27. Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-One
I Was Tired. That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It
Kaden
“F aith, what’s going on?” Concern in my voice once Luke walks away.
“Nothing, Dakota is too nice. Clingy. I can’t deal with it right now,” She rattles off, waving down the bartender again. “You’re doing shots with me. You can’t make me drink alone.”
She orders a quad of Tequila shots not even giving me a choice. I’d do anything for Faith, and she seems to really need someone right now, so of course I slam both shots back with her and chase them with my beer.
We talk for a little while longer, both singing to a random song the DJ played at one point. We order another round of shots. Her bad mood seemingly gone makes me happy, until she takes her phone from her back pocket, having received a text message. She reads it and frustration bleeds from her as she puts it back in her pocket.
“I’m running to the restroom. I’ll meet you back over there.” She walks away without another word.
I think Lanie and I are going to need some alone time with Faith to figure out what’s going on with her. She’s been acting weird lately. The way she’s treating Dakota is strange when he’s been nothing but nice to her the couple times they’ve met.
As I’m walking back to the little corner we have taken over, I feel the effects of the shots and more than a few beers I’ve had. I think I should have eaten something more substantial than a few French fries before coming here.
I sit down next to Luke who’s talking with Dakota on his other side. Jackson and Lanie are chatting with Connor. Gabe and Ender seem to be lost in their own conversation.
Luke’s hand impulsively lands on my thigh, squeezing it, sending shivers through my body. I drop my head onto his shoulder needing to be as close as possible that our surroundings allow us. Dakota gets up from the couch and walks towards the restrooms. Luke turns his attention towards me.
“You having a good time?” He asks, nuzzling my head.
“Yes. This is nice.” I stifle a yawn, the alcohol making me sleepier than I already am at this time of night. “Hey, why didn’t you tell me it was your birthday?”
“Because it’s not.” I try to make sense between what Luke said and Jackson saying it was his birthday earlier. The grin tells me all I need to know. “Tomorrow is my birthday.”
“Ha ha, very funny. Two strikes against you now.” He can’t claim I didn’t warn him.
“Two?”
“Avoiding telling me and being a smartass about it.”
“I wasn’t avoiding for any other reasons than, it’s just another day and I’d rather tonight be for Lanie.”
Why does he have to be so sweet?
Luke checks his watch, “It’s almost midnight. You have work tomorrow, right?”
It’s later than I thought. “No, I asked Kelsey to reschedule all my appointments for tomorrow on Friday. I knew after the weekend away and tonight I’d need some rest.”
“How many beers have you had?” Luke laughs as he asks the question.
“I don’t know, a few. Faith also made me do some shots with her. Earlier Jackson had me doing shots with Lanie. I lost count. Why?”
“You might be a little drunk, Angel.” He teases, raising my chin with his free hand, capturing my lips with his. I can’t process what he means when he’s distracting me with his soft lips and snaking tongue.
“Get a room!” Connor has decided he’s the PDA police tonight.
I groan in annoyance when Luke pulls away, laughing at Connor.
“That’s our cue. See you guys later.” Luke stands holding his hand out for me to grasp.
We make our rounds of goodbyes. Walking towards the door Luke waves to the bartender. I’m thankful he wrapped his arm around my lower back, his hand holding onto my hip, grounding me as I’m overcome with exhaustion mixed with a buzz. My head lands on his shoulder as I lean into him.
When we get to his Jeep he opens the door for me, with a hint of laughing under his breath. “You’re more adorable when you’re drunk, if that’s possible.”
“I’m not drunk. I’m tired.” I huff as he buckles my seatbelt for me. I take the opportunity from our close proximity to palm the bulge in his jeans and give it a hard squeeze. He gives me a stern look. “What?” I innocently bat my eyelashes at him.
“Behave yourself.” Luke orders, kissing me and closing my door.
The drive to wherever we are going is quiet aside from the faint sound of music Luke put on. My wandering hand keeps getting snagged and put back where it started on the top of his thigh. I give up the fight and relax with my head against the window.
When I open my eyes, we are parked outside Luke’s building and the back of his fingers brushing along my cheeks. Once he sees I’m awake he gets out and opens my door for me.
He guides me up to his apartment and straight to his bedroom. I hear Fred screaming for attention as Luke undresses me down to my boxers and coaxes me into bed. He goes to walk away but I stop him, latching onto his hand attempting to pull him onto the bed with me.
“I’m just going to get some water for us. I’ll be right back.” I let go and get comfortable under his covers feeling the bed dip as Fred snuggles up behind me.
I hear Luke come back into the room, getting ready to join me. As soon as I feel him slip under the comforter with me our bodies join together in the middle, wrapping myself around him. “Happy Birthday, Luke. I hope you had a good night.”
“Thank you. Being with you here makes it a hundred times better than any other birthday.” His lips brush my forehead. I hear myself mumble something as I drift off to sleep. Luke’s arms closing tighter around me is the last thing I remember.