Love in Between

  Luke laughed, pulled me from my chair, and hugged me. “You aren’t going anywhere,” he said.

  Sam went out to the Jeep, grabbed Luke’s guitar, and handed it to him as Candi announced Luke’s performance from the stage. I smiled at him and kissed him for good luck. He winked at me, walked to the stage, and sat on the bar stool Candi provided for him. Luke adjusted the microphone and said hello as everyone in the bar clapped. His smile captivated me like it always does, and the way he held his guitar and strummed a few chords for a sound check, pulled me in. Candi set another beer down in front of me, leaned over, and whispered in my ear as she looked across at the stage.

  “Luke’s a great guy; it’s good to see him smile again.”

  My eyes wouldn’t leave him as he sat up on the stage, and I stared straight ahead as I replied, “He is a wonderful guy. Sometimes, I think he’s too good to be true.”

  Candi patted my shoulder and walked away. I took a sip of my fresh, cold beer and listened as Luke sang a song.

  The moment he finished his song, Luke spoke to the crowd. “I’ve met a very special lady. She’s very talented, and I think you’d all like her. Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce Lily Gilmore.”

  My stomach dropped, and my heart started racing. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to kill him, but that would have to wait because people were cheering and clapping for me. Gretchen pushed me up on the stage; then I stood there and faced the cheering crowd.

  Luke stood up, handed me his guitar, and whispered in my ear, “You can punish me later.”

  I shot him a look and sat down on the stool with his guitar in hand. Luke made his way off the stage and back to the table. I stared out in the crowd, remembering the night my father did the same thing to me. Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath and started playing a song that I wrote shortly after my father’s death.

  “You were taken away

  By the love and alcohol you liked to play

  I love you are just words

  If there’s no action, it can’t be meant

  You told me you loved me, and I was heaven sent.

  You left a cut so deep in my heart

  There’s no escaping who you are

  But I’m your daughter, and I’m your star

  You left me alone and full of scars.

  There were more important things to you

  Then the family that you once knew

  You always told me to shine bright

  And that I was your shining light.

  You left a cut so deep in my heart

  There’s no escaping who you are

  But I’m your daughter, and I’m your star

  You left me alone and full of scars.

  You said you’d always be with me

  Even when I needed you most

  You’re just a phone call away

  Over on the East Coast.

  I’m done crying now, and I’ve said goodbye

  I’ll remember you always until I die

  I hope you can hear me from wherever you are

  This song is for you, from your daughter, your star.”

  While the people in the bar clapped and whistled, I strummed the last chord. Standing up, I smiled and thanked them as Sam walked up on stage and took Luke’s guitar. He kissed me on the cheek and smiled. Luke got up from the table and stood in the middle of the bar, waiting for me to walk off the stage and into his arms. When I climbed down to meet him, his arms tightly wrapped around me.

  “Babe, that was beautiful,” he said. “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine, Luke,” I said as I looked up at him.

  “I didn’t know you wrote songs; I thought you just sang and played random ones or the ones your father taught you.”

  “I write a song here and there.” I smiled.

  He cupped my face in his hands and kissed my lips. Gretchen walked up to us, broke our kiss, and hugged me.

  “I’ve never heard that song before, Lily. What the fuck, girl, why didn’t you ever sing it to me?” She started to tear up.

  “It’s just a song that I kept to myself.”

  “Just a song you kept to yourself? You just sang it in front of a shitload of people!” she exclaimed.

  “Consider it my debut.”

  Suddenly, our favorite song, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, started playing, and Gretchen grabbed my hand, pulling me to the dance floor. We started moving our hips and dancing; then moments later, I felt two hands clasp my waist. As I turned around, Luke was smiling at me, moving his hands up and down my body while dancing to the music. Our bodies kept the same rhythm as we swayed our hips back and forth. As we stared into each other’s eyes while we danced, Luke never stopped smiling, and neither did I. When the song ended, Luke put his arm around me, kissed me, and then led us back to the table. Sam held his hand up for a high five.

  “You rocked that song, girl. I’m so proud of you, and I didn’t know you could sing,” he said.

  “Thank you, Sam.” I smiled.

  Luke sat in his chair and put his arm around me. Scanning the crowd, I saw the two girls that had been at Luke’s apartment, standing in the corner, staring at us. A few moments later, they left the corner and started walking over to our table. I looked at the girl who so graciously gave Luke a blow job and said, “Keep walking.” Then I smiled and threw my beer back. Gretchen spit out her beer, unable to contain her laughter as Luke shook his head.

  ***

  Barely making it through my apartment door, Luke already had my dress pulled up as he worked on tearing off my thong. Our passionate kiss couldn’t be broken as we were both engrossed in the moment. This time, I pinned Luke up against the door as I unbuttoned his jeans and took them down, along with his boxers. He threw his head back and moaned as I took his hard cock in my mouth. No longer able to control his movements, his hands fisted my hair as my tongue ran around the tip and my hands moved in sync up and down his shaft. His moan grew louder as I started sucking and he moved his hips back and forth.

  “Oh god, Lily. I’m going to come!” he exclaimed.

  Suddenly, a warm, salty liquid filled my mouth. I’ve never swallowed before. In fact, I never sucked a guy off until they came before. Usually, I stop and finish them off with my hand, but with Luke, I didn’t want to stop. I didn’t know what to do, and I didn’t want to seem rude and ruin the moment by running to the kitchen sink and spitting it out, so I just swallowed it. Luke pulled me up and pushed back my hair.

  “You’re unbelievable.” He smiled.

  “Correction, you’re unbelievable,” I replied.

  He carried me to the bedroom, wrapped me tightly in his arms, and for the first time in over a year, I slept soundly through the night.

  25

  Luke

  I spent more time at Lily’s place than I did my own. Sam and I worked out a system that if I’m staying at Lily’s for the night, then Gretchen would stay at our place. Another morning had come, and Lily was getting ready for work. As I made the coffee, I sent a text message to Sam, asking if he could bring over some eggs. I was in my boxers, so I went into the bedroom and threw on my jeans. Hearing a knock on the door, I left the button and zipper of my jeans undone. I walked over, opened it, and, froze when I saw Charley standing there. She was looking me up and down, noticing I was half-naked. It’s not the first time she’s seen me like this, but it’s the first time this happened at Lily’s.

  “Charley, what are you doing here?” I tried to smile casually.

  “Why aren’t you dressed? Did you spend the night?”

  I took in a deep breath. “Peanut, what can I do for you?”

  Lily emerged from the hallway, saw Charley, and looked at me.

  “Hey, Charley, come on in,” she said.

  She ducked under my arm and walked into the apartment. “Are you coming to my grandma’s family dinner tonight?” she asked Lily.

  “I sure am, and I’m excited!”

  Charley glanced over at
me as I came from the bedroom with my jeans buttoned and a t-shirt on.

  “You didn’t have to get dressed on my account,” she said.

  Lily busted out laughing, and I shot her a look. “Peanut, don’t you have to go to school?”

  “Yeah, but I was just—.”

  “You were just leaving.” I laughed as I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder, and took her back up to her apartment. When I dropped Charlie off with Maddie, I walked back to Lily’s apartment, and Sam walked over and handed me a carton of eggs.

  “Dude, I sent you a text like twenty minutes ago.”

  “Sorry, but Gretchen had me tied up.” He winked.

  “Thanks, man,” I said as I grabbed the eggs and walked inside Lily’s apartment.

  Lily was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal and drinking her coffee.

  “Babe, I was going to make you some eggs.”

  “Thank you, but I’m fine eating my cereal. Besides, I don’t have time for eggs,” she said as she looked at her watch.

  I poured a cup of coffee and leaned against the counter as I stared at her. I couldn’t believe this loving, beautiful girl was mine. I never thought I would say those words again after Callie, but with Lily, it’s so easy.

  She looked over at me and smiled. “Do you know how sexy you look, leaning up against that counter?”

  “Why don’t you show me?” I smirked.

  “Don’t tempt me, Luke. As it is, I’m running late, again,” she said as she put her bowl in the sink.

  She turned to me and put her hands on my chest. “I have to go, because if I’m late, Charley will start spreading some horrible rumor about us.”

  I chuckled, kissed her lips, and hugged her goodbye. “Have a good day, babe. I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll miss you too,” she said as she kissed me one last time.

  ***

  I walked into my apartment to find Gretchen cleaning up the kitchen.

  “Morning, Luke.”

  “Morning, Gretchen,” I responded as I headed towards my bedroom.

  As I was gathering my laundry, Gretchen stood in the doorway.

  “I need to talk to you about something.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Giselle called me; her and Lucky ran into Lily’s mother in Seattle. With that being said, Lucky accidentally told her that Lily lives here.”

  “Shit, that’s not good, right?”

  “No, it’s not, because if she or Brynn come here, there’s no telling what might happen.”

  “Maybe Lily and her mom should have a talk. Family is really important, and I would hate for Lily to completely lose hers over what her mother didn’t tell her. It was for the best that things worked out the way they did or else I never would have met her.”

  “You don’t understand, Luke. Lily’s life has never been normal. She’s told you about her father’s affairs and his alcohol and drug use, right?”

  I turned around and looked at her as I carried the basket of dirty clothes to the living room. “I knew he had multiple affairs and he drank, but she never mentioned anything about drugs.”

  “He did every drug out there and then some. I remember going over Lily’s house one day, and her dad was snorting coke right off the kitchen table.”

  “Shit, that’s terrible,” I shook my head as I poured two cups of coffee.

  “It really is, Luke. She’s made up her mind to remove herself from her family, and I think we need to do whatever we can to protect her. I don’t want her to get hurt again. I love her too much to see her go through that pain. She’s a good person and doesn’t deserve it.”

  “I love her too, and I will protect her in every possible way. I don’t want you to worry.” I smiled.

  Gretchen grabbed her things and left the apartment. I was really bothered by the fact Lucky said something to Lily’s mother, but he didn’t know what was going on, so I couldn’t really blame him. I decided not to tell Lily about what Gretchen told me because I didn’t want her worrying about it, especially tonight, at my family’s dinner. As I was excited to bring Lily home to meet my parents, I decided to send flowers to my two favorite women. I grabbed my phone and called the local florist. I had a nice arrangement sent to my mother for the dinner table, and I sent Lily a dozen red roses with a card that read:

  “Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman.

  I’m missing you already.

  Love always, Luke.”

  As it was a beautiful day, I decided to go outside and work on some songs. I took my laundry to the laundry room, threw it in the washer, grabbed a notepad, pen, and my guitar, and headed over to the pool. As I sat in the chair and set my phone down on the table beside me, I looked up at the sky as the sun went behind a cloud; one of the very few clouds that filtered the sky. I thought about the conversation Gretchen and I had about Lily’s family as I grabbed my pen and started writing down the words that came to my mind:

  Even the clouds will say

  There’s nowhere we can get away from everything

  There’s nowhere we can practice positivity

  I strummed the C and F chords to find the perfect tune, and then my mind went back to the first time Lily and I met. She didn’t put up with my bullshit when I was an ass to her, because I could only focus on myself and my problems.

  When all I see is me

  So let’s drop, let’s stop this teenage rivalry

  I strummed the C, F, and G chords to produce a tune that fit the words to this song I was writing. Lily’s heart had been broken, not only by her father and her mother, but also by her ex-fiancé and her sister, and it kills me to see her cry.

  And every heart will break

  There’s just no way to keep it safe from anything

  If the only thing that makes it break is somebody

  Please don’t give it to me

  ‘Cause seeing you cry makes me want to leave

  But losing you scares the shit out of me

  My phone rang, and Lily’s beautiful picture lit up my screen. I smiled as I answered, “Hey, beautiful.”

  “I just received some beautiful red roses from a really sexy guy named Luke. You don’t know him by any chance, do you?”

  “Can’t say I do, but when I find him, I’m going to kick his ass for sending my girl flowers.”

  “They’re beautiful, Luke; thank you. My students are very excited, and they keep making kissy noises at me. Charley came up to my desk and said they better be from you.” She laughed.

  I chuckled. “I’m glad you like them, babe.”

  “As you can hear, my class is out of control. I miss you, and I’ll see you later.”

  “Bye, Lily.”

  “Bye, Luke.”

  I smiled as I set my phone down. Were things moving too fast? I wasn’t sure, but the only thing I knew for certain was that she’s the first woman to catch my attention and make me feel something since the accident. I played the chords again and added a couple of more lines before Mrs. Kramer called me to come fix her leaky toilet.

  I’d sail the ocean blue

  Or I’d fly a rocket to the moon

  But I’m good for nothing without you

  I got up from my seat, headed back to the apartment, grabbed my tool box, and fixed Mrs. Kramer’s toilet.

  26

  Lily

  I set the vase of roses that Luke sent me on the counter as I thought about what I was going to wear to his family’s house. I was starting to get nervous because I haven’t met anyone’s family in a very long time. I always worry they won’t like me or find something wrong with me. I wondered where Luke was; usually he’s waiting for me when I get home. Looking out my window, I noticed his motorcycle wasn’t there, so I grabbed my phone and sent him a text message.

  “Where’s my knight in shining armor?”

  A few moments later, a message came through.

  “I’m at the store, babe. I had something that I needed to pick up. I’ll be over shortly.”
>
  “See you soon,” I replied back.

  I walked into my bedroom and opened the closet door. I wanted to look perfect for his family, and I didn’t want them to be able to see the destruction that had been left inside me thanks to my family. I took off my work clothes and stood in front of the open closet in my bra and panties. Suddenly, a voice came from behind me, startling me from my thoughts.

  “Well, isn’t this a sight for sore eyes,” Luke said as he leaned up against the doorway with his hands behind his back.

  “Shit, Luke, you scared me,” I said as I turned around and looked at him.

  “Sorry, babe, but what do you expect when you’re standing there in nothing but your bra and that delicious lace thong.”

  I smiled as I walked over to him. “What are you hiding behind your back?” I asked as I ran my finger down the front of his shirt. His top lip curled as he looked at me and brought his hands forward, revealing a helmet.

  “Surprise!” he said.

  I put my hands over my mouth in shock. “Luke!”

  “I know, you probably hate me right now for this, but you should have your own helmet if you’re going to be riding on my bike.”

  “I don’t hate you at all; I love it!” I exclaimed as I took it from his hands.

  The helmet was black with white lilies all over it, and it had my name engraved on the side. I reached up and kissed Luke’s smiling lips. “Thank you, baby; I love it.”

  He took the helmet from my hands, put it on my head, and then placed his hands on my hips. “God, you’re so sexy,” he said.

  I walked over to my full-length mirror that sat in the corner of my bedroom. I couldn’t help but burst out laughing as I stood there and examined myself in nothing but my bra, panties, and a motorcycle helmet.

  “Why are you laughing?” Luke asked as he walked over to me.

  “I look ridiculous like this.”

  As he cupped my ass, he grinned. “I seriously want to fuck you with that helmet on.”

  I instantly removed the helmet, turned around, and smacked Luke on chest. “You’re crazy! I’m not having sex with that on!” I exclaimed.