The Player Next Door ✓

40 | In Your Nature

Chapter 40: In Your Nature

Luke kissed me. He kissed the tears on my cheeks, though I wished he would have kissed my lips. I didn't realize how he cared for me, until yesterday. Yesterday was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

And he kissed me.

Did I mention that already?

It was the way a friend kisses a friend. Maybe more. Maybe less.  You kiss the tears off someone's face and what does that make you? 

It's sensual. But I don't know what to call us anymore. The most unusual relationship I've ever been in.

The kiss felt intimate, but that could just be my wishful thinking. He had every opportunity to kiss me properly, but he didn't.

He said he respected me – he didn't say he was attracted to me. Did he not like me that way?

I may not be what you want, but I'll protect you until you don't need me.

Luke considered himself flawed. I called him egotistical, arrogant, cruel, careless... and he believed me. But nothing about last night was selfish. He had done more for me than my own family.

**

"I can't believe no one showed up. The LUCKY girls had a prior engagement and I was sick. I'm so sorry. Should we reschedule? Maybe something between you and me and L-"

I cut Julia off, "I had a nice birthday, so don't worry about it."

We were standing in the hallway beside our lockers.  Julia flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"How?" she asked bluntly.

True, I was sad that no one came to my birthday, but I wasn't angry. I had an incredible night and I wouldn't trade it.

How could I be annoyed when everyone acted in their nature? Once Luke had rejected the invite at lunch yesterday, those LUCKY girls were out. I'm not that oblivious. I knew they planted the idea in Julia's mind just to get closer to Luke.

And my sister was being my sister. She stuck to her word – she said she wasn't going to come, and she meant it.

So that explains why they didn't show up. Everyone behaved according to their nature, except Julia. Julia should have been there. 

She did have a cough today, but I don't know how much I believed her story. I didn't want to dwell on it though. Friendships depend on trust and if I started to doubt that, then I would be doubting our friendship.

Julia had been the one friend who stuck by me when my boyfriend started dating Kelly Mathers. My ex-boyfriend.  I had trusted him, though he lied to me.  That one was a mistake, I'll admit.  

Anyway, today Julia wasn't done reliving last night. She wanted to know all the details, wanted to relive every minute of my loneliness. We dodged out of the way as people started going to class.

"Did the restaurant make you pay? How long did you wait before leaving?"

"One hour," I said.

"And then what happened?" she asked while she ate a Mrs Fields' cookie, "Did they kick you out or did you eat something?"

"Luke came."

Julia gasped, and stared at me like I'd just told her a ghost story. "But how? He said he couldn't make it. He said he was busy. If we'd known, we would've-"

"You would've what, Julia?" I asked, "You would've come?"

She awkwardly avoided eye contact. "No, I can't believe you think that. Did you make this up just to test me? Luke never came, did he?"