***
The next morning, I rolled over and looked at Lily as she slept next to Charley on the floor. We had a great night, and Charley was happy. Before getting up, I softly kissed Lily on the head and walked back to my apartment to take a shower. While standing under the warm water, I kept thinking about Callie and how she’d be happy that I’d moved on. I grinned as I thought about Lily and how all I saw was my future with her. As I was turning off the water and wrapping a towel around my waist, there was a knock on the bathroom door.
“Bro, I have to take a piss! Can you hurry it up?”
“I’m done, man; relax,” I said as I opened the door and walked to my bedroom. After getting dressed, I saw Sam sitting on the couch, alone.
“Where’s Gretchen?” I asked.
“She had a photo shoot,” Sam said.
I walked into the kitchen and grabbed what I needed to make pancakes because I wasn’t sure if Lily had everything. “Dude, come over to Lily’s for pancakes; Charley’s there.”
Sam turned his head. “Why is Charley there?” he asked.
“Adam called her yesterday, said something came up, and that he wouldn’t be able to come visit her. She was upset and crying about it, so Lily asked her if she wanted to sleep over at her place.”
“I bet she loved that.” Sam smiled.
“We had a lot of fun,” I said as I headed towards the door.
“Hold on a second and let me throw on some clothes,” Sam said as he got up from the couch.
We walked back to Lily’s place, and I set the stuff on the counter. Lily wasn’t on the floor anymore, and Charley was up watching cartoons.
“Hi, Uncle Sammy.” She smiled.
“Good morning, darling.”
“Charley, where’s Lily?” I asked as I plugged in the griddle.
“She’s in the shower. Are you making pancakes?”
“I sure am.” I smiled.
As I measured out the pancake mix, Sam cracked the eggs and put them into the bowl. Lily emerged from the bedroom with a smile on her face.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you two were gay.”
I looked up and smiled at her as she walked over and kissed me on the lips. “Maybe I am, and you just don’t know it yet.”
She hit me on the arm with the back of her hand as she walked over and kissed Sam on the cheek. “Where’s Gretchen?”
“She’s at a photo shoot. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon for San Francisco. I’m taking her home to meet my parents.”
“That’s great, Sam.” I smiled.
As Lily reached up in the cabinet, Sam grabbed her and hugged her.
“Dude, what the hell are you doing?” I said as I looked over at them.
“I’m just thanking her for moving in next door because if she didn’t, I never would have met the love of my life,” he said.
“Uncle Sammy! Lily is Uncle Luke’s girlfriend; you shouldn’t be hugging her like that.”
“Yeah, Sammy, hands off.” I chuckled.
“It’s ok, Charley; it’s just a friendly hug,” Lily said as she set the plates on the counter.
I made the pancakes exactly the way Charley loved them, and the four of us had a nice breakfast. As we were cleaning up, and Charley was gathering her things, my phone rang and my mom appeared on the screen.
“Hey, Mom,” I answered.
“Good morning, Luke. Your father and I were wondering if you and Lily would like to go to Bernie’s bar tonight for a couple of drinks.”
I told her to hold on as I looked at Lily and asked her if she wanted to go. She smiled and nodded her head as she took a sip of her coffee.
“Sounds good, Mom. How about we meet around seven?”
“Excellent! We’ll see the two of you tonight. I love you, Luke.”
“I love you too, Mom,” I said as I hit the end button.
31
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Lily
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After spending the day with Charley, Luke took her back to her apartment as I got ready to meet his parents at the bar. I couldn’t stop thinking about how devastated Charley was when her father told her that he couldn’t visit. It was a feeling that I knew too well, and how I wish I didn’t. As I stood in front of my full-length mirror and stared at the girl looking back at me, I thought that she looked happy and fulfilled. Had fate finally led me to where I was supposed to be? I’d never been this happy, and now that I’d settled things with my mother, an overwhelming sense of peace had landed in my life; it was a feeling I never wanted to lose.
“What are you thinking about?” Luke asked as he came up from behind me and wrapped his arm around me, burying his nose into my neck.
“I was just thinking about how my life has worked out, and how happy I am because of you.” I smiled.
A low growl came from the back of his throat as he took in my scent. “Do you have any idea how good you smell?”
“Judging that you have one hand squeezing my boob and the other up my dress, I think I have a pretty good idea.” I laughed.
“Can you feel that?” Luke whispered as he pushed his body against me, looking at me through the mirror.
“Yes, I can feel how hard you are, baby, but we don’t have time.” I smiled as I turned around and kissed him on the cheek. “Look at the clock; it’s 6:45, and we have to meet your parents in fifteen minutes,” I said as I walked over to my closet and grabbed my shoes.
“Damn, Lily, you sure know how to give a guy blue-balls!” he exclaimed as he adjusted himself.
“Sorry, baby. I don’t want to be late for your parents. I promise I’ll make it up to you when we get home,” I said, walking out of the room.
“I just want you to know that you’re mean, babe!” he yelled as he stood in the bedroom.
“Yep, and I’m going to show you how mean I am later!” I yelled back.
Suddenly, Luke came up from behind me, grabbed me, and spun me around. “You better keep that promise, because that’s all I’ll be thinking about all night,” he said as he kissed my neck.
“Do you ever think about anything else besides sex?” I laughed.