Chapter 31
Austin
“I kicked ass.” Luca smiles up at me with stars dancing in his eyes.
“You really did.”
“I didn’t think I’d be able to do it.”
I didn’t either. Not because I don’t think Luca is capable, but because Jasper is a big fucker, and he’s difficult to get on the ground.
I saw him nursing his ribs after the last time Luca dropped him.
I also saw him wince when he told Luca that he was pretty sure he’d mastered the move, so really, I think he wanted to be done for himself more than anything else.
I laugh. “You got him good.”
Luca blows out a relieved breath, looping his arm through mine.
With each of our self-defense classes, he becomes more and more confident in his ability to fight off an attack. After months of him being here, I’m not sure it’s really needed. If Damien was going to do something stupid, I think he already would have.
Sure, at first, I watched out for him, but now? There’s no reason to. Luca has been thriving, and he hasn’t heard a word from Damien. Sometimes it feels like we all got off a little too easily. If I lie awake in bed at night thinking about it too hard, it’ll freak me out, so I try not to.
Luca doesn’t seem concerned, at any rate, and he knows Damien far better than I do.
“What are we gonna do tonight?” Luca asks when we get to my truck.
“I’m not sure. Is there anything you want to do?”
I open his door and help him in, waiting until he’s buckled to shut the door and go around to my side. When I climb in, Luca’s blowing on his hands, so I start it up to get the heat going.
“I want to write,” he says, glancing at me.
I can’t help but smile. “Oh?”
“Yeah, so I wasn’t sure if you had plans for us or not. If I’m being honest, my brain is going a mile a minute, and I really need to sit down and put words to paper.”
It’s been so long since I’ve heard him talk like that, since I’ve heard him excited about the possibility of writing and getting a story out. Even if I had plans, I’d cancel them. “I don’t have any plans. If the TV won’t distract you, I’m sure I can find something to watch while you write.”
I have a little something for him at home, anyway. Jasper had a MacBook lying around that he wasn’t using anymore. I offered to buy it from him, but when I told him what I wanted it for, he gave it to me, refusing to take my money.
Not wanting to make Luca feel pressured, I haven’t given it to him yet.
“Okay, amazing,” Luca says, grinning from ear to ear. “God, I’m so excited. So, Noah, one of my characters—” Luca cuts himself off, so I glance over at him to find his cheeks flushed.
“So, Noah?” I prompt, darting my gaze between him and the road.
He shakes his head. “You don’t wanna hear about this.”
Ah, that’s where he’s wrong. “Luca, have I ever in all the years we’ve known each other not wanted to hear about the ideas floating around in that beautiful mind of yours?”
Silence hangs between us for a couple of moments, then he shrugs. “No, I guess not.”
“Right.” I nod, glancing at him one last time before turning my attention to the road. “So, tell me about Noah.”
He launches into an animated spiel about Noah needing a date for his sister’s wedding and how he hires someone to be his fake boyfriend.
Which brings us to River. It starts off with them sharing tentative kisses under the guise of pretending, but as the story goes on, it becomes clear they aren’t pretending anymore.
“That sounds amazing,” I say when he’s done rambling.
“You think so?”
We pull into the driveway, so I glance over at him again. “I think so for sure. Are you gonna let me read it?”
He lets out a nervous laugh. “Sure. When I’m done.”
My lips curve up. “Perfect. I’m curious about these big fictional dicks.”
Luca groans, covering his face with his hands. “Oh my God, you’re the worst.”
“Nah, you’ve got me intrigued, that’s all.”
I put the truck in park, and Luca and I go inside. It’s cold in here, so I go straight to the fireplace to start getting it going, and Luca goes straight for the Christmas tree to turn the lights on.
Thankfully, there are still embers in the bottom, so with a couple of small sticks and a bit of newspaper, I get a roaring fire going quickly, and the room starts warming up.
“Hey,” I say, putting everything away by the fireplace and standing up. “Sit down for a second. I have a surprise for you.”
Luca shoots me a curious glance but sits down.
The laptop is in my closet. It’s been a bitch to hide from him, mostly because I don’t like keeping secrets from Luca—not even good ones.
It’s hidden under a shoebox in the back corner, and it should be fully charged, since I charged it and powered it off before I put it in here. When I have it in my hands, I smile a bit to myself. Damien was “planning on buying Luca a laptop” before he left to come here.
I know it was a way for him to try to atone for his sins. I just hope Luca will be happy to have one. Especially since he didn’t have to pay for it with his blood.
Luca’s curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders when I walk through the door and into the living room. He tries to look around me to see what I have behind my back. “Whatcha got there?”
I smile. “A surprise for you.”
I hold it out to him, chuckling when he sits up straighter, the blanket falling away. “Holy shit. You bought me a laptop?”
“Well, I didn’t buy it. It was Jasper’s, and he doesn’t use it anymore, so he gave it to me for you.”
He takes it slowly out of my hands, then opens it, running his fingers reverently over the keys.
“Thank you.”
He sounds choked up, and it’s no wonder why.
“You’re welcome, baby.”
He can barely contain his excitement as he powers it on and gets settled on the couch. His grin grows when it boots up but falls away quickly. He swallows hard and looks up at me. “You’re sure you don’t mind?”
I sit down beside him, taking one of his hands in mine. “Not only do I not mind, I want you to write. This is who you are, baby. I would never keep you from being your true self.”
Tears well in his eyes, but they don’t spill. They cling to his lower lashes, making his eyes glisten and shine. “Thank you,” he says again, smiling gently at me.
“You’re welcome,” I repeat before leaning in to steal a quick kiss. “Now, I’m gonna turn something on on TV, and I want you to write.”
Luca nods solemnly, then glances back to the laptop. The awe in his expression has my heart aching. Such a simple fucking thing, and yet, something he didn’t expect or even dare hope for.
I lean against the couch, turning on the TV as he opens a blank document.
The typing starts slow—just a couple of words every few minutes, but as I watch TV, it picks up speed until his fingers are moving at a rapid pace and his eyes are fully focused on what he’s doing.
He doesn’t even notice me staring at him.
He’s making the most adorable facial expressions, his eyes lighting up as he brings the world inside his mind to life. With each word he types, his expression shifts more and more, euphoria and excitement taking over each inch of his face.
I finally manage to drag my attention away from him and focus on the TV. Between it, the clack-clack-clack of his keyboard, and the crackling of the fire, my eyes start growing heavy.
Letting them fall shut, I rest my head on the back of the couch. Growing up, Luca was a constant presence in my life, and it almost killed me when he moved away. I wasn’t just losing my best friend; I was losing part of my soul, a piece of the very thing that made me who I am.
There is no Austin Lawson without Luca Pierce.
And now, with him sitting beside me in our warm, cozy living room, and the memory of his face as he loses himself in something he loves flashing behind my closed eyelids, I think I know what true happiness feels like.
I’m dozing off, but I still notice when the clicking stops, and I jolt fully awake and sit up straight.
Luca’s staring at me, a soft smile on his lips. “Wow. It’s been so long since I’ve done that.”
I rub the sleep from my eyes and scoot closer to him. “How much did you write, baby?”
He hums, glancing down at the laptop. “Almost five thousand words.”
I blink a couple of times, unsure if I heard him right. “That’s a lot, right? How long have I been asleep?”
The giggle he lets out makes me smile. “I mean, it might be. I don’t really have anything to compare it to. I want to keep going, but I’m making a bunch of typos because I’m getting sleepy.”
“Are you ready for bed?” I ask, searching his eyes.
With another glance and smile at the laptop, he closes it. “Yeah, I think I am. Thank you again.”
“You don’t have to keep thanking me, Luc. It’s a pleasure to make sure you have what you need and want.” He nibbles his lower lip, watching me through sleepy eyes. “Are you okay?” I ask.
“I’m perfect,” he says, another bright smile spreading across his face.
He carefully sets the laptop on the arm of the couch, then climbs off the couch to stoke the fire. It’s too cold at night to really go without adding wood to it, but thankfully, if we build it up really well, it keeps the house warm all night long.
There’s nothing worse than waking up at three in the morning freezing your ass off because you haven’t built the fire all night.
I watch him as he does it, carefully adding logs until the flames are huge and the fireplace is full, then he turns the airflow down so it’ll burn slowly all night and sits back on his heels.
“You ready for bed?” he asks, looking at me over his shoulder, and then he chuckles.
“Nevermind, of course you are. You were falling asleep while I was writing.”
“I was,” I say with a shrug. “I was relaxed and enjoying listening to you type.”
He stands up, holding a hand out to me, and when I take it, he pulls me to my feet and leads me into our bedroom.
We crawl into bed together, and when Luca is settled with his head resting on my shoulder, I feel at peace.