"You're actually upset right now? Look at everything the world has given you, Luke."
"And that's great, but I'd rather have you."
• the story before "count on me" by sircalyum • book 1
// smut included //
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TUESDAY EVENING. Work had gone by slow. Calum had woke up feeling unwell, so our filming schedule had been pushed back a day. Luke and I hadn't talked since we finished filming yesterday; after he let it slip that we knew each other, he seemed to turn off. I tried saying something to him after, but one thing led to another, and it seemed like he ran off to avoid me. I thought about talking to Molly and asking her to edit out the parts about Luke and me, but I knew it wouldn't do much good.
Madalyn had been home whenever I got back, but she left for Howie's about an hour later. Since then, I had been on the couch mindlessly watching whatever was on. Knowing I was going to be alone for the rest of the night, I felt restless. I wanted something to do, but couldn't think of anything.
I looked down at my phone and bit my lip gently before taking a leap; I picked up my phone and called Luke.
I hadn't even planned what I was going to say to him, but I was hoping that the right thing would come out once he answered. If he answered.
After about the third ring, I was giving up hope, but suddenly Luke answered and put my nerves to ease.
"Hey," Luke answered coolly. "What's up?"
"Hey, uh—this is really random, but would you maybe like to come over?" I asked Luke and then immediately replayed the words in my head, hoping they didn't sound weird. "Madalyn's out for the night and I'm bored out of my mind... I thought maybe we could hang out?" Luke let out a charming laugh and I smiled at the noise.
"Uh—yeah? I don't see why that might be a bad idea," Luke joked which caused my cheeks to heat up in a blush. "Yeah, I'd like to... should I come now?"
"If that works for you... that would be great," I told Luke as I nodded my head.
"You know, I hope this doesn't revoke my invitation, but—I'd really like it if we could talk about the shit show that was yesterday." My heart began to pound, but I knew I wanted to talk about things as well. I wasn't so sure about telling him about Tony, but we could at least discuss the video.
"We'll talk, then," I told Luke. "Just text me when you're here, okay? The door's open, so you can just let yourself in."
"Okay, see you soon." Luke ended the call and I quietly sighed as I took the phone away from my ear. I gave my attention to the cooking competition show that was currently playing on the television and couldn't help but find myself getting invested. As the episode continued, I decided that some woman named Kelly was the only one who deserved to win—if she didn't, I'd throw a fit.
