by Vivian Wood
When she texted me asking me to come tonight… I wasn’t about to say no. I’ve definitely retreated from the world to recharge my batteries but…
Luna is a special exception. She’s all light and air, all good sides and no bad ones. I found that in the three days leading up to now, I definitely felt something was missing when she wasn’t at hand.
So here I am, looking at the front door to the Attic. A small cluster of girls head outside, their laughter bouncing off the smooth tan stone building. They are dressed up in fancy party attire.
I grit my teeth and look down. Luna didn’t mention any fancy attire… I thought that my white button up and dark jeans would put me ahead of the curve on that one.
That’s what I get for sleeping with a rich girl, I guess. We are from such completely different worlds that it probably didn’t even occur to her to mention the dress code.
The front door to the place swings open again, this time letting out Luna herself. Luna is wearing a light pink pair of wide legged pants and a silky camisole on top.
So she’s dressed up, but not like… black tie.
I blow out a breath and heave myself out of my car.
She frowns down at her phone, only noticing me when I am right in front of her. She gives me this surprised grin, really lighting up.
“Hey! You actually came!” she declares.
Not knowing what I should do with my hands, whether I should embrace her or not, I shove my hands into my pockets. I wrinkle my forehead. “Well, yeah. I said I would so… here I am.”
She smiles at me. “I’m glad. I actually just got here too.”
I gesture at the Attic. “Shall we?”
She launches herself at me, surprising me by pressing her lips to mine. She tastes like mint and strawberries, her mouth warm and her lips so soft. I growl and pull her closer, but she pulls away with a shy smile.
“I just wanted to break the touch barrier,” she explains, blushing a little. “Come on.”
She grabs me by the hand and tugs me in the front door. I step into a pretty large space, a stage set up to my left, some tables and a long wooden bar set up to my right. There are quite a few people here, milling around and talking to each other animatedly.
“Luna!” a handsome sandy haired guy yells, fighting his way through the crowd.
“Owen, hi!” she says, hugging him.
Jealousy slithers through me, coming almost out of nowhere.
Luna turns to me. “Owen, this is my friend Gabe. Gabe, this is one of my brother’s best friends. Remember, I told you that Luca owns a bar?”
I extend my hand. Owen does the same, gripping my hand, hard and brief.
“Your brother just asked if you were here, Luna.”
“Well…” she makes a face. “Here I am.”
“Have some punch when you get over by the bar… I made it special.” Owen winks. “If you two will excuse me, I think I just saw Chloe.”
I look over to the woman that Owen is working his way through the crowd toward. “Is Chloe somebody I should know?”
Luna looks up at me, her eyes shining with laughter. “That’s the one that got away, as far as Owen is concerned.”
“Ah.” As I watch, Owen picks Chloe up and bear hugs her. “They seem like a couple.”
She just nods. “Yeah. They’ll figure it out sooner or later…” She shakes her head. “Let’s go to the bar.”
We work our way over to the bar, helping ourselves to a cup of punch. I take a sip, then scrunch up my face as the alcohol burns its way down my gullet.
“This is so…” Luna shudders. “Ugh. This is why Owen is not a bartender.”
“Luna!”
I barely have time to register the call before a red headed young woman barrels into Luna, hugging her hard. “You are not ever allowed to leave again!”
The woman looks familiar but I can’t place her. Trailing after the unknown woman is a dark haired man. He gives me a nod hello.
“Smith,” he says, extending his hand. I shake it. He jerks his chin toward the hugging girls. “I don’t think we’ve met. I come attached to Harper. I mean, not like… attached. Just as friends.”
“Uhh… okay,” I say with a nod. “I’m Gabe. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Oh, thank the lord!” another young woman says, gingerly touching my shoulder to move me out of the way. “You came!”
“Cate!” Luna says, embracing her. “Gabe, this is Cate. This is Harper. Guys, this is Gabe.”
Cate and Harper turn to look at me, both of their gazes appraising. If I were a betting man, I’d wager that they know all about what Luna and I have been getting up to.
Cate touches me gently. “It’s a pleasure.”
Harper grins. “Did you tell Luna yet?”
Cate blushes. Luna cocks a brow. “Tell me what?”
Cate looks unsure. “Have you seen Luca yet? Because maybe he should be the one to tell you…”
Luna’s gaze shifts to me. “Uh… no. Tell me what?”
Cate looks like she would rather crawl under a rock and die than answer Luna’s question. She looks around the bar for a moment, then points. “There he is!”
Harper cups her hands around her mouth and shouts. “Luca!”
A tall, handsome guy looks our way. Then Harper jumps up and down, motioning to Luna. The guy grins and works his way over to us, weaving through the crowd.
“Hey sis,” he says, giving Luna a fist bump. “What’s up? Did you bring me back something good from your trip?”
Luna rolls her eyes good humoredly. “Luca, this is Gabe. Gabe, meet my older brother.”
I lean in for the handshake. Luca surveys me, drawing some conclusion that amuses him. He doesn’t share what he thinks, though.
Harper cuts in. “Luca, tell Luna your good news!”
I look expectantly at Luca. He rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah. Luna, let’s go talk.”
Luna frowns and then looks at me. I’m prepared, though.
“I’ll be fine,” I assure her. “I can talk to Smith about stuff.”
Cate flashes a smile. “I’d love to get to know more about you, Gabe. You’re a boat captain, right?”
“Yeah. It’s a family affair,” I answer, my gaze still on Luna’s face.
The worried look on Luna’s face increases but she allows her brother to ferry her off toward the stage. I lose sight of her pretty quickly.
Fuck. I straighten and try to pay attention to the people surrounding me. When Luna comes back, I breathe a sigh of relief.
But she just hugs Cate tightly, whispering in the other girl’s ear. Cate starts crying and nods.
Luna breaks away and grabs my wrist. She leads me toward the front door pretty forcefully.
I can see that she’s overwhelmed, on the very verge of tears. When she pushes into the Seattle summer evening, I pull her to a stop. She looks up at me, tears shimmering in her eyes.
“Luna, what’s going on?”
She flings herself into my arms, burying her face against my chest. “Luca and Cate are expecting.”
She’s not sobbing or anything, but her voice is muffled by my chest.
“That’s the news your brother had to tell you?”
She nods slowly. “Yeah.”
I hesitate, confused. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
She wipes one side of her face, nodding. “Yes.”
“Then why the tears?” I ask.
She blows out a breath, looking up at me with reddened eyes. “It’s complicated. Can we… can we just go somewhere private for a minute? I don’t want to be seen crying about my brother’s baby news right in front of his bar.”
“Sure.” I look around, but Luna already has her keys out. She hits a button and the lights flash on a light colored SUV.
We start moving toward it. It’s not until we’re close enough to touch it that I realize it’s a Porsche.
“Jesus fucking christ,” I mutter. She probably doesn’t even realize that h
er car is worth ten or twelve times what mine is worth.
As we climb in the car, Luna leans back in the driver’s seat, obviously distraught. I look over at her tear-stained face, my mouth pulling down into a frown. What am I supposed to say to her when she’s like this?
She blows out a breath, wiping at her face. “You probably think I’m a grade a whack job right now.”
I give my head a shake. “I’m actually just wondering how I’m supposed to comfort you.”
She smiles sadly. “I don’t think I deserve comfort. I’m crying because my best friend just told me she’s going to have a baby.”
I cock a brow. “Why is that making you so upset? I mean… it really has no negative impact on you at all.”
She looks over at me, rolling her eyes at herself. “Yeah, I know. I just wasn’t expecting it. I mean, I talked to Cate a few days ago and she just said that she and Luca were going to try to get pregnant…” She takes a long breath. “It’s just so easy for them, you know? They’re like… stupidly in love. They make this decision to try for a baby and… poof! It’s like magic.”
I think for a few seconds. “Have you ever actually even tried to get pregnant?”
Luna looks sheepish. “Well… no… but I know it would be hard.”
I push on my inner cheek with my tongue. “How do you know?”
That gives her pause. “Well, my gynecologist says it’s likely to be an issue.”
“I feel like you’re getting yourself wound up over something that could be an issue in the future.” I scrunch up my face. “That’s really not fair to yourself. And it’s not fair to Cate or your brother, frankly. This is supposed to be a celebration for them.”
She looks away out her window, taking a moment to digest my words. Then she looks back at me, rubbing a hand over her mouth. “Are you always this grounded?”
One corner of my mouth slides up into a smile. “No. It’s way easier to tell you that you’re not seeing the complete picture of your life. With my own life, it’s obviously different.”
She gives half a laugh, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on my lips. “Well, it seems like you’re a born crisis negotiator.”
I huff a laugh. “Yeah, well. You have Malkia to thank for that. She had so much drama when she was a teenager…”
Luna looks skyward for a moment, then straightens her shoulders. “Do you think we should go back into the Attic?”
Taking her hand, I give it a squeeze. “Whatever you decide.”
She gives me a knowing look. “You’re just willing to wait it out because you know you’re going to be rewarded with sex later.”
I shrug. “Maybe. Do you blame me?”
She grins. “Not at all.”
She leans in for another kiss, steamier this time. I cup her jaw, inhaling her scent and savoring her taste. She finally pulls away and opens her car door, heading back to the Attic.
And I follow, my eyes on her figure, my heart in my throat.
27
Luna
I’m in love with Gabe. There’s no use denying it.
Lying in bed the morning after the party, I trace figure eights on the bed. Gabe is sleeping right beside me, turned on his stomach. The mid-morning light pours in from my windows and lights up the white bedsheets underneath us both.
I watch him sleep, his breathing easy and natural. If I knew that I wouldn’t wake him, I would trace my fingers across his brow, down his nose, across his expressive lips.
My fingers itch with the desire to do it. But I don’t. I still sense that there is a lot that he’s holding back. He’s not willing to feel as much as I do.
Plus, there is the whole thing where I’m supposed to steal his regatta course for Dr. Montgomery. I roll over onto my back and stare up at the high ceilings of my loft.
Yeah, I’m definitely not going to do that. Even assuming that I hated Gabe — which clearly I do not — I would have a hard time just taking his stuff. No matter how Dr. Montgomery dresses it up, it’s just slimy and wrong.
I’m going to have to tell Dr. Montgomery my decision… and soon. How he takes it really concerns me… I mean, my academic career is in his hands. But I can’t have these feelings for Gabe and still let this nonsense with Dr. Montgomery still go on.
Shifting my gaze to the man sleeping next to me, I repress a sigh. I should just do it now, get it over with.
Getting out of bed is harder than it usually is. Dressing myself quickly, I try to tell myself that whatever happens, it’s going to be okay. I mean… what is the worst that can happen?
As I scribble a note for Gabe and let myself out of my house, nightmare scenarios push at my consciousness. I usually don’t let myself go too deep into such morbid thoughts but… here I am, intensely worried about what Dr. Montgomery will say.
It’s a Tuesday, which means that he will probably be at work. Heading to the University of Washington medical school, it takes me a while to find Dr. Montgomery. The lights are off and the blinds pulled in his office. He’s not in the faculty lounge or the mostly empty cafeteria.
At last I find him in a lecture hall, teaching a class of first year med students. Peering in through on of the windows at the back of the class, I spot my friend Olivia, a cute little brunette sitting in the second row of students. She looks bored, fanning herself slowly and blinking repeatedly at whatever Dr. Montgomery is telling the class.
What would she think about the conversation I’m about to have with the good doctor?
I sit outside in the hall, waiting for the class to let out. In less than fifteen minutes my patience is rewarded; students carrying huge textbooks and heavy backpacks begin filing out of the doors.
I catch Olivia for a second.
“Hey!” she greets me, juggling several textbooks and a tote bag. “It’s nice to see you, Luna.”
I straighten and smile at her.
“You too. I’m just trying to catch Dr. Montgomery,” I say, nodding to the classroom.
“Oh, you’d better hurry. I think he’s in a rush to get somewhere.” Olivia touches my arm. “We totally have to catch up soon, though.”
“Absolutely we do.” I grin at her. “See you later.”
I pull open the door, spying Dr. Montgomery heading up the stairs directly towards me. He spots me and a grin breaks out over his face.
“Lena!” he greets me, hugging his stack of textbooks to his chest. “You’re back from the trip, I see.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “It’s Luna, Dr. Montgomery.”
He brushes past me. “Come on, you can fill me in on your trip on the way to my office.” He looks at his watch. “I have about ten minutes before I have to be in my car.”
Frowning, I turn and follow him down the hallway and up a staircase. “So I wanted to talk to you— “
“That sounds ominous,” he jokes. He doesn’t seem too bothered. In fact, he doesn’t even look at me at all. Unease fills my heart, gripping me hard.
“Right. I mean… I don’t think I can give you what you asked for.”
Dr. Montgomery stops short, whirling around. “The race course plans?”
My cheeks start to burn under his imperious stare. “Yeah. I can’t steal them.”
He raises a brow. “And why not?”
Unable to look at him, I drop my gaze. “Because stealing is wrong?”
He sighs dismissively. “I already explained it to you, Lena. We are friends. He’ll be glad that you helped.”
I make a face. “I… I’m not sure that that is true, Dr. Montgomery.”
That gives him pause. “Are you calling me a liar?”
My cheeks are burning so brightly I’m worried that I will start a fire. “No… I just… I can’t get the plans for you. Even if I wanted to, he literally keeps them in a safe.”
His heavy eyebrows rise. “A safe?”
I nod my head, hoping that he won’t be able to tell that I’m essentially lying my ass off. “Yeah.”
Dr. Montgomery star
es me down for a minute, then turns and starts walking again. “It would be my suggestion that you figure out how to get him to open that safe, Lena.”
“That’s not my name!” I say, raising my voice.
“Who cares?” He reaches the door to his office, digging in his pocket for his keys. “Come in here.”
He unlocks the door, chucking his books in a chair. Then he stands aside, waving me in impatiently.
Swallowing thickly, I do as he asks. He shuts the door after me, then walks over to his desk and leans against it.
“I want those plans,” he says evenly. “I don’t care what you have to do or who you have to fellate to get them.”
Startled, I give him an odd look. “I’m sorry?”
He folds his arms across his chest. “You heard me. It would be extremely detrimental to your future at this school if you decide not to follow through with our bargain. I will make sure that you fail. Is that clear enough for you?”
I’m speechless for a second. “Dr. Montgomery, you should not be talking to me like this.”
He cocks his head. “What are you going to do about it, exactly? This is a very competitive school. If you fail out, there are a hundred more people just waiting for a chance at your spot. Just because Mommy and Daddy bought your way in— “
“What?” I blurt out, frustrated beyond belief.
He gives me a snide smirk. “You don’t think I know who you are? Hmm? I have a copy of your file and it’s full of interesting information. Did you know that your mother agreed to build a whole new wing for our hospital? That’s why you got admitted over other, better qualified applicants.”
God, if I could just crawl under the faded carpet and die instead of having this conversation, I would do so happily.
“I don’t know anything about it,” is all I can say, raising my chin.
He rolls his eyes. “Whatever. It really doesn’t matter. What does matter is whether or not I have those plans in my hands in the next ten days. If I don’t get them…” He shrugs his shoulders. “You can consider your career at this school over. You either do it, or you start applying to a different med school.” He smirks. “Or maybe just quit trying to be anything other than a rich man’s wife.”
