TO LAUREN WHO'S BUBBLY PERSONALITY INSPIRED LAUREN!!!!

Trouble with High Heels

Chapter One: Girls not only go to war, they go in high heels

It was just a typical night… or at least the typical it had been happening for the last couple of months… and so, Jason was lying on his bed, flipping through the late night sports' news and checking the hockey scores for Lauren.

"Kings won," He called to Lauren who was busy brushing her teeth in the bathroom. "So did the Leafs."

"The Leafs got a good team." Lauren said and went back to rinsing.

"Uh, your phone is ringing," Jason said as a summery-pop-ey song began to sound. Lauren had told him about a hundred times which song was but Jason just couldn't understand why an old fashioned 'ring ring' was so bad that you had to go and put a song so each time someone called you, the people around had to hear a funny rendition to the latest hit singles.

"It's just a message, when it's a call it rings like Unwritten."

Unwritten, Jason thought, he probably should write a post it about it so he wouldn't forget or it was likely she would play it for him until he learned the lyrics.

Jason almost jumped off the bed when his own cell phone began to beep… or rather, loudly proclaim he had a message (with the exact words "HEY YOU GOT A MESSAGE!" over and over. "Have you been playing with my phone again?"

Lauren ignored him, of course, "It's from Stella," she said after she had flipped open her phone and read the text message. "Got something important to tell you. Breakfast at 9, Red Robin's"

Jason reached for his own phone and read. "Red Robin's at nine. Don't be late. John."

"They are getting married." Lauren announced. "That has to be it."

"Probably," Jason admitted and settled back into bed.

Lauren jumped to her side of the bed and began to pull of the covers around her, "I need to go home to change in the morning, so put the alarm early."

"What time?"

"Around eight."

"I get up at six-thirty."

"Why on earth?" Lauren said and Jason sighed. They went over this each time they stayed at each other's places with mixed results. Usually when Lauren stayed at Jason's she was always early and cranky, and when Jason stayed at Lauren's he was usually late and cranky. The following morning apparently would be no exception.

Jason refused to explain and instead gave Lauren the remote. "Just turn it off when you finish watching Sports Center; I don't want to wake up at three in the morning to a re-run of some weird sport."

"It was only one time," Lauren protested, but at the same time she was snuggling closer to Jason, settling her head on his chest as Jason simply shut off from the world until the next day, he really slept like the dead.

………

The next morning, both Jason and Lauren rushed into the restaurant known as Red Robin together. The plan had been to wake up early, have Jason drop of Lauren at her place and split, and arrive separately at Red Robin's for their meeting with John and Stella. But they had started to fool around in the shower, one thing lead to the other and then, instead of being early, they were late and had to rush together to the restaurant also known as Red Robin, one of the best places to eat breakfast in town.

"Lauren! Over here!" Stella called cheerfully. Stella was Lauren's best friend, had been so for ages. It had been because of Stella that Lauren had met Jason in the first place. A few months ago, Stella had landed a job as pastry chef at Zephyr's one of the hippest, coolest restaurants of the city, Jason was the executive chef at Zephyr and best friend with the owner, John whom, if Lauren's suspicious turned to be true, was going to announce that he and Stella were getting married.

They were quite the pair… Stella and John, and Lauren was truly happy for the two of them.

"Sorry, we're late." Lauren said, sitting down on the chair Jason had pulled out for her. "I didn't know where this place was located so I called Jason so he would give me a ride."

"Is that so?" John, who knew what really went down between Lauren and Jason, asked.

"That is so," Jason said curtly and sat down as well.

Lauren's and Jason's relationship was odd to say the least. The were together most of the time, the acted like they were together, the slept together, made out on linen closets and went out and stayed at home and did everything couples were supposed to do… except to call themselves a couple. No matter that Jason had a toothbrush hanging out in Lauren's bathroom, or that Lauren had two drawers she called her own inside Jason's closet.

In the world according to them, Lauren and Jason were just having fun. In fact, if you asked them, they would say it was all purely physical. Jason was handsome, alright, with green eyes and light brown hair, standing at six-feet and with a nice body product of all the basketball he played. And Lauren, on the other hand, was cute and attractive, perhaps not the prettiest girl of the bunch but so feminine and confident that most men found her auburn hair and blue eyes appealing. And there was her southern charm –and accent – to sugar coat the deal.

"So, why are we all gathered here?" Lauren asked, point blank even as she pretended to look at the various breakfast options offered in the menu.

"John and I have something important to say, and we wanted to tell the two of you first."

"I asked Stella to marry me, and she said yes, finally." John said with a huge grin as he hugged Stella to his side.

John looked so proud and happy, and Stella was radiant snuggled next to him. They looked picture perfect, and their smiles didn't fade, not even when they noticed that neither Jason nor Lauren were surprised. "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

"Congratulations," Jason said sincerely, "Not that it comes as much of a surprise but congratulations. Now what are we having for breakfast?"

John shook his head and recommended the three cheese omelet. Jason reaction wasn't much of a surprise either. He had very few romantic bones on his body, and he never used them unless he was going to get something. For the most part he was caustic; somewhat affectionate with those he loved the most but pretty dry most of the time.

"So, have you settled on a date?" Lauren asked over her stack of pancakes.

"June 3rd." They answered at the same time.

"That gives us good enough time," Lauren said, all business, reaching for her palm pilot.

"What are you doing?" Jason asked looking amused as Lauren made note over note; he had never seen her so organized. Most of the time it looked like Lauren didn't do much; actually, she spent most of her time either at Zephyr's bugging him or at her own Grill & Bar the Sticks, Jocks and Hockey. But now, looking at her busy use of the palm, he realized there was a lot more to it.

"I'm going to handle this, of course." Lauren said. "Don't worry Stella; we'll have this wedding planned in no time! And you won't have to worry about anything."

"Thanks, Laurs, I knew I could count of you." Stella said, reaching over the table to give Lauren's fingers a gentle squeeze.

"Hey, is my part of the deal, since I'm never getting married I get to plan your wedding." Lauren said cheerfully, "Really, we sealed it with blood when we were in the seventh grade."

"I find that disturbing." John said slowly.

"But really, is for the best, I got no taste." Stella said unconcerned. "If I were to plan this wedding, I would go nuts and end up in a dress that made me look horrible and not even know it. And Lauren knows everyone in every possible field."

"I'm like Paris Hilton but with better hair, taste and breath… and no sex tapes, that I know of." Lauren said, making a final annotation on her palm and sliding it back on her purse. "You and I are going to have to sit and talk after you two speak with the mothers, Stella."

"Fine." Stella said cheerfully.

"Well, then, if that's all settled." John said. "Stella and I need to get going to the restaurant. And I'm having a lock installed on the linen's closet." He added casually as he settled the bill.

Stella and John said their goodbyes.

"The linen's closet?" Lauren said wonderingly. "Darn and here that I was beginning to find the smell of starch a turn on." She said, all bummed.

Jason almost chocked on a piece of bacon as he was trying not to laugh. He very much liked the linen's closet at Zephyrs… It was the place where he had first kissed Lauren.

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