Worth Beyond Price

(The apartment building used in this story was downloaded from the EA Exchange.)

Lauren Worth stood back and surveyed the room. Her furniture was more or less in place, but boxes lay everywhere. It was only noon, but she already felt as though the day would never end. The movers had left and now it was up to her to turn this chaos into a home. It wasn’t the home she was supposed to be moving into, but she already knew she would love it here.

She went into the hallway to get the last two boxes.

"Hey, Stranger."

Lauren turned to see her best friend, Simone Allen, descending the stairs.

"Hey, back." Lauren gave her friend a hug. "I notice you waited for the movers to leave before making an appearance. Is there any chance you're here to help me unpack?"

Simone shuddered with exaggeration. "Do I look like the unpacking boxes type? Darling, that's why we have help."

They burst into laughter. As children, Lauren and Simone had met at the private Simville Academy and shared the same privileged background. Somehow they had both survived with their sense of humor, mixed with a good dose of irony, intact.

"I'm sorry, I can't help right now, I have to get to work. But I'll stop by afterwards."

Lauren cast a helpless look about her.

"I guess I'd better get started then," she said with a sigh. "Dinner's on me, though. As a thank you for getting me into your building. But you might have to settle for pizza if I don't finish setting up the kitchen."

"Why don't you get Nick to help you?"

"Nick?"

"Yeah, the stud who lives across the hall from you. He moved in last week." Her voice dropped since they were standing in the hallway just outside the apartment in question. "He's very cute. Just act all helpless. He looks like the type who'd really go for that."

"Simone!" Lauren punched her friend's arm. "I just ended my engagement. No way am I ready for another relationship."

"You won't say that when you see him. And who said anything about a relationship," she said, laughing. "Too bad I already have my eye on someone or I'd snag him for myself." She sobered and looked at Lauren intently. "Seriously, though, are you going to be okay today? If you want me to call in sick, I will."

"Don't be silly. I'm fine. I'm the one who called it off, remember?"

"I know, but today was supposed to be your wedding day --"

"Go. I'll see you later. I'll be okay …" Her voice trailed off. "In fact," she said, staring at the man who had just stepped out of his apartment. "I think everything is going to be fabulous."

"Boxes." How cute.

Ooh! Great start!

yay this is really sweet cant wait for the update!

Very Cute Saoz. I love the boxes too, nice touch.

Can't wait for the next update.

Oooo...this is sounding good!!!

Hugs
Cindy

Good start so far. New apartment, snotty friend, and eye candy. What else does a young sims need?

I agree with Monks! What else indeed. Good story so far. I'm sure we'll be finding out more about tall dark and handsome!

Thank you for the replies, everyone.

*****

Lauren could not believe her eyes. Standing across from her, his expression of shock mirroring the one that must have been on her own face, was Nick Riley. God, the last time she'd seen him they'd both been teens and she had been responsible for getting him fired from her father's store.

"Hi, Nick," she said, feeling uncharacteristically shy.

"Lauren? What are you doing here? I though you were getting married today."

"You know about that?"

"Everyone knows about that. The newspapers have been filled with stories about it for weeks."

Lauren winced. "Yeah, well, there isn't going to be a wedding."

She looked away. Why had she never noticed how attractive Nick was? They’d been good friends in high school, but now Lauren felt an awareness that had never been there before. When she looked back at him their eyes met and held.

"Well, it doesn't look like you two need any introductions."

Simone's words snapped her back to the present and Lauren looked away again. She silently cursed her fair complexion as she felt her cheeks flame.

"I have to run. Oh, and Lauren? About tonight? I just remembered that I might have to work late."

Simone cast a significant look at her, gave Nick a quick wave and then was gone.

She was alone with Nick Riley. Lord help her, but she knew exactly what she was going to do about it. She only hoped she would survive the experience.

"I don’t suppose you could give me a hand unpacking?" she asked, trying her best to look helpless.

Originally Posted by Saoz

Lauren looked away again. She silently cursed her fair complexion as she felt her cheeks flame.

Oh, i can so relate. Poor Lauren. Great story by the way Saoz.

P.S Are those your twins in your avatar? They are so cute!

Lauren joined Simone for breakfast the next morning. Her own apartment was pretty much unpacked, thanks to Nick's help, but she definitely needed the change of scenery.

"So tell me, how do you know Nick?" Simone asked.

"We were friends back in high school, when I worked part time at my parents' store. He worked in the stockroom." Lauren hesitated briefly, before continuing. "I'm sure you I told you about him. He's the guy I … well, the guy Dad …"

"Oh my God! He's the guy you kissed!"

"Yeah. Small world, isn't it," Lauren said wryly. "Dad saw us and fired him on the spot. I never saw him again."

She clearly remembered that day as if it had only just happened. She'd felt so guilty afterwards because Nick desperately needed the job. His parents had died in a fire and Nick was trying to finish high school while taking care of his younger brother on his own.

On that fateful day she and Julian had fought, again, about her aspiration. He wanted her to become a Fortune Sim and hadn't been happy when she'd chosen the Family path. He'd always had that in common with her parents. She had been upset when she'd gone to work and Nick had been a true friend and listened to her. He hadn't really said anything, but his support had meant the world to her. She still couldn't believe she'd actually leaned in to kiss him. She'd always thought herself immune to Romance Sim pheromones, but she'd obviously been mistaken.

"You know," Simone said, obviously sensing her train of though, "you don't owe him anything. Nick's a big boy now and he seems to have recovered nicely. He is a Knowledge Sim, after all."

"No, he's not. He's a Romance Sim."

A look of surprise crossed her friend's face. "Are you sure? I thought …"

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure." She waited a moment before adding, "We're having a fling."

Simone choked on her coffee. "That was fast," she said when she recovered.

Lauren waved her off. "Well, we haven't actually started yet. He's easing me into it."

Simone headed for the door. "So help me, if he thinks he's going to take advantage of you …"

"No," Lauren said, rushing to stop her. "You have it all wrong."

Simone spun around. "Exactly what part do I have wrong? Is he, or is he not, planning on seducing you?"

"Yes, but …"

"I thought so," Simone said, turning toward the door.

"You don't understand." Lauren laid her hand on Simone's arm, and coaxed her back around. "I asked him to."

Simone stared at her in shock.

"Excuse me?"

"The fling. It was my idea."

"Yeah, and I just bet you had to do a real sell job on him."

"Actually, I did. And just so there are no misunderstandings, he's the one who said we should wait. He wanted to make sure I wasn't just acting out because of my breakup with Julian."

"I can't believe it," Simone said, throwing her hands up in the air. "You're supposed to be the sensible one."

"Well, that's the problem. I've been sensible my whole life, and where exactly has it gotten me? I'm tired of being the sensible one. Now I want unsensible, unpredictable, and Nick's the guy to give me that."

Adorable avatar!! Good updates. Sparks are definetly going to ignite I would say!

Great story! I can't wait to read more!

Hugs
Cindy

Nick was feeling a little shell shocked as he thought back to his conversation with Lauren. After helping her move the rest of her furniture into place and unpack most of her belongings, she'd ordered pizza. Then she'd dropped a bomb on him. She'd actually asked him, as a Romance Sim, to show her the wild side of life. Problem was, he was no longer a Romantic. He'd been about to tell her that, but then thought better of it. If she discovered he'd changed his aspiration to Knowledge, the furthest thing one could get from Romance, she just might turn to someone else with her absurd request. He didn't like that idea at all.

He had to come up with a game plan. He'd had a crush on Lauren back when they worked together at Worth's, but he'd never let on to her. She and Julian had always seemed like the perfect couple. He hadn't been surprised when he'd read about their engagement. In fact, he'd been more surprised that she and Julian weren't already married. It was a union planned and orchestrated by the Worths and the Hardings since the two had been infants.

But now everything had changed and Lauren was free. He knew that the last thing she wanted was another relationship. She'd made that very clear to him. Good thing he was a patient man. He could wait.

He couldn't help but smile at the irony of it all. If he was completely honest with himself, he'd always wanted to prove himself worthy of her. Well, it turned out that Lauren didn't want a worthy Nick. She wanted the playboy he had been. Nick smiled. He could play that part, and he would do so with gusto.

All he had to do now was figure out how to balance the totally opposite aspirations of Romance and Knowledge if he was to have a chance of keeping Lauren's interest when she found out his real aspiration. Piece of cake, he thought wryly.

Hoping it was Nick, Lauren made the mistake of answering her phone without checking the Caller ID. Unfortunately, it was her mother.

"No, Mom," she said when she could finally get in a word. "For the thousandth time, I am not changing my mind. It's over between Julian and me."

She cringed at the barrage of words that came down the phone line.

"There's someone at the door, Mom," she said, cutting her off. "I have to go now. I'll call back soon."

She hung up and threw herself down on the couch. When the phone began to ring again, she ignored it. Note to self, she thought, always check Caller ID first.

She really couldn't blame her parents for being so upset. She and Julian had been close since they were children, and it had always been understood they would one day get married. For the longest time Lauren had thought she wanted that, but she'd started having doubts when they were in college. In fact, she'd almost rejected Julian's proposal. She'd never told her parents that, though, so to them her change of heart seemed sudden.

To make matters worse, she couldn't believe she had actually propositioned Nick. What was she thinking? She cringed now, remembering their conversation. He'd said he would think about it, but it was obvious now he was only being polite. Four days had passed and she hadn't so much as seen him in the hallway. What a mess.

She had to get out of there. Maybe Simone would be up for a night out. She headed to her door, but stopped abruptly after opening it. A wide grin spread across her face.

"Nick," she said softly.

Thank you for reading, everyone. Amy, yes those are my girls. They're almost four now. That picture was taken when they were 9 months old (6 months corrected - they were micropreemies.) It's always been one of my favourite photos.

Yay, updates!
Aww, Nick's a cutie. And he's a knowledge, not a romance. He and Lauren seem right for each other. Specially since they've liked each other for so long.

"I was afraid I'd scared you away," Lauren said.

"Nah," Nick said. "I don't scare that easy. I went down to visit my brother, Daniel, at Academie Le Tour. I stopped by to tell you I was going to be away for a few days, but you were out." He paused briefly. "I was going to leave you a note, but I didn't know what to say."

"And now?" Lauren asked, holding her breath.

"There's a new nightclub downtown. Want to check it out with me?"

"I'd love to."

******

This was nice, Lauren thought, gazing up at the stars. After dinner and dancing at The Hub the night before she was surprised when Nick suggested they go stargazing tonight. It wasn't the wild-side-of-life stuff she'd asked him to show her, but she was enjoying herself nonetheless.

"So, why do you know so much about astronomy?" she asked, surprised when he started to point out constellations to her.

"It's always been a hobby."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'm a complex guy."

He said it with a wink, but Lauren sensed there was more to his words. She was about to question him further, but he stood up then and looked at her earnestly.

"Promise me something," he said.

"What?" she said, standing as well.

"Promise me you'll never stargaze alone."

"Why not?"

"Because it's dangerous."

Okay, now she was really confused. "How could looking at a few stars possibly be dangerous?"

Nick rubbed his hand over his eyes and sighed. "A satellite might fall out of the sky and hit you."

Lauren was stunned and almost laughed out loud. She couldn't believe what he'd just said. But it didn't look as though Nick was trying to pull her leg.

"Look, I know it sounds ridiculous. I laughed, too, the first time I heard about it. But it happens … and more often than the laws of probability would suggest. And if it does happen you want to make sure there's someone around who can plead with the Grim Reaper."

"Um, Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you starting to talk like a Knowledge Sim?"

Danger, Will Robinson. Oops. Time to back off.

His laugh sounded hollow to his own ears. "Satellites don't discriminate. Just promise me you won't stargaze alone … or watch clouds alone either."

She gave him a confused look before agreeing. He could tell she was about to question him further, so he looked around, panicked, for a distraction.

The hot tub.

"Come on," he said, wagging his eyebrows with exaggeration. "Care for a dip in the hot tub?"

Lauren laughed and Nick released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Together they walked to the hot tub, but then there was an awkward silence.

"Um, Nick … would you mind … could you turn around?" Lauren asked, blushing.

God, he loved it when she blushed. He felt sweat break out on his brow, but nodded and turned around.

Okay, he thought, maybe the hot tub wasn't the best idea. He wanted to take things slowly with Lauren. Give them both time to get to know each other better before taking their friendship to the next level. It wasn't how Lauren saw their relationship progressing. She was rebelling and saw him as someone to show her a good time. She didn't want a real relationship.

Somehow, he was going to have to rise above his baser instincts and keep her at arms length. While also showing her a good time and convincing her he was a Romantic.

Taking a deep, fortifying breath, Nick spun into his own bathing suit and joined Lauren in the hot tub.

So he wants her to think he's a Romantic, eh? But why? Hmmm...

Great update! I can't wait to find out what happens next!!

Hugs
Cindy

I'm so glad you've updated! What's Nick really up to and is Lauren as innocent as she seems?

Ooooooh, romance novel with pictures! Me like! Me like~!
I'm glad I caught on with your story.
And your lil girls, they must be tough girls to be 3 months early, but I think they must have even tougher parents too

Originally Posted by ici_cute

Ooooooh, romance novel with pictures! Me like! Me like~!

Busted! (Yes, I'm a card carrying member of Romance Writers of America. Even served on the board of our local chapter for a few years. )

For the rest of you reading, I do want to say that I'm really struggling with pacing, so I appreciate your patience. I've actually written a book, but this short story thing is really throwing me for a loop. And, of course, I can't go back and edit once it's posted. (I usually find that once I finish writing something, I go back and toss out the first chapter, so it's a little scary to have this posted here for people to read.)

And yes, the girls are amazing! They're very strong, and we were very blessed that they had no long term issues from their early birth.
(If you check out my profile, you'll see a link to their webpage. The first photos in the gallery have DH and I holding them for the first time at 8 days old, and their heads are smaller than our thumbs. )


And all you Strangetown conspiracy theorists are ... well ... strange. No conspiracies here.

Saoz, Are you going to get a chance to continue this? I hope so.