19. Pulling The Pork
Pulling The Pork
Dani
That was mean of me but I couldn’t help myself. Luke just looks so drool worthy in his nylon shorts and tank top that is molded to his fantastic chest. That beautiful tattoo on full display. And now he has been in the bathroom for the past fifteen minutes.
I finish off my sandwich and wheel the chair over to the bathroom door, knocking twice.
"Yeah?" Luke answers.
"You fall in?"
The toilet flushes, water turns on then the door opens, and Luke looks down at me. He totally jerked it in there. His face flushed, and he has a fine sheen of sweat above his lip. And he can’t play it off as it being hot in here. I need a damn sweater. His AC is pumping out air that belongs in the Artic.
"Hey hey buddy. You okay?"
"Daniella," he warns.
"Archer," I mimic.
He raises an eyebrow as his lip tips up slightly.
"Were you jerking it in there?" I ask.
"No."
I give him a knowing grin. "Liar. I have a teenage son who thinks I don’t know what he’s doing in the shower for forty-five minutes."
Luke starts laughing and my stomach sinks. It’s a rich sound that has me tingling all over. And I should not be tingling right now.
"I wasn’t pulling the pork in there." He states.
I start laughing. " Pulling the pork!" I lean over the side of the chair. " Archer!" I scream, tears running down my cheeks from laughing.
Straightening, I wipe under my eyes and take a few deep breathes to calm down. "Dear Christ. I haven’t heard that term used since highschool. That was good," I sigh with a giggle. "Pulling the pork."
Luke is standing in the bathroom doorway with this goofy look on his face.
"What?" I ask.
"Are you free for dinner tonight?"
I narrow my eyes. "Are you asking me on a date?"
"No, I’m asking you if you’d like to stay for dinner." He answers easily.
My brows creep up my forehead. "How is that different than a date?"
He grabs the back of the chair and pushes me over to the desk. "It just is."
He sits in his chair, and I spin to face him. His eyes are concentrating on what’s on his screen.
"Yes," I say after a few minutes.
Luke looks over. "Yes what?"
I roll my eyes. "Yes, I’m free for this non-dinner date."
He turns back to his computer. "Good."
Around eight, Luke starts supper. I wait until he’s busy in the kitchen before I swipe my phone off the desk and run into the bathroom. I pull up Erin’s number and hit the call button.
"Hel—"
"Archer asked me to stay for dinner!" I whisper yell.
"He asked you to dinner!" Erin squeals.
"Yeah, and he’s cooking."
Erin squeals again. "Tell me everything!"
I give Erin a rundown of the day, from what he’s wearing, to what I did with his thumb and his invite for dinner.
"I’m so excited! You going to let him in your pants?"
I groan. "Would you stop with that," I grin to myself. "And maybe."
Erin screams into the phone.
"What! What happened? Is my Doll okay?" Jake yells in the background.
"Dani’s fine. She’s going to fuck her boss!" Erin screams.
"I never said that, Erin!" I scream.
"You said maybe. Maybe means yes." Erin explains.
A throat clears behind me, and I turn slowly, coming face to chest with my hot boss. I lift my eyes slowly, my face burning.
"I’ll call you back." Erin’s still talking as I hang up. He hands over a bottle of beer. "Thanks." I whisper.
Erin is extremely loud when she’s excited, and I have a sneaking suspicion Luke heard most, if not all, of that conversation.
He nods and turns. "Oh, and Daniella,"
I look over at him.
"Nine times out of ten, maybe means yes," he smirks, flashing one dimple, and leaves.
"Oh God." I sink onto the floor as I down my beer. This is going to be the most awkward non-dinner date ever.
I sit in the bathroom until the sweet smell of chicken parmesan makes its way into the room. I walk into the office and peek out the door. Luke is standing at the counter, putting a salad together. He looks relax and content in the kitchen. His knife kissing the cutting board. The ropes of muscles in his forearm flex with every chop and suddenly I find cooking extremely sexy.
"You can sit at the island, Daniella," Luke says.
I jump and step out. "How did you know I was standing there?"
"Your perfume."
My brows furrow in confusion. "It’s not even that strong," I mumble and make my way over to the island, hopping up on the stool. I watch as he moves around the kitchen. Stirring the pasta, checking on the chicken and grabbing two beers from the fridge. He opens one and hands it to me.
"Thanks. Who taught you how to cook?" I ask.
"My Mother. She said every man should know how to cook, clean, do laundry and treat a lady like a queen," Luke answers.
I take a drink. "I tried teaching Mason to cook. He got bored halfway through. I was showing him how to make minute rice." I snort.
Luke chuckles as he scrapes the carrots into the bowl.
"Do you need help?" I question.
"I’m good. Relax. Let me cook for you," Luke replies.
My cheeks heat and I take another drink. He keeps this up and he could very well be getting into my pants.
The timer goes off and Luke grabs the chicken out of the oven before draining the pasta and adding it to the sauce along with the chicken covered in parmesan cheese. He packs everything up and adds it to the basket.
"Shall we?" He grabs his keys and opens the door.
I stare at him confused. "Uh, where are we going?"
Luke glances down at me and grins. "You’ll see."
I step out and the elevator door opens, and we step in. When the doors open again, my breath catches in my throat.
"Oh. Wow," I breathe.
I step off the elevator and stroll over to one of the tables. There are fairy lights hanging over a canopy, the table is set, and there’s a vase with roses and candles sitting in the middle.
I turn to Luke. "You did all this," I wave a hand at the table, "for me?"
Luke places his free hand on my lower back. "I did," he says. He leads me over to the table, placing the basket down and pulling out my chair.
"It’s beautiful. But why?" I sit and wait as Luke pulls the food out of the basket.
"After yesterday, I thought you deserved something wonderful." He plates my food and opens my beer before he sits and gets his own.
I blink quickly, forcing the tears of gratitude back. "Thank you, Luke."
He looks up and smiles. "You’re welcome, Dani."