Pretty Little Lies

by Jennifer Miller

  “Okay, great. I will see you later, I told my Mom I would be home in time for dinner.”

  I swear I hear a laugh carry on the wind. “Okay, bye, Noah.”

  “Bye, Olivia.”

  I watch him walk away for a moment, then glance again in Luke’s direction and see he hasn’t moved. I sigh and since I was standing on the passenger side of my car, I walk around the front to the driver’s side, pressing the unlock button on my remote. When I reach for the handle to open my car door, I see a pink rose pushed through the handle of the door waiting for me. An automatic smile comes to my face and I put the rose to my nose, smelling its sweetness.

  Attached to the stem is a note.

  “I always want to give you a reason to smile.”

  I smile wider, I can’t help it, my mouth has a mind of its own. I look over at Luke in question and he’s staring at me. When our eyes connect he smiles back at me, giving me a small nod of his head and a sexy wink. I look away, get in my car, buckle my seatbelt, turn the key in the ignition, and begin making my way back to my condo with a smile on my face the whole way.

  Once I arrive home, I throw my keys in the bowl on the table by the door and prepare to give Pyper a hard time about the fact she divulged the location of my date to Luke. Instead the condo is quiet and still; Pyper isn’t home.

  My first stop is the kitchen. I reach up to the cupboard above the refrigerator and grab a bud vase, filling it with water and place my rose inside. Taking it with me to my bedroom, I place it on my bedside table and decide a bubble bath is in order. I’m wound up pretty tight and feel emotionally exhausted from the day, but I’m also still feeling chilled from the cold radiating off the ice at the rink. A bath will be a perfect way to warm up, relax, and let my mind wander and reflect on everything Luke said to me. I’m still reeling from his speech and I just want a nice and quiet space to let my mind relive his words. I want to hear them again in my mind and think about how they make me feel.

  In my bathroom, I turn on the water in the large garden tub so it begins to warm up then take everything out of my pockets and set it all on the counter. After removing my clothes, I take a moment to examine myself in the mirror trying to see what it is about me that Luke still wants. My eyes look better every day, the dark circles continuing to fade. Instead of the frown that’s been glued to my face for nearly a year – my lips are slightly turning up once again. My breasts are full, but high, my tummy flat and my thighs are a little fuller. I can’t deny I’ve got some junk in my trunk, but I like said trunk. I definitely have curves, which can make clothes shopping difficult at times, but I would rather have them than look anorexic. I don’t think my body is the only reason Luke is interested in me, but I have to admit, it isn’t bad.

  I turn away from the mirror and flip the lever under the faucet to close the drain, so the tub begins filling up. While I wait, I take my glass jar of lavender bath salts off the side of the tub and sprinkle some into the water. While the amazing smell of lavender begins permeating the bathroom, I quickly use the toilet, wash my hands and finally step in and ease myself down into the warm water. I sigh and lean against the tub, closing my eyes and reveling in the feel of the warm water against my skin, chasing away the chill.

  I begin hearing Luke’s words over and over in my mind like a mantra.

  “Do what you need to do, date whomever you have to, but I won’t make it easy.”

  “…desperately wants his girl back.”

  “I’m waiting for you to come back to me.”

  I am so tempted, so very tempted to call him and to give in. I want to run into his arms the next time I see him, but I know I can’t. At least, not yet. He still has no idea what I’ve been through, no idea that in a small way, I feel like he’s responsible for my marriage to Deacon. I can tell that my anger at him has simmered some, and I think that it will diminish completely, but it isn’t completely extinguished yet. I know what Luke said about not making this easy for me, but am I ready to commit to him yet? Do I want to start dating him and just him? Not yet, but I know I could get there. I can’t help but hope that perhaps together we can chase the last of my anger away. But for now, I still need a bit more time.

  I grab my shampoo and start scrubbing my hair and massaging my scalp. I love baths and scalp massages. Luke flashes across my mind again and as I grab the shower head and start rinsing the shampoo from my hair, I remember another time when Luke was giving me a scalp massage in the tub and the activity that preceded the massage. Our first time having sex.

  I remember how rebellious Luke and I felt. Each of us lying to our parents, telling them we were staying at a friend’s house was not something we were proud of. Remembering that fact instills a bit of guilt and remorse, even after all of these years, when I picture my parents’ trusting faces as I lied to them. At the time, assuaging the guilt was easy while lying in the arms of the boy I loved. Luke had put cash aside he was earning by helping out at his dad’s office on the weekends. He surprised me with what was definitely a pricey room at a nice hotel in the city. We had spent considerable time talking about what we wanted for the first time we chose to make love and how we wanted the night to be memorable, not just some quick episode in the back of a car or trying to do it at our homes while worrying when our parents might return. I smile, remembering the effort Luke went through, making sure it was a night I would never forget. Closing my eyes, I see the vast number of candles placed around the room, pink flower petals strewn everywhere and even sparkling cider chilling bedside. I thought it was so sweet; he had checked in ahead of time in order to surprise me when I walked into the room. We were both very nervous and while the night was everything I had hoped for, sex for the first time was not like it is portrayed in the movies. We weren’t flawless or perfectly choreographed. I remember the pain at entry, how awkward we were, and the fact I didn’t climax. Yet, all of that was overshadowed by the fact that I was with Luke, the boy I loved. I knew we would figure it all out with time and even giggled to myself when I knew practice would make perfect.

  My tummy tingles, even now when I remember how nervous, yet excited we were when we saw each other naked for the first time. We had let our hands roam somewhat freely before, had touched and felt one another. But that night was the first time we were completely naked together. He was beautiful, lean and muscular from playing football, and I was sure - absolutely perfect. I remember my eyes widening when I looked down and saw how large he was and it made me nervous. I felt embarrassed when his eyes roamed my body, stopping on my breasts and proceeding south, but when his eyes came back to meet mine and I saw the pure need and want in them, combined with his whispered, “I love you so much, Olivia,” I believed I would always be safe in his arms. He made me feel beautiful in every way. I was desperate to be with him and show him how much I loved him too.

  My memories include the two of us afterwards, lying together, catching our breath, and reveling in what we had just done. Luke suggested we take a bath together, my other surprise was that he obtained a room with a large jet tub that had more than enough room for two. I readily agreed, not so much because I briefly acknowledged that the warm water would feel great in all the places where I felt sore, but the idea of taking a bath with Luke was intriguing, to say the least. Once in the tub, Luke and I washed each other’s hair. He massaged my scalp while I groaned in pleasure. What started out as playfully washing of one another resulted in us groaning in pleasure in other ways, as we started exploring each other’s bodies again. That time we seemed to be more relaxed and I got a taste of how amazing sex could be.

  Our first time was beautiful, albeit awkward, but perfect in the pureness of our love for one another.

  I can’t help but compare the Luke from seven years ago to the Luke I see now. He’s still got the same swagger when he walks, although now it’s with more confidence. His hand and facial gestures when he talks are so familiar that it makes me smile to myself; he still smirks and grins exactly the same. His body, tho
ugh, is now all man, and I can’t deny I want to see what he has hidden under his clothes. Desperately. The lean and slightly muscular boy has now filled out, with broad shoulders and defined biceps that his t-shirts do little to hide. When he pressed me against the wall and kissed me today, I had a crazed need to rip his shirt off so I can stop trying to picture what’s underneath and instead, explore the concealed secrets, progressing from theory to fact. I’m betting on strong pectoral muscles and well-defined abs. I wonder if his hip bones form a sexy v that points south. Just thinking about seeing Luke in all his glory makes me ache between my legs. I want him. My body remembers his and I want to explore it with my hands, lips and tongue again.

  I feel like I’m on fire, the warm water only adding to the intensity of sensations. I remove the shower head, turn it back on and turn it to a stronger power and start moving it slowly over my body. I tickle my breasts, roam over my stomach and then reach the spot that’s begging for release between my legs.

  Once I get out of the bath, I put my hair up in a towel and wrap a robe around my body. As I’m tying the belt, I hear what sounds like something clatter to the floor. Pyper must be home; I wonder what she knocked over.

  I walk out of my bedroom and head down the hall toward the kitchen, where I believe I heard the noise, but when I reach it, I don’t see Pyper anywhere. However, the bowl that holds my keys on the table by the condo door is on the floor with my keys a few inches away. Huh. I wonder how that happened. It must have been teetering on the edge of the table when I got home earlier and I just threw my keys in it, not even noticing. I don’t know what the thing is made of, but it must be strong because it isn’t broken. I’m bending down to pick it up, when little miss traitor herself walks through the front door.

  She freezes for a moment when she sees me and before she smoothes it away, I see the guilty look cross over her face, “Hi.”

  “Hello.” I place the bowl back on the table.

  I set the bowl back in its place on the table, placing my keys inside, and turn to Pyper, hands on hips and give her my most annoyed look. She smiles nervously at me. “So, how was your date with Noah?”

  “Really? You are going to pretend like you don’t already know how interesting my date was with Noah?”

  That’s all it takes and the flood gate that is Pyper’s mouth opens, “Look, I’m really sorry, but the man offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse.”

  “Is that right?” I ask, raising my eyebrows at her, “and what exactly was this deal you couldn’t refuse? What was too good to pass up that it was worth what happened to me today when Luke just happened to show up at the same place I was with Noah? Hmmm?”

  A guilty look crosses her face again, “Well um, he showed up here this morning looking for you. He said he was going to see if he could take you out. When I told him you weren’t here, he persistently asked me where you were. So much so that he really started to get on my nerves, and I was willing to do anything to get him to go away.”

  “Uh-huh, sure. I’m on to you, Pyper Elizabeth Lexington. Don’t even try to fool me because I know you! All he had to do was wave around a puny little gift card using the temptation of your favorite shoes or handbag and you were a goner. Forget the fact that you can go to the store any time you want and buy whatever you want. I totally don’t get you, Pyper.”

  “Don’t try to get me or middle name me, Olivia Grace Brooks. I’m a slave to fashion. I’m so sorry! It’s an addiction. When he offered me... ”

  “Nope,” I hold up a hand to stop her, “I changed my mind, I don’t even want to know. That way, whenever you wear whatever it is you buy with your traitor money, I won’t have the desire to take it and burn it, since it obviously means more to you than loyalty to your best friend!”

  Okay, at this point, I am kind of egging it on and giving her a hard time, but she deserves it! Sisters before misters and all that.

  “Okay fine, I won’t tell you, but you’re missing out! They are going to be totally awesome,” she gushes.

  I sigh at her enthusiasm, “Just promise me you won’t do it again.”

  “Was it that bad? I’m really sorry,” but I notice the soft curve at the edges of her mouth she is trying to keep hidden.

  “Are you? Are you really? Why don’t I believe you?”

  “Maybe because you know if he comes knocking again with another pair of…”

  “NO!” I yell at her.

  Pyper laughs, “Fine. What I meant to say is that if he comes bribing me again and it’s as good as the first offer, then I can’t make any promises. Slave to fashion, remember?”

  “You’re impossible.”

  “That’s why you love me.”

  ’m feeling lazy and I don’t want to get out of bed. I dreamt all night long about random things that I can’t even recall now, but when they awoke me during the night, they seemed significant. I’m comfortable all snuggled in my bed and I am seriously considering just staying here all day, but I need to write an article for Trend magazine, do a blog post, and get ready for a date that I’m kind of regretting having agreed to.

  On the table next to my bed, my phone chimes; I pick it up and notice that the time is nine o’clock. I slept in and it feels great, but I could seriously go back to sleep for a while. Looking at my screen I see I have a text from Luke already.

  “Good Morning, beautiful, are you awake yet?’

  I tap the screen to reply, “Morning. I just woke up.”

  His reply is quick, “What? No good before morning? It isn’t a good morning?’’

  I smile, “Ugh. What’s good about it? Please refer to the previous message.”

  “I like knowing some things never change. You’re still not a morning person, huh?”

  My reply, “Mornings suck,” is straight, honest and to-the-point.

  His reply of, “I left you something at your front door. Maybe you will have a good morning after all,” makes me jump out of bed. Crap! I wonder if he is at the front door. I run to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and pull my hair up in a bun. I throw on a pair of somewhat threadbare sweat pants, but they will do, considering I was previously just wearing a t-shirt and panties. Plus, they are really comfy and I don’t care if he thinks I look ridiculous. I didn’t ask him to come over at the crack of dawn. Okay, so it is nine in the morning, but close enough!

  I walk out of my bedroom, down the hall and start approaching the front door with trepidation. I’m being stealthy like a ninja because if he is on the other side of the door I don’t want him to hear me. If he’s standing there, I’m not sure I want to answer yet. Once I get to the door, I put my eye to the peephole and see the hallway, but nothing else. No one is standing right in front of the door at least.

  My phone chiming again makes me jump, almost making me pee my pants. It’s Luke again. “Did you get it yet?”

  I look out the peephole one more time and still, there’s nothing there. I guess if he has to ask me if I got “it” then hopefully that means he isn’t hiding outside of my view from the peephole. I unlock the door and open it slowly. When it is at a small crack, I peek through. I see something on the ground in front of the door, so I open the door all the way to see what it is.

  Two pink roses and a large cup of coffee from Starbucks are sitting there. Before reaching down to pick them up, I turn my head and look down one side of the hallway and then the other and it confirms no one is there. He must have just dropped the items off. I bend down and pick up the roses and I’m pleasantly surprised to feel the coffee is still warm when my hand wraps around it.

  Walking back inside the condo and closing the door behind me, with the roses already at my nose, I go back to my bedroom. The other pink rose Luke left me in my car door is wilting a little bit, but I add the other two to the same vase, set my coffee and phone down, then pick up the vase and take it to the bathroom to fill it from the tap.

  Sitting back in bed, I grab my coffee and take a sip - it’s so good. I really love that he knows just
how to make my coffee. It’s sweet. I set it back down on the table and reach for my phone so I can return his text message.

  I type out a reply, “You didn’t have to do this, but I’m so glad you did. The coffee tastes fabulous and the roses smell wonderful. It is definitely verging on a good morning now.”

  He replies, “I know I didn’t have to, but I woke up thinking about you and I wanted to. I’m taking care of my girl, whether she likes it or not. What is your answer?”

  My heart warms at his words, they give me a thrill. Thinking about me and taking care of me? I like that. A lot. I’m not sure what he’s referring to about wanting an answer though, “An answer for what?”

  “Take a closer look at one of the roses I left you. Specifically the petals.”

  I scoot over on my bed so I can reach the vase and take it off the table. Staring down at the flowers, I notice a small piece of paper that is folded into the petals. I pull it out and open it up. In his tiny handwriting, Luke has scrawled a question, “Have lunch with me?”

  Now, more than ever, I’m regretting the date I agreed to today. I would really love to go to lunch with Luke, but I can’t just bail after agreeing to go. I admit, part of me may be playing a little bit hard to get, but the truth is that aside from Luke and Deacon, I’ve never really dated a whole lot of people. Before I jump back into…well whatever it would be with Luke, I want to experience this. I want to be sure.

  Knowing I need to answer Luke’s question, I start typing out a response, “Luke, I’m really sorry, I already have lunch plans. Rain check?”

  While waiting for his reply, I drink more of my coffee, its warmth feels wonderful going down my throat, warming me from head to toe. It takes a few minutes for his reply to come, “Have dinner with me then.”

  Wow, he’s persistent, I’ll give him that. At this point, it may be easier to just call him but I kind of like texting back and forth, “Don’t you have to work at your club tonight?”