You'll be mine and I'll be yours

All I know since yesterday is everything has changed.

-Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran, "Everything Has Changed"

Tallahassee, Florida

Rachel

"An Introduction to School Counseling... The Counselor and the Law...." I murmured to myself as I picked up each textbook and put them in the handbasket I carried.

These books were so expensive... I only needed 4 and they would probably end up being over $600. I pulled out my phone to check my bank balance and my heart skipped several beats. I had three times as much money as I had the other day when I checked. I clicked the details button and smiled when I saw the words "Mobile Deposit." Miles must've put some money in my account over the phone. Damn, I'm lucky.

"Hey, fancy meeting you here," a voice said from behind me.

I turned around and saw Alex taking the same textbooks off the shelf. I smiled.

"Oh, hey," I greeted him. "How's it going?"

"All right, you?"

"Pretty good. Just picking up all the stuff I need for the semester," I said.

"Me too." He glanced in my basket. "We have the same classes, huh?"

"Yeah, here at FSU, they group us together and we go through the whole program with the same group," I explained. "Every school counseling student will have the same classes, but we'll have them at different times."

"Ah, I see. I wonder if we're in the same group," he commented.

I shrugged. "I know Britt and I are. There's an easy way to tell. What's the first class you'll go to?"

He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and studied it. "Introduction to the Counseling Profession with Dr. Darlington," he said.

I nodded. "Us too! So we'll be in the same group," I said, and he grinned.

"Awesome. It'll be great to know some other people," he said in relief.

"Definitely. Did you find all your books?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's probably going to cost an arm and a leg," he sighed.

"Right?" We started to walk toward the checkout and got in line.

Alex was right; these books were ridiculously expensive. My total came to $545.03. I silently thanked Miles for the surprise deposit.

When we had both paid, we left the bookstore and ran right into Brittany.

"Hey you guys!" she greeted cheerily.  She glanced down at the bags in our hands. "Oh Lord, you guys bought your books... I did that yesterday and almost emptied my bank account."

We laughed. "Yeah, it was a lot," I agreed.

"Have you guys eaten lunch yet?" she asked, glancing shyly at Alex.

Did she honestly look shy? That was a first.

"I haven't," Alex said. "I'm pretty hungry actually." He turned to me. "Rachel, join us?"

Brittany looked at me from behind him, running her finger along her throat in a slitting motion. "No!" she mouthed.

I cleared my throat. "I, uh, I can't. I have to get home and help my roommate clean the apartment," I lied. Brittany clasped her hands together in gratitude.

"Oh. Well, okay then," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Just you and me then, Alex," Brittany said, hooking her arm through his. "See you later, Rach," she said, winking at me.

I grinned. "See y'all."

I walked toward the parking lot, shaking my head in amusement.

Panama City Beach, Florida

Luke

When I came back into the penthouse at 6:00 am, Brooke was already up and gone. She left me a note on the counter under a basket of homemade muffins:

Luke,

I couldn't go back to sleep, so I made some muffins. Blueberry – your favorite. I'm really sorry about last night. We need to talk. I'm working on the 7th floor suites today, so you're welcome to come down. I love you. Please don't doubt that.

Love,

B

I clenched my jaw and stared at the muffins. Damnit, they look good. I grabbed one and shoved it in my mouth, hopping up on the counter, thinking about the events of last night.

She lied to me. There wasn't any getting around that. But why? Was it necessarily something bad? I mean, you'd think that if she was really trying to hide something – drug use or another guy – she'd have used a better alibi than my own dad. Brooke isn't dumb.

And the only way she'd cheat on me again is if she were on drugs with an altered state of mind. That's the only reason she did it in the first place. And she had put on a little weight in the past couple weeks, something that would not happen if she were using again. I knew the signs to watch for, and none of them were there.

I hopped off the counter, grabbed another muffin, slid my phone in my pocket and, rather than waiting on the elevator, took the stairs to the 7th floor.

Brooke

"Yes sir, Mr. Dickerson. I will have these suites done as soon as all of my orders come in," I said, and he nodded.

"Good. That's what I like to hear. Thank you for all your hard work, Ms. Kane. It does not go unnoticed," he said.

Just then, there was a knock on the door jamb. I turned to see Luke standing in the open doorway. My heart started beating faster.

"Oh, hello, Mr. Salazar," Mr. Dickerson said, holding out his hand to Luke, who shook it.

"Good morning, Mr. Dickerson. I trust you found Ms. Kane working hard?" Luke asked, a slight teasing tone to his voice.

"I did. We're really lucky to have her onboard. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go to check on the landscaping team," Mr. Dickerson said, nodding to me and disappearing into the hallway.

Luke and I just stood there for a minute, looking at each other, then at the ground, then back at each other.

"I – "

"Br – " We started at the same time, then laughed.

"You go first," he said.

"I need to talk to you, Luke... you have to let me explain what happened last night," I pleaded.

"Okay," he said simply.

"But Luke, please, I –  " I stopped and looked at him. "Wait, it's that easy?"

He laughed. "Yeah. Start talking, B."

"Okay, but can we go down to the beach?" I asked, closing my eyes and trying to remember if the envelope from Dr. Young was still in my bag.

I never took it out, so it should be.

"Yeah, sure," he agreed, and as he turned around, I slid the envelope out of my purse and into my back pocket. My heart raced faster as we made our way out of the building and to the sand.

When we got to the water, I slid my sandals off and walked into the surf. Luke did the same, taking both our sandals and dropping them out of the way of the water.

I took a deep breath. "Luke, you're right; I did not have a meeting with your father yesterday evening. I was doing something else. But it's not what you think," I said quickly. I took his hand in mine, and thankfully, he didn't take it away.

"What was it then, Brooke?" he asked, his hazel eyes not as flat as they were last night, more open, but still slightly guarded.

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the envelope. Luke's eyebrow dipped briefly as his eyes went from me to the envelope and then back to me.

"What is that?" he murmured.

I opened it and pulled out the ultrasound picture, holding it to my chest. "This isn't really how I wanted to tell you this, Luke, but..." I turned the photo around it and placed it in his hand. "I'm pregnant. We're going to be parents... and I'm not going to mess it up this time," I whispered, my eyes filling with tears.

His mouth dropped as he looked at the picture. He stared at it for a few seconds and then looked back at me.

"Are you serious, B?" he whispered, and my heart exploded at his use of my nickname.

I nodded. "Absolutely. You're gonna get the chance to be a daddy, Luke," I murmured, stepping toward him.

His face lit up into a grin and he pulled me to him, picking me up and twirling me around. "Oh my God, B. This is amazing," he said, kissing me all over my face.

I laughed and snuggled my face into his neck, tears falling onto his skin.

"I'm sorry I lied; I wanted to tell you for your birthday, which is why I was keeping it a secret," I said.

He put me down and pressed his forehead to mine. "You don't have to apologize, baby. I'm sorry I doubted you," he breathed. He placed his hand on my stomach. "I love you," he said, then dropped to his knees and kissed my belly. "Both of you."