Love in Between (23 page)

Lily took her hand and started stroking Charley’s hair. “I know he did, sweetie, but sometimes when you’re grown up, things come up, and it can hurt the ones you love. My dad made me a lot of promises that he didn’t keep. Sometimes, he wouldn’t be home for my birthday, even though he said he’d be.”

“What did you do?” Charley asked as she sat up.

“I cried, just like you are right now, and then I got over it, because I had plenty of people at home who loved me, just like you do.”

“But I wanted to see him,” she whined.

Lily pulled Charley into an embrace and kissed her on the top of her head. “I know you do, sweetie, but sometimes certain things can’t be helped. You have to be a big girl and move on.”

As Lily looked at me, I smiled. Seeing her with Charley was incredible, and all I saw when I watched her was the mother of my children.

“Thank you, Lily.” Charley smiled as she looked up at her.

“You’re welcome, baby.”

“Hey, what about me?” I asked as I leaned over and began tickling her.

Charley giggled and tried to push my hands away. “Thank you, Uncle Luke.”

“How would you like to spend the night over at my apartment tonight? We can dance, eat a bunch of junk food, sleep on the floor and, best of all, we can watch scary movies!” Lily said with excitement.

“Really?!” That would be so fun! Can Uncle Luke spend the night with us?” Charley asked.

Lily looked at me; then she twisted her face as she looked at Charley. “Are you sure you want
boys
at our sleepover?”

“Only Uncle Luke.” Charley giggled.

Lily leaned over and kissed me. “I guess he can come, but he has to behave himself.” She smiled.

“Is that so?” I growled at her.

As Lily and I got up and walked out of the room, I told Charley to pack her bag. We walked into the living room, where Maddie was sitting on the couch.

“Charley is going to have a sleepover at Lily’s tonight, if that’s ok,” I said.

She looked up at me and smiled. “That’s great, Luke. Thank you, Lily. I’m sure that made Charley very happy.”

Charley came running down the hall with her bag. “I’m ready!” she squealed as she kissed Maddie goodbye.

***

The next morning, I rolled over and looked at Lily as she slept next to Charley on the floor. We had a great night, and Charley was happy. Before getting up, I softly kissed Lily on the head and walked back to my apartment to take a shower. While standing under the warm water, I kept thinking about Callie and how she’d be happy that I’d moved on. I grinned as I thought about Lily and how all I saw was my future with her. As I was turning off the water and wrapping a towel around my waist, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

“Bro, I have to take a piss! Can you hurry it up?”

“I’m done, man; relax,” I said as I opened the door and walked to my bedroom. After getting dressed, I saw Sam sitting on the couch, alone.

“Where’s Gretchen?” I asked.

“She had a photo shoot,” Sam said.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed what I needed to make pancakes because I wasn’t sure if Lily had everything. “Dude, come over to Lily’s for pancakes; Charley’s there.”

Sam turned his head. “Why is Charley there?” he asked.

“Adam called her yesterday, said something came up, and that he wouldn’t be able to come visit her. She was upset and crying about it, so Lily asked her if she wanted to sleep over at her place.”

“I bet she loved that.” Sam smiled.

“We had a lot of fun,” I said as I headed towards the door.

“Hold on a second and let me throw on some clothes,” Sam said as he got up from the couch.

We walked back to Lily’s place, and I set the stuff on the counter. Lily wasn’t on the floor anymore, and Charley was up watching cartoons.

“Hi, Uncle Sammy.” She smiled.

“Good morning, darling.”

“Charley, where’s Lily?” I asked as I plugged in the griddle.

“She’s in the shower. Are you making pancakes?”

“I sure am.” I smiled.

As I measured out the pancake mix, Sam cracked the eggs and put them into the bowl. Lily emerged from the bedroom with a smile on her face.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you two were gay.”

I looked up and smiled at her as she walked over and kissed me on the lips. “Maybe I am, and you just don’t know it yet.”

She hit me on the arm with the back of her hand as she walked over and kissed Sam on the cheek. “Where’s Gretchen?”

“She’s at a photo shoot. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon for San Francisco. I’m taking her home to meet my parents.”

“That’s great, Sam.” I smiled.

As Lily reached up in the cabinet, Sam grabbed her and hugged her.

“Dude, what the hell are you doing?” I said as I looked over at them.

“I’m just thanking her for moving in next door because if she didn’t, I never would have met the love of my life,” he said.

“Uncle Sammy! Lily is Uncle Luke’s girlfriend; you shouldn’t be hugging her like that.”

“Yeah, Sammy, hands off.” I chuckled.

“It’s ok, Charley; it’s just a friendly hug,” Lily said as she set the plates on the counter.

I made the pancakes exactly the way Charley loved them, and the four of us had a nice breakfast. As we were cleaning up, and Charley was gathering her things, my phone rang and my mom appeared on the screen.

“Hey, Mom,” I answered.

“Good morning, Luke. Your father and I were wondering if you and Lily would like to go to Bernie’s bar tonight for a couple of drinks.”

I told her to hold on as I looked at Lily and asked her if she wanted to go. She smiled and nodded her head as she took a sip of her coffee.

“Sounds good, Mom. How about we meet around seven?”

“Excellent! We’ll see the two of you tonight. I love you, Luke.”

“I love you too, Mom,” I said as I hit the end button.

31

Lily

After spending the day with Charley, Luke took her back to her apartment as I got ready to meet his parents at the bar. I couldn’t stop thinking about how devastated Charley was when her father told her that he couldn’t visit. It was a feeling that I knew too well, and how I wish I didn’t. As I stood in front of my full-length mirror and stared at the girl looking back at me, I thought that she looked happy and fulfilled.
Had fate finally led me to where I was supposed to be?
I’d never been this happy, and now that I’d settled things with my mother, an overwhelming sense of peace had landed in my life; it was a feeling I never wanted to lose.

“What are you thinking about?” Luke asked as he came up from behind me and wrapped his arm around me, burying his nose into my neck.

“I was just thinking about how my life has worked out, and how happy I am because of you.” I smiled.

A low growl came from the back of his throat as he took in my scent. “Do you have any idea how good you smell?”

“Judging that you have one hand squeezing my boob and the other up my dress, I think I have a pretty good idea.” I laughed.

“Can you feel that?” Luke whispered as he pushed his body against me, looking at me through the mirror.

“Yes, I can feel how hard you are, baby, but we don’t have time.” I smiled as I turned around and kissed him on the cheek. “Look at the clock; it’s 6:45, and we have to meet your parents in fifteen minutes,” I said as I walked over to my closet and grabbed my shoes.

“Damn, Lily, you sure know how to give a guy blue-balls!” he exclaimed as he adjusted himself.

“Sorry, baby. I don’t want to be late for your parents. I promise I’ll make it up to you when we get home,” I said, walking out of the room.

“I just want you to know that you’re mean, babe!” he yelled as he stood in the bedroom.

“Yep, and I’m going to show you how mean I am later!” I yelled back.

Suddenly, Luke came up from behind me, grabbed me, and spun me around. “You better keep that promise, because that’s all I’ll be thinking about all night,” he said as he kissed my neck.

“Do you ever think about anything else besides sex?” I laughed.

“Not when I’m around you. You’re all I want 24/7, babe,” he said as he put me down and kissed me.

As Luke grabbed his keys off the counter, I grabbed my purse, and we headed out the door.

***

Walking hand in hand and Luke carrying his guitar, we strolled into the bar and over to the table where his parents were sitting. Before sitting down, I gave them each a hug while Luke went to the bar and grabbed us a couple of beers.

“It’s so good to see you again.” I smiled at Annie.

We sat at the table and talked as Luke showed his father around the bar. I could tell how excited Annie was that Luke was finally going to buy it. She reached over and put her hand on top of mine.

“You have no idea how happy I am that you’re in Luke’s life. The past year has been so difficult for him; for all of us, really.”

As I tilted my head, I smiled at her. “I’m sure it’s been very difficult. It seems the past year wasn’t good for any one of us.”

“No, it wasn’t, but the only thing that matters is that you and my son found each other, and you’re both happy. I’m thrilled he’s decided to buy this bar. It’s all he ever talked about for years. Now, he’ll finally put that settlement money to good use.”

“He never mentioned the settlement money to me.”

“He doesn’t like to talk about it; I think it’s a reminder of the accident. The man who ran the red light was drunk and driving on a suspended license. He was a partner at a prestigious law firm in Los Angeles. Needless to say, he’ll never be practicing law again. Luke settled for five hundred thousand dollars. His attorney said he could probably get more, but Luke just wanted to be done with it. It was settled out of court to avoid publicity.”

As I sat there, pondering the fact that my boyfriend had five hundred thousand dollars that he didn’t tell me about, Luke and his dad sat down at the table.

“What have the two of you been talking about?” Luke asked.

“Just girl talk.” I smiled. “You haven’t told Bernie yet that you’re buying the bar, have you?”

“No, I just sent him a text message, telling him that I need to meet with him tomorrow and that I’ve made my decision.”

I reached over and kissed him on the cheek, leaving a lipstick mark on his face. I laughed as I grabbed a napkin and wiped it off. We ordered some chicken wings, had a couple of beers, and enjoyed the company of his parents. Luke leaned over and told me he’d be right back as he got up from his seat. As I continued to have a conversation with Tom and Annie, the lights on the stage caught my eye. I looked up, and Luke was sitting on the bar-stool in front of the microphone.

“Good evening, everyone.” He smiled and waved to the patrons in the bar.

Everyone cheered and said hello as Luke strummed his guitar. “This song I’m going to sing for you tonight is a song I wrote for a very special woman in my life.”

Annie looked over at me and smiled as she placed her hand on mine and gently squeezed it. My eyes started to swell with tears before he even started singing. He strummed the chords as our eyes met, and he started to sing.

Even the Clouds will say

There’s nowhere we can get away from everything

There’s nowhere we can practice positivity

When all I see is me

So let’s drop let’s stop this teenage rivalry

And every heart will break

There’s just no way to keep it safe from anything

If the only thing that makes it break is somebody

Please don’t give it to me

’Cause seeing you cry makes me want to leave

But losing you scares the shit out of me.

Or maybe, I’ll sail the ocean blue

Or I’d fly a rocket to the moon

But I’m good for nothing without you

It doesn’t matter what you say

I think about you every day, girl, I

Am good for nothing without you

Even the clouds will say

That Saturdays and rainy days were meant to be

If you’re indoors and in the arms of somebody

Under the blankets and sheets

Well the sky is clear; it’s the middle of the week

So come my dear, let’s make believe.

Or maybe, I’ll sail the ocean blue

Or I’d fly a rocket to the moon

But I’m good for nothing without you

It doesn’t matter what you say

I think about you every day, girl, I

Am good for nothing without you

Cause I want you

I want you

I want you

To want me to

I want you

I want you

I want you

I do

But I won’t fool this heart anymore

Or maybe, I’ll sail the ocean blue

Or I’d fly a rocket to the moon

But I’m good for nothing without you

It doesn’t matter what you say

I think about you every day, girl, I

Am good for nothing without you

Even the clouds will say

There’s nowhere we can get away from everything

And if the only thing that breaks your heart is somebody

Please don’t give it to me

‘Cause seeing you cry makes me want to leave

But losing you scares the shit out of me
.

Annie and Tom both looked over at me as the tears that swelled in my eyes slowly fell down my face. The crowd cheered as Luke strummed the last chord and exited the stage. I stood up from my chair and wrapped my arms around him when he approached me.