My Lucky Days: A Novel

by S. D. Hendrickson

  My fingers trailed over his neck and then through his hair. The messy strands felt baby soft against my skin. He pulled his mouth from mine, and I opened my eyes, struggling to catch my breath.

  “I knew you liked the hair,” he whispered.

  I grinned at him. “Yeah, I like the hair.”

  He kissed me softly, leaving his hands on my waist. “Well, I really like this sweater. Makes me want to touch you.”

  His thumbs brushed slowly against my sides as our eyes held for a moment. I leaned back, letting his hands explore my body. They ran slowly over the cashmere sweater like he was enjoying the softness of the fabric against my skin.

  Part of me was nervous, yet part of me wasn’t. So many feelings coursed through me at the same time. Lucky cupped my left breast first. And then with his other hand, he cupped the right, holding them both in his palms. The warmth of his hands seeped through the fabric, making his touch feel closer to my skin.

  “Perfect fit.” He grinned.

  I didn’t know if I should laugh or kiss him. “I’m not sure your one good-night kiss credit included touching.”

  “No?” He smirked.

  I shook my head slowly, grinning at him. His hands moved up to my neck and then to my cheeks. Lucky pressed his lips softly to mine, letting his tongue brush against them before pulling back.

  He stared intently into my eyes as he let out a deep breath and his lips twisted into a slight frown. “I need to be honest with you about something.”

  My heart sped up when I realized he wasn’t teasing. I suddenly couldn’t think. Climbing off his lap, I moved back to the passenger’s side. I was so confused as I looked back at him. “Are you saying you haven’t been honest? That you’ve lied to me?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “I promise. Nothing I’ve said has been a lie. I just haven’t told you everything about me. And I need to before this goes any further.”

  I swallowed hard, looking out toward the house. I should just get out of the truck and go inside. This whole thing had been a stupid mistake with a guy like him. This wasn’t me. None of it.

  But I made another mistake and looked back into his eyes. I wanted to glare at him, but I couldn’t. Not when he was giving me that look. He was too cute for his own good. “Okay. Tell me what I don’t know about you.”

  “Okay, the thing is.” He gave me a nervous smile. “I wasn’t looking for someone like you the other night. But I found myself talking to you. And I really liked just talking to you. And you’ve got the prettiest green eyes I’ve ever seen. And kissing you. I really like kissing you. And I would really like to do more than just kiss you right now.”

  And then his grin slowly disappeared. “But you don’t have to say it, Katie. I know you’re not a one-night-stand kind of girl. And I don’t want to be the guy who just fucks random girls after a show. That’s not the life I want.”

  I cringed. “Is that what you normally do?”

  He let out a deep breath and shrugged. “Sometimes.”

  “Oh.” I looked away. It felt strange hearing him admit it, but I think part of me already knew that answer.

  “Once I decided to be serious about music, there hasn’t been much room for me to be serious about anything else. Music comes first. And trying to be here for my family is second. Everything else . . . there just hasn’t been room for it.”

  “I don’t understand. What do you want from me then?”

  “That’s the thing. When I saw you, I couldn’t help myself. Something about you just pulls me in. I don’t know how to explain it. I want to talk to you all night. Write songs about you. Make you smile. Take your clothes off and kiss every inch of you. And I’m not even sure what order I want those things.”

  “Oh.” I stared back at him.

  “That’s why I need to be honest before this goes any further between us. You need to know everything about me and decide what you want to do.”

  “Okay?” Now I really didn’t understand. My heart was pounding harder as I waited for him to continue, but he seemed deep in thought.

  “I’m gone a lot. And I’m going to be gone even more. I said that I live here. That’s true. But I don’t just live here. I also rent a room with some guys in Nashville. I live there part time and here when I can.”

  “Why don’t you live there full time?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve considered going all in and just moving to Nashville. But I’m just not ready for that yet. I feel like my mama still needs me here and Colt and the business and his kids.” He shrugged. “Or maybe I’m the one who’s not ready to leave here.”

  I nodded, understanding his dilemma. Being the one to leave is hard. It made everything hurt—right down to the bone.

  “I’ve also got a manager named Roger Cromwell who books gigs for me. The guys I live with in Nashville are my band. We’re going on the road after the first of the year. It’s bigger and more organized than what I’ve been doing. My first break, I guess. But that’s the truth. I don’t know what my future holds.”

  He picked up my hand, linking our fingers together. “But, Katie, despite all of that. I want to try this with you. And I understand if you’re not willing. Me juggling everything will get frustrating. I won’t be here all the time. All I can do is promise to be here when I can. I’ll always be honest and never cheat. And you will have to trust me. I know that part might be the hardest for a girl especially with what I do. But if you think you can, and you don’t mind me being gone, maybe we could give this a shot. If it becomes too much, just tell me. And I’ll be out of your life. No questions asked.”

  I thought about his words for a moment. They were some heavy stuff. But I got what he was saying. He didn’t want some weekend fling with me. But his life was really chaotic. It could go a hundred different directions at the drop of a hat.

  And then the reality of his proposal hit me. I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend? We just met, Lucky.”

  He laughed faintly. “You can call it whatever you want. But I won’t be talking with anyone else. Or kissing anyone else. Or touching anyone else. If you can try to deal with my life.”

  “I see,” I whispered, looking down at our intertwined hands.

  Lucky had dumped a large amount of reality on me all at once. He was just a guy. But he also wasn’t. I could see that now. And if he was able to make his dreams come true, whoever was with Lucky would have to share Landon Evans with the world.

  It was a lot to process about someone. At least he had told me the truth. “Can I have a little time to think about this?”

  “Sure. I understand.” He nodded his head.

  Neither of us said anything else. The truck had grown cold, and I shivered a little. Part of me wanted to scoot back over to his side and pick up where we left off. But the sensible side of my brain—the one that had controlled my actions for most of my life—said I needed to go inside and think this through.

  “Why don’t you walk me to my door?” I smiled at him.

  “Okay.” He agreed, but I saw the sadness in his eyes before he cut it off with a smile.

  I opened the passenger’s side and jumped out, meeting him in front of the hood. He reached for my hand, holding my fingers as we walked in silence.

  As we reached the steps, Lucky let go and stepped away. “Good night, Katie.”

  He was giving me space and I already didn’t like the distance. And I got caught up in the moment, in the way he made me want things and do things. Leaning up on my tiptoes, I pressed my lips to his. He wrapped his arms around my body, holding me in a tight grip as his mouth moved softly. Lucky was in control again. And I liked it.

  He kissed me deeply. I felt his hands moving over my back, touching me gently. Once again, I found myself melting under the feel of his lips and the way his tongue knew exactly how to touch mine.

  I don’t know how much time passed before he eventually let go. I looked up into his brown eyes as Lucky traced a finger down the
side of my cheek. He let out a deep breath, making a cloud between us in the cold air. “Can I call you tomorrow?”

  “Yeah.” I nodded.

  He gave me one last kiss on the forehead before letting me go. Without his body heat, the cold tried to swallow me up. I ran up the steps to the house. After closing the door, I leaned against it for a few minutes.

  My heart was still beating fast and my lips ached. But a good ache. I think during the course of our first kiss, Lucky really had done the impossible. His mouth had erased every memory of every pair of lips that had touched mine before tonight.

  And I wanted this with him. But part of me was scared. A relationship with a person like Lucky would not be easy. It would be difficult and at the same time, almost like a real-life fairytale. The ordinary girl swept up in the beautiful chaos of a sweet country singer.

  The thought shocked me. Maybe I could be the girl in the fairytale. It didn’t feel so bad. Actually, it felt pretty good. It made me smile. Because he made me smile.

  I walked through the dark house, wearing that big dopey grin. Peyton’s door was open, but she wasn’t home. I didn’t want to imagine where she was tonight. Skylar’s was shut, but that also meant Dylan was there too. I continued on to my bedroom, closing the door behind me. Yet, the smile didn’t leave.

  I got ready for bed and climbed under the covers. I couldn’t sleep. Not after what happened with Lucky tonight. Tossing around, I finally sat up and worked on the grocery list for tomorrow’s trip to the store.

  And then I heard the ding. I knew it was from Lucky before I even picked up my phone.

  LUCKY:

  And as my head touches the pillow,

  Sometimes I have to remember,

  Tonight’s not the end.

  Tomorrow will come.

  And it starts all over again.

  I’ll never stop trying, until your heart is mine.

  ’Cause nothing has ever felt this right.

  Good night, my darling. Good night.

  I read the lyrics again as the flutters went all through me. And suddenly, it all felt so very real. Him. The words. The way he made me feel. And then I typed a response before I could change my mind.

  ME: Okay.

  LUCKY: Okay?

  ME: I want to do this. Whatever this is.

  LUCKY: We will have fun. I promise.

  I sat on a bench next to the student union, staring at the winter flowers as they moved softly in the wind. The blooms were a mix of orange and deep purple, which were supposed to represent black. But the soft petals missed that last bit of deepness, the last piece of the color scale that would push them into darkness.

  “I’m here. I’m here.” Peyton came staggering down the sidewalk toward me. Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail on top of her head. From the direction she came, I assumed my roommate was running late and had to pay to park in the garage again. She would have that place paid for by the time she left here.

  I got up from the bench. Time to enter the chaos of frantic students rushing to class. “We have to run.”

  “I can’t.” She winced. “I’ve got a pounding headache.”

  “That’s called a hangover.” I smiled. “You can do it. Just get there, and I’ll take notes for you.”

  One of these days, Peyton and I would both be educators of America’s youth. That was a scary thought when it came to my roommate.

  “Okay. But let’s just walk. We can still make it on time. Just slower.”

  “Come on. You know we have to at least fast-walk.”

  We had only taken a few steps when my phone buzzed. I stopped walking down the sidewalk as I stared at the screen. My backpack pulled on my shoulders, making the news weigh even heavier.

  He was gone.

  “Why are we not moving? I thought you were in a hurry?”

  I glanced at Peyton who was several steps ahead of me. “I got a text from Lucky.”

  “Sexting before noon. I like this guy.”

  “No, he left.” I let out a deep breath. It was too soon to feel this slight ache taking hold of me. “Says he’s sorry for not being able to tell me goodbye in person. But there’s a cancellation at some bar in Nashville that’s important. They want him to fill in tonight.”

  “Damn. That was fast. You become his girlfriend, and then he hits the road.”

  “I’m not his girlfriend.”

  “You are sooo his girlfriend.”

  “I . . .” But I couldn’t come up with anything to say back.

  “Exactly.”

  My phone buzzed with a second message. I read it while Peyton snooped over my shoulder. And the weight got even heavier. Lucky was already scheduled to be in Nashville later in the week. So he was staying for almost two weeks.

  I guess this wasn’t going to be a gradual dip in the pool. We were going straight into the deep end with a long-distance . . . whatever this was between us.

  Peyton looked at me a second and smiled. “You really got it bad for this guy.”

  I ignored her comment and put my phone away. “Come on. We’re going to be late.”

  “Let’s skip class instead. Go get manicures.”

  “Peyton, we can’t.”

  “Yes, we can.” She took a few steps back in the direction of the parking garage. “And what the hell. I’m getting a pedicure too. I don’t care that it’s winter. What if I meet a guy with a foot fetish? And he wants to kiss my toes, but he cuts his tongue on my jagged nails with paint chips. That would be disgusting. I can’t let that happen. I need to get this taken care of before I hurt someone.”

  I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Only you would use that as a reason to ditch class.”

  “Well, I’m closer to the car than the building at this point. I’ll have to run to even make it. And I can’t do that with my jagged toenails.”

  “You know I can’t skip class, Peyton.”

  “You could. You just won’t.” She gave me a pouty frown. “The world isn’t gonna come to an end if you miss one little class.”

  “It might.” I shrugged. The chimes echoed across campus, signaling the start of my ten a.m. class. The anxiety grabbed me. I hated to be late. It physically hurt my insides. “I have to go.”

  “I still want those notes,” Peyton said, but I couldn’t answer. I was already running down the sidewalk.

  I had been in bed for almost two hours when my phone rang. The grogginess was strong, but I had never fallen asleep. Seeing his name on the screen, I answered with a smile on my face. “Hey.”

  “You miss me yet?” His voice was deep and already familiar.

  “Yes. So much that I haven’t been able to get out of bed since I got your message this morning.”

  He chuckled. “That bad, huh?”

  “Yeah. I’m on a hunger strike until you return. Peyton brought in an IV.”

  He laughed again, which made me smile a little bigger. Lucky had a nice laugh.

  “I really am sorry that I couldn’t see you before I left, but there just wasn’t time before my flight.”

  “It’s okay,” I whispered. “I mean, you said it would be like this.”

  He didn’t answer immediately. “I like it when you’re sleepy. Your voice gets soft with this rough edge. Pretty sexy.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh even though I knew he was serious. I was laughing and feeling the sweet thrill in my chest at the same time. “So my voice does it for you when I sound like I have a five-pack-a-day habit?”

  “Yes. Goes along with my naked image of you.”

  I smiled. “I guess that means you’ve decided that I sleep in nothing while smoking until I fall asleep.”

  “Yes,” he whispered.

  I grinned. It was so easy to fall into this pattern with him. “What about you?”

  “You wanna know if I smoke?”

  “I guess. I assume the answer is no, but we don’t really know each other.”

  I heard him let out a deep breath that ended in a faint laugh. “Well, I do
n’t smoke. Not even when I drink. But I did try it once in the eighth grade. I heard my mama yelling for me to come in the house. I was trying to be sneaky out by the railroad tracks. I thought I dropped it on the ground. But it accidentally fell down in my backpack. And I carried it inside the house.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah. Well, it caught on fire a few hours later while we were eating dinner. My mama thought something was burning in the oven, but it wasn’t on. By the time we figured it out, my backpack was destroyed along with my textbooks and a big hole in the carpet.”

  “Is that really true?” I smiled in the darkness.

  “It’s true. You can ask Colt. I was grounded from everything she could possibly ground me from. Including my guitar. I’ve never touched a cigarette since that day.”

  “I like that story,” I whispered.

  “I like talking to you,” he whispered back.

  He was so good at sliding in the simple words that felt so large when they touched me on the inside. My eyes closed. “I like talking to you too.”

  My head was spinning slightly from how fast this was progressing between us. I didn’t know him. Not really. And not well enough to be this attracted to him. And then suddenly my eyes shot open. “I have an idea.”

  “Sounds dangerous.” His voice got deep as he joked with me.

  “No, not exactly.” I laughed. “It’s a way for us to get to know each other while you’re on the road. We can ask a question every night that we talk. Switch off. One night you ask me, and then the next night I ask you. But whatever question the person asks, they also have to answer it.”

  “So anything goes? Past or present?”

  “Why not?”

  “Can it be dirty?”

  I shook my head, knowing I had stepped right into that one. “Fine. We can um . . . we can talk about how you don’t shower the entire time you’re gone. And you stink so bad that no one will talk to you after a show. Your sweaty pits are totally ruining your career.”

  “Shit.” He burst out laughing. “Well, it all makes sense now. I thought it would be good luck. Thank you, Katie, for setting me straight. I guess I better let you go so I can go buy boxers. I was planning to wear this pair until I came back. Thought I might give them to you as a present. Something to hold while you fall asleep. Something that smells like me.”