Disconnected | Luke Hemmings

chapter four

It took me about an hour to get ready, but that was mostly because I felt nervous. I could hear the muffled sounds of music and voices downstairs. It was eight-thirty, so I didn't think things would be too wild yet, at least not for a while. I checked my phone and discovered that I had a text message from my best friend, Amy, saying that she was downstairs waiting for me. I took a deep breath. Amy had been my best friend for years and had witnessed all of the ups and downs of mine and Luke's relationship. She definitely helped to balance out all the testosterone that came along with hanging out with the boys, but more than that, she knew me inside out and understood me. She was also good friends with the guys and had happily accepted them all into our lives when Luke and I had started dating.

Even though it had been mere days since we had last seen each other, I took comfort in knowing that Amy was waiting for me. Still, I felt my stomach doing flips as I allowed myself one final glance in the mirror.

I had curled my long, dark brown hair, which was something I rarely did because there was so much of it. I had applied grey eyeshadow and generous eyeliner, making my blue eyes pop. I had even put on a dark shade of lipstick that I knew Luke really liked.

The outfit had taken a bit of courage to put on. I wasn't really sure why I felt nervous about tonight, but I guess part of me just wanted to look good for my boyfriend. Maybe it was a good thing that that sort of nervous excitement hadn't gone away. I had selected a pair of tight, black jeggings and a silky black tank top that cut low in the front and the back. On my feet I wore a pair of red heels that had cute little bows on them. Underneath the clothes, I wore a recently purchased dark purple lace bra and matching underwear that I had taken care to pack earlier in the day. I didn't want to be presumptuous, but since Luke and I hadn't had much energy last night, and since we'd both be drinking tonight...well, I wanted to be prepared.

With a final look at my appearance, I stuffed everything back into my bag and left to go stow it away in Calum's room for the night. However, when I pushed open the door, I did not expect to be greeted by my boyfriend.

He spun around, in the middle of putting on a black button-up shirt over his dark skinny jeans. He hadn't quite gotten around to the buttoning part, though, and it seemed that I had caught him in the middle of it. He looked beautiful, though. There was no other way to put it. I loved black on him, and having the shirt open to reveal his sculpted torso certainly enhanced the appeal.

"Hi," I said shyly, tossing my bag aside. "I like that shirt on you."

Luke didn't appear to have heard me as he looked at me wide-eyed. "Wow," he said, forgetting about the buttons. His eyes roamed up and down my body. "You look...incredible."

"You really think so?" I said, taking a step forward into the room. I walked up to him and placed my palms on his bare stomach. If the shirt didn't look so good on him, I would just take it off him right now.

"Of course," Luke said, leaning his forehead into mine. "You look amazing. God, I could just—"

"Whatever you're about to suggest," Calum's voice said out of nowhere, "you are definitely not doing it on my bed."

We both sprang back from each other and turned to find Calum in the doorway. He walked in to grab a flannel shirt to put on over his sleeveless one. I tried to hide my blush as best I could, but I still felt the heat on my cheeks. The rest of the band were a little too aware of mine and Luke's more intimate moments.

"Now come on, lovebirds," Calum said as he left the room. "The party's waiting."

Luke sighed and buttoned up his shirt. I linked my arm through his and pulled him with me out of Calum's room and down the stairs to where the party had already gotten started. I forgot how early people started drinking around here. I was a little anxious about who would show up—now that the boys were pretty famous, there was no telling what could happen. But Calum had promised it would be mostly invite-only. Mostly. That still left plenty of leeway for anyone at all to show up at his door. The thought of crazy teenage fangirls made me grip Luke's arm just a little tighter.