“There won’t be any jumping onto anything,” I said. “Look, I like Luke, a lot. There are definitely some sparks and I think we could be good together, but I can’t make another mistake like Dain. I can’t lose my head again. One of us could get hurt, and our friendship would be ruined.”
“If you ask me, your friendship would only enhance it,” Kinsley said. “At least, that’s how it was for—”
“You and Aaron,” Chloe and I finished for her in unison.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yes, we know, thank you Miss Poster Child for the Perfect Relationship.”
Kinsley made a face at Chloe. “Jealous, much?”
“Insanely,” Chloe said dryly. “Look, Jenn. Little Miss Perfect is right. You and Luke have known each other for years, hell you live together. You know he won’t hurt you, and you know he’ll treat you right. What are you waiting for?”
“I don’t know.”
It was the truth. The more time that passed, the more I wanted it, but the more afraid I became. “What if it doesn’t work out?” I repeated. “What if we break up and it’s ugly? It would ruin everything. Guys, there’s no way we could all live together after something like that. It would tear us all up.”
Kinsley shrugged. “Don’t worry, you get me and Chloe in the divorce.”
It was my turn for an eye roll. “I appreciate the advice, but we’re just feeling things out right now. Taking it slow.”
“Yeah, glacier slow,” Chloe said.
“You know what you should do?” Kinsley asked.
“No, but I’m sure you’ll tell me,” I answered.
“Invite him to come with us for Thanksgiving. Maybe some time away from here will give you some perspective. Besides, if he gets along well with your folks that only sweetens the deal. You can tell a lot about a guy by the way your family responds to him.”
I thought over that for a while. She had a point. Maybe it could help for me and Luke to have some time away from the apartment. If nothing else, a few days together uninterrupted by class and everyday life would be nice. I knew Kinsley could be counted on to get lost if we needed to be alone.
After I’d finished packing, I toted my suitcase back to my room, passing Luke in the hall. “Hey,” I said, pausing and setting the bag down between us. He was just coming back from class, his guitar case slung over one shoulder. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” he said. “What’s up?”
I twisted the hem of my shirt anxiously, suddenly nervous. “I was wondering … I know you’re probably going to Christian’s for Thanksgiving, but I was wondering if you’d come with me and Kinsley instead.”
Surprise flickered across his face. “Really?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We’re leaving tomorrow, so if it’s too short notice, I understand. I just thought—”
“Jenn.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re doing it again.”
I smiled. “Rambling?”
He nodded. “Yes, but you know how adorable I think it is. The answer is yes. I want to come with you.”
My smile widened. “You do?”
“Sure I do. You know … once I meet your parents we have to get married.”
“Luke!”
He shrugged. “Those are the rules. Well, maybe not right away. You’ll want to graduate first, I’m sure. And I want to be an established musician so we can have a huge wedding. How many kids do you want, six?”
I punched his shoulder and he dropped his guitar case, laughing. “You know, I take it back. Stay here and eat Ramen with Christian.”
“Oh no,” he said, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me against him as I tried to walk past him. “You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”
Chapter 11
Day 56
“Kinsley must think she’s so smart,” I grumbled as Luke’s little Nissan zipped down I-35. “I’m going to kill her for this.”
Luke relaxed in the driver’s seat, his black aviator shades hiding his eyes. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “How do you know she came up with that little plan all by herself? Maybe I paid her off.”
I rolled my eyes behind my own shades. “I wouldn’t put it past you.”
We were making our trip sans Kinsley, since she’d announced that morning that she’d changed her plans and would be spending Thanksgiving with Christian’s family in Luke’s place. “I’m just not up for the drive,” she complained. “I think I’m coming down with something,” she added, faking a cough for emphasis.
So here we were, Luke and I, alone, which I’m sure was Kinsley’s plan from the beginning. “I’m glad it’s just you and me,” he said. “Because then I can do this.” He reached across the front seat and found my hand. His fingers threaded through mine.
I held on, liking the feeling of contentment that his touch brought too much to reject it. I leaned back against the seat. “Yeah, I guess it’s not so bad.”
“Oh, it’s great. Now you can take advantage of me. We are, after all, traveling without a chaperone.” His mouth fell open in mock horror and he gasped.
I giggled. “Just for that, I’m making you drive the whole way.”
“Fine by me, I like driving. Just know that it’s going to cost you.”
“Oh yeah? What’s it going to cost me?”
Luke’s grin was devilish as he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “Flash me.”
I laughed even harder. “So not going to happen.”
“Come on, please? Just one boob.”
“No way.”
Luke shook his head. “Someone’s about to have to do some driving. Okay, just let me see them with the bra still on. Just a peek.”
“I could give you a black eye.”
“Or you could give me a kiss.”
I fell silent and Luke darted a glance at me. “That’s what you wanted all along, wasn’t it?”
Luke snapped his fingers. “Damn it, you’re just too smart for your own good. Was it that obvious? My tactic was to offer you the chance to flash me, and when I asked for a kiss you’d jump at the chance to avoid having to do it. Did it work?”
“You tell me.”
I leaned across the seat, my lips aimed for his cheek. Luke turned his head at the last second and caught my lips, kissing me deeply and taking his eyes off the road for all of five seconds.
“Luke, the car!” I screamed as I broke the kiss, our lips parting with a loud sucking sound.
He laughed, putting both hands back on the wheel. “Relax, there’s nothing in front of us at this point but open road and cows.”
He was right, and somehow he’d managed to keep the car in our lane. Still, I was liable to lose my head and stick my tongue down his throat. We’d end up in a ditch somewhere.
“Still, just for safety’s sake, let’s save kissing for later.”
Luke wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Oh-ho, so there will be more kissing, huh? Now I see. You are planning to take advantage of me.”
“Am not!”
“Sure,” he said, reaching for the radio. “Keep telling yourself that.”
By the time we were two hours into our trip, I couldn’t deny wanting to take advantage. Luke was adorable as he belted out the lyrics to just about every song on the radio, even including some dance moves from the waist up. The day was warm and we let the windows down; Luke even coaxed me into a few duets, though my voice sounded like a bag of cats being smacked against a wall compared to his. When it was just the two of us, I didn’t have to worry that someone would catch us holding hands and pry into our business, or other people trying to tell me what I should do where Luke was concerned. It was nice to just … be. I was almost sorry when the eight hour drive ended and we pulled up into my parents’ driveway.
“Wow,” Luke said, inspecting the house I’d grown up in and the land round it in awe. He whipped off his glasses and took in the white picket fence, my mother’s garden, the tire swing hanging from the massive cedar
tree in the front yard, the red shutters and blue door, and the wraparound porch holding a few rocking chairs and another swing. Beyond the old farmhouse that had been passed down from my father’s father was land stretching on for acres. No one farmed it anymore, so my big brother and I had spent hours in the fields stretching on toward the woods in the distance, playing with the neighbor kids. “This is like something out of a TV show.”
I shrugged. “Just looks like home to me. Come on, I want you to meet my brother.”
Luke got out of the car, slipping into his leather jacket as he did. The sun was setting and a chill in the air. I pulled on my sweater as I closed the passenger door. “Somewhere in that house,” he said as he followed me to the porch, “a dog is laying on a rug chewing a bone, and a woman in a floral apron is baking pies.”
I thought of Duke, our family’s Great Dane, and grinned. “Something like that.”
Someone had left the front door open, and through the screen door I could see Duke laying on the living room floor. The massive black dog jumped up as he heard us approach, and ran, barking happily, toward the door. By the time we got inside, everyone had been alerted to our presence and Duke had tackled me, knocking me to the floor and bathing my face in doggy kisses.
“Hey Duke-y!” I exclaimed hugging the humongous oaf of a dog I’d grown up with. He was old and arthritic, but when my brother, Jared, and I came home he was like a puppy again. He wagged his tail happily and gave me another lick before he let Luke help me to my feet. My parents were standing there smiling, and the warmth of home surrounded me. It always felt good to come back here, even though I enjoyed living in Austin.
My mom was her usual self—salt and pepper hair, round face with ruddy cheeks, and a friendly smile. Luke had been right about the apron, too. I didn’t mind the flour that stained my clothes as she crushed me in a tight hug before passing me on to my father. He was more like me with brown hair and hazel eyes, and a neatly trimmed mustache and beard. He had a few more gray hairs than he did the last time I saw him, but he still smelled faintly of cigar smoke, a scent that I’d missed. I hugged him the longest, inhaling the familiar scent before releasing him and making introductions.
“Mom, Dad, this is Luke, one of my roommates.”
“How are you, son?” My dad extended his hand to Luke. “Mark Nolan, nice to meet you.”
My mom grinned as she pulled him in for a hug. She hugged everyone. “And you can call me Carole. Welcome! Jennifer, where’s Kinsley?”
I shrugged. “She stayed home, sick. She said to tell you hello.”
“Oh, the poor girl. You’ll be sure to take her some leftovers, Jennifer.”
I nodded and smiled. My mom always made enough food to feed an army and sent me home with leftovers. After the holidays, our fridge was always filled with containers of leftover pies, turkey, and all the works. That certainly made the guys happy.
My mom bustled us inside and screamed at my brother to get off the couch and help Luke with our bags. As the guys tended to that, Mom led me to the kitchen, where she ladled a cup of homemade apple cider into a mug for me. I accepted it and took my usual place at the large, scuffed wooden table. The bay window’s curtains were thrown open and the last rays of the sun warmed the little nook. Mom settled in across from me with her own mug, smiling happily. Outside, the guys were on the porch, talking. I could hear Luke and Jared laughing and smiled. I’d known they would take to each other. Jared was a drummer, so they had a lot in common.
“So, it’s nice to meet Luke,” Mom said absently between sips of cinder. “What a cutie.”
I stared at the brown liquid in my mug. “Yeah, he’s great.”
“We weren’t expecting to meet a boyfriend,” she said pointedly.
I was going to deny it, but then she gave me her ‘no nonsense’ look. “Luke is … well, he’s not exactly my boyfriend, but he’s more than a friend. I don’t really know what he is.”
Mom sighed. “I know I’m old-fashioned, Jenn, but you be careful. I know being friends with benefits is what you kids do nowadays, but that doesn’t mean I want that for you.”
“Mom!” My ears burned as I shook my head. “No, it’s not like that, I swear!”
“Hmmm, all right. If you say so, I believe you. Still, I’ll put him in a room next to Jared, on the other side of the house. No funny business, young lady.”
I laughed. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Still, he seems like a nice young man.”
“He is. Mom?”
“Yes, sweetpea?”
I smiled at her nickname for me. She’d been calling me that since I was born, apparently. “Tell me how you and Dad fell in love.”
She smiled and her face got all dreamy, like it always did when she talked about Dad. Twenty-five years of marriage and they were still like teenagers. Everyone knew they were crazy about each other. “Oh, you don’t want to hear that old story.”
“I do,” I insisted. “I really do. I know you’ve told it before, but I’ll admit I didn’t pay much attention. I know you guys were high school sweethearts, but that’s all I know.”
Mom laughed. “I wouldn’t exactly put it that way. Your father and I didn’t become sweethearts until we’d graduated, but we did meet in high school. You see, your father has always been smart.” I nodded in agreement. It was pretty much a fact. It was why he’d been able to support our family on a single income. He was a computer whiz and a math genius. Whenever I brought Kinsley home with me, the two liked to give each other equations and try to stump each other. I know, total nerd fest. “Well, back in high school, he hadn’t quite come into his own yet. He was tall, but gangly and clumsy. It was years before he put on the brawn he has now. But even then he was sweet. Poor thing was picked on mercilessly. I felt so bad for him, that one day I just had to say something.”
“How sweet.”
She shrugged. “I was a cheerleader, which meant I had a bit of sway with the popular kids. I convinced them to leave him alone, and made sure they stayed true to their word. Well, apparently, I must have made an impact, because one day he showed up at my house asking what he could do to repay me. Well, you know I’m horrible at math, and everyone knew he was a straight A student. So I asked him to tutor me.”
“So that’s how it happened?”
“Goodness, no! It was hard for me to see him that way at first. Not because he was a nerd or anything, but because he became my friend. We could talk for hours, and he was always so sweet. I would have never thought anything would come of it.”
I frowned. “I always thought it was like love at first sight with you guys or something.”
Mom shook her head. “If you let your father tell it, he fell in love with me the moment he saw me. But for me, it was different. When your father kissed me for the first time, we were at a Fourth of July barbecue. We were standing near the grill, I was holding a plate waiting for the hotdogs to come off and he just … kissed me. After that, I realized that I’d been missing what was right in front of me that whole time. From then on we were inseparable.”
My frown deepened as I thought of Luke. “Weren’t you worried that it wouldn’t work out? I mean, if you and Dad ever broke up, it would have ruined a great friendship. I always thought, when I fell in love, it would be like a lightning strike, you know? Suddenly, it would just happen and sweep me away.”
Mom chuckled. “Well, sometimes it happens that way, though that part of love never lasts long. Sure, that wobbly-kneed, tongue-tied feeling is magical. That initial spark is a powerful thing, but over time it fades, and all that’s left is a foundation. It’s up to the people involved to make the foundation a sturdy one. That’s why your father and I did so well together. We already had a firm foundation as friends. We knew each other, we were comfortable. Intensity came and went, but friendship was always there. That kind of love is deeper than anything you could imagine.”
Mulling over her words, I sipped at my tepid cider, my eyes wandering to the window and the
dark, wooded area beyond the house. My mother’s handmade mason jar lanterns glowed softly in some of the trees, lighting a pathway to the little gazebo where she and my father had stood on their wedding day. This house had a lot of history for my family.
“I’m sorry if my story wasn’t exciting enough for you,” Mom said, “but it’s the truth.”
I turned back to her and shook my head. “No, Mom, it’s a great story. It just gave me a lot to think about, is all.”
“Well then, I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got more baking to finish before tomorrow, and it’s getting late.”
I drained my cup and gave it to her before standing. “Need any help?”
“Nah. You know I enjoy my baking time. Just me and Billy Joel. I know you don’t like it much.”
“It’s not so much that I dislike it, but if you want this kitchen still standing in the morning, it’s better if I get out of here.”
Mom laughed. “That’s true. Skeedaddle, kiddo. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Okay. ‘Night, Mom.”
“Good night, Jennifer.”
***
I found Luke still on the porch with Jared and my dad. Dad smiled when I approached.
“Hey, princess,” he said, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me against his side. A cigar rested in an ashtray on the porch rail, its smell mingling with the scent of cedar and grass.
“Hi, Daddy.”
“I was just talking about heading off to the kitchen to help your mom. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?”
“Okay.”
He leaned down to kiss the top of my head. “By the way,” he whispered. “I really like your boyfriend. But don’t tell him I said that, I’m enjoying giving him a hard time.”
I giggled. “Daddy!”
He shrugged. “It’s my right as a father and you’re my only little girl. Don’t take this away from me.”
“Don’t be too hard on him.”
He stuck his tongue out at me. “You’re no fun. Good night, guys!” he said to Jared and Luke, who stood on the other side of the porch. Luke has brought his guitar from the car and was leaning against the rail, strumming on it absently. “Luke, I keep a loaded shotgun by the bed. So, no funny business.”
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