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"The best love is the kind that awakens the soul; that makes us reach for more, that plants the fire in our hearts and brings peace to our minds. That's what I hope to give you forever." – The Notebook

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Chapter 43
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Maggie

My eyes fluttered open at the sensation. Something was licking at my face, the action ticklish. My hands lifted from my side to confirm, and I was right.

Fang's adorable face was in my view.

A small yawn cracked through my smile. "What are you doing up so early, honey?"

His tail nearly whacked me as he jumped off the bed, treading straight to the door.

I stood up, still rubbing at my eyes. I glanced back at the bed, which was screaming for my return, but when I did, I saw that it was vacant.

Luke was gone, and the bathroom door was wide open so he wasn't there, either.

At Fang's whining, I snapped out of it, and quickly went to brush my teeth, and wash my face. By the time I returned, Fang was nearly weeping with a lack of patience.

With a chuckle, I pulled the door open, quickly side-stepping it in order to avoid getting crushed by a one-hundred and thirty pound dog.

Fangs' paws slid against the marble, leaving spots of drool in his tracks until we got to the door. He didn't waste a moment, leaping over the stairs until he got to the lawn.

While he did his business, I glanced around the space for Luke, just in case he took a morning jog. I knew that he always did it at four in the morning, every morning, then worked out for another two or three hours. It was plausible to me, really.

I could barely even open my eyes at noon, and that was a rare barely.

With that body of his though, I should have figured. It was nothing but fine muscles, and a whole bunch of temptation.

By the time Fang finished, my mind had taken an entirely different route, one that split at the thought of Luke's body. That beautifully carved v-line of his could make a girl think over her morals the moment they had it in their hands; I knew from first hand experience. And, just the thought of those arms nearly had my legs wobbling in place, despite my still stature. And, his—

Wait a damn minute. A million, actually.

I shook my head, casting my gaze into a glare. I couldn't think like this right now. It was treacherous, and it was Luke. It was more than wrong.

Fang came up as soon as I called for him, which both shocked and pleased me, since he was just as stubborn as his father. Either way, he was a good boy.

I shut, then locked the door right behind me, before letting him go. I decided to use the time to figure my own way around around the layout of the house.

I'd been here for nearly two weeks now, but I'd never really went anywhere else other than some of the bedrooms, kitchen, and bathrooms. I hadn't figured out the big space too well, but I was doing well enough.

I used counting to help me around the rooms, as well. The odd numbers were the guest rooms, and the even numbers were used for something substantial or nothing at all.

It was troubling that Luke had been here for five years now, though. He was just a kid at the time, who had to adjust and learn so many things, on his own. I knew that emotionally, he had basically raised himself his entire life, but being fourteen and on your own...it was something else.

Sighing, I decided to wait on my venture. I was too hungry.

When the silence remained, I realized that Luke wasn't in the kitchen, either. Oh, well. I'd save him some food. M&M pancakes sounded heavenly right now.

Once I opened the refrigerator door though, my wants fell into disappointment. Nothing was inside except a carton of eggs, milk, a case of beer, a fuck-ton of water, and a pack of pizza rolls.

With an eye roll, I shut the door. I should have known. Luke was here by himself a lot, and probably ordered out more often than not.

I wanted to change that. I wasn't exactly advanced in cooking, but luckily, Jax had made a recipe book just for me. He claimed that he 'dumbed' it down for me to understand.

As much as I wanted to argue against that statement, it did work.

Last night, Luke and I's time at dinner was far too enjoyable to ever stop them now. I knew he wouldn't admit it, but I figured he had just as much fun.

After we finished eating and conversing on his odd observations, we started to debate over my theories, then more of his own. We didn't stop talking until three in the morning.

Which was probably why I was a half-dead slump right now.

Shutting the door to the fridge, I retreated back to my mission of finding him. I just needed to settle my suspicions of his whereabouts before I went back to sleep.

I knocked on each of the even doors, but didn't get a response in return. The only one I hadn't checked was my own, but there was no way he was in there.

Just as I passed it, that very theory was debunked by a curse. Luke's curse.

My legs skidded to a complete stop. I turned to face the door, to which Luke had immediately went silent at my footsteps.

What was he doing in my room?

Well, technically, his room but technically mine—

It doesn't matter.

My fingers curled around the knob, but before I could even slightly twist my wrist, it opened on its own.

Luke poked his head out, his gaze set in a glare. "What?"

I blinked, attempting to yank the door open. He held the same tight grip from his side, an annoyed shot slipping over his expression.

My suspicions grew. "What are you doing?" I questioned. "Why are you in my room?"

His eyes fell for a moment before he raised them to mine again, an unreadable mold over his face. "Fang pissed in here."

I tilted my head. "You told me that Fang is trained."

He waved my argument off. "I also told you that you didn't make my head hurt, but we both know that's not true, so..." His gaze fell again, before he shrugged. "Bye—" He attempted to shut the door again, but I stopped him with my foot.

"Fang hasn't peed in this house ever since I've been here, so he has to be trained," I pondered. "You're lying."

He scoffed. "You don't believe me?"

"I don't think I do, no." I yanked at the knob. "Let me in."

His eyes widened for a second. "No, I'm cleaning..." He muttered something intangible before glancing back to me, his brows knitted close together. "Bye."

Before I could attest, he slammed the door in my face.

I tried to open it again, but he had locked it in place. "Rude ass," I grumbled under my breath, glaring at the door.

Complaining wouldn't make it open though, and I was far too sleepy for his riddles. I could hold off on food until I woke up, again.

I'd revisit the situation as soon as I was energized, but until then, he could keep up with his weird shit on his own.

***

I'd been watching Luke workout for the past five minutes, and every single passing second had tested my ability to remain a sane woman.

I was supposed to be sneaking into my room, but when I saw the door to one of the odd rooms cracked open, I couldn't help myself. I didn't have an ounce of regret over which route I chose, either.

He hadn't even seen or heard me. I heard the music in his earbuds thumping, so I took that as my chance to push the door open a little wider.

The sight was more than pleasing.

Right now, he was doing push-ups with such ease, it was mesmerizing. His slick body hadn't ceased at all in his exercise, moving with such flexibility and speed that I found myself mesmerized by it.

My mouth had fallen agape at the sight of his abs minutes ago. Fuck, they were a trap on their own. His tatted forearms had been around me so many times that I'd forgotten how to look at them on their own until now.

His grey sweatpants were hanging low on his hips, revealing that tempting v-line I'd been thinking over earlier.

Just a little bit lower, and I'd be tackling this motherfucker through the wall. Consequences be damned.

He went to sit-ups next, and while doing so, I think I may have fainted, and somehow went to heaven. The only thing that debunked that were the stirring butterflies in my stomach.

The muscles in his arms bulged as he so effortlessly worked on his set. His face was built around stone-cold rock with sweat that was complementing his skin in a way that I'd never even thought possible.

I nearly popped an eye as I strained it to get a better look. I just needed an extra minute or two. Maybe twenty. From my position, I—

"Having fun, Norris?"

I may have screamed, or pissed, or ran, or all of the above. All I know was that one minute I was peeking through the door, and the next I was fighting to catch up with my racing heartbeat, and the shock that came with it.

Luke was watching me, an amused glint in his eye. "Don't be shy now, angel. Come on in."

I willed my feet to stay still, despite the wish to follow up on that order. My lips parted then shut again, the pint of shame falling over me. "How did you—"

He jumped up, treading over to his setup. "I knew you were watching the whole time, Norris. You weren't very subtle," he gloated with a smirk, picking up his bottle of water. "I'm not gonna lie. I expected better from you."

Humiliation spread through my blood. "I wasn't watching the entire time," I rushed out, but my voice had fallen so breathless, it went against my claim. "Five minutes isn't anything. I was just making sure that you wouldn't hurt yourself..." With my rambling, I didn't even realize I was sweating until the skin grew too hot. "You know those old bones of yours are due to snap on you anyday now."

Luke lifted his chin up at me, a knowing grin building. "Uh huh." With a humored eye roll, he turned to grab his towel, pressing it to the back of his neck. A chuckle left him as he flicked his head at me. "Just so you know...if those little fantasies of me aren't satisfying you through the night, I have other ways of helping instead of just having you watch, Norris."

My lips parted for a breath, and for a moment, I thought of knocking myself out with a dumbbell. That would have an easier explanation than as to why I wanted to take him up on his offer.

I found it more of a task than a action to stop myself from accepting his proposal. But, it would be a nice—

I shook my head, willing that wall back up. I focused a scowl on Luke. "Get off your dick, bitch."

"Ah." A humored grin hung across his lips as he leaned against the table. Keep your eyes up, Maggie. He balanced another beam to me, one that had my body jolting in reaction. "You wanna hop on next? I heard it's nice this time of year."

I yanked his towel from his neck, throwing it across the room until it flopped to the floor. It was a distraction, thankfully. "You're an idiot."

Amused, he shook his head, knocking some of the water onto his face. I watched it trickle down the scar along his neck, then to his pecs.

With a struggle of a gulp, I pulled my eyes elsewhere until I got to the dumbbells. That was a good enough distraction from the flush of my skin.

Once he placed the water back down, he moved his gaze to mine. "I was waiting for you to wake up though, so that we could have breakfast together." The hope in his tone had me fighting back my smile.

"You had a lot of fun last night, didn't you?" I teased, pulling my arms over my chest. "It's okay. I know I'm fantastic company."

Luke scoffed. "You kidding me? I hated every second of it." Tugging at his lip, his eyes raised to mine. His voice fell to a near choke under the nerves as he asked, "But...you do want to eat breakfast together, right?"

I decided to put him out of his misery. "Mhm. I thought it'd be cool if we made homemade pancakes, though."

He paused to send an odd look my way. "Homemade pancakes?" With his fingers curled around my elbow, he led us out of the gym, and back into the hall.

I nodded, glancing between the floors and the hold he had on me. Between the rush of a buzz that followed from it, I managed to speak, "Yeah, but that's kind of a problem when my roommate doesn't have any groceries."

"Don't be silly. I have water and eggs."

"Gordon Ramsay would be sick with envy," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Seriously, though. Jax gave me a recipe book, and it has everything—"

"Wait, what?" Luke's' eyes widened at me. "Jax gave you a recipe book?"

"That's what I said, yeah."

"Why didn't you say something, sooner?"

I turned to face him fully. "Well, it's not really an icebreaker topic, but he gave it to me the day I moved out."

"That's all you had to say, then." He reached into his pocket, typing something into his phone. I watched him for a moment before asking, "What are you doing?"

"Paying someone to bring us groceries," he mumbled, his eyes remaining on the screen. "Duh."

I placed a hand on top of his to stop him. "No. I meant, let's go shopping...like together." I motioned between the both of us. "It'll be fun. We can both get what we want, think of some recipes. You know, things like that."

At his startled expression, I reeled back in. Maybe I sounded much more personal than I should have.

My fingers tugged at my bracelet as I mentally winced at myself. "Actually, I can just go by myself and get them. You can make a list or something—"

"I've never done this before," he rushed out so quickly, I nearly missed it.

At that, my head tilted at him in confusion. "Grocery shopping?"

"That, and you know..." he motioned between us, clearing his throat. "This."

My heart bounced under the confession. "What do you mean?"

His eyes fell to the marble, the sheepishness in his expression growing. "Grocery shopping. Dinner. Hugging. Laughing. Talking all personal and shit. Not being alone. You know...things like that."

I cocked my head, my heart falling to my knees. I took a step closer, causing his eyes to jump to mine. There was so much of something there that I couldn't just pass it off as nothing at all.

"It's a good thing, though," he confessed, the thin line of his lips lifting. "I like it. I want more of it."

My mind was slipping right from under me. "I like it, too," fell from my lips before I could consider any differently. "A lot."

His eyes never ran from mine, again. We both watched the other, carefully. My heart was moving so fast, I feared that it'd be the one to physically detach us.

Instead, it was him. He cleared his throat again, letting his gaze fall.

I stumbled right out of it, too. I took a step back from him, an awkward grimace following. Shit.

"Let me catch a shower real quick, and we'll get going," he mumbled, keeping his eyes downcast.

Before I could respond, he was disappearing to the nearest bathroom.

I was left in the hallway, with nothing, but my confusion and lack of self-restraint. It had all gone to shit the moment Luke looked my way.

I was still stuck on blaming it on my cycle, and I'd used that excuse for as long as I could. I didn't have time, patience, or energy for anything romantic or anything even physically related to Luke. It was too much of a risk, and more of a losing game if I was ever stupid enough to fall through with it.

I was done thinking about him in that way. I was done thinking about him in general. It was more than disturbing, and if he found out, he would probably throw up.

While he showered, I made a list that nearly went all the way down to my knees due to how much food we needed. I had checked his cabinets, but there wasn't a thing inside, except a container of blueberry pop tarts inside.

This wasn't going to be easy.

By the time Luke made it out the shower, I had just finished up. His expression had glazed over from earlier, now just leaving a hard surface of nonchalance.

"Ready?" he called to me, dangling his keys.

My head moved like a robot as I avoided his eyes. His presence lingered close behind as we walked out of the house.

The ride was so tense, I wasn't sure if even the sharpest part of a blade could nick at it. Neither of us spoke until we were inside, and even then, he trailed behind me, as silent as a mouse.

I allowed my mind this moment as a distraction, glancing through the meat isles. I checked off the list the deeper I got, until we finally got to the best part. Snacks.

My eyes bounced between the two containers of snacks. "Oreos or Rice Krispies?" I mumbled to myself. I'd gladly take both, but with my budget, I couldn't afford to follow my desires too much right now.

"Both," Luke called out from behind me.

I jerked around, nearly startled at him. He hadn't spoken this entire time.

Shrugging, my eyes returned back to the box before I placed the other one back down. "The Oreos will be just fine."

Crossing his arms over his black shirt, he questioned, "Why didn't you just get them both?"

I chuckled, shifting around until that my back was to him. I started to push at the cart, again. "Not everyone has money flowing out of their ass, Luke."

At his lingering silence, I threw a look over my shoulder at him, except, he was no longer there.

I rolled my eyes, pushing forward. He probably got distracted by a set of tits, and escaped for a quickie in the bathroom.

I pushed the image to the back of my head, finishing up the snacks portion of the grocery list. It physically hurt me to have to set some of the boxes or bags of chips and candy back down, but I knew better with my budget.

I headed for the veggies next. I only came here for the onions, but luckily, it was right next to the fruit station. Two birds with one stone.

Even though I would try to cook from scratch, there were some things that I'd never reach the level of hungry with if they came in frozen food bag form. I grabbed a couple, then finally was able to head toward the check-out.

I hadn't seen Luke once, so I waited for a bit before finally pushing forward. I wanted to see if he was cool with the ingredients, or I'd he wanted to add something, but he'd just have to cope, now.

Where the hell was he, anyway? I didn't expect too much with the man, but I never thought he'd ditch me in the middle of a snack isle.

Just as the thought passed, I saw him, casually strolling toward me. He had his own buggy, which was full and heavy with different items that I couldn't decipher since they were already bagged. He had finished his own grocery shopping a while ago, then.

I considered asking what he bought, but decided against it. It wasn't my business.

My feet came to a stop in front of the self checkout machine. I reached into my wristlet for my card, but before my fingers could even graze it, Luke had swiped his card on my screen.

The machine pinged from my side to confirm the purchase. My mouth fell agape, my eyes jumping to Luke's.

"You idiot," I snapped, shifting my gaze into a glare. "I was going to pay for it."

Luke rolled his eyes, tossing the receipt that printed into the mini trash can underneath the screen. "I told you you weren't paying for anything."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't think you're getting away with that. I'm paying you back—"

He snorted. "No the hell you aren't, Norris." When he saw the argument flaring in my eyes, he shook his head, matching it. "Try it, and I'll have double the amount deposited right back into your bank account."

I glowered at him; this stubborn fucker. "And I'll have that shit sent right back to yours—"

Luke stopped me with a raised hand, a look of disbelief following, "Wait, wait! You hear that?"

I reared back in confusion. "Hear what?"

We both went silent, sharing a collective glance before mine shifted into a glare.

His grin grew. "Nothing. Exactly. It's quiet." He chuckled, walking along. "Read up on it for me, yeah?"

I huffed, following behind him to the exit. The motion-censored doors opened for us. "You rude, snarky little—"

"I'm not hearing any reading back there, Norris," he called over his shoulder.

"Oh, suck a fucking fish," I snapped at him, bumping into his ass with my cart. "Did you hear that?"

Luke stumbled a bit, but was too caught up in his laughter to care. "You have such a caring way with words, angel, you know that?"

"I'm always speaking poetry," I grumbled.

We reached his car, quickly. Luke popped the trunk, but just as my hand fell to the first bag in my buggy, he shooed my hand away with a glare. 

I pulled my hands back from the bags. "What now?"

He flicked his head at the passenger side of his car. "Get in," he said without any leftover discussion. "I got it."

"Was that..." I clasped my chest, dramatically. "Was that you being a gentlemen, Luke Palce?"

I stepped back from the cart. I hated putting away groceries with a passion, so if he wanted to handle it, then he could have at it.

"That was me speeding up the process that you surely would have slowed down," I heard him mumble from the back.

I chuckled, pulling my phone from my pocket. I had a few messages from Kimberly complaining about exams with me. Some from Jax with pictures of his new apartment. One from Raven about some sex toy Levi tried on her.

None from any unknown numbers, though.

I didn't know whether to feel relief or fear. Relief that I didn't have to read any resemblance of that threat, again. Fear that I didn't know what they were doing, or if they were watching me. 

It was all so unnerving, but expected. I knew how my time frame was looking, and how dire these next couple weeks would be to my life. I knew I'd have to tell Luke, because I couldn't let him help me if I hid this, nor should I make his job any harder. And, I would tell him.

Tomorrow.

I needed the time to prepare. I didn't think Luke was afraid in any sorts; the man literally craved every aspect of violence the moment it was presented.

But, I was afraid that when he saw those messages, when he sees these people, me...he would give me up.

He would realize how stupid it was to help me. How my life was too much stress to his carefree one, and abandon me to the curb.

It wasn't the protection alone that I was afraid of losing. It was him. For some reason, him leaving in general seemed to only correlate with pain, panic. More than I'd ever experienced over anyone else.

Luke was quick, shutting the door after himself as he got in. I glanced to him, wishing for the courage to spill at least a small summary of what was going on.

Tomorrow, I decided. Tomorrow, I'd make note cards if I had to. Text it to him. Give the phone to him to read it himself, if needed. Anything was better than nothing.

Once we were home, I helped him with the groceries, despite being threatened and bickered at. Cursing matches were always entertaining with him, but it was too hot for this shit, and the sooner we got everything in the better.

While I rummaged through my own bags, Luke came in with the last, which were his, hauling them on his wrists, before he got to the kitchen. The space was plentiful, but we had to make use of not only the counters, but the kitchen island and floors with how much we bought.

Luke, who was on the other side of the kitchen, stepped forward to grab the refrigerator door handle. His ringtone was what stopped him, though.

He carried on with the bags, but the call continued on with him. As soon as it ended, another one was coming after it.

With a mumbled curse, he yanked the phone from his pocket.

The call ended once he slammed his finger down on the screen, but the phone buzzed with a text message, then another. And, another.

Luke read it over, and I saw something in him shift. His brows knitted in a frown as he glared down at the screen. Something cold, and dreadful detailed his face over before he sighed.

I looked at him. "Who is it?"

At my question, he wiped all resemblance of detailed clues off. "No one."

I raised a brow at him. "Are you sure—"

"Yeah, don't worry about it." He shrugged it off, shoving the phone back into his pocket. By his tone, though, I knew how false those few words were. "It's nothing."

I tilted my head at him, curiously. My first guess was that it was a girl, but for my own sake, I pushed the thought away. It didn't stop what happened next, though.

A heavy feeling weighed in my gut, something that I had never felt in my life, because I'd never cared enough about a man to, until now. Jealousy.

I knew that Luke wasn't technically mine, but I couldn't deny the tightness in my tummy as if he were. The idea of another girl just touching him made my brain, and temper alike bare an anger and type of frustration I never thought possible.

My fists locked up, but I managed to loosen them up. I knew what I had seen on his phone the other night of the blocked contacts, but he was still being suspicious as shit.

I shook my head at myself, and this. I couldn't place it without his help, but he obviously didn't want to talk about it. So, I'd wait until he did.

The roaring thump of my blood still hadn't settled, but I pretended otherwise, and turned to his section of the bags. "What did you get?"

Luke shrugged, stepping past me to get to the refrigerator, again. "None of your business."

"Let me guess, a bunch of condoms?" I chuckled at myself. "I didn't know they carried extra small—"

I glanced over the bags, but once I searched through the first couple, I paused.

The Rice-Krispies were in there. The Doritos, too. The fruit roll-ups, a huge assortment of candy, and my favorite energy drink. It was every single thing that I had put back.

My heart stammered, over and over again at the realization. He had watched, and followed up on everything that I wanted. Not a single thing was missing.

I glanced up, my breath taken. Luke was already watching me.

Suddenly, the very same organ he was playing with was stuck in my throat. "Luke," I managed to get out.

His shoulders were quick in a shrug. "You wanted them, and I didn't wanna have to hear you complaining about it a couple days from now." He turned so quickly I nearly missed the skepticism in his eye. "That's it."

My hands fell from the bag, my jaw aching from hanging so long. Shit.

As much as food alone made me swoon, that wasn't it. It was the fact that he had paid attention. He cared enough to go back, and chase after everything I had put back, and get them himself. There was no type of subliminal message in that.

My feet padded against the cool floors until I was behind his tall stature. I knew he could feel me there, because he was pretending to be busy with an empty container.

I stepped beside him to get a better view of his face, but he was doing everything in his power to avoid my eyes. His cheeks were so red, the crimson seemed like his natural color.

Butterflies thumped around in my tummy, and he wasn't even touching me. Just looking at his beautiful face, and soul alike made my heart do tricks.

"Luke," I said his name, softly. "Thank you."

His head bobbed, his eyes flickering his eyes over to mine. "You're not at all welcome, Norris."

I chuckled, gently kicking his foot with mine. "Not even in the smallest speck?"

"In your dreams," he scoffed, darting his tongue into his cheek to stop from laughing. He flicked his head at me. "You're really gonna hate this other shit, though."

I cocked my head. "What do you mean?"

With a shrug, he clamped his lips shut. "For your little smart-ass comments earlier, I'm gonna make you wait for it."

I groaned. "Luke." I hated surprises, especially ones from boys that were the definition of surprise.

"That's my name, angel."

I glared at the sharp, muscular line of his jaw. It was a task to tear my eyes away, but I did, as well as my argument. I knew it was no use; he wasn't going to tell me until he wanted to.

Rolling my eyes, I stepped past him. "Fine, you little prick. I need to go and work on your car, anyway." Luke had it towed back here, but he had no intention of me working on it.

At this, his snarky face fell. Frustration replaced it. "Maggie, I told you that you don't have to work on it anymore. You don't have to do—"

I wasn't having this argument, again. He couldn't expect to give so much, then not receive anything back in return. I wasn't going to take advantage of him like that, plus I genuinely wanted to help.

Besides, this was for me, too. I couldn't wait to see the Mercedes come back to life. The motherfucker was going to be amazing.

At my diehard expression, Luke cursed under his breath. "Maggie..." Crossing his arms, he casted his own glare at me. It was all I caught before I turned around, hearing him call out, "You're not going to listen to me, are you?"

With a middle finger raised to the sky, I treaded past the grocery bags. "You know it, pretty boy."

Past his curses, I was sure I heard a laugh in there, somewhere.

I worked on his car for an hour and a half, before the cruel wind grew too strong. My nerves were bad from the threats in the text messages, this was a good remedy. Sometimes, working on either one of our cars was the thing that calmed me down.

Though, it did speed up the process in getting the car back on the road. It wasn't too difficult to continue on, but the anticipation of Luke's surprise was the main reason why I called it a night.

By the time I made it back inside, I was nearly an ice-sickle. Luke, thankfully had the fireplace lit in the corner of the living room, as well as a cup of hot chocolate waiting on the kitchen island.

Warmth soared through my heart at the sight, but not from the fireplace. With a smile, I edged toward the island. There was a second cup sitting next to it, but it was halfway gone.

I glanced up as I ran my hands together. Luke had his back turned to me, too engulfed in whatever he was doing to notice me.

I pulled out one of the chairs, the scrape calling his attention. He casted me a glance over his shoulder once I picked up my cup of hot chocolate.

"Thank you for this," I said appreciatively. "It was cold as shit out there."

He scoffed. "The second cup was actually meant for me, but I'll let you have it this time, though."

I laughed, softly. "Right." After several sips of my chocolate, I paused once I realized his attention was on something else.

The tattoos on his bare back was exposed to me, but with its size as a whole, I couldn't catch sight of whatever he was up to. He seemed pretty adamant on hiding it, too.

When my curiosity reached its peak, I placed my mug down. "What are you doing?" At my footsteps, Luke tried to block my view with his body. "None of your business. Move."

My hand dug into his shoulder so that I could myself on my toes. "Fuck that." It was harder since he had a few inches on me, though. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing." I tried to peer around his shoulder, but that same shoulder limb shrugged me off. Luke pushed out a frustrated sigh, glaring back at me. "Can you quit being so nosey, woman?"

With my stubbornness, I managed to force myself in his business, pushing him away until I had a good view. Luke continued to grumble curses, but made no continuous effort to stop me, again.

My eyes jumped over the counter, which was aligned with different cooking utensils, as well as tape, markers, and little white sections of paper.

My confusion only worsened until I picked one up. I turned the whisk over, squinting my eyes at the little neat writing that I knew was Luke's. It read 'breaking shit up: mixing.'

I placed it down, then went for the ladle. The same writing was written and taped on the handle, except this time, it read, 'picking shit up: soup, chili, any liquid.' The next was the spatula, with, 'flipping shit over.'

My eyes raised to Luke, shock stilling my expression over just for a second. I couldn't hold it in, this. The laughter brushed my tongue until it spilled out in waves.

With a scowl, Luke snatched the spatula from me, scooting all of the items far from my reach. "It's not funny, Maggie."

It was, but adorable, too.

Past my laughter, I motioned to the rest of the utensils. "You seriously labeled all of this?" I found him in between my blurry eyes, barely managing to get out past my giggles, "Why?"

Luke huffed, glaring down at the whisk, but the whole counter, really. "I didn't know what any of this shit means or does, so I looked it up, but it was way too much shit to remember, so I—" At my restrain of laughter, he doubled his glare down on me. "Stop laughing at me."

I tried, but it was all overlapping. "Luke, you could have just asked me. I would have helped you figure it out."

He shook his head, putting the utensils away. "I've never really cooked before, but I wanted to surprise you with one of your favorites for dinner. I saw it in the book your brother gave me."

My laughter died down, because the constriction of my heart took over all else. It was right in the palm of someone's hand, one that wasn't my own.

And if not that, then it was definitely the cuteness of this man. There was quite a lot of it, too. That, mixed with just him in general...

My sigh was choppy, but still one, nonetheless. I  stepped closer to his frustrated figure, and bumped into his side. "Hey."

Luke looked to me, the sparking worry in his eyes slowly being put out by my reassurance. I made sure to give it until I couldn't.

My smile softened at him. "Thank you, really. That was really sweet of you."

A scowl passed over his lips. "I didn't even get to—"

I shook my head as I turned to face him fully. "I don't care. The thought of it, you wanting to do it at all, was beyond sweet, and I really appreciate it." I glanced over the ingredients he had set out asking the counter, before turning to face him, again. "How about we make Jax's pinwheels together, though? So that we can share?"

His scowl deepened. "We were supposed to be eating yours—"

I shook my head, gently kicking the side of his foot. "Your everything's are just as important to me as mine are to you."

His eyes attached to mine, a soft smile hidden behind them. It soon blossomed into something bigger, until it leaked into his expression. Gratefulness, a hint of surprise, but also awe. My heart skipped at every single flash of the mix I saw go over his handsome face.

My smile softened at the sight of it all. "We can even try some of Jax's different fillings for the pinwheels, too. I know how much you love them. It'll be fun." I flicked my head at him. "And you're not talking me out of this, so don't even think you're getting out of it, pretty boy. End of discussion."

Humor made his eyes bright, as well as the approbation. He raised his hands in surrender. "Yes ma'am." When his arms fell, his dimple deepened, right along with his smile. "Thank you, Norris."

Other than Jax's cinnamon rolls, I knew he could eat his pinwheels for days on end, too. It was one of the cutest things to me, honestly. My heart started to thump extra hard at the growing excitement in his expression, until I was finally mesmerized at the sight.

"Are you sure?" he asked, glancing over the counter. "We can wait until tomorrow or something—"

I shook my head, knocking my arm into his until he gave way to a laugh. "Of course. I'm craving pinwheels more, anyway." That, and I just wanted to get some more of his smiles.

I genuinely didn't care about my food being made first, because for some reason, I would have done anything to watch his elation and all else blossom when we made his.

The fact that he had planned on doing the same for me was just as surreal, and it had left something heavy behind in my heart, too. I had never felt that way about anyone. Any of this way, really.

His pretty, plump lips raised into a sweet smile. "Okay."

A smile drifted like water over my lips. "Okay," I repeated for confirmation.

His acts had left me so puzzled though, but just as much muddled. It took me a minute, or maybe longer to snap out of it.

"So." I stepped closer to the fridge. "Was this your surprise?"

I heard him chuckle from behind me. "You really wanna get it out of me, don't you?"

"There's a lot of things I wanna get out of you, Palce."

"Like what, Norris?"

I balanced a grin over my lips, deciding to tease him instead of voicing what I really wanted out of him. "That pretty little Mercedes of yours."

I didn't even know he was growing closer until I turned. A smirk was settled on his lips. "Hate to disappoint, but this might be a little different."

"How so?"

His smile turned into a full-pledged grin. "I guess I'll let you have it early." With an expression full of mischief, he chunked his bag into the nearest trash, beckoning me on.

My feet followed in sync with his to the hallway, where Fang, for some reason, had decided to drag his dog bed to. Now, he was settled in the bed in the middle of the hallway, on his back with his legs in the air and his snores heavy.

Luke sighed, shaking his head as we stepped past him. I chuckled at the sight, but didn't dare move the sleeping angel. He could sleep wherever he liked.

I nearly bumped into Luke's backside as he stopped in front of my bedroom.

I looked to him, curiously. He answered it with a sly wink, his hand twisting at the knob.

My own fell on top of his as the thought hit. "Wait!"

"What?"

I glanced between him, then the door hesitantly. "If I walk in here...will there be a kangaroo ready to knock me out?"

it came out as a joke, but with Luke, I wasn't too sure. He would do it for a good laugh.

His face went slack at me. "Before me? No way." He went to turn it again before pausing, sending me a silly look. "Hold on. You really think I'd do that shit to you?"

"You shot your best friend in the arm, Luke."

"The fucker aimed at me first," he mumbled, pushing the door open from our side.

I stepped inside, casting a careful examination over the room. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

When I realized what I was seeing, though, a gasp got caught in my throat.

He had arranged my room the exact way it was laid out in Jax and I's apartment. The bed in the same place, the television, the dresser. Even the sheets and blankets, which meant that he had ordered another set since this was bed was a king-sized.

I heard him step closer from behind me, and even without sound, I would have recognized it due to the crawl of heat up my backside.

I jerked around, my mouth agape. "Luke. What the—"

"Head up for me, Norris."

He just had to ruin it.

I settled my arms across my chest. "I'm not falling for it this time, Luke."

Took a couple fails, but I'd finally learned my lesson.

Luke rolled his eyes, stepping closer until we were chest to chest. My own sucked in, but it about broke in half at his next move.

His fingers cupped my chin, tilting my head back until my eyes were forced to the ceiling.

Stars.

The glow in the dark stars.

Shock tore through me at the sight in front of me. There they were.

And, the person who put them up there, was right here.

"Oh my god. Luke..." My widened eyes joined his as I swallowed past the wad in my throat. "You did all of this?"

"Mhm," he nodded. "I just wanted to make you a little more comfortable."

"Luke..." A shaky hand barely made it through my hair. It was as messy as my insides were, right now. "I don't even know what to—"

Luke waved my thanks off. "Save it, brat," he teased. "I don't even wanna hear it." The same grin from earlier found his face. "Here's your next surprise, though."

Before I could form a response, his hands went to my waist. In a tug, they twisted me back around until my back was to his chest.

I really hoped he couldn't feel the heat in my skin the way I know it was showing, right now. I couldn't help it with his hand placement, though.

Slyly, he positioned me in front of the wall closest to the bed, and for a moment I was lost. But, when I saw it, I was pretty sure I felt my heart skip a beat all over again.

My pictures were hung all over in a collage, mainly of me and my friends, or of me and Jax or granny. I had a couple hanging in my room at Jax and I's apartment, but some of these pictures were ones I didn't even have of my friends, which meant that he had to have asked Kimberly or Raven personally for them.

"So..." Luke cleared his throat, stepping to my side. His shrug was a bit heavy with nerves. "I kind of suck at framing but, I hope it's good enough."

"It's perfect," I breathed out without a second thought. "It's so perfect." A shaky sigh flew from my lips. "Why did you...how—"

"You said that you missed them." He smiled at me. "I know it's not the same thing as having them here, but I don't know—"

I hugged him. I don't think I've ever hugged anyone else in the way I did him in this moment, nor did I ever have this type of feeling attached to it.

Home. That was what it felt like in his arms. It felt as if I had crossed the threshold from where everything was bad and tinted, and gone right into the person who was good, warm, and who I was most comfortable with. The person who made me forget it all.

Luke's body was rigid against mine before he relaxed, returning my hug with more than what I even started with. His large frame stretched over mine perfectly, folding me right into his figure with nothing, but comfort.

"Thank you," I mumbled against his chest, attempting to stifle the burning in my throat.

Even after we pulled apart, his hand remained on my waist, fingers wrapped around it as if they had been there all our lives.

I didn't try to move it, because I didn't think I wanted to.  Luke caught himself, a flush following up through his cheeks as he let his hands fall to his side.

The idea clicked the longer I stared at the pictures of my friends, and the people I cared about most.

I pulled my phone out. Luke watched me with a confused expression.

"Take a picture with me," I demanded, yanking him closer. "Now. Smile."

He shot me an odd glance. "What for?"

I rolled my eyes, gripping his jaw to turn his head toward the camera. I snapped the picture, despite him not even smiling. It was his usual RBF, but I thought it just as perfect. Once I saved it, I sent it to his number, too.

"The pictures. They're of people I care about most." I motioned to the pictures. "I want one of me and you to hang up, too."

My statement should have been simple to consider: friends care about each other. We were friends, so it should have made sense.

Except it didn't.

By the way he was looking at me, it didn't. Not in the slightest. And, with the race of a heartbeat in my chest...

I shook my head. I was delusional, that was all.

"You care about me?" he stated slowly, his expression rising.

"Sadly..." My cheeks flushed but I held my position, nonetheless. "I do. A lot." I paused, nodding my head at him. "You make it impossible not to."

The scars on his neck jumped at my words, but something else soared through his expression at my promise. That was what they were, a genuine promise.

My own nerves surged through me as I smiled at him. I hoped that my interpretations were correct, because I wasn't sure what I'd do if they were anything but that.

My voice nearly wavered over the fear, "Do you care about me?"

He didn't hesitate. "I do. A fuck-ton." He fought back a grin, instead biting into his cheek as he shrugged. "Annoyingly so."