February Night

Chapter 53

The horror movie marathon on Halloween had been extremely fun, although Lucy and Penelope sometimes had to hide behind pillows while the others laughed at them. It was way past midnight when Luke, Emily and Penelope left again and Spencer and Lucy finally went to bed. She didn't care about all the Halloween decoration anymore. She actually had started to like it. And well, Spencer didn't intend to put it away anytime soon. He was too much of a Halloween fan.

~

When Lucy entered Spencer's apartment one afternoon, she couldn't hide a smirk. He still had the decoration hanging on the walls and around the whole living room. She was sure he'd let it be like this until it was time for Christmas decoration.

Spencer was out at work and Lucy had decided to come over and prepare some fresh lasagna for him. She knew he loved it as much as she and Luke did, especially when it was made from the recipe Lucy had gotten from her mom.

Later, Lucy snuggled on the couch with a huge bowl of popcorn. For the first time in months she finally found time to watch some of her favorite sports: Football. And she was lucky that her favorite team, the New England Patriots, played this afternoon. She had missed watching them and couldn't wait for the game to start. If Luke would be here, he'd tease her about how a New York City girl could be a fan of a Massachusetts team. But she had never cared about that. Yes, the rules said she would rather have to be a fan of the New York Jets or Buffalo Bills, but Lucy couldn't help it. The Patriots it was she would always be rooting for, no matter what people said.

"Ah, come on!", she exclaimed and almost threw some popcorn towards the TV when there was no touchdown for the Pats.

"Oh wow, what are you doing?" Spencer's voice made Lucy wince. She hadn't heard him coming home, she'd been too much into the game.

"Watching a football game", Lucy murmured as her eyes wandered back to the TV.

"I didn't know you were interested in football", Spencer said, being surprised, and sank down next to Lucy. She shrugged.

"There was never a moment to tell you", she grinned and finally looked at him again. He put a hand on her cheek and then kissed her.

"So...who are you rooting for?", he asked after looking at who was playing. "New England or Tennessee?"

"New England. Aaalways New England", Lucy grinned. And Spencer didn't make jokes like Luke used to do. He just nodded.

"Did you know that the Patriots are the team with the most stadium changes of the whole NFL?", Spencer started. "And people might think that the Patriots are the most successful team ever but the Dallas Cowboys are the team who played the Super Bowl the most." Spencer spat out fact after fact, until Lucy put a finger on his lips. She grinned widely.

"There's lasagna in the oven", she said and knew, this would distract him from rambling facts. Spencer's eyes widened and a smile appeared on his face.

"Is it ready? I'm starving!"

"Not yet", Lucy chuckled. "Let's watch the rest of the game and until then, I'm sure it'll be ready." She cuddled against him and wrapped an arm around his waist, placing her head on his chest. Although Spencer was everything but a sports fan, he had no choice. He was kind of trapped between the couch and Lucy's arms right now. And he wouldn't want to be anywhere else than here with her.

~

After the game – the Patriots won – Lucy and Spencer munched away the lasagna she had made and had a glass of wine – something they rarely did. But it just felt right tonight. "I...I'd like to start riding again", Lucy suddenly burst out while they were having dinner. Surprised, Spencer looked up.

"Horseback riding?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, horseback riding. I'm looking for a stud or horse stable where it's possible to get a horse to ride for a few days a week", she explained to him. But his facial expression told her that he wasn't so pleased by this news. "Spence...what?" Lucy asked with a little sigh.

"Do you know how many accidents happen while horseback riding?", he asked back. "There are 8,000 accidents a year and an average of 31 people die!" Of course, Spencer would know any facts and numbers about horseback riding. But Lucy wouldn't discuss this with him. She wanted to ride again and she'd do so. It had been way too long since she had been sitting on the back of a horse. And she missed it.

"Spence, I know that horseback riding is a risky sport. But damn, I've done that for years and I don't just give up on it because you're telling me random facts about it", she said calmly. She didn't want to fight with him – she wasn't used to fighting with Spencer. She just wanted him to understand that it was important to her. "Nothing ever happened to me."

"Yeah, not yet", Spencer murmured before he shoveled another fork of lasagna into his mouth. Lucy shook her head.

"Please don't worry that much. It'll be fine. And by the way...who's got the dangerous job here?" Lucy reached out a hand and placed it over Spencer's. He looked at her with a tiny smile. What should he do? She was right, if he was honest. He couldn't force her to stop horseback riding. And yes, he had a more dangerous job than horseback riding was.

"You're right", he chuckled then and squeezed Lucy's hand. "You're full of surprises, you know that?"

Now it was Lucy to look surprised. "Why so?"

"I learn new things about you every week or so. It's...interesting", he said, still smirking.

"Good", she said, leaned over the table and pressed a quick kiss on Spencer's lips.

"What was that for?", he asked.

"Just for simply being you", Lucy explained. Sometimes she couldn't put her feelings for Spencer into words. It was hard to describe what she felt because it was overwhelming sometimes. She was just the happiest when she was with him and was so thankful to have him. There were even times she thanked for what had happened back in February because otherwise, she might not have moved to D.C. and might not have met Spencer. And she already couldn't imagine her life without him anymore.