“
What’s wrong?” I ask,
curious by his sudden need to stop. He sets me down and leans into
me, running his fingers through his hair. “Lucas? Talk to me.” I
search his face for some kind of clue.
“
I’m sorry. I never meant
to hurt you. I’ve been so unhappy since I left you. And I know it
was my fault. I overreacted and was a complete prick. I love you so
much it hurts. When we were fighting and you brought up the
abortion, it just scared me that it would never work out. You’d
never be happy with me, and always reminded of the past.” He
swiftly kisses my cheek, then my nose, and softly down my neck. He
stops and our eyes lock. Intensely.
“
I can’t imagine never
touching you, holding you or loving you. It killed me, so I thought
not being near you would help. But it didn’t.” I placed both of my
hands on each side of his face, making circular motions with my
thumbs. “Lucas, it was my fault for not letting go of the past and
letting it come between us. For throwing it in your face, when you
had no control of it. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you
needed me.”
He shakes his head, kissing my arms. “You
were. You made me forget about my problems. Just being with you is
more than enough for me. You saved me. The things that I went
through weren’t half as bad as what you’ve been through. I didn’t
want to burden you with more unnecessary bull shit.”
I see a tear slowly roll down his cheek. I
kiss it away as my own tears fall. It’s the most vulnerable I’ve
ever seen him. He hastily wipes his eyes with the sleeve of his
shirt. Once he is composed, he places his hands on either side of
my head on the wall, his face merely inches from mine.
“
By the way, you look hot
tonight.” He whispers in my ear. A shiver runs through me. I move
my head just as he presses his lips to mine again. All of the air
in my lungs has escaped. I remove his shirt in one swift motion and
he throws it on the floor. My hands explore his muscular chest, my
nails digging into his skin. He presses his hip against my body
pinning me in place, his leg in-between mine. “I want you Lucas.
Take me, all of me.” I say against his lips.
His response is immediate. He carefully
removes my dress, pulling it over my breasts down to my feet, I
step out of it. With just my lacy panties on, he carries me to his
room. He gently sets me down on his bed. He opens his drawer,
beside his bed and grabs a condom. He walks back over to me and
hovers, feverishly exploring my body. Suddenly I feel shy.
“It’s like de ja vu.” He recalls the last
time we were in this position. I smile as I remember that night
too. He affectionately tucks a stray piece of hair behind my ear,
grinning. I melt at his touch. “Lucas?” I say his name softly.
“Hmm?” He replies.
“
Why didn’t you ever go to
prom? I mean the other years, aside from this one?” He looks away
almost embarrassed.
“
Because you were always
there with Brady. I always wanted to take you to prom and I
couldn’t handle seeing you in someone else’s arms. So I made it an
appoint to never go, unless we went together.” I frown, not knowing
what to say to take the hurt away. But he saves me by kissing my
neck and trailing feather light kisses down my stomach.
He looks up, watching my reaction to his
taunts. Clearly satisfied, he moves south a little. I stir a little
and he moves his hands across my abdomen up to my chest. Moving up
my body a little, his tongue glides over my skin. It’s all I can do
to not scream in pure agony. He’s torturing me. Finally, he finds
his way up to my lips. Our tongues meet again, rubbing against each
other naturally. He stays a few inches from my body to keep from
crushing me. We break apart and a grin spreads across his face.
“Are you ready?” He asks, searching my face, eyes. I smile. “I’m
ready, when you are.”
Chapter 29
I look at my packed bags and wonder if I
could have done this if Lucas wasn’t going with me. Once things had
gotten better for us, it was the perfect time to ask him to move to
New York with me. He was all for it. I was afraid I’d have to beg
him to agree, but once was all it took.
“
Thank God, because I
couldn’t ever survive the big city without you.” I’d said that
night. It was our graduation night, where we’d decided to inform
our families that we were back together-for good this
time.
“
I knew you couldn’t live
without my sister.” Sarah had told him. We all laughed. It was
times like these, where family was most important and I was blessed
to finally have my family back.
“
Hey, we need to get going
baby. You know how your dad and my parents hate being late.” I sit
on my bed and stare at my suitcase, completely content. It’s a
bittersweet moment, leaving everything and everyone behind for new
possibilities, new beginnings. He sits next to me and puts his arms
around my shoulders.
“
We’re going to visit as
often as we can. I promise you. It will be like we still live
here.” I give him a sidelong glance. “Really? That’s a bit of a
drive or flight just to visit for a few hours. No, I’ll be fine. I
just have to get used to the idea of being on my own. I can handle
it.” I smile. He kisses my cheek.
“
That’s my girl.” Then he
pulls me up and we walk to my new old car Betsy.
It’s my eighteenth birthday today and we are
celebrating, with our families and friends. Apparently, there’s
some big surprise, but no one will tell me about it. I have so many
ideas as to what it could be, but Lucas just shrugs, pretending not
to hear me as he grins wide. Things have never been better for
us.
“
Where are we going
anyway?” I ask him as he gets in the driver’s side. He just smiles
though. How can I get him to tell me? “Oh come on, you can at least
tell me that.” I bat my eyes at him and give him the sexiest look I
can muster. Instead, I end up bursting out with laughter. I’m not
good at batting my eye lids. He looks at me like I’m crazy, then
joins me in cracking up.
“
Babe, must you always try
that? You ought to know by now, that doesn’t work on me. It only
makes you look like you’re on crack.”
“
Maybe I am. Now tell me
where we’re going.” Then I think about it for a minute and lean
close to him, hoping to distract him with trying to be seductive.
“If you tell me, I’ll give you a surprise of my own.” He looks
intrigued. But then he shakes his head. “Not a chance.” I slump
back in my chair, thinking. I grab my phone out of my purse and
text Brooke. “
Where are we going?”
I get a response pretty quick.
“Nu uh, not happening suga.”
“Ugh, this is so not fair.”
He looks at me and sees my phone in my lap.
“Yeah, I could have told you it wouldn’t work on her either. But I
thought I would rather see your reaction when she turns you down.”
I close my eyes and think happy thoughts. Hmm, I want a new house
in the Suburbs but since we’re moving to New York and have a place
already, that’s not it. Oh, happy thoughts. Horses. I like horses.
I want to ride a horse. Lucas laughs beside me, amused by my
attempt to think of something other than what’s going down
tonight.
“
Give up yet?” He asks
casually. I’d like to take his words and throw them at him. But I
smile, through clenched teeth. “Oh I’m fine. I will just be
patient.” He smiles and says “Good. You’ll see soon enough.” Then
he takes my hand and squeezes and at that moment I feel like biting
his fingers.
He gets off the highway and turns on a dirt
road. Only about ten miles down do we then turn on a street called
Lincoln Drive and drive a few more miles, until a building comes
into view. I look at it closely, as he pulls into the parking lot.
It’s a big dark blue building with The Shack written on the front.
Hmm, that’s original. “What is this place?” I ask, as Lucas gets
out to open my door. It looks fancy, in its own way. Noticing my
expression, which reads, “I’m not so sure about this” he takes my
hand and leads me in the building. “Don’t worry. It’s not
a-hole-in-the-wall kind of place.”
“
Isn’t this a nightclub of
some sort?” I ask, worried we would get kicked out.
“
Your dad knows the owner.
He pulled some strings and we’ll be fine. After all, it’s your
birthday and I have a few surprises for you tonight.” He swoops in
and kisses my ear, making my body tingle. “I can’t wait! I love
your surprises!”
“
Oh, you’ll love this
one!” He assures. We walk in and the man at the door, greets us.
“Hello, can I help you?” Lucas starts to speak but is interrupted
by my father, who walks comes over to us.
“
Abby, Lucas.” Then he
turns to the guy and whispers something in his ear. The guy looks
at me and smiles. He holds his hand out for me to shake and says,
“Oh Abby it is. Happy birthday!” I shake his hand and my dad turns
to us. “This is Mark; a former client of mine. He is allowing us to
be in here, for this night only, since it’s for your special
occasion. Our group is over there.”
He points to a big, party table close to the
stage, actually off to the right side in the front row. There are a
lot of people there and at that moment I feel overwhelmed. It’s
just a birthday, why the fuss? It’s my last night with my family
and friends before we leave, so I guess I can understand the
significance of tonight. My dad thanks Mark and Lucas shakes his
hand then grabs my hand and we follow my father to our table.
Brooke and Brady greet me first. “Happy Birthday bestie!” Brooke
yells and throws her arms around my neck. I hug her back and thank
her for being here. “Hey, old lady happy birthday!” Brady says and
he gives me a quick peck on the cheek. I hug him as well. We’ve
been through a lot together and I’m glad we can still be close
after all that’s happened.
“
Abby! Happy birthday big
sis!” Sarah runs up to me and picks me up. I’m taller than her but
not by much so it’s not surprising she can lift someone of my size.
After I acknowledge everyone else including, my step family, as
well as Lucas’s family, Lucas and I take our seats, so we can order
food.
This restaurant has a wide variety of food.
I scan my menu, my stomach growls as if it knows it’s about to be
fed. Lucas leans over and asks “What are you getting?” I look over
the menu again and decide on a steak for dinner.
“
I think I’m getting this
juicy steak with mashed potatoes. What about you?” He considers for
a moment and then softly says “I think I want you for breakfast,
lunch and dinner.” I kiss him on his inviting mouth and pull back
to say, “Wow, that was lame.” He puts his hand to his heart, in a
dramatic gesture and retorts “I’m offended. I was being serious,
but I guess I’ll have to settle for a cheeseburger and fries for
now. But I have a feeling I’ll be getting plenty of dessert later.”
He grins and returns to his menu.
After everyone has ordered food and drinks,
we all sit and talk. It’s pretty crowded, but the bar is really
nice. It has a homey feel to it. Sarah sits besides me and puts her
arms on my leg. “How are you doing?” I can see that she’s been
emotional and I reach out and hug her. “I’ve been great. This place
is really lovely.”
“
Yeah, Lucas had a big
thing planned and had dad’s help arranging it. But you aint seen
nothing yet honey.” I look over at Lucas, who is engrossed in a
conversation with Brady. It dawns on me that they’ve never been too
close before but it really makes me happy to see them getting
along. I smile at the view. Sarah nudges my arm, interrupting my
thoughts. “What is his brother like? He’s hot.”
“
Ashton?” She nods her
head eagerly. “He’s really nice. He’s 21 though.” She leans back in
her chair. “So? I’m 16 now. Age is but a number to me.” She stares
at him and I can almost see drool seeping out of her pursed lips.
“Wow, you’re that into him huh? Why don’t you go talk to him?” She
practically flies out of her chair and says, “I think I’m going to.
Wish me luck.” I lean back and watch everyone engaging in
conversation.
“
Isn’t this a lovely
birthday honey?” My mother sits down next to me and puts her hand
on my shoulder. “Everyone together for the last night before you go
off on your own.”
“
Yeah, it’s wonderful.
Thanks for being here with me.” I put my head on her shoulder and
she takes my hand and holds it.
“
I wouldn’t have missed
this for the world. You’ve got yourself a great guy Abby. I’m so
glad you two made up.” Oh, and made up we did.
It was the perfect way to say I’m sorry.
After our night of blissful intimacy, we lied in his bed for hours
just talking, cuddling. It was better than any prom in the world
and I wasn’t the least bit sad to miss it. It was beyond
perfect.
“
I know, Lucas is one of a
kind. I’m so lucky to have him mom. You will find the man of your
dreams one day too. And we’ll be doing this again and it will be
perfect.” She gives a small smile, which tells me she doesn’t see
it happening or maybe she doesn’t want it?
“
What about Brooke and
Brady? They seem so happy. I’m glad for them.” I nod and look in
their direction, watching them sitting so closely, holding hands
and smiling. “I am too.”
“
I’m proud of you. You’ve
really grown and matured. Thank you for giving your father a
chance.”
“
He’s really changed. He’s
turned into a great man. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you
guys.” Lucas walks up to me and gives me a kiss.