February Night

Chapter 28

The sun shone through the curtains and woke Lucy up the next morning. With closed eyes, sighed and reached out a hand to let it run over the space next to her. But the sheets were empty. Lucy was laying alone in the bed. She eventually opened her eyes and let her hands run over her face to try and wake up properly.

She could hear noises from somewhere in the apartment and assumed, that Spencer was in the kitchen. Lucy got up and scuffled through the corridor and into the kitchen. She was still extremely tired although she had slept surprisingly well last night after finally falling asleep.

Lucy found Spencer in the kitchen, as she had guessed. He was sitting at the table, a huge cup of steamy coffee in front of him and the newspaper open. When he heard her footsteps, he looked up and smiled. "Good morning."

"Morning", Lucy said, smiling back as she sat down on one of the chairs.

"Do you want some coffee?"

Lucy nodded and watched him getting up and preparing a cup for her. Without thinking, she took a sip. Just to jump from the chair almost immediately and spilling everything into the sink. Surprised, Spencer looked at her. But then he remembered. "Oh shit, I forgot you don't like strong coffee!", he exclaimed and hurried to her. Lucy filled a glass with water and drank it. When she looked at her boyfriend, she could see the insecure expression on his face. She went to him and gently stroked his cheek.

"If you let me near your coffee machine, I'll make me some Latte Macchiato", she suggested and Spencer nodded.

"Sure! Whatever's in here you can use." He leaned down and kissed her while he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry I forgot", he murmured into the kiss, but Lucy just shook her head.

"Yeah, I'm a bit disappointed in that. I thought you've got an eidetic memory and could remember everything", she teased him with a smirk. He was clearly speechless at those words and she pulled away a bit. "I'm just joking, Spencer!", she exclaimed laughing and then she dedicated herself to Spencer's coffee machine, which was an excellent model by the way. Lucy couldn't believe he only used it for some simple black coffee and nothing more. Well, she'd change that now, she thought to herself.

With her Latte Macchiato, Lucy went back to the table and to Spencer. He put away the newspaper and pulled her into his lap before she could sit down on the chair. Lucy chuckled. "That one's better?", Spencer asked and pointed at the large cup Lucy was holding in her hands. She nodded.

"Yes, definitely." She took a sip. "Okay, wow, I love your coffee machine!", she then exclaimed. Spencer looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, really?"

Once again, Lucy nodded. "This is an amazing coffee! You want to try?" She held the cup right under Spencer's nose but he gently pushed it away, wrinkling his nose.

"Nope, thanks. It's not real coffee when there's milk in it."

"Not real coffee?! Mister, do you want to argue with me about that right now?!", Lucy exclaimed and looked at him pretending to be shocked. Spencer laughed.

"As much as I'd like to, I don't have time. I need to leave in five minutes", he said as he glanced at his watch. Lucy put her coffee on the table and wrapped her arms around his neck. Knowing that they'd have to be apart in a few minutes made her heart feel heavy in her chest. She pressed a kiss on Spencer's cheek.

"If a case comes in, please take care", she quietly said. Spencer nodded and wrapped his hands around Lucy's cheeks to pull her closer and kissed her lips gently.

"I promise." Then Lucy had to get up to let Spencer walk into his bedroom to get ready. She hurried to finish her coffee and followed him.

"If you want to take a shower before you go to the bookstore, you can stay here for a bit longer. I could give you a key", Spencer said as he grabbed his messenger bag.

"No, it's okay. I'll go home and change into some sports clothes for a jog before I go to work", Lucy explained while she grabbed her things.

"Are you still jogging with Luke?", Spencer asked with the widest grin. Lucy had told him that she had tried to jog with her brother but couldn't continue this since Luke was way too fast for her. Now she stuck her tongue out at Spencer.

"No, I'm not", she then said. "The only one that joins me sometimes is Roxy when I look after her while you guys are away for a case. And that's more than okay." Lucy and Spencer were standing at the front door now and Lucy knew, they would have to go in different directions as soon as they'd be outside. Why was it so hard to separate? She held back a sigh as they walked down the stairs.

"Alright, we see us tonight. And if a case comes in, I'll let you know, okay?" Spencer brushed a strand of Lucy's hair behind her ear, then he leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Okay", Lucy whispered against his lips before they parted again and said goodbye to each other. She hurried to get home and change so she could jog some rounds in the park. It wasn't something she actually liked to do but she wanted to keep her fitness level – which wasn't high anyway.

An hour later Lucy finally opened the door to her bookstore. She made herself another coffee and then sat down on the desk, logging into the computer.

"Lu, I need your help!" When suddenly Luke stormed into the room, Lucy almost fell from her chair.

"Holy shit, can't you be a little bit more quiet? It's a bookstore and no bar!", she exclaimed at least as loud as her brother did. He breathed for some seconds and then apologized. "Alright, what's the matter?"

"We need to leave for a case in San Diego and I need someone to look after Roxy", he explained and the dog right next to him barked. Lucy smirked at the German Shepherd.

"Luke, I told you that you can always bring her", she said and came around the desk to kneel and stroke Roxy. The dog let its tongue run over Lucy's cheek and she chuckled.

"Great, thank you. I need to hurry." Luke smiled at his sister before he left the bookstore again without any other word.

"Wow, seems like this is an urgent case or a really bad one", Lucy murmured as she got up again and brought Roxy back to the desk. The dog lay down on a blanket Lucy had once placed behind the desk and Roxy knew that this was her place when she was here.

"Good girl", Lucy smiled and stroked her head before she turned back to the computer. Lucy liked it when Luke brought Roxy over. She had company then and didn't have to sit alone at work while she waited for customers and sometimes rearranged the book shelves. The bookstore worked out, for sure, there were a lot of customers that visited and bought something, but mostly not in the mornings. The late afternoon and early evening were the times the bookstore was the busiest. And Lucy loved it when people came here to buy a book or just sit down on one of the chairs and read in one of the books. But what she loved the most was the fact, that people came to her to talk about books and mostly about their favorites. She enjoyed hearing about the reader's thoughts and how some books changed them. And then, Lucy once again knew, that it was right what she was doing. Of course, she had studied linguistics and could have had a great job at some university. But for now, a job like this wouldn't satisfy her. She had gotten this store from Miss Willoughby and she wouldn't give it up at any point.