20
Luke
“Would you like to join me for some coffee? I know you’re dying to talk to me.”
“Yes, I do want coffee, and yes, I’m dying to talk to you.” Maddie smiled as she followed me into my apartment.
I walked into the kitchen, poured the last of the coffee in a cup, and just as I handed the cup to Maddie, Sam walked out of his bedroom, straightening his tie. He walked over and fist-bumped me.
“Thanks for keeping me awake all night,” he said as he picked up the empty coffee pot and looked at it.
“No problem, man.”
“As much as I’m happy that you finally gave in and had sex with the hot girl next door, I have to go to a meeting. We’ll talk about it later, dude. Love you, Maddie,” Sam said as he walked out the door.
“Love you back, Sammy.” She smiled, and then turned to me. “The only thing I want to know is if you’re ok.”
“I’m fine, Maddie,” I said as I started another pot of coffee.
“You’ve been depressed for over a year, Luke. You haven’t made any attempt to meet or date anyone, and now all of a sudden, you’re spending the night with the girl next door.”
“That’s because the right girl never crossed my path. I didn’t think I’d ever fall for anyone after Callie. She was my life, my whole world, and you know that, but since Lily moved in, I started seeing things differently. She makes me smile, Maddie. No one has been able to do that in a very long time.”
“I know, and I’m happy for you. I just don’t want you or her to get hurt. You both have endured enough pain. Mom and Dad are going to love her. You know they’ll want a family dinner as soon as they get back from their cruise, right?”
“I know, and I want Lily to meet them.” I kissed Maddie on the top of her head and walked to the bedroom to change. I had work that needed to be done.
***
I couldn’t stop thinking about Lily and our night together. I didn’t plan on making love to her quite yet, but she wanted me to, and who was I to deny her. I needed to tell her about Callie and the accident. I was actually surprised she didn’t ask about my scar last night. My phone beeped with a reminder about the job I needed to do. I snapped out of my thoughts and back into reality; then I grabbed my tool box and headed upstairs to Mrs. Lopez’s apartment to fix her garbage disposal.
“You have that look, Luke,” Mrs. Lopez said.
“What look would that be, Mrs. Lopez?” I asked as I tightened the pipe under her kitchen sink.
“The look of love.”
I chuckled. “Is that so? How can you tell?”
“I can see it in your eyes. They have a new life about them. Who is she?”
I crawled out from under the sink and threw my wrench in the tool box. “I’m not in love, but I have met someone that I really like.” I smiled.
“Ah ha! I knew it!” she exclaimed. I sure hope it’s that cute little blonde that just moved in next door to you.”
“As a matter of fact, it is, and her name’s Lily,” I said as I took the bottle of water she held out me.
“I’m happy for you, Luke. I know you’ve had a rough year, and you deserve true happiness.”
I closed my tool box and picked it up from the floor. “Thanks for the water, Mrs. Lopez. Everything’s working perfectly now. Just call me if you need me,” I said as I walked out the door.
I walked back into my apartment, set my tool box down, then sat on the couch, looking at my phone. I missed Lily already. She’s always on my mind, and it’s driving me crazy, so I decided to send her a text message.
“How about dinner tonight at your place? We can cook together.”
“That sounds great! I don’t cook though.”
“I’ll teach you. We can go to the store together when you get home.”
“Alright, I can’t wait.”
“Me neither.”
***
As I was watching TV, and thinking about how slow the day was going, there was a knock on the door. As soon as I opened it, Lily threw her arms around me and kissed me. I pulled her into the apartment, kicked the door closed with the heel of my shoe, and pinned her up against the closet door as I kissed her passionately. After a moment, she broke our kiss and smiled at me.
“I missed you,” she said out of breath.
“I missed you too, and I couldn’t wait for you to get home,” I responded as my lips made their way behind her ear.
The door opened, and Sam walked in. “Really? You do know there’s a bedroom down that hall over there, right?” he said.
Lily and I laughed as I shook my head at Sam.
“Seriously, dude. I don’t want to come home and find the two of you having sex on the couch, because I may have to join in.”
I smacked him on the back of the head as I walked by. “That’s not even funny, bro,” I said as I pointed at him.
“Lily thinks it’s funny. Look at her; she’s laughing.”
“Babe, don’t humor him, please.”
Sam was laughing as he walked to his room.
“Are you ready to leave?” I asked as I walked over to her and ran the back of my hand softly across her cheek. She nodded her head, so we headed out the apartment and walked to the Jeep.
***
“What are we making?” Lily asked as I pushed the cart through the grocery store.
“I thought maybe we can cook some spaghetti with a homemade sauce, salad, and bread.”
“You make homemade sauce?”
“I sure do, and Charley loves it. My mom never cooked alone; she always made us cook as a family from the time we were six years old.”
Lily hooked her arm around mine and laid her head on my shoulder. “Your mom sounds amazing. My mom never cooked; she had her chef do all the cooking, and we rarely ate as a family.”
My heart ached for her when she told me that. I leaned over and kissed her head. “Come on, let’s get what we need and get out of here.”
We were walking through the store when I saw Bernie. “Hey, Luke,” he said as he looked at Lily.
“Hey, Bernie, how was Florida?” I asked him.
“Florida was great, and I’m getting closer to retirement. Who’s this beautiful woman on your arm, Luke?”
“This is Lily Gilmore. Lily, meet Bernie, the owner of Bernie’s Bar.”
Lily shook Bernie’s hand, and he smiled at her. “I’m going to take a stab in the dark here, but you wouldn’t happen to be Johnny Gilmore’s daughter, would you?”
Lily looked at him and smiled. “Yes, Johnny was my father.”
“I knew it!” Bernie exclaimed. “Look at you, all grown up. Your dad used to play in my bar when he was in Santa Monica, and he used to show me pictures of you. He was a brilliant musician; I’m sorry to hear about his death.”
“Thank you,” Lily said. “He was a great musician.”
“Hey, Luke, we need to sit down and discuss what you want to do with the bar. This last trip to Florida pushed me closer to selling, and the next time I go, I’m not coming back.”
“I know, and I have to give it some more thought. I’ll call you.”
“Don’t take too long, son, I have others who are interested. It was nice to meet you, Lily. Luke, I’ll talk to you soon,” he said as he walked away.
Lily looked at me as I sighed. “What was all that about?” she asked.
“We’ll talk about it over dinner,” I replied as we stepped into the checkout lane.