Pleasure

Chapter Thirty-Eight

I knock on the black wooden door of the white house. The door swings open and I stare up at Lucas' lengthy body. He smiles down at me before stepping back and letting me inside.

"Hey," he greets.

"Hi." I step into his house and look around. "It smells like a bakery in here." I note with contentment filling my body.

Lucas chuckles and looks down, shaking his head. "My grandpa thought you'd like cookies, I'm sorry." I giggle into my hand.

"Come on we can go into the living room." He plants a light hand on my back, taking me by surprise. He looks down at me before removing his hand and smiling nervously. He walks ahead of me and I follow behind him.

Lucas' house is very nice. It's just the right size because it's not too big, but there's still enough space for everything. It's the kind of house you want to live in for your first home. The blinds are open to let enough light in and it casts sunshine on the walls, making everything look brighter. There's nothing but light colors in here. This setting should make anyone happy to come home. I get why he hasn't been at school.

An old man in a wheelchair sits next to a long couch, laughing at the TV. He laughs loud and happily, moving excitedly in his chair.

"Lucas you're missing the good parts!" He laughs, pointing to the TV. He notices me and stops. "Oh, I didn't know she was here already! Are the cookies ready?" He starts to roll away from the couch, but Lucas stops him. He rushes over to the old man and grabs the wheelchair handles.

"Just stay here Pop, they're fine. I checked on them before I answered the door." He tells him, sounding worried. He sighs and shakes his head, rolling him back next to the couch.

"Hi, I'm Aria." I announce. He smiles at me from across the room.

"I'm his grandpa, but you can call me Pop." I pinch my lips together and turn them upwards. "Lucas has told me a lot about you."

"Pop." Lucas groans as his face blossoms into a pinkish color. He looks up at me and smiles. "I just told him I knew you from school." He explains nervously. I can't help but laugh.

"Your girlfriend is very pretty," Pop says. He turns to me and adds, "You're very pretty."

"Pop she's not my girlfriend. I said she was a friend that's a girl." Lucas asserts. I can tell he's embarrassed by all of this, but I can't stop myself from laughing. Pop knows what he's doing, which only makes it funnier. "I'm going to get the cookies. You can just sit down on the couch, Aria." He states blandly.

I walk over to the couch and sit down. Pop watches Lucas until he leaves the room, then turns to me.

"I know you aren't his girlfriend, it's just funny to embarrass him." He exclaims, sounding content.

"It was pretty funny," I admit, smiling at him.

"He doesn't have many friends over. I'm glad you could make it." I think about how Lucas doesn't have many friends in general. I've seen him talk to a few people besides Natalie, but that's it. I don't want to pity him, but in a way, it's kind of hard not to. He's such a nice guy, it's sad he doesn't have more friends.

Lucas walks in with a tray of cookies and a nervous smile. He sets them down on the coffee table in front of me and says, "They're hot so I'd wait a minute to touch them." I nod.

"Sorry about the TV, he likes to watch old shows and movies." Lucas notes, sitting next to me. He puts his elbows on his knees and leans forward, staring at his grandpa.

"It's okay, my grandma used to watch this show all the time." I say. We watch a few shows and listen to Pop tell a few war stories. He's a delightful old man, how could you not like him?