Chapter 30 #4
As if Luke can hear the pattern of my thoughts, he looks up and meets my eye, and he gives me that fucking tantalizing smile that makes me weak in the knees.
I snap my head away quickly, feeling the heat on my cheeks.
Two seconds later, Luke comes up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me closer.
He kisses my neck, and my skin shivers against my control, having him pressed this close.
Can he tell how effective his touch is at unraveling me?
“You seem better,” he purrs softly, sending a pleasant chill down my spine.
“It was the spaghetti. Fixed me right up,” I tease, and Luke chuckles.
“I’ll remember to make it again the next time I need to cheer you up.”
“Hm. You cheer me up.” I sigh, resting my head against his shoulder. It feels like home.
“No, it was definitely the spaghetti.”
I grin, but then it fades slowly as a darker thought moves over me.
“Thank you for coming over. I don’t know where I would have been if you hadn’t.
" The confession feels like a weight lifted from my chest, even as the words feel foreign on my tongue. Knowing that Luke has had a profound influence on my mental stability is one thing. Admitting it to him… That’s another thing entirely.
“I’m glad I did,” he grumbles in agreement.
“I know this can be a lot to deal with,” I mutter. “It’s scared away a few people in the past. Most people don’t want anything to do with it, but it’s not something I’ll ever fully be rid of.”
“Well, it's a good thing I’m not like most people. This doesn’t scare me,” Luke says firmly, almost like a promise, as he kisses my temple and hugs his arms a little tighter around me. “I will always come when you need me.”
The words choke me up, tears prickling my eyes.
It feels like I’ve won the lottery all over again to have found someone who understands that these moods are a part of the whole package, actively embracing them as quickly and effortlessly as the good ones.
It’s refreshing not to be handled like I’m some broken thing he has to put up with, but an imperfect being still worthy of his time and attention even when I’m low.
I’ve spent so many years of my life feeling like a burden for something that’s just a part of who I am that I was beginning to feel that’s all I deserved. Then Luke smashed those expectations like a bull blowing through a china shop—unapologetic, chaotic. Freeing.
We stand together for a few minutes until a knock on my door signals the arrival of the pizza, interrupting the tranquil scene.
Luke collects it while I finish the last few bits of cleaning in the kitchen, and then we sit down to eat.
Instead of eating in the kitchen or dining room, Luke suggests we sit in the living room and turn on Netflix. He thinks it’ll be a good distraction.
I don’t have any opinion on what to watch, not generally one for television as it is, so Luke takes complete and total liberty in making a selection. Unexpectedly, though unsurprisingly, he picks an Asian drama he thinks I would like—a Taiwanese drama, he clarifies, with an unusual premise.
It follows a young woman who had to pretend to be a man since birth after her parents visited a kooky fortune teller, who said that if she didn’t, she’d die before her twenty-sixth birthday.
She falls in love with a mafia boss's son after saving his life with her badass martial arts skills in front of an amusement park—that he also apparently owns—so he feels like he owes her a life debt, and they become sworn ‘brothers’, since he believes she’s a man.
Then, her conniving cousin forces them into quasi-romantic situations, hoping the man, who has the most amazing hair I’ve ever seen, will fall in love with this girl who is clearly wearing a bad wig.
Except…he’s not gay. She’s not actually a man, either, so I guess that’s okay.
But he thinks she’s a man, so it makes him question things about himself as he starts to fall for her.
And whenever he sees her as a woman—since she pretends to be her twin sister to avoid being exposed, thus bypassing the curse somehow—he’s not interested in her because he’s too loyal to her as a man.
It's all very bizarre, but I have to admit that it’s fascinating to watch.
The characters get into the most ridiculous, unrealistic situations, and no one suspects a thing about it. The dramatic pauses and drawn-out intimate moments make for good storytelling, and before long, I’m completely hooked. I can see why Luke enjoys these kinds of shows.
And that’s how we spend the evening, laughing and cuddling together on the couch, watching the show until well past midnight.
The later it gets, the less willing I am to call it a night, though I’m afraid to admit it’s because I know the moment this ends, Luke leaves, and I really don’t want to be alone.
I wouldn’t even begin to know how to ask him to stay.
But even as I start yawning and fighting to keep my eyes open, Luke doesn’t push back when I ask to turn on the next episode.
At one point, he lies down on the couch and has me lie down with my head on his chest, my thigh between his legs, and he plays with my hair to the point of total distraction until it’s the only thing I can focus on. My eyes grow heavy, and before I know it, I’m out like a light.