Kill My Time-LH

*Chapter Eight*

The next morning Luke woke up with a smile on his face. He touched the side of his mouth with the tips of his fingers where Rhiannon had kissed him. The thought of her lips that close to his sent a shiver down his spine. He wanted to see her again, but he didn't even know her name. He thought it was best to do some investigating. The best place to do that, would of course, be Jitters. He knew he was risking running into Rhiannon while he was there, but he wanted to talk to her friend. She was the one eavesdropping and he had a hunch she was the one who convinced Rhiannon to go to the bar last night. He wanted to see Rhiannon again, but without bands, best friends and jobs getting in the way. Marnie was just the girl to help him with that. 

Luke had been sitting at the small round table for two in the corner of Jitters for fifteen minutes. He was pretending to read the newspaper while he hunched over looking for any signs of Rhiannon. He was sure she wasn't there, but five more minutes of hiding wouldn't do any harm. 

Marnie spotted Luke five minutes ago. She was curious who the man behind the newspaper was and then she spotted them. She saw his glittery boots. She only knew one person who could possibly be wearing those at nine in the morning. She rolled her eyes when she saw his eyes peek over the newspaper darting back and forth like he was hiding from the law. She laughed and started preparing two teas for herself and Luke. She thought he could be looking for Rhiannon, but she wanted to get to him first. Her best friend didn't deserve another guy who was shit. She wanted to make sure Rhiannon was taken care of. 

Luke was still spying behind his newspaper when a drink was set in front of him in a pink mug. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to hide from someone." Luke jumped, not knowing someone was behind him. His left elbow bumped the mug, almost knocking it off the small table. He scrambled to keep it on the table. A grimace was plastered on his face as he looked up at the woman. His eyes wide with something between terror and surprise. "I am hiding from someone. Your friend isn't here is she?" 

Marnie's eyebrows furrowed with her head cocked to the side. "First of all, you don't even know her name? You can't just dance like that with someone when you don't know their name." Marnie may have had too much to drink the previous night and her memory was fuzzy, but she definitely remembers Rhiannon and Luke dancing. The whole bar remembers. The way their bodies moved together was hypnotizing. The funny thing is, neither Luke nor Rhiannon noticed the staring. "Second, why are you hiding from my best friend? She's been through a lot and she doesn't need some fuck boy stressing her out," Marnie spoke a little louder than appropriate in the small coffee shop.

Luke sighed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "First of all, we were just dancing. It's not like we were having sex in a public place. Plus she won't tell me her name! That's why I'm here." Luke knew he was lying through his teeth. He knew they weren't just dancing. He felt a connection with his mystery woman. He had never been willing to dance with someone else before, especially in a bar full of regulars who he knew would tease him about it later. As soon as his gaze left Rhiannon's back last night, he could feel the eyes of the whole bar on him. When he looked around, all of the customers suddenly looked away and pretended to be way too interested in their drinks. "Second, I'm not just some fuck boy," Luke said with disgust, "I'm not going to use your friend and get rid of her."

"If she doesn't tell you her name, then I won't either. Plus, you've picked out quite the nickname for her. How can you barely know a person and pick up on that so quickly?" Marnie pulled out the round chair with a geometric cushion on it and sat across from Luke. "I saw the tattoo on her wrist and the flowers in her car. She must really like flowers to have some permanently inked into her body," Luke smiled at the memory of the first time he called her wildflower. She was so flustered. He craved to make her flustered again. 

"You're pretty observant for a man. Flowers are really important to Rhi, uh, I mean, my friend." Marnie tapped her fingers on the side of her mug. She bit the inside of her cheek noticing the slip up right away. She glanced over at Luke to see if he had noticed and of course he did. His left side of his mouth was turned up into a smirk and his eyes were sparkling with a hint of mischief. He was thrilled that Marnie has messed up, but he wasn't going to show her just how happy he was so he tried to divert the conversation.

 "So if I can't know your friend's name, can I at least know yours? I probably should if I'm going to ask for a favor." Marnie sat up straighter in her chair. She was looking right into Luke's blue eyes. "What kind of favor could you possibly be asking me? You don't even know me."

"I want to see your friend again and I don't want any distractions. There are always too many people around. And I know she was hesitant to come out last night, so thank you by the way," Luke smiled and leaned his head in his hand. The other hand pushing his curls back out of his face. 

Marnie was thrilled for Rhiannon. She found a handsome man who wanted to get to know her more and he didn't seem like the type to ditch her for no reason. Marnie laughed. "It was mostly me who pushed her to go last night, but I'll tell you a secret," Marnie leaned a little closer to Luke and whispered, "She really wanted to see you. She just needed a little push." 

Luke was trying to hide his smile by drinking some of the tea Marnie had brought him. "So you'll help me then?" He asked with hope in his voice. "I'll help you on one condition," Marnie said as threateningly as she could muster, "If you hurt my friend, I'll find you and I'll castrate you. No questions asked. No excuses." Marnie giggled at Luke's horrified face, "By the way, my name is Marnie. It's nice to finally meet you." 

Luke subconsciously rested his hand that wasn't holding his mug over his lap. "Um, I don't think that will be necessary, but I think it's nice to meet you too."

"Don't hurt her and you won't have anything to worry about. Now, let's get down to business. What did you have in mind?" Luke scooted his chair closer to Marnie just in case one of the other employees was listening. "Well....".

*Fun fact: I don't really read this back before I publish. I just add some extra details.*

*I hope everyone had a great Christmas!*

*What's something you've always wanted to do, but didn't have the courage to do?*

*Do you like cake donuts or yeast donuts better?"

*Thank you again for reading!!!*