Lauren nodded and waited for him to continue.

“Do you think you'd want to move in with me? Permanently?”

There was a moment of silence. Lauren’s mind was racing while Jimmy was observing her face for a reaction.

“Are you serious?” She asked. “That’s a pretty big step.”

“Dead serious. I would understand if you say no, but would you consider it?” She tried not to make eye contact with him as he spoke, because she knew one gaze from his mesmerizing blue eyes would have her doing just about anything he asked.

“I'll think about it. I'd love to live with you, honestly, but I have my concerns, you know…” She trailed off. Jimmy nodded. He didn't ask her to explain because he understood that their relationship was indeed moving very fast.

“Take your time, babe.” He smiled and pecked her on the lips.

The next morning, Lauren woke up to her alarm and groaned. Even though she routinely got up at the crack of dawn for work, it never seemed to be any more pleasant. With a yawn, she rolled over and noticed Jimmy was missing from the bed, which was unusual. Normally he barely woke up even while she was getting out of bed. He certainly was not a morning person.

She got dressed for work and shuffled down the hallway. The bathroom lights were on, and the door was cracked. Peeking inside, she saw Jimmy bent over the sink. When she cracked the door a little wider, he jumped and put a hand over his chest, clearly startled.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

“Yeah, I'm fine. You just scared the crap out of me,” he laughed a bit. He kissed her on the head and hugged her before he left to go back to the bedroom.

Lauren couldn't help but have a nagging feeling that Jimmy was hiding something from her. She didn't want to be intrusive, but she was just concerned. All she wanted was him to be open and honest with her so she could help. Sighing, she continued to get ready for work.

Notes

Enjoy! :)