cast l.h

week twelve part two

We land in JFK airport around 2 in the afternoon. The airport radiates the heat of the thousands of bodies swarming the buildings. Luke tightly holds my hand, guiding me through the crowds.

Although I know I could make it on my own through the busy airport, I know he feels better when he thinks I need him to protect me. Our intertwined fingers are squeezed tightly shut, his quick pulse beats against my skin.

His nerves are kicked in high gear and it's evident in his frantic gazes and sweaty palms. His twitchy movement drags me behind him until we catch an empty elevator. I press the button for him, as he is nearly shaking now.

I look up to him and place a hand on his back, trying to comfort him. His nerves would normally freak me out just as much as he is, but that would not be a good position for us to be in. If we were both on the edge on an anxiety attack now, that could end very badly very quickly.

He releases our body contact and pulls out his phone. His fingers scroll through a couple of unread messages. Most from a contact name 'Jack'.

"Who is Jack?" I ask.

He straightens up at the sound of my voice and then relaxes again, "He is one of my brothers."

"Who's your other brother?"

"Ben."

"They know we are coming right?"

"Yeah, Shyla must have talked to Jack about all of this. He says they were all my dad's house in the upper east but last minute he decided that we should have Thanksgiving at the Hampton house."

"Hampton..?" I thought my family was wealthy.

"Yeah, I don't normally talk about how rich my family is, mostly because they nearly cut me off."

I grab his hand as the elevator doors open again. This floor not so crowded, but he still grabs my hands. "You know we could just stay in a hotel, we don't have to go see them Luke."

"I like that idea..."

"Let's do it then," I say. This idea came mostly from my concern about Luke, but if I could avoid meeting these people that sound so awful, I'll take it.

"They are already expecting us though, or else I would."

I nod, "How do we get to the Hamptons?"

Luke stops walking and sits down on a bench. "Well I think my Dad sent a car for us. My brothers, their girlfriend's, and my Dad are already there."

"What are the girlfriend's like?" I ask. I hate to admit it, but I want his family to like me. No guy has ever introduced me to his family, and never have I wanted to have them like me. My family likes him. If they hate me compared to the other brothers girlfriends, then it'll probably make Luke think twice about me. He should already know I'm not good enough, I sure know.

His blue eyes meet mine and a deep crease forms between his eyebrows, "They're alright... You're better though."

I look down at my nervous hands, "What if none of them like me? I'm not proper or anything like that."

"It doesn't matter if they like you or not, because I like you. I like you a lot Izzy."

He surprises me with a kiss that makes me relax.

"All I brought were jeans and t-shirts. If I would have known it was all fancy I would have went shopping."

"If it will make you feel better, we can stop here in the city and shop before we go there."

I look up to him and smile with nodding. "Thank you."

He puts both his hands on my cheeks and whispers, "No thank you for coming with me. Without you here I'd be a nervous wreck, you make this a thousand times better for me."