23
Lily
I grabbed my bags and headed to the Explorer. Once I got inside, I inserted the key—nothing. The f*cking thing wouldn’t start. I took in a deep breath and calmly turned the key—nothing. “Damn—damn—damn it!” I yelled as I slammed my hands against the steering wheel. I pulled out my phone and dialed Luke. Please answer, please answer, I thought to myself.
“Hey, babe, are you on your way home?” he answered.
“I never made it out of the parking lot; my truck won’t start!”
“Sit tight, I’ll be there shortly.”
“Thank you, I—I’ll be here!”
I couldn’t believe what almost came out of my mouth. Just then, a text message came through from Gretchen.
“Sam and I will be joining you at Bernie’s tonight. Make sure you have your dancing shoes on, because we’re going to get down and dirty!”
I laughed as I replied, “Alright, but we have to get the guys to dance with us. If Luke dances, then he’s perfect. I love a man who can dance!”
I looked up and saw Luke pulling into the parking lot. I let out a sigh of relief when he was in his Jeep and not on his bike. Pulling up next to me, he smiled, and I gave him a small wave and a smile in return. I was so happy to see him. I got out of the Explorer as he got out of his Jeep, and I hugged him tight.
“I missed you,” I said.
“I missed you too. Now let’s see if we can get your truck running.”
I popped the hood and stood next to him as he fumbled with some wires. I was totally turned on by how sexy he looked, trying to fix my truck. He looked over at me.
“Go try to start it.”
I sat in the truck and turned the key—nothing. I got out and walked over to Luke as he was on the phone with the mechanic. After he hung up, he shut the hood of my truck and put his hands on my hips.
“They’re on their way to tow your truck back to the garage.”
I sighed. “I need a new ride.”
“The good news is that I get to drive you to and from work tomorrow.” He smiled.
“There’s no school tomorrow. The district’s closed.”
“That’s great! So I guess that means you don’t have to be home early tonight.”
“Nope, I can stay out late because it’s not a school night.” I smiled.
We walked over to Luke’s Jeep, and he opened the door for me. I climbed in and put my seatbelt on as we drove back to the apartment building.
We pulled up as Maddie and Charley were getting out of the car.
“Uncle Luke, Lily, guess what? My daddy’s coming to visit in a few days!”
I could see the tears in Maddie’s eyes as Luke looked at her, and she looked away.
“Lily, take Charley to your apartment; I want to talk to my sister for a minute.”
I took Charley’s hand and led her inside the building. I began to worry about the conversation Luke was going to have with Maddie. Obviously, no one likes Charley’s father. After a few minutes, they walked into my apartment; then Maddie took Charley home. Luke opened my refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of beer. He opened it and flung the cap across the counter.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked as I stood there with my arms folded.
“He hasn’t seen Charley in three years. He hasn’t paid child support, and he hasn’t sent her any gifts; nothing. The only thing the bastard’s done is made a few phone calls, talked to her for a couple of minutes, and made up excuses as to why he can’t visit her. Now, he’s coming here after three years and expects to take her for a weekend.”
I walked over to where Luke was standing. “He’s her father.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Lily! The only thing that attaches that title to him is his DNA. He’s no father to that little girl!”
I could see the pain in his eyes, and I knew he was more of a father to Charley than anyone. I watched him as he threw back his beer; then I wrapped my arms around him and held him tight.
“He’s a drunk and a drug addict, Lily. There’s no way I’m letting him take her. He can visit her at Maddie’s, with me sitting there.”
“I’m sorry, but Charley seems really excited to see him.”
“I know, and that’s the sad part. She doesn’t even know what he’s like. She hasn’t seen him since she was six years old.”
“Come on; let’s not worry about this now. Let’s go to Bernie’s and have a good time. Speaking of Bernie, we never discussed what you two were talking about yesterday,” I said as I looked up at him.
He took his thumb and softly stroked my cheek. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
I smiled as I put my hand on his face. “You’re beautiful too, Luke, inside and out. The way you take care of Charley is amazing. You treat her like she’s your own daughter, and that’s what I love about you.”
He took my hand from his face and pressed his lips against my palm while staring into my eyes. “I’m falling in love with you, Lily.”
My pulse started racing. Chills ran up and down my spine as he spoke those words to me. There was no denying that I was falling in love with him. He consumed my every thought, and I craved his touch all the time. I brought my face closer as I kissed his lips and then looked at him. “I’m falling in love with you too, Luke.”
Picking me up, he buried his face into my neck as I wrapped my legs tightly around him. He didn’t say anything; he didn’t need to. We both knew as we were holding each other that our love was growing, and whether we wanted it or not, there was no stopping what was happening between us. After carrying me to the bedroom, he stood me up in front of the bed. His fingers deftly unbuttoned my shirt as he slid it off my shoulders, letting it fall to the ground. He unhooked my bra, letting it fall from my breasts as he ran his fingers over my puckered nipples. I was mesmerized by him as he stared into my eyes while he undressed me. He took down my skirt, exposing my thong, and then he cupped my ass in his hands and squeezed it while taking in a sharp breath. “I can never get enough of you. I can feel your body begging for me,” he said as he placed his hand between my legs. He inserted his finger and kissed me gently. Everything he did was gentle and slow. I wanted to reach out and grab him, but he wouldn’t let me. He took my hand and placed it on my *, making me rub it in circles as he bent down and erotically kissed every inch of my throbbing sheath while my body trembled, and I had one of the best orgasms of my life. Moments later, he brought his mouth up to mine.
“I want you to taste what I taste every time we make love,” he whispered.
His hand reached around to the back of my neck, and he held me steady while he kissed me passionately, sucking my tongue and nipping my bottom lip. “I need you, babe. I need you so bad it hurts.”
As he broke our kiss, he turned me around and laid me on the bed, hovering over me and softly kissing my back. I could feel his hard cock rubbing against my ass and up the small of my back. A low groan turned louder as he pushed himself inside me. He moved in and out of me, making me come with him as he reached under me and rubbed my swollen *. After lowering himself on top of me, he brought his mouth to my ear and whispered, “Don’t ever leave me.”
I felt a knot in my throat, finding it hard to catch my breath. He just asked me never to leave him, which meant things were moving faster than the speed of light. I turned my head to the side and kissed his lips as I smiled. He got up and went into the bathroom, and I lay there, pondering his words. A few minutes later, he emerged and walked over to where his boxers and jeans laid on the floor.
“I’ve been thinking about buying Bernie’s bar,” he said as he put his boxers on and sat on the edge of the bed.
I sat up and wrapped one arm around his neck. “That’s wonderful, Luke. How long have you been thinking about doing that?”
He took my hand and interlaced our fingers. “It’s something I’ve always dreamed of doing, ever since I was a kid. Callie and I talked about it all the time. She encouraged me to go for it, and when I finally decided to take that leap, the accident happened and changed everything.”
As I kissed his shoulder, he stroked my arm. “Luke, you should still buy it.”
“It’s not that simple, Lily.”
I heard my cell phone ringing, so Luke told me to go answer it. I got up from the bed, walked over to the dresser, and saw Gretchen was calling.
“Hey, Gretch, what’s up?”
“Are the two of you going to have sex the rest of the night or are you coming to the bar?”
“Are you already there?” I asked.
“No, we’re standing outside your apartment, waiting for you.”
“Oh!” I said. “Give us a minute. The door’s unlocked, come in and make yourselves comfortable.”
“Ok,” she said as she ended the call.
Luke looked at me, and I could see that the tears and sadness that filled his eyes were gone. “I didn’t realize what time it was.”
“They can wait,” I said as I pulled my black dress from the closet.
“If you wear that, you’re going to have me f*cking you in the bathroom at the bar.”
I giggled as I slipped it on. “I dare you.” I smiled.
“Dude and dudette, let’s go!” Sam yelled from across the room.
“Shut it, man! We’re coming!” Luke yelled back.
“I bet you are!” he exclaimed.
We looked at each other and started laughing. Luke got dressed, and we walked into the living room. Gretchen looked at me, got up from the couch, and grabbed my arm, leading me into the bathroom.
“You have sex hair. You can’t go to the bar with sex hair.”
I sighed as I took the brush, ran it through my hair, and touched up my makeup. “How’s that?” I asked her as I turned around.
“Much better.” She smiled.
We walked into the living room, grabbed our guys, and headed to Bernie’s.