Always You - A Second Chance Romance

Chapter 14

It took awhile to find an available taxi, but one finally arrived about ten minutes later. Luke's hand gently touched my back as he pressed me towards the taxi and my breath hitched in my throat. His hand felt hot against the cool fabric of my dress. He left his hand there until I slid in the backseat, pressing myself against the door to give myself some space from Luke.

I blinked a few time, my vision a little blurry and sat back in the taxi seat, hoping the car would stop spinning. Luke slid in next to me and gave the driver the name of our hotel. We sat in silence for awhile, the only noise coming from the muffled radio the driver was listening to. I took a deep breath and let it out, the spinning had slowed down. I shouldn't have had so much wine tonight.

"You alright?" Luke whispered. I nodded slowly. I heard him chuckle and I could only imagine the amused expression on his face right now.

"Just drank a little too much," I said quietly. "I'm okay though."

"If you say so," he replied, laughter tinting his voice. I looked over at him and scowled which only made him laugh more. I rolled my eyes and pulled out my phone, scrolling aimlessly.

A few minutes later when we weren't at the hotel yet I looked up. We were stuck in what looked like an endless sea of traffic. I groaned.

"We should have walked," I said.

"It's too far," Luke said. I sighed and turned back to my phone. I scrolled for a few minutes more before getting bored and stashing my phone in my purse. I looked over at Luke, who was also looking at his phone. The blue light from his phone screen illuminated his face. He chewed his lip, something he always did when he was reading something, and scrolled through whatever he was looking at.

I couldn't take my eyes off him. I wanted to imprint his face in my mind and never forget anything about him. My eyes scanned his face again and again, taking in all of him. From the ever so slight crook in his nose from a broken nose when playing football, to the small beauty mark on his left cheek, to the way his hazel eyes caught the light. He was and would always be the most handsome man I knew.

Luke looked up, as if sensing I was staring, and raised his eye brows at me.

"Can I help you?" He asked with a soft laugh. He locked his phone and set it in his lap.

"Sorry," I nervously replied. Warmth crept up my neck and I turned away from him. He made me nervous in the best ways. Being around Luke brought back the excitement and butterflies I hadn't felt in years and it made me feel like a teenage girl fawning over her crush.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked. A smile played on my lips as I replied.

"You know, people, places, things," I said. My response was something we used to say to each other when asked what we were thinking about. I looked up and Luke smiled at me.

"Thanks, smartass," he said with a soft laugh. I smiled back. "But seriously, what are you thinking about?"

"Just how I don't want to forget how you look ever again," I said softly. Luke's smile faltered for a moment before he composed himself. In the brief moment of weakness I saw sadness flash in his eyes. My heart pained to see him sad in on level.

"I know what you mean," Luke said softly. We looked at each other, faces illuminated by the orange and yellow streetlights outside. As I looked at Luke, the light on his face reminded me of that one night he had brought up a few days ago - a steamy, drunken taxi ride many years ago.

I could feel my cheeks warm, and I knew my blush would be obvious, but I couldn't turn away from Luke. His eyes twinkled as he gave me a knowing smile. Luke reached towards me, brushing a loose strand of my long brown hair behind my ear. He gently stroked my cheek with his thumb, cupping my face in his hand, and for the first time all week I didn't flinch or pull away from his touch. Maybe it was the wine, maybe I just gave up on trying to resist what I so badly wanted.