The Jacket Snatcher

Chapter 26- Boundaries and Phone Calls

I put the car in park in front of the hotel and get out. I hand Luke the keys as we pass at the front of the car, but he simply passes them along to the valet. I look at him in question and he shrugs.

"If that silent treatment in the car was any sort of sign, it seems like we might need to talk?" he says in question.

I let out a breath and nod. Once in my room, I toss my purse onto the bed and follow it. Luke takes a seat on the couch across from me.

"So did I do something wrong?" he asks, looking over at me with a blank expression.

"It's not necessarily wrong," I start, trying to decipher my feelings and find the right words. "I think we just need to establish some boundaries. You know, as friends."

He nods, indicating for me to continue.

"Well, I guess first," I clear my throat, "friends don't really just hold each other's hands during a movie. Or at all really."

A small grin breaks out across his face. "I knew that one was coming. In my defense, I was just trying to return the favor of reassuring you when you were scared. Like you did for me during the flight."

"I wasn't scared!" I protest.

He stares at me.

"Okay, so I was a little scared. And it's not really that big a deal, I just feel like, since we're having this conversation, I might as well bring it up."

"Okay, no holding your hand. Got it. But you look like there's more." He scrutinizes my face. "Was it when I told you that you looked nice?"

I smile at the memory. "No, no. Compliments are fine between friends."

"Good, then what I meant to say was that you looked beautiful tonight."

I blink, my mouth slightly open at a loss for words. When I can't come up with a coherent response, I decide to change subjects. "The other boundary is the whole shot fiasco with Cody."

He practically hisses at my comment. "That guy was a gigantic tool and you were falling for it! What was I supposed to do?"

I ignore his question. "The thing is, it's not the place for my friends to butt in on my relationships with other people."

"Relationship," he scoffs.

"You're entitled to your opinion," I continue. "But you are not entitled to try to control me."

He clenches and unclenches his fists then sighs. "All right, fair enough." I'm a little surprised by how easily he takes that.

I stand up and join him on the couch. "All that being said, thank you for what you did tonight. I almost let Cody pressure me into doing something I didn't want to. If you hadn't been there, I would've disappointed myself."

He turns to look at me with bright eyes. "You're welcome," is all he says, but his eyes are asking so many questions. I choose to leave them unanswered; and instead, I reach forward and pull him into a hug. We sit there for a moment in silence before Luke speaks again. "So my opinion of him by the way is that he's a prick who only wants to get in your pants."

I let out a small laugh and pull away...then his words remind me of what Mandy said earlier. I frown, get up, and walk back to the bed. Luke gives me a confused look at my sudden retreat.

"You know, Mandy said something to me at the bar, and it got me thinking..."

"Yeah?" he asks, and I can hear the curious note in his voice.

"Why are you even bothering with me?"

His confused look deepens into a furrowed brow. "What do you mean?"