Luke woke to the sound of his alarm going off early in the morning. He snatched his phone off the nightstand and hit Dismiss before it could wake Elise. It was set for working the day shift, and he’d forgotten to turn it off before he went to bed last night. He had already taken care of his shift today, so he didn’t have to worry about going into work. But, now, he was awake and wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep.

Luke was lying on his side with Elise curled up behind him, her arm slung over his waist. Her fingers were clutching his boxers, as if she were worried he would leave. He carefully extracted her hand and rolled her onto her back, so he could slide out of bed. He grabbed his phone and then slipped on his jeans, not bothering to button them, as he left the room and closed the door behind him.

He went downstairs and started the coffee. Elise had been in her new home for only a few days, but she’d taken the week off from work to unpack, and she had made good progress. Although now she would be using her time off to visit her sick father. Maybe Elise could drive to Rochester today by herself, and Luke could help out by doing some more unpacking for her.

Luke rummaged around for something to eat for breakfast. This was only the second time that he’d stayed at Elise’s house. He’d spent the night the day she moved in, but since he’d had to work early on Monday and Tuesday, he’d stayed home.

It was kind of crazy to think that Elise and he hadn’t actually spent that many nights together. With her living at her parents’, she would come to his house but always went home to sleep, except for their first night together and when her dad had been in the hospital the first time. Elise having her own place was going to make it a lot easier for them to be together.

Luke found bacon and eggs, but it was still too early to make them. He wanted Elise to sleep longer because she needed the rest. But, since he was still hungry, he selected a banana, picked up his coffee, and headed for the family room to turn on the morning news.

He didn’t make it far before there was a pounding at the front door. Who in the hell would be making so much noise at six fifteen in the morning? Luke rushed to the door, setting his cup on the counter on the way, before whoever was out there woke up Elise.

He took a quick peek out the window in the front door before opening it. It was Rachel, and she looked upset.

Luke swung the door open. “Is everything okay?”

Rachel scanned Luke from head to toe, probably taking in his messy hair, his bare chest, his unbuttoned jeans, and his bare feet. There was no denying that Luke had slept there, so he didn’t even try to hide it. He was going to own that shit. He did, however, button up his pants.

“No,” Rachel said, pushing Luke out of the way and barging into the house. “I don’t even know where to start,” she practically yelled.

Luke held out his hand and pushed it down. “Shh, Elise is still sleeping.” He walked past her and motioned for her to go with him. “Come on, I’ll pour you some coffee. I’m guessing you have some questions.”

Rachel followed, stomping behind him. “You’re damn right I do.”

“How do you take your coffee?” Luke asked before taking the last bite of his banana and tossing the peel in the garbage.

“Black is fine.”

Luke poured Rachel a cup while she took a seat at the kitchen table. He set it in front of her and then sat across from her.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

“First, how is Elise’s dad?”

“Critical. Hopefully, things are better this morning, but we haven’t heard anything since we left the hospital last night.” Luke leaned back in his chair. “Didn’t Elise tell you?”

Rachel scowled. “No. She didn’t tell me anything. The only reason I know anything is because Sean told me, and Sean knew because you’d canceled your plans last night and told him.”

Whoops.

Luke wasn’t sure if he had messed up or not. He’d texted Sean to cancel, and he had just assumed Elise had told her best friend about her father right away. And, since Sean knew about Elise and Luke, he hadn’t bothered to keep anything private. And he really couldn’t imagine Elise wanting to keep Rachel in the dark about her dad, which meant that Elise had probably forgotten to call her, like she’d forgotten to call her sister.

The realization that Elise had called him and only him made him want to smile, but he wouldn’t dare in front of Rachel right now.

Not only had Elise called him when she was in distress, but she also hadn’t asked him to do one doctor thing at the hospital yesterday. When her father’s doctor had left and she’d called him a butthole, Luke had briefly wondered if she’d ask him to go talk to him, doctor to doctor. But she hadn’t even hinted that it was what she wanted from him. He’d wanted to kiss her right in front of her mother.

Focusing back on the current conversation, Luke told Rachel, “I’m sorry she didn’t tell you. She was very upset. She even forgot to call Kristen.”

“I tried calling and texting her several times.”

“She turned her phone on Do Not Disturb when we left the hospital, so only her mom’s and sister’s phone calls would come through.”

Rachel crossed her arms. “Yet, somehow, you knew, and you were there.”

“Yeah, about that. That is something you and Elise need to talk about. I’m not going to get in the middle of it,” Luke said as he lifted his cup to take a sip of coffee.

“You mean, the fact that you’re fucking one of my closest friends like she’s one of your whores?” Her voice dripped with hostility.

Luke slammed his cup on the table and pointed a finger at Rachel. “Don’t you dare talk about Elise like that.”

Rachel blanched at his words, dropping her arms. Her face showed surprise and then softened. “You’re right. That was completely uncalled for. I shouldn’t have suggested that…” She waved her hand for Luke to fill in the blank in his head.

Except Luke wasn’t going to let her off that easily. “That she’s a whore. No, you shouldn’t have.”

Rachel grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

As she should be.

“Look, I just don’t want her to get hurt.”

This time, Luke crossed his arms.

“Sean told me that this isn’t some fling to you, but I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t look out for her.”

“Why does everyone think I’m such a bad guy?”

Rachel sighed. “It’s not that we think you’re a bad guy. We’re just thinking of your history.” She held her arms off, as if to ward off his protests. “I know college was a long time ago, but it’s what most of us know.”

“Well, how about this? Did it ever occur to anyone that I didn’t get serious in college because the girls didn’t want to, not because I didn’t want to?”

Rachel looked at him like he’d grown another head.

“Yeah, I’m not saying I wanted to date every chick I slept with, but most girls just saw me as some conquest. Some big hockey player to add to their roster. It wasn’t even just the puck bunnies. There were a few girls in there who were more on the serious side and didn’t follow hockey. But they pretty much laughed in my face when I brought up seeing them again. Apparently, I was only good enough for a roll in the hay.”

Luke hadn’t even told Elise this. Let’s face it; it was downright embarrassing to only be wanted for your dick.

“I…I had no idea.”

“Well, now, you do. I really have no intentions of hurting Elise. If anything, I’m the one who could end up being the injured party.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy, but has Elise ever talked about other guys she’s slept with?”

“You mean, how all her boyfriends are duds in bed?”

Luke didn’t know why he was surprised that Rachel knew this, but he was.

He cleared his throat. “That, and the only guys she was able to…achieve a climax with were not boyfriend material, according to Elise.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that, too.”

“Well, I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but let’s just say that Elise is satisfied in that area with me. Very satisfied. So, I can’t help but wonder how long I’m going to last. What I don’t understand is why.”

“I think it has something to do with her parents and how she was raised. She seems so different from them, but it seems like there must be some weird things ingrained in her that she doesn’t even know about.”

“I noticed.” Luke stood, took his coffee cup to the sink, and rinsed it out.

Rachel didn’t say anything more as Luke put his cup in the dishwasher, and she got up to use the bathroom. He grabbed the bacon and eggs out of the fridge when he heard soft footsteps coming from the front of the house and then up behind him. A pair of feminine arms slipped around his waist.

“Are you going to cook me breakfast?” Elise asked.

Luke turned around and pulled her close. “That was the idea.”

Elise stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “You’re so sweet.”

“Did you find out anything about your dad?”

“No, I’m going to call my mom in a minute. I just wanted to say good morning to you.”

Luke rubbed her back. “So, does this mean that you haven’t checked your phone at all?”

“No…why?”

“Because Rachel’s here.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Uh-oh is right,” Rachel said, appearing from around the corner.