paper rings (l.h.)

16

NSFW

Luke's stomach beginning to growl as my head laid on his chest told me what he was thinking, the way he held me told me that he didn't want to leave this spot - if he could help it. I finally raised my head up to look at him, his blue eyes finding mine when he realizes I wasn't actually asleep. "Hi, beautiful."

This was the first time he had called me something like that, up until now he didn't do anything more than hint that he thought it. It was nice having affirmations, that my questions in my brain were answered. I feel my smile creep back onto my face after it being absent for so long. "Your stomach is growling. You're hungry."

He laughs at the fact that I noticed at all. "Sorry. Did that wake you up?"

"I wasn't asleep," I whisper, cupping his cheek in my hand and feel the stubble that grows across his face. He looks down at my lips as I speak. "I was watching TV, too."

"Huh," he nods, smiling down at me before I separate our bodies. "Well, do you like Italian?"

"I do," I bring my hair up to my side, running my fingers through the tangles that had formed after laying on his chest for as long as I did. "Olive Garden is my favorite restaurant."

He scoffs, pulling himself off of the sofa, and holding his hand out for me to take, and I use his body weight to pull myself up to my feet, too. "Ha," he smirks down at me. "It used to be mine, too."

I follow closely behind him as he walks towards the kitchen island, glancing over at me as he turns on the sink before he begins prep. "I don't drink," he says slowly. "I've got sparkling cider my Mom bought me."

"I like sparkling cider better than wine, anyway," I watched as something I could only describe as a defeated sort of chuckle fall out of his lips. "I could never get used to the burn."

He pulls out a champagne flute from his cabinet, pouring a glass and sliding it across the counter towards me. It was still storming. I grabbed a lighter and lit the candle he had in the center of his dining room table that had already been half lit. He smiles towards me as I light it, watching how the flame enlightens my face as it goes towards the wick. I look up to see the most beautiful smile that was meant for my eyes, and my eyes only.

He fills the glass with the bubbly juice, foam nearly pouring over so that it kind of looks like the real thing. "Way better than champagne," I look up at him once the candle was lit.

"And it won't get me arrested if I drink too much of it," he laughs, sipping a bit just as I had a second ago. "I'm glad you are on the same page as I am."

"You've been arrested?" I watch as he sets his glass down to begin to wash off his vegetables. I watch as his thumb moves across stalks of asparagus, curls falling onto his forehead.

"I'm surprised you haven't found out yourself," he looks over his shoulder at me, my chin resting in my hand, my elbow on the kitchen island. "You haven't googled me yet?"

I couldn't help but scoff at his question, my body straightening itself in the chair I had found myself in. "I..."

"Yeah," he nods, taking a paper towel off the roll and slowly drying the vegetables as he stands at the opposite end of the island. "I got arrested a while back for driving under the influence."

"Huh," I nod, taking another sip of the sparkling cider.

"Didn't turn out too bad though. I'm glad it happened," he looks up at me, his eyes softening as I let out a shallow breath. "Because I was planning on wrapping my car around the first tree I came across."

My heart drops in my chest as he tells me this, my jaw dropping although I tried to act as stoic as I could. He lays the asparagus onto the marble countertop, turning around to grab a baking sheet and aluminum foil. His lips part softly as he rustles with the foil, cinching it at the sides so that it stays in place. Carefully, he spreads out the asparagus across the sheet.