The sun was drifting lower on the west when I woke up again, sweaty and too warm from cuddling with Luke. I couldn’t bring myself to wake Luke up, but when I checked my watch, I realized we needed to get going soon if we wanted to make it home before the evening traffic hit the highways.
“Hey, wake up. Luke?” I nudged his shoulder softly and Luke froze for a second before turning his head to look at me. “Oh. Did I fall asleep?”
I chuckled at his sleep mussed look and ran my fingers through his hair, pushing them away from his forehead. “We both did. We gotta get going if we want to be home before the traffic hits.”
“Oh,” Luke mumbled, processing my words for a minute before scrambling to his feet.
“Do you want another coffee while you get changed and packed?”
Luke nodded gratefully before glancing at the bedroom, “I’ll take a quick shower too, if that’s okay?”
“Sure.” I walked into the kitchen and started the coffee maker before using the rest of the groceries to make a mismatched late lunch for us.
Once we were done eating, we packed up all the garbage and added it in the trunk with our stuff before locking up the door.
Luke took a last glance around with a soft smile before turning to look at me, “Thank you for bringing me here.” He walked over to me and pulled my hands into his before leaning up and pressing his lips to mine in a soft kiss.
“I loved everything that happened here and I’ll never forget this visit.”
“We can come back anytime you want,” I promised and he gave me a wide smile before squeezing my hand and dropping it.
“Home?” He asked, gesturing towards the waiting car.
“Home,” I agreed. I’d loved everything that had happened here, too.
15 | Luke
I sat staring at my laptop screen, trying to make myself focus on the articles I was supposed to be editing. Instead, my mind kept drifting back to everything that happened over the weekend. It still felt like a dream. Did I really agree to date Scott? Did he really want to date me?
I chewed my lower lip as I mulled over it and realized I needed to talk to someone about this instead of thinking about it again and again. I could talk to Angie, but then again, she wasn’t really one for romance and all the ‘sparkle-shit stuff’ as she put it. Then I remembered the one person who I could always trust to be a good listener and friend. I picked my phone off my desk and texted him.
Luke: Hey, got time to have lunch with me?
Brady: Oh my gee, is that u finally asking me out?
Luke: *rolls eyes* I wanna talk to you about something.
Brady: U know I always have time for u, hon. Drop by at the cafe lunch time, I’ll have ur fav lunch ready.
Luke: Thanks. You’re a star. <3
Smiling, I put my phone away and forced myself to focus on my work, pushing all thoughts of Scott into the back of my mind for the time being.
When lunch time rolled around, I was happy with the amount of work I had managed to do despite my earlier distraction. Quickly emailing the edited version of an article, I turned off my laptop before getting up and stretching the kinks out of my back. I stuffed my phone in my pocket before making my way to the exit. I waved at Angie as I passed her desk and she raised her brow at me inquisitively.
“Lunch with Brady,” I explained and she gave me a thumbs up before turning back to her screen, munching on a protein bar. I shook my head at her abysmal eating habits—that she won’t change, no matter how much we badger her—as I walked out of the office.
Brady’s cafe, Bean Yourself, was just a few blocks away from our workplace and my favorite cafe in the city. Not just because it was owned by Brady, but because it was so cozy and friendly. Brady may be a tiny human, but his presence was enough to lighten up any room, so his cafe always felt warm and welcoming.
I stepped into the cafe and breathed in the warm coffee, chocolate, caramel and vanilla scent that always managed to bring a smile to my face. Considering the cafe mostly served breakfast in terms of food—that is, if you don’t consider baked goods as possible lunch food—it wasn’t too crowded at the moment.
The seating area of the cafe was a mismatch of wooden chairs and leather couches, with dark wooden coffee tables set between them. I looked over at the counter and spotted Brady working with one of the kids he employed part time. Most of the kids who worked at the cafe came from the NGO, since Brady spent most of his free time volunteering there and was quick to offer a job to whichever kid he connected with. If I hadn’t scored a job at the magazine, I’m sure I’d be working here too. And I definitely wouldn’t have minded, considering he was as good a boss as Mama D was. I waved at him when he saw me and he waved over to the seating area in a I’ll be right there, gesture.
I took a seat on one of the corner tables and let my eyes take their fill of the baked goods I could see in the display unit. I spotted the chocolate muffins and realized this place would be even more appreciated by Scott since he had such a sweet tooth. Maybe I’d take some choco-chip cookies for him before I left.
“Aw, look at that smile! You look gorgeous, hon.” Brady’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts as he bent forward to give me a peck on the cheek. I returned the gesture with a smile and Brady sat down opposite me, placing a mug of hot chocolate and a slice of his absolutely delicious lemon cake in front of me. It was a weird combination, but it worked for me.
I smiled at Brady in thanks as I picked up my fork and dug in. He had a mug in his hand too, and he sipped his drink as he looked me over with that laser-scan gaze of his. Brady was a tiny human, almost a whole foot shorter than me, which coupled with his gorgeous looks, had led me to mistakenly call him a kid when we first met. He’d not been happy, of course, and I’d had to sit through a whole lecture that I remembered nothing of before he gave me a slice of chocolate cake and forgave me.
Today, Brady’s short, blond hair was tipped with blue and green-brown highlights that matched the color of his eye shadow. Coupled with his green eyes and high cheekbones, it gave him an almost Fae look. He was dressed in a frilly blue sleeveless shirt that seemed to sparkle subtly whenever he moved, paired with brown shorts and what I could see where brown sandals. In one word, Brady looked magical. Which he kinda always did.
Once I was done with my lunch, and had brought my mind on track I opened my mouth before closing it. Where did I start?
Brady gave me an encouraging smile, switching into volunteer-Brady mode when he realized I needed a bit of nudging and I took a deep breath before blurting out, “Scott asked me out.”
His eyes widened for a second before his lips broke out into a wide smile, “Your roommate?”
I nodded and Brady squealed in the way only he could, dancing in his seat for a few moments before he straightened up, “And? Tell me everything!”
So I did. I told him how close we’d grown over the past few months, about the hiking trip, my nightmare, me kissing him and then him asking me out.
“Oh Luke, I’m so happy for you.”
I nodded. I was too. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so happy but a part of me still wouldn’t let me believe in it. Believe that I could have this, that I deserved it. That I deserved Scott.