We went to Le Peep in Cherry Creek. This, I thought, was good as they had granola pancakes there. I wasn’t in the mood to search for my healthy living mojo, I was going to ask for extra butter and syrup and a double side order of bacon.
We took my Range Rover, Luke driving, Mrs. Stark making a big thing out of me sitting in the passenger seat by Luke. Of course I had to give in. Then when we got to the restaurant, I hung back intent on sitting at the table next to Mrs. Stark when she made a big thing out of Luke and I sitting side by side. Again I had to give in.
I knew this would be bad, but it got worse when Luke moved his chair closer than was seemly in front of Super Mom Stark, sat back and draped his arm across the back of my chair. He took it away to eat but even part of the time he was eating, he left it there. Worse than that, him being close meant his thigh was pressed full length down mine the whole time.
Argh!
To counteract the effects of Luke’s thigh, I ordered a triple side of bacon. I couldn’t eat it so Luke did and seeing Luke eat off my plate made Mrs. Stark sigh in motherly contentment.
Throughout all of this, Mrs. Stark blathered on, eyes shiny happy, about everyone in our old neighborhood; all of them she was still in touch with, I wasn’t surprised to note.
She also asked me a gazillion questions. So Luke found out I was a self-employed graphic designer; that my sisters hadn’t inherited as much from Auntie Ella because I was a favorite; that I fixed up my own house; and that I was allergic to cheap brands of cosmetics.
Then on the second pot of coffee, she announced, “Nature calls,” and got up, throwing a warm smile at the two lovebirds which was what we looked like, seeing as Luke, now done eating, had leaned into me, arm around my shoulders, fingers playing with a lock of my hair.
Once she disappeared in the bathroom, I turned to Luke, flipping my hair off my neck and out from between his fingers.
“Stop it,” I hissed.
“What?” he grinned.
“She’s going to think we’re together.”
“We are together.”
“We’re not.”
“We are.”
I made a noise in the back of my throat and leaned into him so I was close (or, I should say, closer).
“When she comes back, I’ll go to the bathroom and you tell her this isn’t what it seems.”
“And what should I tell her it is?”
“That I’ve got some troubles, you’re helping me sort them out and I’m staying at your place until it’s sorted. That’s it, nothing more.”
He shook his head. “I’m not gonna do that.”
“Why?” I cried.
“First, because she’ll worry if she thinks you’re in trouble. Second, because she’ll wonder what you’re still doin’ at my place when it’s all over. Third, because that would be a lie because that’s not all it is, it’s a fuckuva lot more.”
My heart did a stutter and I ignored it. “It isn’t.”
His hand came to the back of my neck. “I’m not sparrin’ with you about this Ava.”
“You aren’t being very nice to your mother. She actually likes the idea that we’re together. You let her go on thinking we are, when we aren’t, it’s just mean.”
I should (again) have realized what it meant when his hand came to the back of my neck. I should have read the warning sign. I didn’t.
It was when his eyes got shiny dangerous, I read the warning sign. Too late.
“Tell me, after what happened in my bed this morning, how you figure we’re not together?”
“That was nothing. I was asleep,” I lied. “You took me off guard.”
Uh-oh.
His hand tightened on my neck and brought me even closer so we were ultra close closer.
“You’re too fuckin’ much. Throughout breakfast you’ve been decidin’ how to lie to me, and yourself, about what happened. That same time I’ve been strugglin’ with the urge to walk away from my mother, drag you back to my bed, rip your fuckin’ clothes off and bury myself so deep inside you, you feel me in your throat.”
Ho-ly shit.
Did Luke just say that to me?
He did.
“Luke –”
“Save it,” he clipped. “I figure next time you’re ridin’ my hand is the next time I’ll get the truth out of you. I don’t trust a goddamn thing that comes out of your mouth but your body, that I trust.”
There they were again, the words “next time”.
Shit.
“I can’t believe you just said that to me,” I snapped.
“Believe it,” he bit off.
“You’re way too blunt.”
“Deal with it.”
“You’re a jerk.”
His fingers went tighter on my neck. “Ava, one more word –”
I opened my mouth to give him one more word. He kissed me.
It started as a hard, angry, shut Ava up kiss but then his tongue slid inside my mouth and it ended up as an Ava holding onto Luke’s shoulders for dear life kissing him back kiss.
“Children,” Mrs. Stark whispered and my whole body jerked as my head whipped around to see Mrs. Stark sitting across from us, her lips tilted up in a mini-smile. “The other patrons can see you,” she warned us, but you could tell she didn’t care not even a little bit.