Play No More (Player Next Door sequel) ✓

68 | Reaction

Thank you @kriti.kachaturvedi for the perfect chapter photo!

So... 

Where were we? 

Chapter 68: Reaction

I saw a tenderness in his gaze and in the way he held me. He cared for me. No, he loved me.

"I heard you," I said, a small smile appearing on my lips.

"And?" Luke asked, waiting for me to say the magic words back.

Why do you love me?

He told me he loved me and then watched as I went flying on a zipline through the air, spinning round and round like a propeller.

My head was still spinning, partly from the physical trauma but also from all the emotion stirring inside of me. I now know what it feels like to be a sock in a washing machine.

He shifted slightly but kept his grip around me firm. He was being patient, in a ditch.

I pinched myself. I guess I'm not dreaming. It's too weird of a dream to dream I think.

I then spent a quick moment in gratitude that I was not standing in the muddy slime with him. I looked down at the gap between me and that brown bubbling goo. It's bubbling.

Luke looked at me wriggling slightly in his arms. "Any reaction, Minnie?" he asked, encouraging me to speak, "What do you feel when I tell you that I love you?"

Third time now. That's the third time he's repeated those three words.

He of all people should know how I need time to process these events. A lot has happened in the last 38.5 seconds and my reactions in the past haven't been the best.

I took a breath and exhaled.

He wanted honesty, so I gave it to him. My raw reaction and the thoughts swirling in my mind:

"Holy jumping mother of a weasel in a side-car with chocolate spread and a hot cross bun. You love me."

...

...

...

Luke is not known for patience.

I know he's tried hard this year, but I caught the way his jaw tensed now. He reserved his reaction, which is more than I expected. But I could hear a hint of disappointment in his voice. I could even see it in the blue of his eyes.

"It's OK," he said with the faint echo of a sigh, "I didn't tell you to hear it back. You don't have to-"

"I love you," I said.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my head in his shoulder, feeling his warm skin against my cheek. I felt the weight lift off my chest. I wanted to repeat it, again and again.

"I love you," I told him.

I do love him.

I've never done this before. It's all new to me and damn is it scary. Now that he knows where my heart is... I had to trust that he wouldn't break it.

Don't think like that, I told myself, ignoring the memory of my dad walking out the door or my mom blowing out the candles on my birthday cake with a wish that she never had me.

I hadn't expected anyone to love me.

Luke smiled at me in a way I had never seen before. His eyes lit up and that smile was so genuine, so unbridled with happiness. His emotions weren't hiding behind a smirk.