Crash My Party

One || Country Man

     »COUNTRY MAN |

I sat timidly on his large, comfy couch looking around innocently. As my eyes scan the room I could see pictures of him, his friends, and even family hanging from the walls, him smiling widely in each one. I heard Teddy's collar rattling and I turned around to see what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into. But it was only the guy drying him off with a towel. 

Once he finished he scratched Teddy behind the ears and stood up. "Now it's your turn, Kitten," he said as he tossed the towel over to me. He smiled at me and I raised my eyebrows in confusion. Kitten?

"If you wanted to know my name, you could have just asked me you know," I pointed out as I dried off my hair. I'm not a really big fan of pet names.

He took off his jacket and chuckled, as he dropped down next to me. "Do you have a problem with me calling you Kitten?" he asked, a playful smirk forming on his lips.

I shrugged. "Not really, but I would have liked it if you did ask me my name first before you decided to call me Kitten." I snapped. I wasn't all too up for being called Kitten, I didn't even see why he felt the need to call me that. I wasn't cute like one, hell, I wasn't even sweet like one.

He raised his hands in the air in mock surrender. "Alright, fine. What's your name then?" he asked smiling at me.

I stared at him for a few seconds, wondering why he was smiling at me when I just snapped at him 5 seconds ago. In fact, it looked like he found it amusing that he was getting on my nerves. "It's Brooklyn," I answered finally. "But I prefer to be called Brook, what's yours?" I asked setting the towel down on my lap.

"It's Luke, and I think I like calling you Kitten better, Kitten." He winked at me and I scoffed. I threw the towel at him and he chuckled at my reaction.  "Now, I should probably get to cleaning that nasty cut of yours." he nodded at my shoulder, suddenly becoming serious. He stood up and disappeared down the hallway.

Teddy trotted over and flopped down at my feet. I looked down at him and smiled, bending down to scratch his head. "Hopefully we can leave soon," I sighed. "I don't like being alone with a guy I’ve never met before..." I paused. "I don't like being in a room alone with any guy." I corrected myself. It wasn’t really the fact that I didn’t like being alone with a guy, it was probably the fact that I've never been alone in a room with a guy before. I would always try to avoid being alone.

Luke soon returned with a first aid kit in his hands and sat down next to me again. I bit my lip as he began taking out some type of cream and a Band-Aid "Is it going to hurt?" I squeaked.

Luke glanced up at me and smiled. "Maybe just a little bit, but don't worry about it, Kitten." I rolled my eyes, knowing that all he was purposefully irking me. He moved the strap of my tank top slightly and began wiping at it with the alcohol wipe. I sat perfectly still, flinching every now and then.

"It's okay, I'm not gonna hurt you." Luke murmured, his brows furrowed in concentration as he cleaned my wound. 

"I know." I huffed, not liking the feeling of being vulnerable in front of this stranger.

Before I knew it, he was sticking the Band-Aid on my skin and was done. "That wasn't so bad now was it?" he asked, readjusting the strap of my shirt.

I looked out the window seeing that the rain had finally reduced to a light drizzle. I had already called Niki informing her of my location and that I had found Teddy. "Can I use your bathroom real quick?" I asked.

Luke nodded and told me where to go. I thanked him and walked upstairs, eventually finding the bathroom. I splashed my face with the water a few times and stared at myself in the mirror. My foggy grey eyes were wide and my brown hair was doing everything but looking decent. I moved some of the stray hairs framing my face to see that my cheeks and nose were both slightly pink. I dropped my hands from my eyes and blew a string of hair off my forehead. I wasn't even going to bother fixing myself up. I walked down stairs to see that Luke was getting his jacket back on. He glanced up when he saw me. "Um, thanks for letting my dog and I stick around here until things outside cleared up," I smiled. "I guess he and I should head home now." 

"I figured you'd say that," Luke replied. He grabbed his keys off the table. "I'll drive you back." he suggested. I frowned and opened my mouth to decline his offer but he raised his hand. "I'm not taking no for an answer," he said. "Plus I wouldn't want you to mess up those pretty legs of yours." He added with a wink.

I felt my cheeks heat up, but I just rolled my eyes. 

Teddy stretched and then stood up. He walked over to my legs and stared up at me, his tail wagging. He perked his ears and tilted his head to the side as if to say 'You're letting him take us home, right?'

I pursed my lips and looked back up at Luke. "Fine." 

We all walked outside, Teddy and I following closely behind Luke. When we approached his vehicle, I gasped at the sight of it. Not only did it look like it could fall apart any minute, but it was absolutely huge! Luke opened the passenger door and ushered me inside, but Teddy jumped in before I did. He chuckled and I shot a glare at Teddy, who wagged his tail in response. I placed both hands on the seat and tried to haul myself up into the giant truck. Either I was too short or this thing was way too tall to be considered normal. Luke, seeing me struggle, grabbed my waist and hoisted me inside. I looked at him and smiled. "Thanks." I said.

He shut the door and then made his way over to the driver's side. I grabbed the seat belt and quickly buckled myself up. I didn't feel entirely safe in this contraption. I looked back at Teddy, who was laying on the backseat. Luke got into the truck and buckled himself in before he put the key into the ignition. He turned the key and the engine roared to life—literally. He grinned as he placed his hands on the steering wheel. He turned to me. "Ready?" he asked, grabbing the gearshift and putting it into drive.

I only nodded.  

After telling him where my house was, we drove off. Despite its rough appearance, the truck ran rather smoothly and I eventually relaxed. We weren't too far from the house since Luke was basically our next door neighbor. We made it to my house in a little less than 5 minutes.

"Thanks for the ride and for helping us." I thanked him as I took my seatbelt off. Teddy barked from behind me as if saying the same. Either that or he was just eager to go back home.

"Anytime, Kitten!" Luke replied.

I sighed and decided to let him have that one. I jumped out the truck and Teddy jumped out behind me. "Next time you come over I'll make sure to pour you a drink!" Luke said before I could close his door.

"Who said anything about there being a next time?" I questioned with a smirk on my face. "I'll be keeping a closer eye on my dog, so you won't have to worry about me sneaking onto your land." I slammed the door shut and turned to my house. Teddy and I hurried to the front door and I opened it, stepping inside. 

Niki was standing at the window, watching Luke as he drove off. Then she turned to me, her eyes narrowed. "Who was that?" She asked crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just our neighbor," I muttered. 

Niki nodded slowly. "Why did he drive you back then if he lived next door?" She asked.

I raised an eyebrow at her, not enjoying the fact that I was being interrogated by my little sister. "Because...because he didn't want Teddy and me to get anymore muddy I guess..." I sighed.