Sweet Dreams

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Come on Molly. Let's go." Casey says. "I can't believe I'm letting you drag me out." I say. "Mol, you can't keep sitting here moping. He's moved on. It's time you did. You know the saying. Best way to get over one guy is to get under another." she tells me laughing. "I am so not doing that. I'll just be your designated driver. Let's get this over with." I say. We walk out the door and head out to the bar. "Seriously? A karaoke bar?" I ask. "Thought singing some would cheer you up a little." she says. "Maybe." I tell her.

We've been sitting there for a little while when my name is called to come up to the stage. I walk up and see which song my friends put in. Silly Me by Reba McIntire. I belt out the song and when I walk off the stage, I head back to my friends. "You had to put that one in didn't you?" I ask Casey. "That one always made you feel better." she tells me. I hug her. A few minutes later, there's a round of drinks brought to the table. "These are from the guys at that table over there." he says. We look up and see a table with three guys sitting there. They salute us with their beer bottles and Casey waves them over. "Casey." I say. "Just let loose." she tells me and I roll my eyes.

The guys walk over and Casey introduces us to them. "I'm Casey, this is Laura and this is Molly." One of the guys speaks up and says "I'm Street, this is Tan and this is Luca." the youngest of the three says. "Nice to meet you guys." Casey says. The one named Luca is sitting next to me. "Nice to meet you Molly." he says. "You too." I say shyly. "You sounded amazing up there. You putting more songs in?" Luca asks. "I don't put the songs in. We have a rule. When one of us has a bad day, the other two get to decide what we go and since I like karaoke, they pick the songs." I tell him. "Do they tell you what's coming up next?" he asks. "Unfortunately no." I tell him. We sit around talking more and my name is called again. Getting up to the microphone, I look at the monitor and see Every Little Thing by Carly Pearce. Once the song was done, I walk off the stage and back to my table. "Holy hell." Luca says. "Thanks." I say.

The longer we sit there, the more I find myself talking to Luca more than anyone else. I get called up again and see the song that they picked. I'll Always Love You by Whitney Houston. I look at Casey and glare at her but she just smiles. I belt it out and hit all of the notes perfectly. Walking back to the table, I see my entire table giving me a standing ovation. Sitting down next to Luca, he says "Where did you learn to sing like that?" I blush a little and say "I just always sang. My mom could sing too." I tell him. "That's my last one for the night guys." I say. "You sure?" Casey asks. "Yeah. I'm sure." I say. I take another drink of my water and Luca asks "How come you're not drinking?" I look at my water and back at him and say "Someone has to get their drunk asses home safe." We all laugh and a slow song comes on. Luca leans over and asks "Wanna dance?" I look at him for a second and nod my head yes. He leads me to the dance floor and holds me close. With my head on his shoulder, he has one hand on the small of my back and the other holding my hand against his chest. Neither of us say a word until the song is over. Walking back to the table, Casey looks at me and I just smile softly.

Later that night, it's closing time and we all go to head home. The guys walk us to the car and Luca asks "Can I get your number?" I look at him for a minute and decide to give it to him. "Give me your phone." I say. He hands me his phone and I enter my number. I hand him his phone back and he sends a text. "Now you have mine." he says. He kisses my cheek and closes my car door when I get inside.

Walking into the house, Casey and I are sitting on the couch and she says "You and that Luca guy seemed to hit it off." Sighing, I say "Yeah but I don't expect him to call." She looks at me and says "Why not?" I just look at her. "Did you see how hot he is? There's no way he wants someone like me." I tell her. "You know that's not true, right?" she asks. "I'm heading to bed. Good night." I tell her. "Night Mol." she says.

The next morning I wake up to a text message. I open the text and see it's from Luca.

L: Good morning little song bird. Hope you slept well.

M: Good morning. I slept really well. You?

L: Slept well. About to head to work and wanted to say good morning.

M: Well, have a good day and stay safe.

L: Will do. Can I call you tonight?

M: Sure. I get home about six.

L: Talk to you then beautiful.

I look at the text and just shake my head. Walking out to the kitchen in search for coffee, I see Casey sitting there. "Morning." she says. "Morning." I say. Sitting down at the island with my coffee, I glance at my phone and Casey asks "Waiting on him to text?" I look at her and say "No, thinking about the texts he sent this morning." I tell her. "Let me see." she says. I hand her my phone and she says "Please tell me you aren't going to push this one away?" I look at her and say, "I don't know." I tell her and she looks at me with sympathy in her eyes.

I'm sitting at my desk at work when my phone goes off. I look down and see a text from Luca.

L: Hey Beautiful. How's work?

M: Hey yourself. Work is good. You?

L: Work's good. Had a few minutes and thought I'd text you. Gotta make sure you don't forget me.

M: Lol. Yeah, okay.

L: Seriously. I had fun last night. But you gotta let me take you out on a real date.

M: I don't know. We'll see.

L: Well, gotta head back. Talk to you tonight?

M: Talk to you tonight. Be safe.

L: Yes ma'am.

I put my phone back on my desk when Laura walks up. "Who were you texting?" she asks. "Oh, just that guy Luca from last night." I tell her. She smiles at me and says "You like him?" I just look at her and say "I don't know him." She just shakes her head. "Just don't shut yourself off again." she tells me. "I'll try." I tell her.

That evening, I'm sitting on the back deck while Casey is in the house. My phone rings and I see Luca's name on the screen. Answering the call I say "Hello." "Hey Beautiful. How was work?" he asks. "Good. Busy but good. How about you? Did you get to be a badass today?" I ask. Laughing he says "I get to be a badass everyday." I laugh with him and he says "But it was good. Rescued a kid today. Those are the days that make it worth it." he tells me. "Wow. I bet that was stressful. Are you okay?" I ask. "Yeah. I'm good. Got her back to her mom safe so..." he trails off. "So, tell me about yourself, Molly. Other than what I learned last night." he says. "Not much to me. I love to sing. It's basically my coping mechanism when things are bothering me. I work as an admin assistant for a construction company. Other than that, there's not much to me. Mom and Dad live in Tennessee, no siblings. What about you?" I ask. "I'm third generation SWAT. Love my job and the people I work with. It's a family. I don't have any siblings, love to surf. Recently found out I love hearing you sing." he says and I start laughing. "Smooth." I say. "So, what's your last name Molly?" he asks. "Thomas. I know you said your name is Luca but is that a first name?" I ask. "Nah. My name is Dominique Luca. People close to me either call me Luca or Dom." he says. "I like Dom." I say. "Dom it is then." he says. We talk a little more before I say "I better head to bed. Early day tomorrow." He's quiet for a second but then says "Can I call you tomorrow?" Smiling, I say "Yeah. I'd like that."