Learn to Fly (63 page)

Even now, without
Mike, Blake, Harrison and Sway here, she felt…homesick.
Luke’s close proximity only made that feeling stronger. She
had tried, really tried, to keep her barrier intact. But those rowdy
group of men had won over her heart. And one of them in particular
held more of heart than she had consciously agreed to.

She gave a sideways
glance to Luke and tried not to stare at how the fire reflected in
his pale blue eyes, making them glow even more intensely. The entire
tour he hadn’t so much as looked at another woman. Not that
there weren’t any around. Women were constantly throwing
themselves at the band. They would do horrible things to get
attention. Shameful, self-depreciating things. But the guys were
professionals, and the tour had been clean and relatively easy.
That’s what had been so shocking about the paparazzi photos of
Luke with whoever that had been. It was so uncharacteristic of the
Luke that she knew. But there it had been, in full, high definition
color, the truth of what a life of fame often entailed. Lenny wasn’t
sure if she could live that life.

“
Do
you want a mallow?” Luke asked her, reloading his stick.

“
Um,
sure.” Lenny tried to pull her thoughts back to the present.

Luke lit the
marshmallow on fire and slowly turned them so they burned evenly all
the way around. He presented the perfectly roasted mallow to Lenny
and she gingerly removed it from the stick. She couldn’t help
but smile at his proud grin.

Luke leaned against
her as she stuck the gooey treat in her mouth. He rested his chin on
her shoulder, looking directly at her face.

“
Is
it good?” He asked, eyebrows going up.

Lenny laughed out
loud at his behavior and playfully shoved him off of her.

Luke chuckled, that
low, hearty chuckle that sent shivers through her. She knew she was
blushing but was hoping that the glow from the fire was covering it
up.

Luke casually let
his arm drape across her back and she instinctively leaned closer to
him. After a few moments Lenny rested her head on his shoulder.
They sat in silence, staring into the fire. Luke pressed his cheek
against the top of her head and let out a contented sigh. Lenny knew
what it meant because she was feeling the same way. It was like
finally coming home.

No
one bothered them. They left them in their own little world. Lenny
had started to pick up on the collective thought of the group that
she needed to stop resisting Luke’s attempts at reconciliation.
She had feared they would hate him, nearly the opposite had
occurred. It seemed Lenny was the only one who was still unsure. No,
that wasn’t it. It’s not that she was
unsure
,
it was that she was the only one who hadn’t gotten caught up in
the romanticized scenario that had been playing out for all of them
to see. She was the only one who could see the truth. And the truth
was that Luke’s life came with certain…complications.

If she went back
with him, it might be great for a while. But eventually, they
wouldn’t be able to see each other every day. And Lenny didn’t
know if that would count as being ‘on a break’ for Luke
again. Would he seek solace with someone else? Or maybe he’d
get tired of her all together and trade her in for someone far
prettier and more…experienced. She swallowed at that last
thought. She didn’t really have much to offer.

***

Lenny sighed and
Luke glanced down at her face, lit by the roaring fire. He was
beyond happy to be this near to her again but he was still
intimidated by her presence. She was strong and brave and tender.
Her eyes missed nothing, her heart felt everything. She was
completely different than any woman he’d ever met. She spoke
her mind but with kindness. She’d risk everything to protect
those she loved. She was always trying to do the right thing, not
just what felt good in the moment. Luke had no idea how he had ever
gotten her to look at him in the first place. She could honestly
have her pick of anyone out there.

But Luke knew he was
the only one who was willing to fight this hard to keep her.

***

After a long while,
the fire started to burn down and the other riders started to go to
bed. Lenny knew they should probably turn in as well but she didn’t
want to move. If they got up and went to their separate cabins then
she would have to face reality again. And she still hadn’t
made any definite decisions.

“
It’s
getting late.” Luke murmured against her hair.

“
Mmhm.”
Lenny confirmed, still not moving away.

“
C’mon,”
Luke stood up, pulling Lenny with him. “I’ll walk you to
your cabin.” His fingers found and intertwined into hers and
they slowly walked across the snow packed ground.

The light inside was
on which meant that Shelby Lynn was in there and awake. Lenny slowed
as they got closer to the door. Not wanting the peaceful moment to
end.

Luke stopped walking
and turned to face her, pulling her into his strong embrace. He
hugged her tight against him and she wished there was more time.

“
How
about if you meet me for breakfast tomorrow?” Luke asked.

Lenny
nodded, swallowing away the emotion that came out of nowhere. Why
was it so hard to say goodnight? She would be seeing him again in
the morning.
Because
every goodnight is closer to goodbye. Again.

Luke leaned down and
kissed her cheek softly. His lips were warm on her cold skin and
Lenny felt a tingle run through her. She gave him a shy, sad smile
before going inside.

Shelby Lynn was
propped up on one elbow when Lenny came through the door. She
watched quietly as Lenny changed and crawled up the ladder into the
top bunk.

“
Are
you gonna take him back?” Shelby asked as Lenny reached for
the string to turn the light off.

Lenny paused at the
question. She wasn’t sure how to answer. Was Luke really hers
to take back?

“
Why
do you ask?” Lenny asked instead, pulling the switch and
enclosing the room in darkness.

“
Because
we all think you should.”

Lenny smiled in the
dark room. “All of you think that, huh?”

“
Well,
it’s just been the most exciting thing that’s happened
all week. We obviously talked about it.” Shelby adjusted her
covers making the wooden structure rock slightly.

“
It’s
not a reality show, S.L.” Lenny pointed out. “The
audience doesn’t get a vote.”

“
I
know.” Shelby was quiet for a few minutes and then she
sleepily sighed, “You guys are so great together.”

Lenny pursed her
lips up at the ceiling. The cabin grew quiet, Lenny heard Shelby’s
breathing even out and knew she had fallen asleep. Lenny wasn’t
so lucky. She lay awake for a long while after that, trying to
figure out why Shelby’s logic seemed so sound.

***

The next day brought
more adventure and even more confusing thoughts for Lenny. The group
stayed together again and took some turns. Travis and Trucker
started a slight competition with a small jump and pretty soon
everyone was being a little more risky with their lines.

Luke was his
amazing, charming, smooth self. Lenny loved how he fit in perfectly
with her group of friends but that didn’t mean what she knew he
was hoping it would mean. She still couldn’t shake the
thoughts from the night before. He was a rock star. He would always
be a rock star. And it would take a special kind of woman to be able
to deal with all the things that came along with that. Lenny wasn't
sure if she would ever fit into that category.

***

Luke was having a
blast. Snowboarding was his new favorite thing. Lenny’s
friends were awesome and being around Lenny was...intoxicating, as
usual. She was unbelievable on the snow. Everything she did seemed
effortless.

She had raced Serge
to the bottom of a very steep mountain, tying Luke’s stomach in
knots. But he couldn’t help but let his heart swell with pride
at her confidence and talent.

When the others
started doing some risky flips and rotations, she blew them all away.
They had gotten heated and Lenny had removed her coat and flannel.
She was wearing her black snow pants and a form fitting black tank
with the entire back made out of lace. Luke assumed that every guy
was checking her out but there was nothing he could do about it. She
was captivating. Her perfect body twisted and soared in the air, her
blonde hair glowing like a halo in the bright sunlight. She had no
idea how beautiful she was.

When they got ready
to head back to base, Lenny put her coat back on and Luke knew he
heard some sad groans from the guys around them. She didn’t
even notice. Of course she didn’t. She wasn’t one of
those girls. She had no clue that very often she was the most
gorgeous woman in the room. Luke had a devilish thought then. If
Lenny knew how hot she was, with her confidence, the world would be
doomed.

He chuckled at
himself as he followed her into the helicopter. She gave him a frown
that was more of a question and he just shook his head.

Everyone gravitated
to the Lodge for the evenings activities. Luke sat up at the bar and
watched Lenny try to teach Shelby Lynn how to play pool. It was
comical and sweet at the same time. Lenny was good, like everything
else in her life, but Shelby Lynn was very uncoordinated. She kept
getting frustrated and would want to give up but Lenny’s
patient words would bring her back to try again.

Shane took a seat
next to Luke and nodded at the bartender for a beer. When he got it
and took a sip, he chuckled at Luke.

“
You’re
so obvious.” Shane laughed again and Luke smirked, knowing
he’d been caught watching Lenny.

“
I
can’t help it.” Luke replied honestly. Lenny looked up
and caught his stare. He didn’t even try to hide it, instead he
winked at her. He thought he saw her blush slightly before shaking
her head and going back to Shelby Lynn.

“
Have
you guys talked anymore?” Shane asked curiously.

Luke sighed heavily.
“No, not really.” He frowned slightly. “She’s
being pretty stubborn.”

“
Yeah,
that sounds like Lenny.” Shane smiled around the lip of his
glass.

Luke scanned the
room, trying to come up with some kind of profound plan. He had
thought that just spending time in Lenny’s world would prove
that their relationship could work. But he was starting to get the
feeling there was more to her rigidness than that. She wasn’t
being completely forthright with him and he needed to get her to open
up to him. Once and for all.

That’s when
Luke spotted the unused dance floor tucked back in a corner. It was
just beyond the jukebox. The lights around it weren’t on so
that’s why he didn’t see it. It wasn’t in complete
darkness but it would provide a nice little private space for them to
talk without her feeling completely trapped. All he had to do was
convince her to dance with him.

Luke grinned at
Shane, “I have an idea.”

He hopped off his
stool and made his way to the jukebox. He glanced over the song
lists and starting pumping quarters in the machine. He thought he’d
need about six songs for a decent conversation. He chose all slow,
cheesy ballads, knowing she’d at least find humor in it if
nothing else.

As Neil Diamond’s
husky voice started to sing ‘Hello Again,’ Luke
approached Lenny from behind. He saw Shelby Lynn’s eyes get
wide but Lenny didn’t turn around. Luke smiled and gently
clasped her wrist, slowly twisting her to face him. She was curious
and her eyes sparkled. Luke didn’t say anything as he gently
tugged her towards the dance floor.

He put his hands on
her waist and she automatically rested her hands on his shoulders.
She looked uncomfortable and Luke noticed right away that she was not
a very good dancer at all. He kept the pace slow and she focused on
the center of his chest, concentrating on the movements of her feet.

“
I
think we should talk,” Luke began in a hushed voice. He saw
Lenny swallow and she subtly nodded.