Beside You

Chapter 13

The end of the work day can't come soon enough, and I am out of the office as soon as possible. After the incident earlier, I haven't seen Luke all day, thankfully.

I stop at Sbarro's on the way home for a slice of pizza and look at my reflection in the window as I wait in the long line. I turn to the side and examine my figure. Gosh, no wonder Luke wants nothing to do with me. Once he realized what a mistake it was to kiss someone like me, he regretted it immediately and wants to pretend it never happened. It all makes sense. I order my pizza to go and give the cashier my extra change.

Once back at my apartment, I am actually glad to see Jess. She must notice the dark circles under my eyes and asks what's wrong.

I groan and run my fingers though my hair. "Ugh, remember that guy I told you about?"

She mischievously smiles and joins me in the kitchen. "Yeah, of course."

The words start to rush out. "Well, he walked me home after the club and we ended up here and we sort of kissed, but-" Jess interrupts me with a high-pitched squeal.

"BUT, now he's acting like a total ass and won't even speak to me." I look down at my hands intertwined with each other. Jess frowns.

"Oh. Well, thankfully, guys aren't too hard to understand, so let's just read into this and try to figure it out." We both sit down on the couch before she begins talking.

"Okay, Luke seems to have liked making out with you-"

"We didn't make out, we just-"

Jess holds her hand up. "Anyways, he probably liked the physical stuff, but doesn't want anything more." She shrugs as if it means nothing. I look down at my hands. I'm such an idiot. I put myself out there and actually opened up to Luke and all he wanted was to make out. I bite my lip in frustration. This pisses me off.

"But listen, Paisley, a lot of guys are like this. It isn't your fault." Jess tries to comfort me. "Now you know." She hugs me and we decide to watch Pitch Perfect. Before going to bed, I ask, "So, what do I do tomorrow? I can't just avoid him."

"Just give him the cold shoulder until he gets the idea." I nod. I'm not looking forward to having to see Luke again. I can't let him know that I still have feelings for him; he'd probably just want to take advantage of me.

The next morning, I decide to wear my red v-neck dress that accentuates my hips. I apply just a little bit of red lipstick and navy eyeliner. I want Luke to know what he's missing.

After Harry hands me my work for the day, I head straight to the guys' office. When I hand them their paperwork for the day, I don't even look Luke's way, and I 'accidentally' drop his papers on the ground when I pass him, causing him to have to pick it up himself. I tell Ashton I like his bandanna and walk over to Michael to hand-deliver his paperwork. I sit on the couch next to him and watch him play video games for a few minutes. I know I should be reprimanding him for playing Call of Duty when he should be working, but I decide to let it slide today. I need to make Luke as jealous as possible. When I stand up from the couch, I feel Michael's eyes following me.

I approach Calum and ask him what his plans are for the day. "Well, I'm probably just gonna try and figure out a chord progression for the song I've been working on." I place a hand on his shoulder and feel Luke's eyes on me.

"Sounds great, Calum. Be sure to let me know what chords you end up choosing." I smile at him before walking right past Luke. He seems to notice how distant I am acting, and, satisfied, I head back to my office.

About two hours later, there's a knock at my door. I stand up quickly and smooth out the folds of my dress. I see the last person I expect when I open the door. Luke is wearing a body-clinging black tee-shirt and his signature black skinny jeans. I try not to notice how good his shirt makes him look, clinging to his every muscle. I be sure to roll my eyes when we make eye contact. Jess' words are echoing in the back of my mind, reminding me not to give him what he wants.

"Hey, can I come in?" He asks. I nod and let him in. He lets out a sigh as he leans against the bookshelf. "You've been acting weird." He finally says, crossing his arms. I scoff and ignore his comment. I sit back down at my desk and pretend to organize the papers scattered across my desk.

"You look really pretty today." I hear Luke's deep voice from across the room. I force myself not to smile. I won't fall for his hook-up tricks again.

I clear my throat. "Why are you even here?" I ask, still sure to not make eye contact. Luke raises his eyebrows and takes a step back, holding his hands up as if in surrender.

"I came to see why you've been so rude to me."

"I could ask you the same question." I snap. "Honestly, I opened up to you about my dreams and aspirations and all you wanted was to hook up with me? I'm not gonna fall for that anymore." I shake my head.

Luke actually looks shocked. His mouth is open and his eyes are wide. He's quite the actor. "Are you kidding? I had no intentions of hooking up with you."

"Then why have you been such an ass to me ever since you kissed me?" I ask, surprised I used such language in the workplace.

Luke shoves his hands in his pockets and sighs. I strum my fingers on my desk, awaiting his response.

"Paisley, I was frustrated yesterday. That's why I got so pissed off. You kept talking about how you were so in love with your job that you wouldn't want anyone to get in the way of your success. I knew this meant I couldn't pursue a relationship with you without putting your career in jeopardy, so I was bummed. I like you, Paisley." My mouth falls open and I don't know what to say. This isn't how I expected this conversation to go.

"Look, Paisley, I know I haven't known you for that long, but from what I've seen you're a pretty amazing person. You're passionate about music unlike anyone I've ever seen. You care so much about your job and you're so damn beautiful. You're independent and don't take shit from anyone. I admire that. And I don't think I can be just friends with you."

"Luke, you know what I said. I don't want to risk-" Luke puts his hand up.

"I know what you said. But if we don't at least try this, then I know we'll regret it." I am dumbfounded. I can't disagree with him. There's no way we could just stay friends. I let out a sigh. Luke walks over to me.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I say.

"Would you meet me at Marcella's tonight at seven? I do owe you dinner." He looks up at me and smiles.

I can't help but smile back. "Okay." Looks like I have a date.