23

A Mixtape

"-- I like you, Annie."

I can't help the surprised exhale that escapes from between my parted lips, and with a hard swallow, I lean back to stare up at him. After all of that, yes, I still can't help but wonder if he was really serious. "Luke," I start, confused.

"I'm serious, Anastasia."

My eyes search his for any sign of doubt, just even a small sign, but incredibly enough, there's isn't any. I let my head hang, and I anxiously run my tongue across my bottom lip. It hadn't even been a mere week after our kiss, and already he was here confessing that he liked me? Was this a thing? Did people really do this? I hated that I didn't know. 

Nervous, I reach around and unclasp his hands from around my waist. "Um," I start, taking a step back. "You know, it's pretty late, Luke. We should go to bed." 

I can literally see his face fall. I hate myself for it. "What?"

"Luke," I pause, wrapping my arms around myself. "I don't know if you're playing me with me or not, an--"

"Annie, do you really think I would say all of that and not mean it?" He huffs, irritated. 

"Well, I don't know," I whisper, truthfully. His lips part in disbelief, and I quickly splutter, "I don't think you would."

He shakes his head, deflated. "Well, what do I have to do to let you know that I'm serious?" And, I don't know, maybe it's how willing and almost ready he instantly seems, like he'd lay the world at my feet if I'd asked, but it's then that I realize, he's serious. 

I glance down at his still parted, pink lips and I realize that I want to kiss him again. Like seriously kiss him. But I can't now. Enough has already happened today and I don't think I'll be able to deal with myself if I do. 

I stare at him and after a seriously long stretch of silence, I finally say shyly, "It's okay, I get it."

Briefly, a shy smile crosses his face, then he straightens up; his eyes gleaming. "Can I kiss you now? I don't think I can walk away from you right now, without kissing you."

I seriously want to, but I shake my head. "We probably shouldn't."

Luke tilts his head back to rest against my door, and my eyes are drawn to his Adam's apple. It bobs slightly underneath his skin when he swallows and my chest tightens. It's definitely time for me to head to bed. 

"I'm going to bed, move," I playfully tease. 

He looks down at me, "Ask nicely."

"Please?"

"Fine," he says. Still, he doesn't move. His eyes trail slow and deliberately down my body and he reaches forward and grips the side of my t-shirt; gently drawing me forward and right up against him. "You're still wearing these shorts."

Despite myself, I laugh, "Mhm, and I'd like to go to sleep in them too, so do you mind?"

Gently, he wraps his fingers around my neck so that his thumbs lightly rest at the base of my throat, and he leans down to kiss my forehead. "Goodnight, babe."

--

It's nine o'clock in the morning, and I really don't want to get out of bed. It's not that I'm tired, cause really, I'm not.  It's knowing that Andrew and my mom are back, and not wanting to face them.

Just last night, I couldn't sleep thinking about Luke's unexpected confession, and just the realization that we were in a house all alone and he was practically on the other side of the wall, really didn't make things any better.

The sound of the radio plays from downstairs and I flip on my back and stare up at the ceiling; a mere attempt at willing myself to get up. If I'm being honest, I'm kind of nervous about seeing him today. I mean, what if he doesn't think I'm pretty anymore? What if he suddenly doesn't believe any of everything he's said last night?

I flip on my side, throw my covers off of me and stare at my open window. 

I kissed you, Annie, because I wanted to kiss you.

That should be enough reassurance. Right? 

I'd fucking kiss you again.

Yes, this is good. I force myself up and out of bed. I change out of shorts into a pair of jogging pants, tame my hair with my fingers, and head downstairs. 

Everyone's already seated around the island eating breakfast and as I scan the kitchen, my eyes lock eyes with an entertained Luke. His hair is messily tucked underneath a beanie and he's wearing a plain white t-shirt. I blink. I don't think I've ever seen him wearing one, it makes his blue eyes look so good, and I turn away. 

 I glance at my mom and Andrew who are leaned over a pile of papers. "Hey guys," I start, heading towards the refrigerator. "How was New York?"

My mom glances up and flashes me a quick smile. Her hair is in two pigtails and for a moment she reminds me of myself/ "It was ... New York. Loud, busy, beautiful. Really, fun."

"Everything cool with the caterers?" I yank open the fridge and grab the orange juice. When I turn around, Luke is already holding a cup out to me. "Thanks," I murmur with a smile, nervously settling down on the bar stool beside him. He holds the cup for me while I pour.

"Actually, everything worked out just great. We even got offered a free fondue fountain for the misunderstanding."

Luke perks up, "Oh wow, cool! Did you take it?"

Andrew shakes his head with a frown, "No. No one likes fondue. It's messy and unsanitary."

I raise my eyebrows, laughing, "Interesting." They return back to their mountain of papers and as I'm leaning across the table to reach for a plate, Luke turns to me. Leaning his head on his palm, he stares at me, glances at our parents, and asks, "How did you sleep?"

I fork a slice of french toast onto my plate and settle back down, turning turn to him. He still looks the same. Relaxed, handsome, and wearing that same smirk that could easily take the world by storm. I pull my lips in, trying to refrain from grinning. "Just fine, how about you? Did you sleep okay?"

"Hardly," he lowers his voice. "Couldn't stop thinking about those lips."

I stab a piece of my bread, now fully grinning. "Huh? Well, that's unfortunate."

"H-"

"Oh, guys, we got you souvenirs!" My mom announces, cutting Luke off, and I peel my eyes away from him, swallowing my food.

"You did?"

"Andrew's idea." She jumps off her chair and hurries into the living room before returning with a shopping bag. Excitedly, she takes out a huge pair of neon green sunglasses that spell, 'I LOVE NY', and she hands them to me. "For you Annie doll," she laughs. Then, she reveals a Statue of Liberty foam crown, "Luke."

I slide them on and turn to the boy besides me, "What do you think?"

He laughs and switches his beanie for the crown, "I think you need to refer to me as sire Luke from now on."

"Noted, sire." With a laugh, I take my glasses off and set them down. "Thanks, mom. Thanks, Andrew, I love them."

"Wait, that's not all," she laughs, and then with the same excited urgency she produces four different colored t-shirts, with the same I LOVE NY logo, "Matching t-shirts!"

--

I'm standing in my room, getting my clothes together for after my shower and listening to music, when Luke appears in my doorway. His arms are crossed, and he's leaned back against my door frame, staring at me.

I raise an eyebrow, "What's up?"

"Nothing, can I come in?"

"When do you ever ask?" I laugh. 

"Point made." Slipping in, he pounces down on my bed and lies down on his front to watch me. "About to shower?"

"I don't know," I glance up at him and roll my eyes. "Depends on whether or not you're gonna have to use the bathroom anytime soon."

Luke laughs, "Well I did have two glasses of orange juice."

"In that case, I'll wait," I laugh. Holding up two pairs of jeans, I look up at him, "Stone washed or black?"

"Black, always." He says without hesitation, then he flips over on his back and stares up my ceiling; his fingers intertwined over his chest, "So ... what do you want for your birthday?

I look  up, "What?"

"It's what? Next week, right?"

"Yes ..." I trail off. Folding my jeans over my arm, I grab a shirt and close my drawer. "You don't have to get me anything."

"Of course, I do," he chuckles, turning his head to the side to look at me.

"Why? Is it because we um, kissed?" I mutter, "Because you don't have to buy me a present or anything like that." I pause, hoping that he doesn't think he's obligated to buy me something because we kissed. I mean, we're not dating. 

"What? No, no." Sitting up, he stares at me. "I was gonna get you something before, it just happened that I, you know, we ended up kissing."

"Oh," I laugh, grabbing my toiletries bag. "I don't want anything. I'm getting a car, that's more than enough."

He rolls his eyes, "But that's not from me. I want to get you something on my own."

I shrug and then rack my brain for something to tell him. Honestly, I wasn't expecting him to ask. Narrowing my eyes, I shrug again, dumbfounded. 

"Um, a CD?"

Luke blinks, "You want a CD? Seriously, Annie? Out of everything I could get you, a CD?"

I nod, "Make me a mixtape. Of all your favorite songs. Remember you told me I had a lot to learn?"

At that Luke grins, "You want a mixtape? I mean, are you sure?"

"Yeah," I head for the door, "That way you don't have to spend any money on me."

"Not that I'd mind." Jumping up, he bounds over to where I'm standing in the doorway, "Glad that's settled."

I laugh, "Yeah." He doesn't say anything, just stares down at me and I clutch my stuff against my chest, "So can I go shower now?"

"No one's stopping you, Annie."

I elbow him and then start across the hall. "Wait," he whispers, "Come here."

I huff, "No one's stopping me, huh?"

"You know, I read yesterday that if everyone cuts down their shower time by 5 minutes, we could conserve at least 10% of water," Luke bites his bottom lip and cheekily shrugs, "Imagine how much time we'd save by showering together." 

"Nice try," I roll my eyes and step around him. 

Luke follows me towards the bathroom and just before I close the door in his face he laughs, "What? You don't care about our planet, Annie?"

--

AN - updating at 1:30 AM now if that's not dedication ...

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