“I can’t make any promises when it comes to that douchebag.”
“Luke, I swear, I’ll be so mad at you if you don’t let him talk and explain everything.”
“What’s to explain, Lily? He’s a drunk, a drug addict, and a thief. He’ll always be those things to me.”
“Wow, I never took you for the grudge type.”
“Only with him, babe.”
I took the towel that Luke had waiting for him off the counter, and I hid the one that was on the towel rack. As he turned off the shower, I stepped out of the bathroom. “What the hell,” I heard him say as he opened the shower curtain.
“Lily, where’s the towel that I had sitting on the counter?”
As Luke stood there, dripping wet, I stopped in the doorway of the bathroom and held up the towel.
“Do you mean this one?”
He tilted his head and knitted his eyebrows. “Yes, that one,” he said as he held out his hand.
“Sorry, but you’re not getting this towel until you promise me that you’ll give Adam a chance.”
“Damn it, Lily, just give me the towel,” he said with irritation.
“No! Not until you promise me.”
“Jesus Christ, I’m cold.”
My eyes wandered down to his flaccid cock. “Yeah, I can tell.” I smiled.
“That’s it!” he exclaimed as he stepped out of the tub and started coming towards me.
“Oh shit!” I said as I ran down the hall and out the apartment door, knowing he wouldn’t open it.
Sam was coming out of his apartment, and he looked at me. “What’s going on, Lily?” he asked.
“Oh nothing; how are you?”
Sam gave me a strange look and he said he was good. Just as he was about to ask me why I was standing in the hallway with a towel in my hand, my apartment door opened, and Luke grabbed me from behind, pulling me into the apartment and shutting the door.
“Now you’re in trouble, babe,” he said as he took me to the bedroom and threw me on the bed.
He was in a pair of sweat shorts and no shirt. His hair was dripping wet, and he looked as sexy as hell. As he pinned me on the bed, he climbed on top and sat on my legs so I couldn’t move. He took both my hands and brought them over my head as he tightly held my wrists with his hand.
“Tell me how much you love me.” He smiled.
“No,” I said as I tried to wiggle myself free.
“What do you mean, no?” he asked as he leaned down and smashed his lips against mine.
His kiss was rough as I parted my lips and his tongue slipped into my mouth. He stopped and looked at me.
“Tell me how much you love me.”
“Let go of my wrists and I will.” I smiled.
As he let go of my wrists, I brought my hand to his face, and I stared into his beautiful brown eyes. “I love more than anything and anyone in this entire world.”
“I promise you, Lily, I’ll be nice tonight, and I won’t get out of line.” He smiled.
I pulled him down to me as I wrapped my arms around him and whispered in his ear, “Thank you, baby.”
We met Maddie and Adam at a restaurant called The Falcon’s Landing. As the hostess led us to the table where Adam and Maddie were already sitting, Luke tightened the grip on my hand when he saw Maddie laughing.
“You promised,” I whispered.
“I didn’t do anything,” he said as he looked over at me.
We arrived at the table and took our seats. I was amazed that Luke shook Adam’s hand. Maddie looked over at me and smiled.
“Adam is moving to Los Angeles, and he’s going to attend UCLA,” Maddie announced.
I looked over at Luke as he clenched his jaw. I squeezed his thigh under the table, and he loosened it.
“That’s great, Adam. What are you studying?”
“Drug abuse and alcohol counseling,” he answered.
“You want to counsel drug addicts?” Luke asked.
“Yes, I do. I already have a year of classes under my belt, and they’ve all transferred to UCLA. I’m starting over, man. I’m walking away from my past, and I’m stepping into a brand new life; a life that includes my daughter and Maddie.”
“Where are you going to be staying?” Luke asked him calmly.
“I’ve rented an apartment by UCLA. That way I can be close to Charley and the campus.”
“I’m sorry, man, but I have to ask this: how the hell are you affording all this?”
“I’ve been working the past year as a computer tech, and the owner was paying me under the table. He warned me that if he caught me using drugs, he would report me to the state. He did a drug test on me once a week. I saved every dime I made so I could go to school and make something of my life.”
“You always were a genius with computer.” Luke laughed.
It was at that moment that Luke realized maybe Adam was telling the truth, and we had a great dinner and good conversation. As we walked out of the restaurant, Adam put his hand on Maddie’s back. Luke looked at me, and I squeezed his hand. We hugged, said our goodbyes, and Luke and I climbed into his Jeep.
“They have a chance at being a real family,” I said.
“I guess.” Luke sighed as he pulled out of the parking lot.
As we were on our way home, my phone rang. I pulled it from my purse and saw it was Giselle calling.
“Hey, girl, what’s up?” I answered and put her on speaker phone.
She was sobbing so hard, I could barely understand her. She said something about an accident. Suddenly, Lucky’s voice came through the speaker.
“Hi, it’s Lucky. Gretchen and Sam were in a car accident, and they’ve been taken to the UCLA Medical Center.”
I started shaking, and instantly I felt sick.
“Lucky, how bad is it?” Luke asked as he quickly turned the Jeep around and headed toward the medical center.
“I don’t know, man. The hospital called Giselle, said there had been an accident, and to get to the hospital right away. I’m freaking out, Luke. What if—”
“Stop it, Lucky, they’ll be fine. We’re on our way.”
With shaking hands, I ended the call. Luke reached over and took my hand and brought it his lips.
“They’re fine, babe. I know they’re fine,” Luke said nervously.
39
Luke pulled into the medical center parking garage and quickly found a place to park. As we got out of the Jeep, Luke grabbed my hand, and we ran to the entrance of the emergency room. When we approached the reception desk, Giselle came running up to me, crying.
“Lily, they won’t tell me anything,” she sobbed.
“Giselle, you have to calm down. Think of the baby,” I said as I tried to console her.
Suddenly, Sam came walking through the automatic double doors. He had a white bandage on his forehead, cuts on his face, and his hand was wrapped.
“Sam, are you ok?” I asked.
“How’s Gretchen?” Giselle cried.
“I don’t know. She’s still in surgery.”
Luke hugged him. Giselle couldn’t handle hearing that Gretchen was in surgery. Lucky grabbed a hold of her, and he made her sit down in the chair.
I looked at Sam because I needed to be strong, not only for Gretchen, but for him as well. “Sam, what happened?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you as soon as we get back upstairs to the surgical waiting room.”
“Did anyone call Gretchen’s parents?” I asked.
“I did,” Lucky said. “They’re on their way down.”
Lucky helped Giselle up, and we all rode the elevator to the third floor where the surgical waiting room was. It was quiet and empty, and we were the only people in there. I sat down next to Giselle and offered her some water. She wouldn’t take it as she continued crying on Lucky’s shoulder. I walked over to the coffee machine and put in some change. I pressed the button and nothing. The damn thing was broken. I pounded on the machine as I pressed my forehead against it and started crying. Suddenly, I felt Luke’s arms from behind.