Deadline≫hemmings a.u

1.9

"I never realized how tiring sex could be," I yawned, removing my hands briefly from where they were tangled in Luke's hair to cover my mouth.

"At least you'll get a good night's sleep," Luke chuckled, sending vibrations through my body from where he rested his head on my stomach. I shivered, the light, feathery feel of his hair brushing over my stomach sending tingles up my spine.

"That's a plus," I rolled my eyes playfully at Luke who grinned lazily up at me, his blue eyes carefree and untouched by worry. I had doubted it a little when Luke said he needed this, but seeing him relaxed like this was proof enough.

"So I guess I can't ask for round two yet?" Luke raised an eyebrow with a smirk that was quickly wiped off his face when I flicked his temple.

"This isn't boxing, Luke," I scolded, but I couldn't contain the small grin that appeared on my face. Luke only smiled a smile smile, absently rubbing the spot where I flicked him. It felt nice, being able to just lay down and not feel the weight on my shoulders or worry about home or what was behind us and what was ahead. It was like all the worries beyond these walls weren't real and this life we were living wasn't possible.

"Not even if it's in the shower? We can clean up at the same time - "

"No!" I giggled, swatting him again.

"Maybe some other time?" Luke tried again and I rolled my eyes.

"We'll see."

"Can I get that pair of underwear now?" Luke asked cheekily, barely missing a beat.

"Luke!" I flicked him again, blushing and looking away bashfully. Were all boys like this?

Who knows?

Yes, as weird as this conversation was, I felt one thing I hadn't felt in a while. I felt normal. Just being on the road for under a month was enough to separate my life into two segments, one of which my life was stable, the other in which my life had no direction and no plan beyond the current day. But at this moment, it was like there was no divider. I was normal, not a thief. It took sex to get here, to find a release. It was the very thing I promised Luke I would never do when we talked outside of Denny's. But maybe this wasn't that bad. If a night like this was what it took to feel like myself, I wouldn't mind.

"Mel?" Luke waved his hand in front of my face, his pale hand bright in the moonlight. "Mel, Earth to Mel."

"Huh?" I blinked, becoming aware of the fact the Luke was trying to get my attention and probably had been the entire time I was thinking.

"You zoned out," he chuckled, propping himself up on his elbow as he toyed with his lipring, the sheets falling from his upper torso to his waist, exposing his toned chest which was barely visible with the moonlight. I bit my own lip in an attempt to suppress a giddy and bashful feeling that felt foreign to me. As much as Luke got on my nerves sometimes, he was always quite a sight. From what we had been discussing, it seemed like this was I sight I would be seeing more often.

Yeah. I could live with that.

"Sorry," I shrugged, reaching out to brush away a few of the messy strands of hair that fell across Luke's forehead.

" 'S not a problem," Luke grinned lazily, his blue eyes calm like a remote lake, untouched by civilization. They were brilliant like that. They brought so many different images to my mind. Sometimes I thought of a peaceful lake, sometimes I thought of the bright blue of electricity. Others I thought of the dark violent ocean, or an intense storm that was as unpredictable as the boy who controlled them.

"What did you want?" I said through another yawn, my eyes stinging.

"Have you seen my pants?" Luke clambered back onto his knees, scratching his head as he looked around in the dark. Clad in nothing but his boxers, my rosy blush spread through my cheeks, feeling more like a wildfire as I cleared my throat and shyly looked away. I'd be lying though if I said I didn't immediately look back at him a split second later.

"You mean your little boy shorts?" I snickered. Luke was so tall and his legs were so long, they made the shorts look like they belonged to someone either six inches shorter or five years younger.

"They aren't little boy shorts," Luke whined, tossing the sheets around.

"They look like it, Hemmings," I smirked, propping myself up on my elbows and pulling the sheets up around me.

"Don't be shy, you can let the sheets down," Luke stopped momentarily to look at me, the corners of his lips turning upwards. "And they aren't little boy shorts, they're just old."

My face heated at his comment, but I shrugged it off. "Don't you know how to shop for yourself?"

"Yeah, but I don't do it often," Luke shrugged. "Some of the stuff I have is from home, everything else practically looks the same anyways."

"Isn't that the truth?" I rolled my eyes. Luke often wore the same shirt over and over again until I snuck off with it to wash it at one of the hotels we stayed at.

"Oh hush," Luke tossed a pillow at me. "You lose your virginity once and you think you know everything."

"Is it possible to lose it twice?" I laughed, putting the pillow behind me. As I did, I found the thin black material of Luke's shorts wedged between the matress and the headboard of the bed. I pulled them out, noticing the color was faded from time and being washed so many times.

"You can lose the virginity of other - "

"Luke!" I gaped at him, apalled.

"Oh relax, I don't do those things." This time it was Luke's turn to roll his eyes. "It's not like that's a thing you can just ask for at a rushed one night stand. Like, 'Hey, I just met you, and this is crazy. But here's a fake number and can I fuck you in the a - '"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence," I threw the pair of shorts at him and he chuckled, unbundling them and putting them on. "I'll take you shopping at the next place we stop at, okay? Just please stop talking about that."

"As you wish," Luke chuckled, finding his shirt and pulling it on.

I scooted over to the side of the bed for Luke, but was surprised when he turned in the other direction, slipping his shoes on.

"Luke - " I opened my mouth to say something - that he could stay if he wanted - but then I remembered. He didn't do that. We wouldn't be doing that. Michael wasn't going to know about this, it was between us.

"Yeah?" Luke stood up from tying his shoes and raised his eyebrows at me.

"Nothing," I shook my head. "I was just gonna ask what time I should get up?"

Luke shrugged, grabbing his sweatshirt off the back of the chair. "We're practically in the middle of nowhere, so I doubt anyone will find us here. They'll probably spend some time looking for us before they give up and try to figure out and race to our next destinatio, but that might take a day or two. So we've got time, you'll probably get to sleep in a little. Michael or I will come for you if you aren't up already."

"Good to know you won't leave me behind," I mumbled, brushing my hair off my face.

"No man left behind," Luke laughed and once again, I thought about asking him to stay. But then we exchanged a few more words and I had missed my window of opportunity. Luke was gone again.

He wouldn't stay, he never has. Not with any other girl. He doesn't even stay in the same city for a day. Besides, it's not like we're exclusive or a thing. This was what it was, just sex. If I had gone back and told my high school self that I'd be in an arrangement like this, I would have laughed and asked when Calum finally hit the gym. But no, this wasn't with Calum. It was with Luke, who came with an even more interesting and unbelievable story to tell.

He was right about what he said the day I tried to call Calum after the swept me away. I would need this. Luke needed some relief and so did I. It seemed obvious now that we could kill two birds with one stone and help each other out.

We needed something to fill that hole in our life that made us feel almost normal, and it felt like we were almost doing each other a favor by being a physical outlet for each other.

Maybe that's what it was. A friend helping a friend. Just sex. No strings attached.