“What are you making, dude?” I asked him.
“I’m making chicken parmesan. Gretchen’s coming over for dinner,” he said.
“Thanks for the notice, bro.”
“Sorry, I was in meetings all day, and it was kind of a last minute thing. Did you go and pick up Lily?” he asked.
“Yeah, I had her car towed to Huey’s Garage. It’ll be ready tomorrow. Hey, did you know that she’s Charley’s school teacher?”
“I knew she was a teacher, but I had no idea she was Charley’s. That’s pretty cool, don’t you think?” he asked.
“I guess. I’m driving her and Charley to school in the morning. Maddie has to be at the bar early for a meeting. Lily’s going with me and Charley to the carnival tomorrow. Why don’t you and Gretchen come with us?”
Sam gave me a pointed look; his brow raised. “You asked her to go with you to the carnival?”
“No, Charley asked her to go.”
“And she said yes?” Sam asked in a surprised tone.
“Yes, she did. She wasn’t going to turn down Charley.”
“That’s great, Luke. Gretchen and I already have plans for Friday night though, sorry.”
“Wow, you’re really serious about this girl,” I said.
“I really like her, man. She’s all I ever think about.”
I walked over and put my hand on Sam’s shoulder. “That’s great. I’m really happy you found someone. I’m going to go up to Maddie’s to give you and Gretchen some privacy.”
“Thanks, man.” Sam smiled.
I walked out the door and up to Maddie’s apartment. Charley was playing video games, and Maddie was cooking dinner. I could tell something was wrong with Maddie, and it looked like she’d been crying.
“What’s wrong, Maddie?” I asked.
“Nothing’s wrong. It’s the onions,” she said.
“Daddy called,” Charley spoke from the couch.
“Is that true?” I asked Maddie.
She nodded her head without saying a word. “What did the bastard want?!” I spat.
Maddie turned and looked at me. “Not in front of Charley, Luke.”
I looked over at Charley who was lost in the world of video games. “Then let’s go into the other room. I want to know what that bastard wanted,” I whispered.
We walked into Maddie’s room. “All he said was that he’s coming to town in a couple of weeks and that he wants to see Charley. I told him that he couldn’t see her until he paid his child support, but he said I better watch it or he’ll take me to court and sue me for full custody of her.”
“Over my dead body,” I said in anger.
“Calm down, Luke. I have a couple of weeks to think of a plan. Technically, I can’t keep him from her. He’s her father,” Maddie said.
I shook my head as I walked out of the bedroom. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Charley.
“Are you and mom ok?” she asked.
“Yeah, we’re ok.” I smiled as I kissed the top of her head.
After dinner, I went back to my apartment. I opened the door and stepped inside. I didn’t see Sam or Gretchen. I didn’t have to see them; I could hear them before I reached the hallway. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the apartment. I didn’t need to sit and listen to them having sex. I stood in the hallway and thought about going to Bernie’s, but I decided I wasn’t up for it, especially since I was driving Lily and Charley to school tomorrow morning. I stood and stared at Lily’s door. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and the way she held onto me while on the motorcycle. She held on as if her life depended on it. She trusted me even though she was scared to death to get on that bike. I smiled for a moment and thought about knocking on her door. I decided it wasn’t a good idea, so I went back inside the apartment, took my guitar from the stand, and sat down on the couch. I played a few chords as loud as I could to let Sam know I was home.
I slammed my hand down on the beeping alarm clock. I was so damn tired from being kept awake all night while Sam and Gretchen acted like they’ve never had sex before. I stumbled out of bed and threw on a pair jeans and my black t-shirt. I ran the brush through my hair and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Gretchen was in the kitchen, pouring coffee.
“Good morning. You must be Luke,” Gretchen said as she held out her hand.
“Yeah, and you must be Gretchen,” I replied as I shook her hand.
I looked around and didn’t see Sam. “Where’s Sam?” I asked as I poured my coffee into my to-go cup.
“He ran to get some bagels; he’ll be back soon.”
I looked at the clock at it was 6:40 a.m. “I have to go. It was nice meeting you, Gretchen,” I said as I walked out the door and up the stairs to get Charley. Just as I reached the top step, she was coming out of her apartment.
“Morning, Uncle Luke.” She smiled.
“Morning, peanut,” I said as I patted the top of her head. “Do you have everything you need?”
“Yes, Uncle Luke.” She sighed.
We walked down the stairs as Lily was coming out of her apartment. “Perfect timing!” She smiled as she held up her coffee cup.
“This is so cool that I get to drive my teacher to school!” Charley shrieked.
Lily looked nice. Oh hell, she looked beautiful. Every time I looked at her, I felt like I’ve met her before. Her long, blonde hair was straight, and she was wearing a long cream-colored skirt with a light pink top and high heels. Damn, I wish my teachers looked like that when I was growing up. She’s going to give those boys their first hard-ons. When she smiled, her bluish-gray eyes lit up.
“Good morning you two,” Lily said.
“Morning,” I spoke back.
“Good morning, Miss Gilmore,” Charley said as she took Lily’s hand and led her to the Jeep.
Charley climbed into the back as Lily sat in the passenger side. She looked at me and smiled.
“A Jeep Wrangler fits you. I like it better than that motorcycle you ride.”
“Thanks.” I smiled back. “But I like my bike, so you’ll get used to it.” I winked.
“Keep dreaming.” She smiled.
I pulled into the school parking lot. Charley got out and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek. “Bye, Uncle Luke.” She waved.
“Bye, peanut, have a good day.”
Lily got out of the car and slung her bag over her shoulder. “Thanks for the ride, Luke. Have a good day,” she said as she started to walk away.
“Hey, Lily!” I yelled out. She stopped, turned around, and looked at me. “I can pick you up at the end of the day and take you to the garage to get your car.”
“Sounds good; I’ll see you later.” She smiled as she turned around.
I caught myself staring at her as she walked into the school. For the first time in over a year, a woman made me smile. Sam was right. Lily’s a nice girl—a very nice girl—and I can’t stop thinking about her. I found myself thinking of her in ways that I haven’t thought about since…
8
Lily
I sat quietly at my desk while the students were having their daily reading time. I was trying to concentrate on grading papers, but the only thing on my mind was Luke Matthews. Why does he have to be so damn sexy? Why does the universe have to light up every time he smiles? Why does he have to have such a great body? Why does he have to live next door?
I found myself thinking about him more and more; that was something I didn’t bargain for when I moved to Santa Monica. I was distracted by the chiming of my cell phone. I looked over at the screen and saw a message from Giselle.
“Gretchen had a date last night with Sam, but she never came home. I guess she got a piece of that hot man!”