Celeb Date

Chapter 17- Hot Chocolate

Luke follows mom and I into the kitchen, his hand brushing mine while we stand near the counter. I just shake my head.

Mom hands us two mugs and a jar of her special homemade hot chocolate mix. I look at her, grinning.

"You forgot the marshmallows," I say. Mom nods, going back to the cabinet. She comes back to the counter with a big bag of little marshmallows and hands them to me.

Luke and I begin making our hot chocolate, and somewhere during it all, it becomes a race. I win of course, I mean I make hot chocolate every day. I reach for the marshmallows, almost falling, losing my balance. Luke reacts quickly, gabbing my waist so that I don't fall onto the counter.

"Careful," He whispers, his head by my ear.

I nod, slightly startled by my clumsiness. Luke hands me the marshmallows, sending me an apologetic smile. I smile back, grabbing the marshmallow bag from his hands.

I plop a few fluffy marshmallows into my steamy mug, holding the hot mug up to my lip. I take a tentative sip, not wanting to burn my mouth. It tastes amazing.

Luke sighs, licking off hot chocolate from his top lip.

"That mix is incredible," Luke says, raising his mug back up to his mouth.

"Thank you," Mom says, smiling, grabbing the jar off the counter. "It's my own secret recipe."

Luke elbows me, almost making my hot chocolate slosh over the edge of my glass. I laugh though, elbowing him back.

"Want to go back into the living room?" He asks, winking.

I can't help but laugh, watching a small grin slide across his lips.

"'Sure. But don't you dare make me spill my hot chocolate," I warn, wagging my finger at him. He sticks his tongue out at me, but then wraps his arm around my waist as we head back out into the living room.

Dad must have moved to the office, because I can't see him anywhere.

"Well that means we're alone," Luke says, and I shove his shoulder.

"Shut up," I say, laughing. He's such an awkward person sometimes.

There's a knock on the door, and I jump. I think of who would be coming this late at night, and decide it must be Ashley again.

I walk to the door, and open it, surprised by what I see. There's a tall guy, about six foot tall standing in front of me, wearing a red football jersey covered in grass stains. He has light brown hair and green eyes, and very tan skin. He smiles at me, his teeth amazingly white.

"You wouldn't happen to be Melissa Martin would you? I'm looking for my buddy Luke Green, he texted me earlier and told me he'd be late to our game but he never showed," The guy says, looking into the house. I hear footsteps behind me and am startled when I feel a hand on my shoulder.

"Wes!" Luke says, walking up behind me. "Sorry I missed our game. I had some stuff to attend to."

"It's no problem bro, I got you," Wes says, slapping Luke on the shoulder.

"Well I won't keep you," Wes says, backing up, turning back towards the steps. "Just wanted to check and make sure you were all good."

Luke nods, then waves, closing the door.

"You idiot," I say. Forget the friend thing. He doesn't know how to be one anyway half the time.

"What?" He asks, shrugging.

"He was really nice. He was checking to make sure you were okay, and you didn't even say thank you," I scold, careful not to spill my hot chocolate in all the excitement.

"We' re guys, we don't always do that kind of thing," Luke says, trying to justify his actions, or lack thereof.

I just shake my head, heading back to the couch. Luke follows closely behind, sitting next to me. I lay my head on his shoulder again.

"How long is this going to last?" I ask. It is a question that I have been meaning to ask. I take a sip of hot chocolate, and wait for an answer.

"Well if by "this" you mean our dates, I can't tell you for sure. I am kind of in charge of deciding when it ends, to some degree. Why? Are you bored of me already?" Luke jabs, but I know he's kidding.

"No, I was just curious," I say. I mean, he and I have had both our lives flipped on their sides. You could barely call it living. I'm living in a fantasy world where I'm kind of, kind of not, dating a celebrity. He's living a more calm life, which I'm sure he appreciates.

"What are you worried about?" Luke asks, running his fingers over my hair.

"I don't really know," I admit. "Do you regret this whole drawing thing?"

Luke smiles.

"I don't actually. Now if I had had to go out with Ashley, that very well may have been a one date thing only. But since you were the one picked, no I have actually enjoyed myself."

I smile. He is always sweet, it's just that sometimes his sweet comments get lost in translation.

"I'm glad," I say. "I have been enjoying myself too."

"Really?" He asks, sounding slightly surprised.

I nod, taking another sup of my hot chocolate. It has started to cool down, but I don't mind. It still tastes just fine.

Luke wraps both arms around me, pulling me against his side. I set my mug on the coffee table, resting my head on Luke's shoulder again. He lays his head against mine and we just sit there. I feel myself growing tired, the fire heating up the room, my eyes becoming harder and harder to keep open.

I hear Luke saying something, but sleep sweeps over me before I can really understand what he's saying.