Breaking Her Rules

Chapter 35

The deck joins onto the kitchen, separated by huge French doors. The kitchen is all stainless steel and dark cherry wood. It looks clean to the point that it's never been lived in, and there is a large hardcover cookbook displayed above the stove that looks untouched. I spot Lucas heading towards the stairs and I follow him at a distance, saying hi to Kate and Josie as I walk past. The stairs lead up to a second floor that has its own, smaller balcony. A few guys are sitting on this balcony, drinking beers and talking loudly. Lucas walks straight past them and towards the back of the house and another set of stairs. He still hasn't turned around to look if I'm behind him and I wonder if he actually meant for me to follow.

But then I find myself on the top floor, which is tucked further back into the hill. I step outside into a huge garden area that sits up above the house. Everything is so peaceful up here, even though I can still hear the music from the floors below. Stone pavers wind through the dense, lush garden and lead to another, smaller viewing platform. From here the view is stunning. Everything else disappears, and it's just darkness and city lights. It's so calming, seeing my entire city put into perspective like this. Somewhere down there my whole life is wrapped up neatly. No matter how bad it looks up close, from here in this garden above the house, everything is miniscule and meaningless. There's nothing but me, the city lights, and the stars.

I take a big sip of my drink, caught up in the view and trying to find where my house would be amongst the lights when Lucas interrupts my thoughts.

'You look good tonight, Maisy,' he says.

I turn to look at him. The lights of the house down below light up his hair, making it glitter gold in the starlight. He comes to stand next to me at the rail and leans over it. His closeness gives me goose bumps. I look down beyond the railing, which drops down towards a pool that's hidden away on the second level. The pool wraps around the house and probably drops over another ledge. It is lit by multi-coloured lights, like swimming fireworks.

'You look good too,' I say to the ground. I can't bear to look at him while I utter the words.

Out of my peripheral vision I see him turn to me and I force myself to look up into his face. His lips are quivering on the edge of a smile, and when I see that I smile.

'Why'd you bring me up here?' I tease him. 'You have a thing about dragging me into dark, deserted places, don't you?'

He bites his lip to hide his smile. 'I'm trying to be romantic, clearly,' he says teasingly. 'But it's beautiful up here,' he says honestly. 'Don't you think?'

'So you didn't lead me up here so that all your Prisley friends could ambush me?'

Lucas smiles. 'Nothing like that.'

I take a sip of my drink to hide the smile that springs to my lips at the sight of his grin. I can't help the butterflies in my stomach. Lucas genuinely smiling at me is still a sight I am not used to. I don't know if I will ever be used to it.

'So where's your girlfriend tonight?'

'I'm guessing you mean Tanvi.'

'Yeah,' I look down into my drink.

'Tanvi's not my girlfriend.'

I look up at him. 'Does she know this?' I ask.

'Tanvi and I hooked up once at a party,' he says. 'I never said she was my girlfriend. You were the one who made that assumption.'

'She probably thinks otherwise.'

'No. Tanvi knows exactly what we were, not that we were even anything. We were both drunk and lonely. She's been having fights with her ex-boyfriend and she wanted a quick hook up for a night. And I... why am I even explaining this to you, anyway?'

I breathe out. 'Obviously you feel you need to explain it to me for some reason.'

'Yeah, I do,' Lucas says, pressing himself against the railing before pushing back. He turns around so that his back is to the view and looks up at the stars. 'I'm sorry you walked in on me and her hooking up,' he says to the sky.

I watch him silently until he finally glances down at me. 'You're sorry?' I ask.

He looks down at me and shrugs. 'I wasn't very nice to you. I wasn't in a good mood.'

'It's okay. I'm never very nice to you.'

Lucas doesn't respond and I take another sip of my drink.

'Hey, Em! I've been looking for you!' A loud voice comes from behind us, where there is a door back inside the house.

My stomach jolts as I recognise the voice. I spin around to see Watson standing there. By the look on his face, he's just recognised who I'm standing next to.

He doesn't say anything, but just spins on his heel and walks back inside the house the way he came.

I glance back at Lucas, but Lucas is staring fixated into his beer bottle and refuses to look at me. So I run back towards the house and down the stairs, chasing after Watson.