SEVEN
Ana
It’s been three weeks since the evening Luke turned up at my apartment. He’s turned up a few more times during the week, and on the weekends, we’ve ended up at his house. To be more accurate, on his bed. Luke doesn’t do things by halves. He keeps me flat on my back or on my hands and knees or sitting on top of him or in any damn position he wants until he’s made me come multiple times. Even when I think I’ve had enough and can’t come anymore, he proves me wrong. He has taken complete control of my body such that I now constantly crave him. By the time he’s done with me, I don’t know if there’ll be any part of me that will be interested in any other man. Besides all the wonderful sex we have, Luke seems curious about my life, my family and my job. I told him about how my parents and I moved from our home in Vancouver to Manchester when I was thirteen because my dad took up a job at the university. What I didn’t tell him was how upset I was about leaving my friends behind. Being an only child to two busy parents made me a little reliant on my friends. And I definitely didn’t want to leave them. As soon as I turned eighteen, I moved to Texas for college with plans to move back to Vancouver. We lost Mom when I was in my senior year, and it put things in perspective for me. Home wasn’t Manchester or Vancouver, it was wherever my family was. Dad still works at the university, and living in London is as far as I’m willing to be from him.
Also, Luke always asks me questions about my day each time he sees me. I doubt he finds it fascinating. In turn, he drops tidbits about his work without my asking. We seem to talk about everything except what exactly we’re doing and his family.
My phone rings on my desk. It’s Luke. My heart decides to skip a few beats. I quickly glance around to make sure none of my coworkers are within hearing distance.
I clear my throat before I pick up the call.
“Hey,” I say, adopting a casual and relaxed tone.
“Ana.” His voice is so damned sexy. “How are you?” he asks smoothly.
“Good. Good.” Why the hell am I repeating myself? “You?”
“It’s been a busy day. Do you have plans this evening?”
This is the part where I say yes, where I tell him that I have a date. The fact that I don't have any plans is immaterial. It's Friday afternoon. He doesn’t get to call me and ask me if I’m available on such short notice. No way am I letting him think that I’m sitting around waiting for him to ask me out. No way.
“Ana?” Luke is waiting for my response.
“No, I don’t have any plans.” That’s great, Ana. Is there anyone anywhere else in the world that caved faster, without any pressure? Goodbye self-preservation.
“I’ll be at your place at seven. We’ll grab dinner and then stay at mine. Pack a bag. Okay?”
We’re having dinner together? And he wants me to pack a bag? That’s a first. I’m tempted to ask him if we’re spending the entire weekend together. But I don’t.
“Ana. Seven. Don’t be late.”
“Yeah. Okay.” I manage to get the words out. I realize he didn’t wait for me to confirm I’m okay with his plans before reminding me of the time and telling me not to be late. But you know what? I’m too happy to care. I’m pretty certain I’m spending an entire weekend with him.
“I’ll see you later.”
“Okay.” He hangs up. It seems like “okay” is now my new favorite word. That’s the Luke Charlton effect.
***
“Would you like to watch the Spurs match?”
It’s Saturday morning and I’ve just woken up in Luke’s bed. Last night felt like a date. He took me to a really lovely – and romantic – restaurant for dinner and when we got to his house, he let me pick a movie for us to watch. I chose a romantic comedy, and he graciously watched it with me. We went to bed immediately after the movie ended, and he proceeded to wring orgasm after orgasm out of me.
“Sure.” Thanks to my lusting after him and wanting to know everything about him, I’m now practically a Spurs fan.
“At the stadium,” he adds.
Surprised, I stare at him. Is this another date? Luke’s expression doesn’t give anything away. He’s standing beside the bed patiently waiting for my response. I’ve never been to a stadium to watch a live match. It should be an experience.
“Sounds good.”
“We’ll leave in an hour. It’s an early game,” he says. I should ask him who they’re playing but who cares? I get to spend the entire afternoon with him. And whoever the opponents are won’t make a single difference to me. “I got you a jersey to wear. It’s in the closet.” My mouth almost drops open. “Can I get you something to eat?”
I realize I’m now staring at him, so I shake my head to let him know I’m not hungry. Food is so far from what I need right now. I need answers.
“Okay. I’ll be downstairs.” He starts to leave the bedroom.
“Luke?” I want to ask him what exactly is happening here. I want to know what we’re doing. We seem to have gone from agreeing to spend one night together to having regular sex – without any commitment – to this. And I don’t know what this is.
He turns to me. His eyes are a vibrant green – bright and clear – and focused on me. “Yeah?”
He’s so gorgeous standing by the door shirtless and looking at me, making me not think straight. I feel all twisted up inside. I can’t ask the question. The words are stuck in my throat. They don’t want to come out.
“I’ll be ready in an hour,” I say.
Less than an hour later, I’m in the living room, wearing my new white Spurs jersey and ready to go. My name is printed on the back along with “11”, Harry Kane’s squad number. He’s Luke’s favorite player. Luke is also wearing his jersey which has Kane’s name and number on it. Is it crazy to be happy that we have the same number on our jerseys?
He pulls out his phone from his pocket. “I’ll call Cole and find out where –” The doorbell rings, interrupting him. “That should be him,” he says, walking to the door.
Cole’s coming with us?
“Ready?” Cole asks as soon as Luke opens the door. Rae is standing beside him, grinning like she’s just won the lottery.
“Yeah. I was about to call you.”
“Hey, Ana,” Cole says, walking into the house and smiling at me. He leans down to kiss my cheek. He doesn’t look surprised to see me in Luke’s house.
“Hey,” I say, smiling up at him.
“Hi, Luke. Ana, sweetheart, I didn’t know you were here. The four of us could have had breakfast together,” Rae says, trying to look innocent and failing. Of course she knew I was spending the weekend at Luke’s. I called her as soon as Luke dropped the phone yesterday.
I don’t look at Luke to see what he thinks about us having breakfast with Rae and Cole like we’re a couple. “I . . .” What the fuck am I supposed to say to that? I have no idea what's happening between Luke and me.
“Maybe next time,” Luke says. “We should go before the traffic starts.”
Rae widens her eyes at me and hooks my arm with hers. I know she’s eager to find out what happened between us last night and this morning especially now that he’s clearly stated that we’d all be having breakfast together someday. I don’t want to read any meaning into his words. I don’t want to get my hopes up.
We all get into Luke’s car. Rae and I sit in the back. She looks adorable in a baby blue T-shirt with ‘Tottenham Hotspurs’ printed on the front and a pair of dark blue jeans. Since she moved in with Cole, she’s become a huge Spurs fan. She and Cole are inseparable. I’m so happy for them. It’s obvious to everyone how devoted they are to each other. I wonder how it’d feel to have Luke look at me the way Cole looks at Rae, to have him fall in love with me. No. I can’t go there. I can’t let myself think about him or us that way. I’d be setting myself up for massive disappointment. Everyone knows that he doesn’t date seriously. He’s made it clear that he isn’t interested in being in a committed relationship. I can’t afford to hope.
My phone buzzes in my hand. I look down at the screen and I see I have a message from Rae. I glance at her and her brown eyes, alight with curiosity, are on me waiting for me to read the message.
Her: I’m dying here. What’s going on with you and Luke? Are you guys finally together?
Me: No, we’re not. We didn’t talk about what we’re doing. We had dinner last night and this morning, he asked me if I’d like to watch the game.
While she’s reading it, I put my phone on mute. To anyone looking at us, we’re both engrossed in our phones.
Her: He got you the jersey, right?
Me: Yeah. He gave it to me this morning.
Her: I knew it! I bet he wanted to put his name on it. You guys look so good together.
Rae included some love-struck and heart emojis in her message.
Me: I’m not reading anything into it.
Her: You know he didn’t get you the jersey this morning, right? Asking you to the game wasn’t a spur of the moment decision. He thought about it and then got you the jersey to wear. He wants to spend time with you.
I read Rae’s message again and again, and I know I’m in trouble because that light fluttering in my heart is what I’ve been desperately trying to ignore. Hope. It’s dangerous but I can’t help feeling it. He wants to spend more time with me. It can’t be just sex. Right? I look up at him and my gaze collides with his vivid green eyes in the rear-view mirror. God, I want this man so much. Please let me be right. Luke pulls his gaze away and focuses on the road. We aren’t moving but I can’t see any traffic. A traffic light ahead must have stopped us.
“Baby, why are you so quiet?” Cole asks his fiancée, turning to look at her. He sees her grinning widely. “What's up?” She tucks her phone away and tries to wipe the grin from her face. She does a poor job of it. Cole glances at me, and then turns back to her. “What are you both up to?”
“Nothing, sweetheart,” she says.
“Rae, you promised and I’m not letting you break it.”
She raises an eyebrow at him. “What promise? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I knew it. We’re having this conversation later,” he says seriously.
“What conversation?” she asks with the fakest innocent expression I’ve ever seen. I don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.
Cole mutters something under his breath, and then says out loud, “This isn't over.”
Rae doesn’t get the chance to respond because Luke stops the car in front of a café, and asks, “Ana, are you hungry?”
“I’m glad you care about Ana, Luke. Cole and I could do with some hot chocolate,” Rae says before I can answer him.
Cole groans. “She’s joking,” he tells Luke.
“Baby, I’m not. I also feel like having a muffin, preferably dark chocolate with hazelnuts.”
Cole is going to get her the hot chocolate and muffin, no doubt about it. He lives to make her happy. She feels the same way about him too.
“Ana didn’t have breakfast,” Luke says. I don’t know if he’s explaining that it’s the only reason he asked. Why does that bother me?
Rae turns to me. “Why? Were you too tired to eat?” she asks, all fake innocence.
Luke raises an eyebrow at her and his lips twitch. He’s obviously holding back a smile. Cole just shakes his head. As for me, my cheeks feel very warm.
“I think we should go inside. We still have some time before we have to be in the stadium,” Luke says.
Cole opens his fiancée’s door, and pulls her to him once she’s out of the car. As for me, Luke takes my hand in his. To the world, we look like any other normal couple.