R I L E Y
Over the next week, Lucas and I had almost daily meetings at the bakery, using our free time to enjoy each other's company. He had work until 3 in the afternoon most days, so we usually met up afterwards at our usual booth. Lucas was genuinely such a great guy and though I had only known him for a couple of weeks, it felt like years.
The things we discussed ranged from our favorite things to our purpose in life, and even to the functionality of male nipples. Honestly, I don't even remember how the topic came up. I can't deny that we didn't get some strange looks from the people who witnessed us in tears from laughing so hard... Yikes. Thankfully, we strayed from topics that would bring total depth to who we were, the untold secrets of our past. It was like we had an unspoken understanding to live in the now and simply focus on the positives that life handed us.
It was a lazy day for me, thank goodness. I finished all of my due articles yesterday and wasn't planning on doing anything except watch reruns of Red Planet Diaries all day. Clad in my grey sweats and old Abigail Adams t-shirt, I collapsed on the couch with a blanket and the TV remote. Before I could even press the power button, my iPhone vibrated on the coffee table. The time read 4 PM and I had one text. When I picked it up, I could feel my stomach drop in the best way possible and a smile crept on my face.
French Friar :)
I know I said that I'd be working all day, but someone came in early. meet at our spot?
tempting, but give me a good reason why I should interrupt my evening of being a couch potato to meet up with you
French Friar :)
because I really want to see you and you know you want to ;)
fiiiiine, whateeeverrrr
French Friar :)
told you so!! don't even try to act like you're complaining and I'll see you in ten
He was right, I did want to see him, but obviously I wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. In such a short amount of time, Lucas made the butterflies in my stomach restless. It was nice to feel this way again. It was nice to have someone other than Maya, because as much as I loved her, I wanted something more. At one point, I thought I had what she and my uncle shared, a relationship full of trust and comfort, but that crashed harder that I ever anticipated it could. Was Lucas my second chance at achieving that? Well, that was a question I didn't even know the answer to.
Realizing that I only had ten minutes, I jumped up from the couch and bolted to my room. I slipped on a yellow knee-length dress, a jean vest, and ankle boots, then put on the simplest makeup I could do in the time that I had—mascara and pale pink lipstick. To save time, I left my wavy hair down from the curls I had the day before. With a minute to spare, I headed down to the bakery with my wallet and phone in hand.
- - - - - - - - - -
The walk down to Topanga's was the same route I had always taken, yet this time it seemed so different. I was nervous. Why was I nervous? It was just Lucas and I meeting up like we always did, but there was something strange about today. From the thought of seeing Lucas, I noticed myself smiling and turning into complete mush on the inside.
I pushed the door open to the bakery and there he was, sitting at our spot and looking around like the awkward dope he was. He smiled when he caught my gaze, stood, and grabbed a bouquet of flowers that was on the table. The feeling inside me only got stronger as I approached him. Lucas opened his arms for a hug and I gladly accepted it, laughing into his chest when he squeezed me as tightly as he could. His warmth was comforting and I felt absolutely safe.
YOU ARE READING
NEIGHBORS // Rucas
Fiksi Penggemar[AU] - In which 24 year old Riley Matthews moves into her parents' old apartment and her neighbor, Lucas Friar, has the tendency to play his music just a little bit too loudly.
