Producers Don't Play

indecent exposure

-16-

My eyes open to the cold and stiff feeling of... not my bed. My brain, half awake and functioning as I feel like I was hit by a literal semi-truck.

Then that's when it hits me... or should I say the taste in my mouth hits me-

I look up at Luke. His arm above his head as he sleeps peacefully. A small smile upon his lips and his other arm around my waist. His bare chest under my head and we just look fairly comfortable.

I take my finger and trace small shapes along his chest. Little hearts, stars, a treble-clef, you get the point. That's till, "You're awake" I look up at Luke to see his half-open eyes and little smile, "Sleep well?"

I shake my head best I can without lifting it, "Pillow could've been softer"

"I won't take offence to that because you will shortly be finding out how comfortable my bed really is" He takes my chin and brings our lips together, both of us with wide smiles to this little 'good morning' kiss.

"Are you suggesting I'll sleep with you, Patterson?"

Luke rolls his eyes as he rubs a thumb against my waist, "You deserve a chance to get some kind of reward for yesterday"

My heart might as well have stopped beating in its cavity. The boldness of that- good lord, "Who says I want a reward?" I whisper.

Luke's hand slowly slides down past my hips till it's resting on my inner thigh, a place I haven't been touched in years, "I can stop" He smirks, biting his lip.

I clear my throat and Luke takes the hint to pull his hand away. "We should figure out how to get out of here," I say, reaching to grab my phone.

8 am

A little whine escapes Luke's lips which makes me smile. I crack my back as I stand up and rub out any kinks or knots in my skin, "Do we need to leave? I'm having a pretty good time"

I roll my eyes as he sits up, throwing his shirt over his chest, "I want to get home for dinner, thank you very much"

"You could always eat-"

"LUCAS! DINNER, LIKE FOOD!" A groan comes from the back of my throat  "Does your brain ever turn off?"

"Not around you-"

"Because I turn you on?" I sigh while pinching the bridge of my nose.

Luke smiles like a child, sitting up against the wall of the elevator across from the door, "Don't flatter yourself butterfly, you don't turn me on that much"

"You're impossible"

A blank look crosses Luke's face as he looks up. A smile then crosses his lips I recognize from middle school boys. A look of 'I did something I shouldn't and I'll get in trouble for it but it was worth it' type look.

"What?" I choke out, my words laced with high amounts of anxiety and fear. "What's that look?"

"Look up, Butterfly" A snicker leaves his lips as they pull into his mouth.

I raise an eyebrow as I turn my head to look in the direction his gaze is fixated in. A red, blinking light, in the corner of the elevator. "Smile" Luke laughs, "You're on camera"

"Fuck"

My feet pitter-patter against the floor as I pace, Luke just watching me as I pace. "I'm going to get fired for sexual assault, that's the end of my production career. DONE"

Luke laughs. He laughs at me. What the fuck, "You think this is funny?"

"It's not funny. Realize I could lose my job too?" Luke pushes off the wall and keeps his arms crossed.

"Yeah but-"

"It's not like I'm gonna file a FEHA complaint, it takes two. Besides, it's your first offence, you might get a fine, a tiny amount of county jail time. The worse part is you might need to get registered as a sex offender but that only lasts... a decade"

I turn on my heel and face him, raising an eyebrow, "How do you know so much about indecent exposure charges..."

"Uh, I don't know. Just... something I know about. Law interested me in high school" His face contorts to come up with a swift lie.

I cross my arms and cock my head to the side, "No it didn't. You hated school and despised heavy workload classes"

Luke's shoulder drop as he closes his eyes tight. "It's nothing, something of the past"

"You realize I'm going to believe you're a rapist till you tell me"

His eyes widen as he looks up at me. Luke's mouth hung open in shock while his stance tenses up, "I'm not a rapist"

"Then tell me how you know this! You're not the kinda guy to research this and you're clearly hiding something" I tap my foot as I gesture forward for him to explain himself.

Luke sighs as he takes a seat on the ground, patting the spot beside him. "It's a long story"

"I have time" I whisper out as I take a hesitant seat on the floor.

He looks up at the ceiling and lets out another breath, "When I was eighteen, fresh out of high school, I had this job. This small little guitar shop, about thirty minutes out of Hollywood. I had this coworker, Sarah. She was my age and we had something going on. Not to mention she was the daughter of the owner" That's when Luke gets quiet.

My hand extends over to his lap, where he is cracking his knuckles rhythmically, "It's ok" I whisper. Our hands entwine and his tense shoulders drop.

Luke clears his throat, looking over at me as he shows me a smile, "We were working a closing shift, the shop was closed and it was just us. I'll be honest when I say I made the first move. One thing lead to another and her parents caught us" Luke has a low chuckle, shaking his head in stupidity.

"They charged me with indecent exposure and tried to get me charged with sexual assault of the third degree. I got a good lawyer and got cleared of those" Luke pulls his knees to his chest and he sighs, "I made a mistake and it messed me up"

I look at him. Almost too stunned to speak. "You don't need to say anything" Luke shows me something half of a smile. "Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if you wanna get far away from me"

I smile and take Luke's chin between my fingers. "I don't think any differently of you. We all made mistakes as kids" Luke pouts, looking from my eyes then down to my lips, "If you're thinking of kissing me, you're not right in the head"

A small smile crosses Lukes lip with a little laugh, "Then get me to a hospital because it's all I ever think of when I'm around you"

Just as the two of us lean in, my phone starts ringing.