“I really wish you would have woke me up earlier and told me.”
“Sorry, baby, it was sort of last minute!” she yelled as I already made my way down the hallway.
After I finished my shower and getting dressed, the voices I heard grew quiet as I entered the kitchen. Looking around, Sam and Gretchen were sitting at the table, and Lily was staring at me with tears in her eyes.
“Babe, what’s wrong?” I asked her as I walked over to where she was sitting.
“I’m sorry, Luke, I had to tell her about Giselle seeing her mom in Seattle. I got a phone call from her mom saying that she’s on her way here and she wants to talk to Lily,” Gretchen confessed.
Lily looked at me with sad and disappointed eyes as she got up from the table and walked into the kitchen area. “I can’t believe you knew and didn’t tell me,” she said.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want to upset you,” I said as I went to hold her.
She moved away from me and looked down. “There’s one thing I will not tolerate in a relationship and that’s keeping secrets. I hate secrets; they do nothing but ruin your life.”
I moved closer, but she still continued to back away. “Lily, please. I think you’re overreacting,” I said.
Gretchen and Sam got up from their seats. “Hey, bro, I think we should leave. Call me later,” Sam said.
Gretchen walked over to Lily and put her hand on her arm. “Don’t stress, we’re all here for you.”
When they left, my attention had immediately gone back to Lily. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and take away her pain, but she wouldn’t let me. “Lily, tell me what you’re feeling,” I pleaded with her.
She walked over to the table and started cleaning up the plates. “I feel betrayed that you didn’t tell me about this. I feel sad because I trusted you to tell me everything, and I feel angry because you knew something about my family that I didn’t.”
“Babe, seriously, don’t you think you’re overreacting just a little bit? Come on, so what if Lucky told her where you are. So what if she comes here and finds you; she’s your mom, and you should talk to her. You were with my family last night; that’s how a family should be, not full of anger and resentment. I understand what she did was wrong, but you have to find it in your heart to forgive her at some point.”
She turned around and looked at me with fire in her eyes. “Don’t you dare tell me that I need to forgive her! I told you about my family and what kind of childhood I had. She was going to ruin my life by letting me marry that cheating bastard!” she yelled.
“You need to calm down, Lily,” I said as I cautiously approached her.
“Don’t you tell me what I need to do! You have no idea what path of destruction my family has left inside me, so you don’t get to tell me to calm down.”
I was getting angry by her unreasoning, and I raised my voice to her, “Don’t yell at me. I’m not Hunter, your mom, or Brynn!”
“Since you’re so big on forgiveness, why don’t you take your own advice and forgive Charley’s dad?”
“That’s different, Lily, and you know it,” I said as I shook my head.
“No it isn’t. What you feel for him is what I feel for my mom and sister. Why is it so easy for you to tell me to forgive and forget when you can’t do it yourself?!” she spat.
“It’s a totally different situation, babe.”
“No, it isn’t, Luke.”
As I walked closer to her to tell her that everything was going to be alright, she folded her arms and turned away. “Lily, I’m sorry, but you’re being really childish right now.”
“Then leave this child alone,” she replied.
“Do you really want me to leave you alone?” I asked.
She spun around and looked at me. “Yes, I do!”
“Fine, then consider me leaving you alone. You won’t hear from me until you decide you want to talk, but I don’t know if I’ll be around when that happens!” I yelled as I opened the door.
“You’re an asshole!” she spat.
“Watch your mouth!” I yelled as I walked out and slammed the door.
I stood there for a second with my hand on the knob, listening to her yell, “Fuck you—fuck you—and a triple fuck you!”
28
Lily
Taking in a deep breath, I stood in the middle of my living room and pondered over our first fight. Hunter and I fought all the time, and it wasn’t healthy. I should’ve known then the relationship was toxic. Our fights always consisted of him having to work late and canceling plans at the last minute because of some business deal that came up. The more I thought about it, the more I knew those were just lies to see my sister or some other woman who may have been in his sights. As I sat down on the couch and brought my knees to my chest, I realized that I didn’t even know why I got so mad at Luke. I know he was only trying to help, and yelling at him wasn’t right. It’s hard for him to understand the dysfunction of a family when his is so perfect. I jumped up off the couch and ran to the door; I needed to apologize. As I pulled open the door, I saw Luke leaned up against the wall and staring at me. I threw my arms around him as fast as I could.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean anything I said. Please forgive me,” I begged, tears forming quickly in my eyes.
“Shh, babe, it’s alright,” he said as he held me tight. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to push you.”
I looked at him as he brushed my hair out of my face and gently kissed my lips. “Does this mean that we get to have make-up sex?” he asked.
I lightly laughed as I pulled him into my apartment, and he kicked the door shut with his foot. He broke our kiss long enough to lift my shirt over my head. A low growl came from the back of his throat when he saw I wasn’t wearing a bra. As he unbuttoned my shorts and slid them off my hips, he pushed me up against the wall.
“I don’t think we’re making it to the bedroom,” he said breathlessly.
“I don’t think we are either.” I smiled.
As Luke wrapped his mouth around my breast, I unbuttoned his jeans and slid them off his hips, wrapping my hand around his cock and feeling the extreme hardness against my palm. My body shuddered as he dipped one finger into me and then another. I tilted my head back as his lips traveled up to my collarbone, licking and light sucking my skin, sending intense vibrations throughout my body. As he lifted me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he entered me with a long, hard thrust. My body tightened when his thrusts became accelerated, and I found myself moving my body with his as his tongue traveled from my neck, down my jawline, to my chin, and finally, to my lips. Our breathing became shallow, and our hearts were racing as we moved in-sync and our taut bodies gave way to the inevitable pleasure of release we both desperately wanted. Luke buried his face into my neck as he tried to catch his breath.
“I love you, Lily,” he whispered.
“I love you too, Luke,” I replied as tears filled my eyes.
He looked at me and softly kissed each eye. “No tears.”
I smiled as I unwrapped my legs from his waist, and he gently lowered me down. Luke pulled up his boxers and jeans. As he handed me my clothes, I heard my phone chiming. I quickly got dressed, and I walked over to where my phone sat, noticing there was text message from Sam:
“Is everything good between the two of you? Because the wall was vibrating, and if it wasn’t from the two of you, then it had to be a minor earthquake!”
I couldn’t help but laugh out loud as Luke walked over, and I handed him my phone. He shook his head and responded back: