chapter 25
(Luke)
I stand quietly in the doorway, admiring the view. I can stand here all day, just watching. I lean against the door, thanking God for the millionth time for giving me another chance.
“Are you watching me again?” JJ says cheerily—her back to me—sensing my presence as I watch her hand gracefully move the brush across the canvas.
“How did ya know?” I ask, walking up behind her, kissing the top of her head.
“I just knew.”
“That’s really good.” I admire the painting. “Did you have another dream?” I ask, looking at the image of the woman watching over the celebration.
“No. Not in a while,” she says, discouraged. “Sometimes I think if I don’t paint her, I’ll forget her.”
“No, you won’t. You’ll always remember.”
“Do you know what this is?”
“Yep. Our wedding.”
“I wish she was with us.”
“She was, just like your painting. I know it. She’ll always be with you, especially on important days like our wedding, and when we have our babies. She’ll be there for all of the special times in your life.” I kneel in front of her, stroking her face gently with my hand. She tilts her head towards the softness of my touch and smiles. She still misses her mom, but I know that her life is fulfilled. She is happy and I no longer worry about her like I used to in that regard.
“What are your plans today?” I ask, twirling her hair through my fingers.
“Just hang out here and get some things done.”
“Do you feel like taking a ride with me? I need a few things from the hardware store. I want to hang the pictures in the living room.”
“Sure, when are you going?”
“Whenever. Finish what you’re doing. I gotta jump in the shower.”
“I’m finished for now. If you help me clean up, I’ll join you,” she adds seductively.
“I’m already on it.” I take the brush from her hand and kiss her lips.
***
(Mikey)
I awake to the warm feeling of her body molded with mine. Her long dark hair is sprawled across my pillow and I breathe in the fragrance of her citrus-scented hair. I glide my fingertips along her body, tracing her curves and watch the goose bumps form on her skin in the places where my fingers softly graze her body. My mouth kisses each spot tenderly and it sends waves of electricity through my own body, causing goose bumps on me as well. A grin forms across my face as I think about how much I love that she affects me this way.
“Why are you smiling?” she asks sleepily, her eyes remain closed.
“How do you know I’m smiling if you’re not looking at me?” I whisper softly in her ear.
“I can feel your lips on my skin and I can tell you’re smiling,” she tells me as her mouth curls slightly upward.
“I’m extremely happy right now. Have I told you lately how unbelievably in love I am with you?”
“Not since I’ve been up.”
“Turn around, look at me.”
“No, I look horrible.”
“DeDe, I’ve seen you look like shit a hundred times before in the morning, and today is not one of them.”
“Oh my God, is that your idea of a compliment? What is wrong with you?” She places the palm of her hand across my face and shoves me away from her.
I start to laugh and, once again, grovel for her forgiveness; obviously, a feeling I’m gonna have to get used to. She finally gives in to me as I take her in my arms. I whisper my love for her while intimately exploring her body.
Afterwards, her body is draped across mine, both of us spent and feeling fulfilled. My hands gently stroke up and down her back while I revel in the feel of her skin against mine.
In keeping my promise that I would include her in all of my decisions from here on out, I tell her about the call I received yesterday before leaving LA. I explain that before we get our hopes up, that I must first check out his story. I hate leaving her so soon, but she agrees it is for the best so we can move on either way.
I call his number and arrange for a meeting later this evening. While De showers, I make us coffee and breakfast.
***
(Jesse)
Before heading to the store, Luke insists on dropping by the condo to visit with Mikey. They didn’t have much of a chance to talk last night at the club and he wants to know if Mikey could use his help with his lead about Lora Rae. I text both Mikey and De that we are popping in, but neither of them get back to me. I’m sure the thought has not even crossed Luke’s mind of what we might be walking into. He’s so oblivious.
Before I can suggest maybe knocking first, Luke is already inside. Mikey is sitting alone at the table in just shorts, drinking a cup of coffee. A look of surprise crosses his face and I can see that he is uneasy. A bowl of eggs, bagels and fruit are sitting on the table along with two plates and another cup of coffee, steam circling the top of the cup. Mikey and I simultaneously see Luke’s eyes rest on the cup.
“Hey, what’s up?” Mikey greets us. “There’s coffee in there,” he says uneasily, pointing to the kitchen. “Grab some plates.”
“What’s up?” Luke says, walking into the kitchen and pouring us each a cup.
I look over at Mikey and mouth that I am sorry. He gives me a strained smile and shrugs nervously. At the same time De comes out of Mikey’s bedroom with her hair wet and wearing one of his t-shirts. She’s caught off guard and it’s too late to turn around.
It’s awkward for all of us.
She says hello while Mikey points to the cup he poured for her. She nervously makes her way to the table.
“I guess we should have called first,” Luke says with an edge to his voice, looking into his cup, refusing to look at either one of them.
“Why’s that?” Mikey asks. “It’s your house, too.” The tension is so thick, you could cut it with a knife.
I can tell Deanna is annoyed by Luke’s tone and I also know she can be spiteful when she wants to be. She reaches over and tangles her fingers with Mikey’s. He doesn’t pull away, but looks totally uncomfortable. She asks why we are out so early and I tell her we were on our way to the store.
“It’s not that early,” Luke responds arrogantly.
“What is your problem, Luke?” Deanna asks.
“Yeah, sorry. This is just too f*ckin’ weird for me,” he replies cockily as he walks off towards his bedroom.
“Yeah, I know what you mean, it was weird for me too when you started sleeping with my best friend!” Deanna shouts back angrily.
Mikey shushes her by covering her mouth with his hand. “You shouldn’t have said that,” He tries to calm her down.
“Well, he needs to get over it. I was happy for him when I found out about JJ.”
“That’s true. It’s not like he didn’t know about the two of you… I’ll go talk to him,” I jump in, coming to De’s defense.
“Knowing it and seeing it are two different things. I’ll go,” Mikey says, getting up from the table. “Go easy on him,” he tells De, kissing her lips as he heads into the bedroom.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” De apologizes to me. “But really, what’s his problem? He saw us leave together last night.”
“I know. He’s fine. I think Mikey’s right. Probably if he saw ya’s out to dinner first, or hanging out as a couple, it may have been a little easier to swallow than walking in on you in the morning half undressed.” I laugh. “I texted you both to warn you.”
“We turned our phones off.” She laughs. “Oh great, I don’t need my brother saying anything that’s going to freak him out again,” she whispers to me, nodding towards the bedroom. “You have no idea what I went through with him last night in the beginning.” De gives me the in-depth details of how he panicked last night and was nervous to sleep with her.
“You mean our little Mr. Hotshot bragger backed out?”
“Yes… almost. Probably for the first time in his life, too!” We both begin laughing. “I was ready to kill him. We ended up talking for almost an hour, and then finally, he got his little arrogant self back and got over it. The rest of the night and morning was great.” De says, giving me a wink.
***
(Mikey)
Luke is pulling a box from his top shelf in the closet when I walk in.
“Yo, bud,” I say quietly. “Sorry about that.”
“Nah, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have reacted that way. De’s right. She was cool when she found out about JJ. She didn’t quite have to put it like she did, though. I could have lived without the visual.”
I laugh. “I know, I told her to go easy on you. Please tell me you know that I love her, right? You know this is not some casual thing for me.”
“You don’t even have to say it. I know that you would never even consider hooking up with her if you even had the littlest doubt about how you felt about her.”
“There’s no doubt. I swear I tried for years to avoid it. I told myself over and over, no way, but no matter where she is—here, Arizona, where ever—I can’t shake the way I feel about her. I hated when she moved to Arizona, I hardly ever got to see her. The feelings didn’t go away, though, if anything, they got stronger.”
“I know the feeling.”
“I know you do. Every time you talked to me about JJ, I could relate. I just tried to play it off and act like you were crazy ‘cause I didn’t want to admit to myself or anyone else how I felt about her.” I knew Luke understood there was no need to plead my case to him. “So are we cool?” I ask, holding out my hand.
“Yeah, we’re cool.” He grabs my arm and gives me a pat on the back while the girls can be heard laughing hysterically in the other room.
“What are they laughing at?” Luke asks.
“I’d pretty much bet that DeDe is having a ball making fun of me.” I laugh.
Luke doesn’t question it, and I don’t elaborate. I relay my plans to fly out and meet the guy to get a better sense of what kind of person he is. I want to be sure it isn’t some wacko trying to get close to Lora Rae because she is famous. Luke offers to go with me.