Realizing Laruen's panties weren't on the floor, Samantha felt the realization of what she and Jude had done in the heat of the moment begin to set in. She got a sinking feeling they might get caught. Samantha climbed out of bed and put on fresh clothes. After getting dressed, Samantha went searching for Jude to see what he'd done with Lauren's panties and if there was enough time to resolve the situation before Lauren returned.
Immediately upon leaving her room, Samantha began to hear Jude and Lauren talking somewhere downstairs. "Shit!" she said to herself as she poked her head into Lauren's room on the way down the stairs. Samantha glanced over at the laundry pile and felt dread begin to well up in her at the realization that Lauren's panties weren't there, which revealed Jude hadn't had enough time to clean them up and put them back. "Shit! Shit! SHIT!" Samantha continued to whisper under her breath as she started down the stairs.
"Ah, there you are. How was your nap?" Jude asked when he saw Samantha walk into the kitchen where he and Lauren stood talking.
"Oh um. I didn't mean to fall asleep," Samantha said feeling extremely groggy from her nap. "I had some things I was hoping to do." Samantha glanced over at Jude who was leaning against the kitchen counter hoping she could gain some insight from his body language. She looked to Jude to help quell the dread that had crept up into her throat.
Samantha found Lauren standing across the room fully dressed with wet hair. It was obvious to Samantha that Lauren had already come back from her run, showered, and gone into her room to get dressed. Jude shot a subtle wide-eye look back at Samantha and gave an almost imperceptible shrug with his shoulders.
"Lauren got back shortly after you fell asleep," Jude began to explain. "I went to check on you and when I came out she'd just gotten back from her run," Jude motioned with the hand he had tucked into the front pocket of his gray hoodie. Samantha guessed he may have been indicating that he currently had Lauren's panties with him. Samantha looked him in the eyes and gave a subtle nod back hoping that Jude received the queue.
"I was just asking Jude how his day went and if anything interesting happened," Lauren said casually as she began refilling her water bottle.
Samantha tried to read Lauren's body language desperately attempting to detect whether Lauren knew that her panties had gone missing or if Lauren had simply overlooked the laundry pile. To Samantha's relief, Lauren wasn't giving off any indication that she was upset or angry which provided some momentary relief to Samantha.
"How was your run?" Samantha asked, attempting to take over the conversation so that Jude could slip away and return the panties. Samantha gently wrapped her arm behind Jude and gave a gently quick tug on the back of his sweater so that he'd get the message and go take care of things.
"It was ok. I didn't quite hit my usual pace but I'm still glad I ran." Luraun said as she shrugged and then proceeded to take a long sip from her bottle.
Samantha's attention drifted momentarily to Lauren's neck as she swallowed. Samantha had never noticed until now how elegant and soft Lauren's neck looked as her muscles retracted with each sip. Samantha wondered how soft her skin must be. The thought flashed for just a moment when her attention snapped back as Jude took the opportunity to excuse himself and left the room.
Later that evening when Samantha had a moment alone with Jude she asked him what he'd done with Lauren's thong. He explained that Lauren hadn't had an opportunity to put them back. He explained that he'd washed them and was trying to dry them when Lauren returned from her run. Later when Samantha came down after she'd woken up, he'd quickly slipped into Lauren's room and put them back behind her laundry basket. He hoped it gave the appearance that maybe they had slipped behind and that's why they weren't on top.
Samantha hoped Lauren hadn't noticed they had gone missing for that brief window of time when she'd showered. Samantha desperately hoped this minor invasion of privacy would go unnoticed and not sour the relationship in any way. Samantha found herself replaying the afternoon's activities over the next few days. She was shocked at how turned on and excited she'd been by the whole escapade. Part of her felt guilty that she found the whole thing thrilling and embarrassed that she'd gotten so caught up in the moment.
A week later Samantha and Lauren decided to have another ladie's night while Jude was out with his guy friends. She'd picked up a few bottles of wine, selected a movie then settled in for a relaxing evening after the kids were down.
After watching the movie, the two girls decided to continue hanging out together in the living room so they refilled their wine glasses and returned to their cozy spots. Samantha assumed that Jude was likely going to come home late as usual so she decided the two of them should make the most of the girls-only evening. Lauren gave some updates on her life stage, plans, and possible options for moving out. Samantha felt a sudden wave of sadness wash over her at the idea Lauren might move out. Samantha had known one day Lauren would move on with her life but whenever the idea came up she tried to ignore thinking about it. Samantha and Jude had grown accustomed to having Lauren in their lives. Samantha made sure to reassure Lauren that there wasn't any pressure whatsoever to move out and reminded her that she wasn't a burden in the slightest.
"I know. You keep saying that," Lauren replied as the wine started to kick in. "I know. Jude will especially miss me." Lauren trailed off realizing what she'd said and immediately made an uncomfortable facial expression. "Oh sorry that probably sounded way worse than I intended it to. I don't mean anything happened between us or anything". She waved her hands in a placating gesture. "It's just that... I probably shouldn't say anything... and it's no big deal. Never mind". She took another sip of wine and then clumsily placed her empty glass down on the coffee table.
