February Night

Chapter 16

Lucy was sitting behind the counter, a cup of coffee next to her and her head buried in a book, when someone entered the bookstore. She looked up and was surprised to see Penelope and Emily coming in. "Hey!" She couldn't hide that she was happy to see those two women. Beaming, Penelope came literally running towards Lucy and threw her arms around her.

"Lucy! That's one amazing bookstore!", she exclaimed and Lucy laughed.

"You haven't even looked at it properly", she chuckled.

"Well, one of the most amazing girls is running this store, so of course it's amazing!", Penelope replied as she had pulled away again. Lucy just grinned.

"What brought you here?", Lucy asked and glanced at Emily. The dark-haired woman had stood there, with her arms folded in front of her chest.

"Oh, we just came to ask if you would like to join us tonight when we go to one of our favorite bars", Emily explained. Lucy thought about it for a moment. She hadn't been out in a bar since months. Not even once when since she was in D.C. So, she nodded. If Penelope would be there too, it would be fun for sure.

"Great!", Penelope exclaimed, another beaming smile on her bright pink lips. "Your brother will be there too. Alright, see you tonight, sweetie!" She waved at Lucy and followed by Emily, she left again. Lucy smiled. Penelope truly was a ray of sunshine. And she knew, she'd enjoy that evening out. It had been way too long.

~

"Lu, hurry up! We're already late!" Luke's voice sounded from the corridor and Lucy rolled her eyes. It was always the same when she and Luke wanted to go somewhere. Her brother had showed up at her apartment earlier than they had agreed on and of course, Lucy hadn't been ready when he'd rang the doorbell. Now he was grumbling around for being too late.

"Calm down, we still got time!", Lucy shouted back while she put her long dark hair up into a messy bun. Some strands of hair were still falling into her face. Wearing some simple black jeans and a blue top, Lucy was happy with her appearance. It wasn't as if she wanted to flirt or hook up with someone. She just wanted to go there for a drink or two and have fun with friends. Yes, she considered Luke's teammates as her friends now since they had already spent some time together. And she liked them all a lot.

Five minutes later, Lucy finally left the bath room. Luke let out a deep breath. Lucy just grimaced at him before she grabbed her purse and left the apartment.

After a twenty-minute ride with a cab, Lucy and Luke arrived at the bar they would meet the others. It seemed as if they were the last ones and Luke shot a look at his sister. But Lucy didn't care about that. He had always wanted to be one of the first when meeting with people. "Oh, you look gorgeous!" Penelope came towards them and hugged Lucy.

"Right back at you!", Lucy laughed. After saying Hi to Emily too, the group went inside and directly to one of the tables. They were lucky to find a free one.

"What do you want to drink, girls?", Luke asked before he took a seat. He would buy the first round of drinks.

"Caipirinha", Lucy grinned.

"A Gin Tonic", Emily added.

"And a Mojito, please", Penelope finished. Luke nodded and made his way to the counter to order the drinks. He returned a few minutes later, placing all the glasses on the table.

"Thanks", Lucy said with a smile and grabbed her drink. They clinked glasses before taking the first sip. And while they drank, they had a conversation about what just came to their minds. Lucy enjoyed being with Emily, Penelope and Luke and had some good laughter.