Titanium Promises

Eight

"What'd you say you were doing tonight?" my dad asks, momentarily looking up from his laptop. His glasses that he only wears while using his laptop hang on the edge of his nose as he squints at me.

I lean against the doorframe of my dad's room. "Luke and I are hanging out again."

"Already?"

I don't respond.

"What are you going to do?" he asks.

"I don't know." Not entirely a lie, because I have no idea where Luke plans on taking me. "I won't be gone for too long." I think.

He mutters something to himself before turning back to his laptop. "You be safe, all right?" I nod and turn to leave, but he speaks up again. "I'm glad Luke is your friend."

I can't help but smile. "Did Silvia tell you to say that?"

"Yeah," he admits, "but I mean it. He looks like a good kid."

A wider smile spreads across my face. "Thanks, Dad. I'll be back soon, don't worry."

"Wasn't going to."

I leave his room and go downstairs. I grab my wallet from the table next to the couch and shove it in my pocket. I'm just about to go to the bathroom to check my hair, when I hear a knock on the door.

I quickly run to the kitchen, flip on the faucet, and douse my hands in the water. I run my wetted hands through my hair, trying my best to tame the curls that reside there.

My heart pounds against my chest as I take a deep breath and go to the door. I pull it open and almost collapse. I almost feel overdressed in my white button down and dark jeans. He replaced his leather jacket with a navy sweater and his cross earring with a diamond one.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey. Thanks for coming with me."

I smile. "Thanks for the invite," I say, stepping out and closing the door behind me.

Luke walks me to the white Tesla in front of my house and opens the passenger door for me. I slide inside, momentarily starstruck by the interior.

Luke notices my face. "It's my nana's," he says, almost smirking. "She likes to 'ride in style.'" He makes air quotes around that last part.

"I like that."

He pulls down the street, and I watch the lights of my house fade away. But, like they always do, my eyes trail back to Luke. He keeps his eyes forward, but I want him to look at me. I want him to touch me again like he did at the park.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I ask.

"You'll see."

I roll my eyes. "You really love leaving me hanging, don't you?"

"It's entertaining."

We keep driving and end up going up towards downtown LA. The last time I remember going was when Silvia wanted to check out this expensive restaurant for my birthday. Everything had just a hint of truffles, and I got a major stomach ache afterwards.

The next thing I know, Luke is pulling into a packed parking lot. He gets out of the car and I do the same. I look around, trying to find hints as to where we could be going. My first thought was the movies, but I didn't see us pass any movie theaters. Though you can't be too far from any movie theater when you're in downtown LA it seems.

"Come on," Luke says, motioning me towards the elevator. "We don't want to be late."

I nod and we step into the elevator. We go to the bottom floor where Luke pays for parking before we go out onto the street. I spot a couple walking ahead of us, both of them wearing outfits I would normally see worn on red carpets. I move closer to Luke. I can't help but feel nervous about where we're going.