Eighteen
Ameila
I ’m trying to wrangle Pam to make sure she doesn’t wander while we wait for the guys to come get us.
Regardless of how old we get, that’s the one thing she always does when we go out and she starts drinking. I love her, but I’m tired, and it seems Luna is also a wanderer when drinking. Next time I’m going to put a GPS tracker on them so it’s easier.
I was having a blast tonight . . . I am having a blast, but after the Brian encounter, I’m just ready to head home.
I’m laughing at something Abby is talking about when I see movement out of the corner of my eye, and my breath catches when I see Luke walking toward me like he’s on a mission.
I’ve never had someone look at me like that before, and I can feel the buzzing under my skin. He’s wearing his usual outfit of fitted jeans and a fitted shirt.
Even from here, I can see his tattoo peeking from the bottom of his sleeve, and I want to know what the rest of it looks like more than anything.
“Ohhh looks like lover boy is here,” Pam says, and Abby and Luna just laugh.
“Oh, is Farmer Joe stopping the guys?” Luna says.
“Why do I feel like we’re being told on?” Pam groans. “We didn’t even do anything wrong.”
As the guys talk to Farmer Joe, Luke’s smile disappears and his posture goes rigid.
I groan and say, “Why do I feel like we’re going to have to stop a fight tonight? I’m too old for this.”
The three men turn and look behind us at where I know Brian is sitting, and I hope the fact that Brian and Noah are on the force together will keep this from going where I know Sam wants to take it as his eyes flash with anger.
All three guys say their goodbyes to Joe and Ann and start walking toward us, and before I know it, Luke is standing before me. I have to crane my neck back to look him in the eye.
“Hi,” I whisper. I’m blown away by how good looking this man is every time I see him.
I swear his piercing green eyes can see into my soul, and his strong jaw is tense with annoyance. He takes a step closer to me, and his scent envelops me—cedarwood with a hint of smoke from work that he can never really wash off. I can’t stop myself from leaning forward to be closer to him.
Did I just lean closer to smell him? Why am I this way . . .
“Hey, sweetness,” he says with a smirk, and faster than I can track the movement, his hand is behind my head, and he pulls me so close that I have to half stand on my stool. Without hesitation, I grab onto his arms for balance.
The moment his lips touch mine, the rest of the bar fades away. He moves my head the way he wants, and when I feel pressure on my scalp, I groan, and he takes that opportunity to deepen the kiss.
I lose myself in the kiss as my whole body lights up. I don’t even care that we’re in front of half the town. Every time his tongue brushes mine, I can feel it between my legs, and I bite his lip before soothing it with my tongue.
This kiss feels like a claiming and a promise all in one. I have no idea how much time has passed, but I hear Sam yell, “Get a room! I don’t want to see you kiss my sister like that.”
Pulling away, I blink as my senses come back to me, and I look up at Luke. He’s looking over my head, and when I follow his gaze, Brian is staring at us with a venomous look.
“What’s his issue?” Sam says.
“He doesn’t like being turned down or feeling like he lost something. I honestly don’t think anyone has told him no before Amelia,” Abby says as she shrugs.
“She isn’t an object, and she’s allowed to say no. She’s said no since the first time they met,” Pam says.
“Can we just leave it alone? I don’t want him to ruin our night.” I say, even though I’m just as annoyed because they’re right.
When I moved here, I wasn’t in the right headspace to even think about a boyfriend or, hell, even a hookup situation. Maybe I was too nice at first, and he thought I wasn’t serious, but regardless, I’ve told him no every time he’s asked me.
“We didn’t interrupt guys’ night, did we?” I ask.
“Nah, we were just finishing up some Mario Kart . It was perfect timing. Even if we weren’t done, I would have come up here to get you guys,” Luke says.
I fight a shiver as his fingers brush the back of my neck when he slides his arm around my shoulders.
“That’s really nice, guys. We appreciate it,” Luna says.
I have to smirk at how Noah is standing just close enough to her to let everyone know he’s interested, and she has no idea. I just look at Pam, who has a matching smirk.
“Okay, whose cars are here?” Noah asks.
“I have my Jeep, and Abby drove her car. I’m okay to drive. I just know Abby and Luna have to work tomorrow, and I didn’t want them to have to get up earlier than they need to,” I say.
“I’ll drive you home, sweetness, no worries. Pam, do you want to ride with us since you live in the same subdivision as Am?” Luke says.
“Yeah, as long as there’s no road head while I’m in the car,” she says, snickering.
“I’ll take Luna home,” Noah says without taking his eyes off her.
“It’s not out of your way, right? I don’t want to impose,” she asks shyly.
“Nah, it’s on the way,” he reassures her.
He lives on the opposite end of town, so it is out of the way, but I’m not saying anything.
I like him for her, and I feel like he’ll treat her well. Well, he better because if he doesn’t, cop or not, I’ll cut a bitch if he hurts her.
“I guess that means I’m stuck with you driving me home,” Abby says to Sam.
“Guess you are, babe,” he says back.
I just look at them as Abby tries not to make eye contact with Sam. I swear to god, if that womanizer pissed off one of my new best friends so soon after moving here, I will make his life hell.
Pam is starting to wander toward the bar, so I grab onto her shirt. “I need to get you a damn leash, Pamela.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” she says, laughing.
“Why the fuck are you guys so gross? What part of I don’t want to hear that shit from you guys don’t you get?” Sam says as he pinches the bridge of his nose and looks at the ceiling, mumbling something about sisters and how we make his blood pressure higher than it should be.
“What? Does that make you uncomfortable? That’s shocking, since you’ll basically fuck anything that has two legs and a vagina,” Abby says.
Luke snorts, and I can’t stop the smile that takes over my face because I love it when someone calls Sam out on his shit. I love the guy, but she’s right—he will flaunt it around all day, but the second Pam or I talk about it, he goes into big-brother mode.
I turn my head into Luke’s side to hide my yawn, and I hear him say. “Alright, is the tab closed? It’s time to get you ladies home before you turn into pumpkins.”
“Yeah, we’re good to go,” I say as I grab my and Pam’s stuff.
Noah grabs Luna’s stuff, and Abby ignores Sam as she slings her purse over her shoulder. Sam is looking at her like a challenge, and as soon as Abby turns to walk toward the door with Pam, I pinch Sam’s nipple.
“Ouch! What the fuck, Am!” he says, rubbing his nipple.
“I swear to all that is holy, brother or not, I will kick your ass if you go after Abby for a booty call. She’s our good friend. Do not go there,” I say as I glare at him.
Throwing his arms in the air, he says, “You’re dating my friend! What’s the difference?”
“The difference is you don’t date. You sleep with a woman once or twice and then just leave them. You run at the idea of a commitment, and she doesn’t deserve that.” I turn on my heel to look at Luke, who’s smirking like he approves of what I just said.
“Are you ready?” I ask him.
“Whenever you are, sweetness,” he says, and my eyes widen because I think he means more than just leaving the bar.
I look around the table one more time to make sure I grabbed all our stuff, and I meet Brian’s gaze. I can feel his anger as he stares at me and mouths soon .
Soon what? What is his issue?
His friends are either unaware or ignoring him as they continue their conversation.
I feel a hand on my back and look at Luke.
“Got everything?” he asks.
“Yup, let’s go before Pam starts to wander home,” I say and walk toward the door.
I reach back to slip my hand into his, and as our fingers lock together, a sense of rightness overcomes me. We head out to the Jeep, and Pam is standing with Noah and Luna next to it.
“Where’s Sam and Abs?” I ask.
“Do you think they slept together? Abs would have told us, right?” Pam says out of nowhere.
“Maybe, but I already threatened him to keep it in his pants with her. If he doesn’t, we’ll put laxatives in the next batch of cookies I make for him,” I say with a smirk.
Luna laughs a deep belly laugh and says, “That’s hilarious. I’ve never thought of something like that.”
Noah laughs too and says, “Yeah, I’d pay to see that.” Then he turns to Luna. “Are you ready to go?”
“Umm, yeah, whenever you are. Are you sure it’s not out of your way?” she says, starting to lose the confidence she had a few minutes ago.
“I promise it isn’t out of the way. Let’s go, pretty girl,” he says.
I grab her and hug her. “Thanks for coming out tonight. I had a great time. Trust him, he’s a good guy.”
Pam hugs her next and says something that I can’t hear, but a blush creeps up Luna’s cheeks. Luke and Noah do the chin lift that men do to say bye, and we all get into the Jeep as Noah steers Luna to his car.
Luke opens our doors for us.
“I mean it—I know you have cobwebs in your vajeen, and I’m all for you dusting them out with Mr. Hottie Pants here, but no funny business while I’m in the car,” Pam says as she climbs into the Jeep.
“Good golly, Ms. Molly. I made out with a guy one time in the same car as you. One time!” I say as I climb into the front seat.
Luke snickers at our bickering and closes the doors before walking to the driver side.
“Something funny there, buddy boy?” I say to him.
“Nope, but Sam did tell me you two are entertaining, and I have to agree with him.”
“If you want to stick around, you better get used to it. I’m not going anywhere. Dick face before you tried, and I’ll be damned if you try to pull shit like that. Sam won’t be the only one getting laxatives,” Pam says.
Turning to look at her, I fight the lump in my throat.
Leo did try to drive a wedge between us, but she never gave up on me.
No matter what he tried to do, I knew I had her in my corner, and I won’t let anyone isolate me like that again. I lost a lot of people—who I thought were my friends—in that relationship.
I feel Luke’s hand on my leg, and when I look at him, he gives it a squeeze.
“I have no plans on coming between anyone. I would never stop Amelia from having a life outside of our relationship, and I’ll support her any way I can. I never want to hold her back,” he says without taking his eyes off the road, and I just stare at him.
I didn’t realize until right now how much I needed him to say that out loud. I slide my palm over his hand, and he flips it over. Without hesitation, I weave my fingers through his.
“Damn right! I knew I liked you when we met before I moved here,” Pam says.
Luke bites his lip to hold back his laugh as he shakes his head.
“Are you laughing at me up there? I’ll take back my approval.” She leans back and crosses her arms.
“I would never laugh at you, only with you,” he says.
Time for me to save him. “Do you know where she lives?” I ask.
“Yeah, I’ve been there with Sam,” he replies.
“Cool,” I respond as I lean back and close my eyes.
I don’t know how much time has passed when I feel a hand under my knees. As I open my eyes, I realize Luke is carrying me.
“I didn’t mean to fall asleep. You can put me down.”
“Nah, I’m enjoying it. You just have to put your code in the door.”
“Pam got in, okay?” I ask, but I know he wouldn’t have let me sleep if something was wrong.
“Yeah, I carried her in as well. You both passed out at the same time. It was kind of weird, to be honest,” he says with a soft laugh. “Put the code in, sweetness.”
He starts to put me down, and as I slide down the front of his body, I’m suddenly not so tired anymore. I enter my code, and we walk in.
My eyes pop wide as I slap my forehead. “Shit, how are you going to get home? I kind of stranded you here.”
“I can text Sam to come pick me up. It’s not a big deal,” he says. “Let’s get you settled, and I’ll take care of it.” He leans over and kisses my cheek, then bends down to scoop up Ginny as I go to let Penny out the back door.
“Did you have a good night?” he asks me from the kitchen.
“Yeah, that was the first time the four of us went out together, and it won’t be the last.”
“Did Brian bother you?”
“I mean, no more than usual. He always tries to shoot his shot, and I just always shoot him down. It’s weird how he goes from an annoying, creepy guy who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer to the town’s golden boy within seconds. Although I’m guessing Farmer Joe is not a fan, based on how he acted tonight,” I say with a smirk as I walk toward him.
“Yeah, he told us what happened. He wasn’t happy.”
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug, and I sink into him. He rests his chin on my head and runs his hands up and down my arms. That’s all it takes. It’s like five years of pent-up need hits me all at once.
With my face in his chest, I say, “You know, you don’t have to leave. I don’t have to work early tomorrow. I just have to check the water pH levels. You can stay here.”
“I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable, Am. I promise I can call Sam, or if you want me to stay, I can crash on your couch,” he says, pulling back and tucking my hair behind my ear.
“Or you can sleep in my king-size comfy bed,” I say quickly before I lose my nerve.
He groans and drops his forehead to mine, looking me in the eyes. “You drive a hard bargain there, sweetness. Are you sure you’re okay with that?”
“I wouldn’t have offered it if I didn’t mean it,” I say without breaking eye contact, willing him to see that I mean it.
He must like whatever he sees because the next thing I know, he backs me up against the wall and kisses me like his life depends on it.
Unlike the bar, this kiss is full of hunger. I pull him closer to me, and his hips press into mine. I feel the length of him and groan. I roll my hips, and he pulls away.
Breathing hard, he looks at me. “All we have to do is sleep. Nothing else has to happen tonight.”
“But what if I want something to happen?” I say with a smirk.
“Baby, we can do whatever you want. I promise I’ll never take it further than you want. If at any point you want to stop, we stop.”
“Okay,” is all I can say.
My whole body is vibrating with need, and it feels like I’m being lit up from the inside. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted someone as much as I want Lucas Grant right this moment.
“Go get ready for bed, sweetness, and we’ll figure it out from there,” he says, and I appreciate that he’s giving me the space to decide how far I want to go tonight.
But I know what I want, and what I want is him, so I’ll humor him. I turn around and walk to my bedroom, but I look over my shoulder and peel off my shirt.
Letting it fall to my feet, I say, “There’s an extra toothbrush and toothpaste in the spare bathroom still in the package. You can use it. I just need ten minutes.”
I can see the heat in his eyes as he stands at the beginning of the hallway, frozen in place. With a wink, I turn and head into the bathroom to brush my teeth when I hear him groan. “Your mom is going to be the death of me . . . but what a way to go. Eh, girls?”