Secrets In The Garden / l.h ✔️

53

~Ophelia's POV~

"No!" Luke whined as I tried to give him back his keys so he could go inside his home, pushing my hand away. He absolutely refused to take them.

I huffed in exasperation and placed my hands on my hips, frowning up at him. "What do you mean, no? Why won't you take the keys?!" I asked grumpily, lost and confused. He could be surprisingly far more stubborn than I thought. "Because," He began, pouting at me. "Then you'll go home and I'll have to go to bed without anyone to hold me."

And damn it, the genuine innocence in his voice and the way he was pouting at me made me into an utter weakling. I just couldn't say no when he was drunk and adorable, evidently.

So I sighed and rolled my eyes as I grabbed his hand in mine, leading him up his driveway towards his front door. "Fine, fine." I sighed in defeat. "I'll stay the night tonight if that's what you really want." I agreed, quickly unlocking the front door and heading in with him. His face visibly lit up and his pretty blue eyes sparkled. "Really?" He asked with a voice full of hope, following me to his bedroom. I couldn't help but to smile a little, deciding to myself that it was incredibly unfair how he could be so cute. "Yes, really." I chuckled, glancing up at him over my shoulder.

Judging just by the way that he was behaving now, I could tell he had sobered up just a little bit, but he was definitely still very disoriented and drunk. There was no doubt about that.

I kicked off my shoes and then I made him look away when I shimmied out of my clothes, pulling on one of his oversized shirts to sleep in instead. And after I was dressed, I got him something to change into as well and set it on the end of his bed, waiting for him to change as I looked at him expectantly. However, he just grinned at me, looking so adorably charming as he peered down into my eyes. "Could you help me, my gorgeous girl?" He asked playfully, spreading his arms and legs out wide as he waited for me to undress him.

All that I could focus on was that he had just called me his girl. His girl. Oh god, my heart was racing now.

Dumbly, I began to help him out of his clothes, starting with his pants and finishing with his shirt. I tried not to smile as I struggled to pull his shirt off from my height, as I was too short, and so he leaned over, letting me yank it off that way. Dropping it to the floor, he had this adorably dazed grin on his face as he stumbled into me a bit, wrapping me up in his arms. "Ophelia," He cooed thoughtlessly, not even bothering to change into his other clothes as he collapsed into his bed with me still in his arms. I couldn't help but to laugh, even as he was squishing me a little bit when he rolled us over until he was on his side, holding me.

"Ophelia," He smiled when he cuddled his face into my neck. "I love you so much. You're so sweet to me. Too good for me."

It was then that I froze and tensed up, my eyes widening in surprise. However I knew that he didn't seem to process exactly what he'd just said, not in his state. He was just a smiling, dopey and affectionate drunk mess. My skin tingled as I gently kissed his shoulder, wrapping him in a hug. "You shouldn't say that. You're drunk." I said softly, leaning my cheek into his shoulder. I didn't want to get my hopes up about this. People said all kinds of things that they didn't really mean when they got drunk, after all.

But my words genuinely seemed to upset him because he was frowning when he pulled away. "Why can't I? I love you." He insisted, making me smile softly. It was so incredibly hard not to feel hopeful about that when he was right in front of me saying what I'd been wishing for him to say to me, even if he was only saying it because he was drunk. "Do you not love me anymore?" He asked me hesitantly, and this was the first time I ever saw him look so truly hurt about anything. My heart ached and I shook my head, not wanting to upset him any further. We'd talk about this more if he remembered it in the morning.

"No," I sighed. "I still love you." I assured, and his mood perked up again just like that. He smiled softly and cuddled me closer, sighing in content. I wanted to talk more, but I just let him drift off to sleep instead.

**

He definitely remembered what he had said to me last night.

The only reason I knew this is because I woke up and, I'll admit, I'd forgotten what had happened for a minute. However, when I saw how utterly embarrassed he looked and how flushed pink his face was, I was pretty quickly reminded. He'd told me that he loved me, twice.

I peered up at him and he rubbed the back of his neck, snuggling into the blankets more. "Did I really say what I think I said to you last night?" He asked weakly, his voice low and filled with embarrassment. Nodding my head, I kept my lips sealed shut, trying to find my voice. "Did you mean it, or...? You were just drunk?" I asked, trying not to let him hear the loaded hope in my voice. But I was sure he could because he could always read me like a book. It was like he just knew exactly how I was feeling, all the time.

Luke's face was a deep shade of pink and he buried his face into his pillow for a moment, while I just looked at him quietly, waiting patiently. "You don't have to feel pressured about this. We don't have to talk about it if it makes you feel embarrassed." I said softly, pushing a messy strand of hair out of my face. He turned his head to look at me and chewed his lips, brows furrowed in thought. "No, no." He mumbled. "I meant it." He admitted quietly, his hand shaking a little bit as he pushed his hair off of his forehead, brushing it back. He was nervous.

Trying not to grin like an idiot, I stared at him, feeling awed. "But you told me before that you didn't feel the same way." I said softly, a little confused as to what exactly had changed. He smiled weakly and scooted closer to me, his legs tangling with mine of their own accord. "My friend Calum talked some sense into me, I guess. He made me realize that I was jealous of Blade every time you even looked at him. Among other things, of course..." He admitted, causing me to finally break into a smile.

"You were jealous?" I asked, a little surprised. And when he nodded his head, I giggled, cuddling into him as he accepted my embrace eagerly. You'd think he'd know by now there was nobody he should be jealous of. I was already his.