Bridged

Chapter 10

"How do you like your tea?" I was currently leaning against a counter in Luke's kitchen as he prepared two cups.

"With milk and three sugars," I replied. I turned to look at the fridge that was covered in photographs. Some were school pictures, some were just candids and pictures from various events. The pictures of Luke spanned all ages. There was an adorable picture of him grinning, both front teeth missing. I couldn't help but smile. Another picture displayed him, his mother, and two other boys one of whom I recognized as the guy who had opened the door earlier today.

I felt Luke's presence next to me. He had been pretty quiet since what had happened outside of his house. "Here you go," He said, handing me a mug. I replied a quite thank you taking a final look over the pictures on the fridge.

"That's a great picture," I said playfully, pointing to one in which he looked about ten and was sulking on a soccer field in his uniform. The tips of his ears started turning a light pink and his facial features loosened as he held back a smile. I couldn't stop a smile from forming on my face. "You have a really beautiful family," I told him softly. He set his mug on the counter next to him and turned to face me.

"My parents didn't have a great relationship either, but that doesn't have anything to do with you or me," He replied quietly. His expression was serious but soft. His eyes never changed colors, but they did change intensity and right now they were warm. I set my mug down next to his, stopping my brain from running its incessant chorus of hesitations and gave in to what I wanted. I reached up on my tiptoes, placing my hands on the back of his neck, and met my lips with his. The thing was that every time I kissed him it felt like the first. That same buzz was there. We both pulled back a little to catch our breaths. Luke's forehead rested against mine. God, his eyes were so pretty. Forget that, he was so pretty. This time, unlike that last two times, he hesitated to move in for a second kiss, so instead, I pulled him back down reattaching our lips. His hands travelled to my lower back, pulling me closer. Everything felt so sharp, so vivid. The warmth of his breath, the rough feel of his stubble as my hand rested on his cheek, the way our noses kept brushing. My eyes were shut tight. Slowly Luke pulled back a little; our lips were barely touching. I felt his lips curve into a smile against mine, and I slowly opened my eyes. Luke was grinning at me, his confidence fully returned.

Someone whistled behind us, pulling us out of our trance. Luke quickly pulled his arm off of my waist as I removed mine from around his neck. The doppelganger from earlier today was standing at the entrance of the kitchen, a smug look resting on his face. "So can I come in the kitchen now because I've been waiting for you guys to stop eating each other for like 15 minutes now."

Luke's ears were red, but his face showed no amusement. "Piss off, Jack." Then he turned to me. Realizing that I was trying to hide behind his shoulder he stepped to the side a little, "Bridgette, this is my brother, Jack." I gave his small wave and smile. He must've taken sympathy on me because his expression changed and he reached out for a handshake with a polite 'nice to meet you'. "We're just going to go up to my room then," Luke said nonchalantly, then quickly added, "Don't say anything, Jack," before his brother could make 'condom' joke. Jack just laughed to himself and muttered a 'whatever' before calling out that he was leaving in a couple of minutes to go out with his friends.

I quickly followed Luke as he led me up the stairs realizing we'd left our mugs downstairs. With his long legs he moved much faster than me and took two steps at a time while I was left with jogging up the stairs behind him. By the time we reached his room I was out of breath.  He closed the door behind me and ran his fingers through his blonde hair again. I wanted to run my fingers through his hair too. He looked around his room, slightly furrowing his eyebrows and chewing on his lip. "Sorry my room's such a mess," He said moving some things into drawers and clearing off his bed. I had been looking more at him than his room, so I looked around. His small room wasn't a complete mess but there were clothes on the floor and stacked in chair and notebooks spread all over his desk. A guitar rested against the wall across the room.

"Do you play?" I asked gesturing to the guitar.

He ran his fingers through his hair again. "Um, yeah, a little. Do you?"

I let out a sarcastic laugh. "Nope. I wish I could, but I tried one time, and I just suck."

"Maybe I could teach you sometime," He smiled to me, his dimples fully displayed and eyes glowing. I grinned back.

"Yeah that'd be nice. I'll show you how to clean a room in exchange," He laughed at this. Just then my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket as Luke collapsed onto his bed, giving up on the cleaning. It was Casey.

Just wanna make sure everything’s okay!

The text from her brought me back to reality. I'd told her she could go home about twenty minutes earlier when Luke finally let me in, so she was home by now. I was exhausted from all of today's events, and I knew I needed to get home and take my medicine, too. 

"Hey Luke?" He sat up on his bed looking at me. I was still leaning against dresser. "I'm kind of tired." He understood what I meant and stood up stuffing his hands in his pockets. 

"Lemme grab my keys. I'll drive you home," He told me lightly. I thanked the gods for him not taking it the wrong way. I really just wanted to get home and sleep. Luke moved towards me reaching behind me to grab his keys off the dresser. It was hard to ignore how much taller than me he was. "Come on," He said gently. He was being so nice, it made my heart thump a little faster. I instinctively reached for his hand intertwining my fingers with his. He kept moving forward, but I saw a small smile etched on his face, and I smiled to myself too.