Chapter 13
A weekand two tour stops later, Chloe finds herself lying in her NYC hotel room—a room that’s practically indistinguishable from the countless she’s been in for the past few weeks, save for the fact that it’s half the size. It’s eleven o’clock in the night, and honestly she would kill for some pizza. Her stomach growls as she practically fantasizes over a good, greasy slice of pepperoni pizza.
‘God, kid, you gotta do this right now?’ she mutters lowly towards her belly, as if her grape-sized fetus can understand her.
She sighs. Her cravings really have been getting worse with every day. She hasn’t gone anywhere without her trusty bottle of off-brand sriracha, which she’s covered absolutely everything she’s eaten with for the past three days. But it’s late, Elena’s asleep on the pull-out couch and Devin is…somewhere. Not here. If she was going to get pizza, she’d have to get it on her own.
Chloe’s stomach rumbles again and she groans. They have snacks in the hotel room; wasabi peas, Doritos, dried strawberries, and Chloe’s new favorite brand of dried ginger chips. Not to mention her new favorite condiment, off-brand sriracha sauce.
She’s refused to tell her mother that her cravings have led her to putting sriracha on literally everything. Lisa would just say, ‘I told you so!’ and make fun of her absolutely disgusting cravings. And Chloe knows they’re gross. Who in their right minds would douse their dried strawberries in chili sauce? But she’s pregnant, dammit! And honestly, satisfying her cravings is one of the only ways to combat her still ever-present morning sickness.
Whoever called it “morning” sickness was a filthy liar. Mornings tend to be the only time Chloe gets any semblance of peace from her nausea.
Finally, her craving just gets too strong to ignore and she climbs out of the bed, grabbing her phone and purse. She glances over at Elena’s sleeping form, contemplating whether she should wake her up.
No, Chloe decides that she’s bothered Elena enough with all her weird cravings lately, and any minute she doesn’t spend with Chloe, she’s glued to her laptop, trying to keep up with her coursework. She should let her friend sleep.
For just a moment, she considers texting Luke, the thought kicking up her heartbeat just the slightest bit, but immediately decides against it. It’s one of the rare nights on tour where Luke doesn’t have a performance; he deserves some down time on his own. And the last thing Chloe wants to be is a bother.
Her tennis shoes are right by the door, so she slides them on and quietly slips into the hall, shutting the door softly behind her. She waits a moment, but doesn’t hear any movement from Elena.
Chloe practically tiptoes away from the door, before stopping. What is she sneaking around for? Elena’s not going to hear her in the hall! And Chloe isn’t some teenager sneaking around in the middle of the night! She’s an adult! Almost a mother, even. She’s free to do what she wants.
She huffs softly, somewhere between a sigh and a laugh, and straightens. She pulls out her phone as she walks down the hall. Heading to the elevator, she Googles nearby pizza places.
Immediately, her phone is flooded with results. This is New York after all, and there seems to be a pizza place on every corner. Chloe scrolls through the endless results, trying to find a good one nearby.
She’s so absorbed with her task that she runs right into someone, hitting them hard enough to almost fall straight on her ass.
‘Shit,’ she hisses, stumbling back. Her arms flail uselessly as she tries to regain her balance. Hotel carpets are always paper-thin, and it’ll leave her butt bruised for sure.
‘Fuck, are you okay?’ the person asks—Luke. It’s Luke who she’s run into. Luke who’s scrambling and grabbing her by the waist to stop her from falling. One arm goes around her waist, and the other around her shoulders, pulling her flush against his body.
Chloe blinks, her mind empty, as she practically gawks up at him. Belatedly, she realizes he asked her a question.
‘Oh,’ she says faintly. ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’
Luke watches her for a moment, unconvinced, and only lets go when she’s fully regained her balance. It’s endearing, and Chloe very much does not focus on how nice it feels to be wrapped up in his arms.
And she certainly doesn’t internally mourn it when his arms return to his sides.
Looking down, if only to not stare at him, Chloe notices an ice bucket by her feet. It landed face-up, with only a few ice cubes bouncing out when it fell.
Luke curses under his breath. Before he can move, Chloe bends down and scoops the fallen ice cubes into her palm. She grabs the bucket and hands it to Luke.
‘I could have done that,’ Luke says wryly. Chloe makes a show of rolling her eyes before ducking into the floor’s vending room and discarding the melting ice.
‘You could just say thank you,’ she calls over her shoulder.
‘Thank you,’ Luke mimics dutifully. Chloe can’t help but smile; she likes that they can tease each other like this now. It feels much less awkward between them, which is a relief.
Luke smiles back, and it feels like a win. The smile falters when his gaze falls to the purse slung on Chloe’s shoulder.
‘It’s late. What are you going out for?’ he asks. Chloe quirks an eyebrow.
‘It’s barely eleven, it’s not that late,’ she argues. ‘You wouldn’t even be back from your show if you were performing tonight.’
Luke huffs a laugh, but has to relent. ‘Okay, it’s not that late, whatever. So, where are you going at this perfectly reasonable hour?’
‘I’m hungry and I would die for some pizza right now.’ Chloe readjusts her purse. She waves and makes to go around him.
‘I could go for some pizza,’ Luke says quickly, grabbing her by the elbow.
‘You don’t have to come with me,’ she tells him. ‘I’m a big girl, you know.’
‘I know,’ he replies, his voice suggestive enough to bring some heat to Chloe’s cheeks. ‘But I want pizza too.’
Chloe clears her throat, trying to dispel the sudden tension in the air. ‘Well, put your ice away and let’s go. Every minute I go without pizza means I’m another minute closer to a hormone-inspired meltdown.’
About a block and a half from their hotel is a hole-in-the wall pizza place Luke swears is the best in the city. Before this trip, Chloe would have sworn this was the tiniest restaurant she’d ever seen, but New York City has really shown her how much businesses can do with minimal space. The door is propped open, the inside lights spilling onto the concrete. The green awning above has a sign stuck on, reading “$1 Pizza”.
‘This looks…sketchy,’ Chloe says cautiously. Luke nudges her in the ribs.
‘Don’t be such a tourist,’ he teases. ‘I’ve been here many times. Well not this one. But they’re pretty much all the same.’
‘That’s not as comforting as you think it is.’
‘If you don’t like it, we’ll find a Domino’s or something, okay?’
Chloe nods and follows him inside. The space is tiny, mostly dominated by a glass case holding two comically large cheese pizzas. A small counter sits off to the side with a napkin holder, alongside a chest full of soda cans.
Chloe lets Luke take the lead, ordering two slices for each. Surprisingly, the sign outside is correct and their huge slices are only a dollar a piece. Chloe’s is probably bigger than her face, and honestly she’s practically drooling by the time Luke passes her slice over to her.
They lean against the counter, facing each other, and try their best not to drip pizza grease all over themselves. Chloe practically moans when she takes her first bite.
‘God, that’s way better than I was expecting!’ She takes her second and third bites in quick succession, the cheese and tomato combo calming the craving that’s been itching inside all night.
‘I told you! Dollar pizza is, hands down, my favorite part of coming to New York,’ Luke says, sprinkling some red pepper flakes on his slice. He offers her some, but she waves him off.
Chloe snorts. ‘Your favorite? Not Central Park or the Met? The Empire State Building? Hell, Elena and I spent three hours in the Strand Bookstore this morning! But this is your favorite?’
Luke shrugs. ‘I don’t really get to do all that stuff when we come to town,’ he confesses. He picks at a bit of cheese. ‘It’s all interviews and fan meetings and early-morning talk show performances. But I can always sneak out after a show and get a slice of pizza.’
‘That…really sucks,’ Chloe says. What’s the point, she thinks, of all that traveling if you can’t actually see any of it? ‘I’m sorry.’
‘Don’t be. It’s part of the gig. And sometimes, it makes stuff like this,’ he gestures to the space between the two of them, ‘so much better, you know?’
‘Yeah,’ Chloe says softly. ‘Do you ever try to come visit between tours? Get a chance to see all of the touristy stuff you miss out on?’
Luke shakes his head. ‘I don’t really like traveling more than I already have to. I spend basically every other year on the road and it’s exhausting. I like to spend as much time in LA as possible.’ Luke pauses, then adds, ‘Not that I’m complaining! I know how lucky I am to get to tour at all.’
Chloe furrows her eyebrows, lowering her slice. ‘You’re allowed to complain, Luke.’
‘Not according to…well, everyone,’ Luke disagrees. ‘Any time I say something like that to anyone besides Mav or Quinn, all I ever get back is don’t you know how many people would kill to be in your shoes?’
He shrugs like it doesn’t bother him, but something about that just rankles Chloe.
‘That must be really lonely, feeling like you have to keep all that in,’ she says. ‘I wouldn’t mind if you ever wanted to like vent or anything. If you want someone other than your bandmates to talk to.’
That makes Luke smile. ‘Maybe I’ll take you up on that sometime.’
They eat for a moment in companionable silence, listening to pizza sizzle in the oven and the late-night noises of the city filter in from the open door.
‘You know, the tour’s ending soon. I was thinking…’ Luke starts, but he hesitates and shakes his head. ‘Never mind.’
‘What?’ Chloe asks, tilting her head. When he doesn’t answer, she gives his arm a gentle, urging prod. ‘What is it?’
Luke clears his throat, a sound that’s almost too loud for this moment. He leans even more on the counter with a sheepish look on his face and he says, ‘I can’t help but feel like the tour’s gone too fast. We haven’t had as much time to get to know each other or plan for the baby, and well, I was wondering if you wanted to come to California with me after? For a little while, at least?’
Chloe blinks. ‘California?’ she repeats, surprise coloring her voice. ‘Like, Los Angeles?’
Luke’s gaze drops to the half-eaten pizza slice in his hand. ‘Like I said, never mind. I just thought…it would be nice. You and me.’
Chloe’s speechless for a moment. Maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising to hear that Luke wants to spend more time with her. Still, this is not what she’d expected him to say.
‘And we would…plan for the baby? Like, pick out baby clothes and go to doctor’s appointments and everything?’ Chloe asks softly. Mercifully, Luke glances back up at her. His brown eyes practically shine as they meet her own.
‘We could do all of it,’ he tells her eagerly. Chloe’s lips twitch and, maybe it’s the magic of this late-night venture with him, but she doesn’t even try to stop the smile from spreading across her face.
‘That would be nice,’ she says. Heat floods her cheeks as she adds, ‘To spend some more time with you.’
Maybe some time in LA would do her some good. She did want Luke to be more present, and the tour hadn’t afforded them the time they had hoped to get to know each other. Maybe when they were at home—(his home, she reminds herself) he would have more time to do all the things he’d promised. At the very least, it would let her put off the reality of going home and getting back to real life just a little bit longer.
Luke beams at her and starts excitedly going through logistics as Chloe eats her pizza. He waves his slice in the air, gesticulating wildly as he talks about having Regina reroute her final plane ticket and looking into OBGYNs in Los Angeles.
‘Your pizza’s gonna get cold,’ Chloe tells him when he finally takes a moment to breathe. ‘We can figure everything out tomorrow, so eat.’
‘Yeah, yeah,’ Luke says, his voice fond, and he takes a huge bite of his pizza. His gaze flickers down to her lips and Chloe tries very hard not to wonder why he would look at her lips. Then he chuckles.
‘What?’
‘You got a little…’ Luke gestures to his lip. Chloe licks her own lips, trying to get the sauce he sees. He shakes his head, still laughing at her. ‘No, it’s…Here, let me.’
Chloe freezes as Luke uses his thumb to wipe the sauce from the corner of her mouth. Her breath catches in her chest.
There’s a clatter behind the pizza counter—a whole pizza topples out of the cook’s hands and onto the dingy floor. Luke and Chloe start, the noise breaking the delicate moment forming between them.
Luke clears his throat and grabs a napkin to clean his thumb. Chloe takes a step back, then shovels her pizza into her mouth. This time, she doesn’t even notice how it tastes.
Later, they’ll see the pictures all over Twitter. “Late Night Date with Luke Waters” actually makes the headlines in some of the trashier teen magazines. Somehow, without either of them noticing, a fan got some scarily close-up shots of the two of them in the pizza shop. Chloe’s stomach will turn, seeing all the comments once more about how she’s not pretty enough for Luke, how him sleeping with her was a mistake, how she’s baby-trapping him. It’ll be another nightmare, another reason for Elena to hide Chloe’s phone to keep her from searching out the comments.
But tonight, as they walk side by side, knuckles brushing softly, Chloe can’t help but think that this is the nicest not-date she’s ever been on.