Lauren Burnham has seemed to get off to a slow start on The Bachelor, but Arie Luyendyk Jr. is certainly noticing her at this point in his journey to find love.
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Lauren was one of the women who accompanied Arie on a group date in South Lake Tahoe. After hiking in the woods and testing her survival skills, Lauren sat with Arie in a hot tub, but other women were simultaneously fighting for his attention.
"Heading into the afterparty that night, I was excited to spend time with everyone in a setting a little more traditional," Arie wrote in his People blog.
Arie stole Lauren away first for a conversation, and he sat her in front of a warm fire and wrapped her inside a blanket. Lauren told Arie that as long as he opened up to her, she would continue being open and vulnerable for him.
With that being said, Lauren asked Arie what he was looking for in a future wife, and Arie explained he wanted an independent woman and equal partnership.
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"I felt like my conversation with Lauren was one of the best of the evening, because while she said she was still taking time to get comfortable in this setting, I felt like with me she was already there," Arie said.
Arie found himself incredibly attracted to Lauren, and he noted to the bachelorette how it was going to be necessary to take her on a one-on-one date.
"While we still had so much to learn about one another, the spark was undeniable," Arie wrote of the blonde beauty.
Arie, however, decided to give the group-date rose to Tia Booth, who had cried to him about how strong her romantic feelings were becoming.
"My time spent with Tia that night was also really special. Over the weeks I felt like we had been building something really great, and even though we come from such different worlds, I felt like we understand one another on a level that I'm looking for in a partner," Arie said of the spunky Arkansas-native who shoots guns and goes fishing for fun.
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"Giving Tia the rose was an easy decision, and I was excited to see where our relationship was going to go."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski