Missing in My Life (Fourth Book in Life Series)

Chapter 10

"Baby, football isn't my dream," he said, kissing my forehead. "You are." ~Nicole Williams

Luke gently nudges me awake. I guess I fell asleep on him while watching The Little Mermaid. "I'm awake, I'm awake." I say with a yawn, slowly opening my eyes to see the credits of the movie on the laptop screen.

"You kinda fell asleep on me." Luke says with a small chuckle.

"I'm sorry." I say. "But your body makes a warm and comfy pillow under my head." I explain. "I couldn't help it." Luke just laughs and shakes his head.

"How about we go get something to eat for dinner?" He suggests.

"Sounds like a great idea." I reply in agreement.

Luke closes my laptop and sets it off to the side. He stands up and then he gather onto my hands and lifts me up swiftly from the floor of the closet. He lifts me up and our bodies are touching once I am standing. So close, I can almost fell the heat radiating off of him. He smells like pine trees and fresh rain. He smells like home. I look up to see him looking at me. We just stand there for a few seconds, looking at each other. "Ready?" He asks in a soft whisper.

"Yeah." I reply back in a whisper.

We walk out into the hallway and then into the kitchen. The rain is coming down hard and the wind is bending trees in half. I notice Luke averting his eyes from the window and instead focusing on food. "There is Ramen noodles, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, canned soup." He says, going through the food. "What sounds good to you?" He asks, looking at me.

"Umm...Ramen, I guess." I reply. I sit down on one of the stools in the kitchen as Luke prepares our grand feast of Ramen noodles that cost barely anything.

It takes about ten minutes for our grand feast to be finished cooking. "And dinner is served." Luke says, setting a bowl of noodles in front of me at the table and then setting his where he is going to sit.

"It looks delicious." I say, before stuffing some noodles in my mouth. "And burning hot." I add wincing.

"Oh, yeah. It's kind hot by the way." Luke points out.

"Thanks for telling me." I reply with an eye roll.

"Anytime." He replies with a giant grin.

"Yeah, uh huh. Sure." I reply with another eye roll.

"So why do you just let Jason go around thinking that you both are madly in love with each other when you don't even like him that way?" Luke asks.

"Why are so invested in this?" I ask in reply.

"No reason." He replies, stuffing his mouth full of noodles. "Wow, this is really good." He says, quickly changing the subject to the grand feast we are in the process of eating.

"Nice subject change." I remark with sarcasm.

"I know." He says with a grin.

"But why?" I ask again. "What does it mean to you who I date or who I like?"

"No reason." He replies again.

"Luke, there is a reason for everything. There is a reason for you caring so much." I retort.

"Maybe my reason is that I have no reason." He argues.

"Then I guess there is no reason for me telling you the deal between Jason and I." I reply.

"Fine." Luke grumbles.

We finish eating in silence. An awkward silence too. I set my now dirty bowl in the sink and then grab a bottle of water to get rid of the aftertaste. Luke also sets his dirty fish in the sink but he doesn't grab any water. "You really want to know the reason as to why I care so much?" He asks. I nod me head in reply. "Because, Ash, I love you." He admits looking at me dead in the eyes. "I don't want you to be with him. I don't want to see you fall in love with someone else. I love, Ashton. More than you know."

"That's why you care so much? That's why you are here right now with me?" I ask for clarification.

"Everything I do for you is because I love you. I love the way you smile, the way you throw your head back laughing, the way your eyes sparkle in the sunlight." He says.

I look into his eyes and see nothing but love. I realize that I love him too. The first person I ask for help from is him. I trust him to infinity and back again a thousand times. I only want him. It has only ever been him.

I can't help but press my lips against his. Luke wraps his arms around my body and holds me close to him. Before I know it, I am sitting on the counter with my legs wrapped around his waist. I hear a crash of lightening and then all of a sudden the house shakes as if a tree fell on it or near it. "Was that a tree?" Luke asks, breaking away from me.

"Probably." I reply back.

"Should we go check things out?" He asks.

"Just stay here with me, Luke. Besides, there isn't much we can do about it now."