NO SHAME

VIII

When I woke up the next morning, Jake still wasn't back, so I decided to call Luke.

"Hey, is everything alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, I was just wondering if you wanted to go do something with me today. I'm off of work for the day," I replied.

"Yeah, sure. I'll pick you up in like an hour? Ok?"

"Sounds great. I'll see you soon."

"Bye."

Once Luke hung up the phone I went into my bathroom to start getting ready, only to notice the red mark on my cheek. It was hand shaped and would be hard to deny if Luke saw it, so I decided it would be best if I covered it.

As it turned out, covering the mark required more makeup than I was used to, but I knew that was something I was just going to have to deal with today. I didn't want Luke to worry and I especially didn't want any paparazzis to catch the mark. Once I was finished getting ready I had a quick breakfast and finished eating right as there was a knock on the front door.

"Who is it?" I called out.

"It's Luke," he called from the other side of the door.

I grabbed my purse on my way to the door and stepped out when I opened the door. After locking the door I followed Luke to his car and told him I didn't have any actual plans, I just wanted out of my apartment for the day.

Luke nodded at me before he told me he had a spot for us to go. I let him take control of the day and turned on some music as he started driving, finally feeling a little bit more relaxed.

Luke and I sat in comfortable silence as he drove us through LA.

I was contemplating if I should tell Luke what had happened the previous night when I noticed we weren't in the city anymore.

"Where are we going, pretty boy," I asked him as I watched the scenery.

"It's a surprise," he replied.

I gave Luke a half-hearted glare before turning back to the window. It was beautiful wherever we were going. I knew pestering Luke for an answer wouldn't work so I just gave in and let it be a surprise.

My phone buzzed a while later, alerting me of a text message. When I unlocked my phone and checked who it was from, I held back a groan at the name on the screen.

Jake <3

Where are you?

Aspen

With Luke.

Jake <3

Why the fuck are you with him again?

I didn't respond to Jake's last message because, how was I supposed to tell my boyfriend that I was with Luke to get away from him. He wouldn't take that very well.

"Is everything ok," Luke asked as he took in the annoyed expression on my face.

"Yeah it's just Jake," I told him quietly.

Luke gave me a sad look at this before returning his eyes to the road.

"Aspen," Luke started quietly. "Did something happen between you two last night?"

I sighed and looked down at my lap as I contemplated my response. "Yeah."

"I'm not going to pry or make you talk about it, but if you want to talk, I'll listen."

"Thank you, Luke."

Luke nodded in response and kept his eyes on the road as he drove. After about 45 minutes we finally reached our destination, which turned out to be the beach.