Authors: Heidi Hutchinson
Mike let the chuckle
out now; he enjoyed giving his best friend a hard time. Luke didn't
really have crushes, so there was so much more material to be worked.
Luke had never had a hard time getting women. He'd usually just give
them a lip curl and a wink and they were suddenly topless. To Mike,
it was very interesting to see Luke struggle so much with basic
conversation around a girl.
“
Maybe
you can help put lotion on her back,” he continued to tease.
Luke huffed and
closed the door to the back lounge, leaving Mike on the couch
laughing.
***
“
What's
in the notebook?” Mike asked with curiosity, nodding towards
Lenny. She looked up and Mike thought he detected a bit of panic on
her face, but she quickly smoothed it out.
“
Just
my journal, sort of,” she muttered, closing it and tucking it
back into her bag.
“
You
don't have to put it away, I was just wondering,” Mike
reassured.
“
I
was finished anyway,” Lenny's dark blue eyes connected briefly
with his and he gave her a small smile.
“
You
writing the next Great American Novel?” He kept it light,
still trying to get a good bead on her.
“
Hardly.”
She tucked a stay hair that had come out of her braid behind her
ear.
She stood up and
stretched her arms over her head. “These long hours on the bus
sure do get my muscles all bunched up.”
“
Yeah,
you seem like you're pretty active. The drive must about make you
crazy.” Mike gauged her reaction to a personal assumption
about herself. If it bothered her she didn't show it.
Getting to know the
'real' Lenny was Mike's new hobby. She was an expert at deflection
and ambiguity. It didn't upset Mike or bring him any cause for
worry. To him, it was a new way to pass the time on the long drives.
“
It's
not so bad.” Lenny answered with a sigh. “Besides, it's
not every day I get the opportunity to travel with one of the world's
greatest bands.”
And there it was,
deflecting his personal inquiry into a compliment about the band. It
was her MO. If a question required a personal answer, she would
stroke the ego of the inquisitor. It was like a weird game of chess,
with words and presumptions being the moving pieces. Mike loved it.
“
Carl
said you go running during sound check everyday,” Luke joined
them from the back lounge. He'd been noticeably absent, Mike
thought. Usually wherever Lenny was, Luke was hanging around nearby.
But he'd kept his distance most of the day, which Mike didn't
understand. He clearly liked the girl.
“
Yeah,
it's a habit I picked up a few years ago.” Lenny averted her
eyes and sat back down.
“
I
usually run in the mornings when we park. You should join me
sometime.” Luke's lead singer confidence was back to oozy
goodness.
Lenny's eyes flashed
to Luke's for a second and Mike was certain she almost blushed.
These two were so attracted to one another, and continued to fail at
pretending as if they weren't, that it was almost comical to witness.
“
Unless
you think you wouldn't be able to keep up.” Luke playfully
provoked when Lenny didn't answer right away.
“
That's
the least of my worries.” Lenny gave him a sideways smile. “I
like to run alone, helps me think.”
“
I
promise not to talk,” Luke pressed, “You won't even
notice I'm there.” Mike was beginning to wonder if they noticed
he
was even there.
If
Mike's attempts at divulging Lenny's carefully concealed inner-self
was like chess, then whatever it was that Lenny and Luke did was like
fencing. Fluid. Graceful.
Advance.
Passata-soto
.
“
Then
why do you want me there? Do you need a bodyguard?” Lenny's
tone turned playful.
Opposition
Parry
.
Luke
guffawed, “Maybe. Sometimes I get scared.” He winked at
Mike. “There could be bears out there.”
Forward
Recovery.
“
Oh
yeah,” Mike verified, “Luke picks up wild animals like
nobody's business.” He wasn't sure if he was helping or even
what he was helping with; Luke still hadn't made any declarations to
him about his intentions with Lenny.
Lenny let out a
small laugh and she pulled her legs up under herself in the chair,
slipping off her shoes.
“
I
guess it wouldn't hurt.” She gave Luke a serious scowl. “But
I run with a purpose, it's not a fashion show for me. I plan on
looking ugly and unkempt.”
“
Good,
better to scare away the bears.”
Flick.
***
Lenny wasn't sure
when she had drifted off. She remembered talking with Mike and Luke
about the new song they had been trying out the past couple of shows.
Then they had lunch. Sandwiches.
Mike decided to get
Lenny involved in his favorite soap opera. He had waved her over to
the couch so she could have a better view of the show and she settled
in between the two men.
The
next thing she knew, she was laying in the middle of a field under a
perfect bluebird sky. She hadn't seen a sky this crystal clear in so
long. The wildflowers surrounding her smelled clean and masculine.
Masculine? Wait a minute, that's not right. But it felt sooo right.
Lenny rolled onto her side and inhaled deeply.
Mmmmm,
you smell like snowflakes.
She
heard thunder in the distance, a storm must be coming. She felt the
ground rumble beneath her and her eyes flew open when she realized it
wasn't thunder but a very deep, hearty chuckle.
A man's chuckle.
Lenny sat up so
quickly her vision darkened. She tried to focus on something,
anything. Mike was gone. The TV was playing but on mute and the
cabin was the golden colors of early evening.
“
Whoa,
calm down, Len.” Luke's voice was gentle as he placed his warm
hand on the center of her back to steady her. His blonde, messy hair
swung across his forehead, covering his eyes.
“
I'm
sorry, I didn't know I fell asleep.” Lenny's neck was heating
up and she used one hand to wipe the side of her face. It was as bad
as she feared. Drool.
“
It's
fine, you were obviously tired. You work your freaking ass off; I
think you've earned yourself a nap.” Luke's fingers had
started to make small circles on her back, soothing her. They worked
their way up to her braid and tugged on the elastic, pulling it free.
“
I
didn't mean to...um...drool.” Lenny was humiliated. She moved
to try to stand up but Luke put his other hand on her knee, stopping
her. The warmth from his touch seemed to melt her to the seat.
“
Really,
Lenny,” he said sincerely, making sure to have eye contact,
“You didn't do anything wrong. You need to learn to take a
break sometime.” His fingers were still working into her hair
and untangling the tight twists of her braid.
Lenny gave him a
tight smile, wishing she could believe what he was saying. But what
if Carl had walked in at that moment? How could she explain why her
head had been in the lap of a rock star? She'd have been fired for
sure. No, she would have to be more careful.
And she really
needed to stop whatever black magic Luke was doing to her hair.
“
Besides,
who doesn't like being told they smell like snowflakes?” Luke
was trying not to smile but he was failing.
Lenny's
eyes widened as she realized she had said that
out
loud
!
How else could she embarrass herself today?
“
I
was dreaming,” Lenny muttered, coolly moving Luke's hand off
her knee and tensing to stand up again. Luke's hand in her hair held
her still.
“
Give
me minute,” his deep voice commanded. His fingers found the
knot in her muscles at the back of her neck and started a gentle, but
firm, massage. Lenny let out a small sigh as he worked the tension
free.
“
Dreaming
about me or snowflakes?” Luke whispered low in her ear,
causing goosebumps to raise on Lenny's arms.
“
Neither,”
Lenny muttered and she finally broke out of his spell and got up and
crossed to the other side of the cabin, settling back in her chair.
“
Can
I have my hair tie back?” She asked, holding out her hand and
disliking the breathless way her words had come out.
Luke's face was
unreadable as he watched her. “No,” he finally said,
“I've noticed you've been getting headaches and I'm worried
that braid is adding undo pressure.”
Lenny sat back at
his statement. It made sense. Her headaches usually blossomed right
at the base of her skull where the top of her braid began. But she
had no idea that he had been noticing those things about her. Her
goal had been to be as invisible and as unassuming as possible. The
last thing she wanted was attention.
“
And
since I can't get you to take any regular kind of break, the least I
can do is require you to let your hair down,” he grinned at
her, “so to speak.”
Luke's smile caused
warmth to fill her appendages and she bit the inside of her cheek to
keep from smiling back.
“
Besides,
you wear that damn thing every day; it's time for a change.”
He wrapped the hair tie around his wrist and gave her a serious look.
“And anytime you need me to work on the tension you have
building in your neck, you let me know.” He arched an eyebrow
flirtatiously.
“
Sure
thing, boss.” Lenny replied, seeing the slight tick in Luke's
jaw when she said the word 'boss.' He didn't like being reminded
that they had a working relationship but one of them had to right the
rocking ship. He was getting too familiar and she had to keep him at
a safer distance.
Lenny flipped her
head over and shook out her hair, pulling the strands through her
fingers and releasing any tangles. She couldn't deny that it felt
good to have it free. Every follicle was rejoicing in triumph. Silly
follicles.
When she righted
herself she saw Luke staring at her with hazy eyes. She knew what
that look meant, she'd seen it before, on other men looking at other
women. She didn't understand why Luke was directing that kind of a
look at her. She knew she wasn't ugly but she wasn't anything
beyond...ordinary. She chose to ignore it and pulled out her cell
phone to check for any messages.
A couple texts from
Harrison in regards to Blake eating the last of his Crunch Berries, a
dirty joke from Sway and an ETA from Carl.
“
We
should be in Virginia Beach soon.” Lenny informed Luke, hoping
the subject change would snap him back to reality.
“
You
really going to the beach tomorrow?” Luke asked, shifting into
a casual slouch on the sofa. The setting sun cast shadows in the
cabin and darkened his face so she couldn't read his expression.
“
Yep,”
Lenny lied. She hated that she had to lie.
“
You
could come fishing with me and Mike,” he offered slowly.
Lenny cleared her
throat. Honestly? She would much rather go fishing with Luke and
Mike then have to play party to Carl's paranoia. But that wasn't an
option. “No, I think I better work on my tan.”