He pulled me back towards him, kissing my neck as he did. I closed my eyes, all thoughts of Krystal pushed away as Luke mumbled in my ear.
“You can stay in my room all night…”
Chapter Three
GRETCHEN
I stared at my closet, as though if I waited long enough, a new outfit would appear.
I’d only been dating Luke for a little over a year and I knew his family well; I had grown up with him, but part of me still wanted to impress them.
I settled on a black roll neck with tight jeans, sweeping my curls into a loose clip. I applied my usual mascara and lip gloss, aiming for a casual look I packed a bag with a few things in case Luke got lucky and I stayed over: a toothbrush, deodorant and some clean clothes.
I pouted at myself in the mirror and decided I would do, skipping downstairs where my parents were drinking wine and playing scrabble.
How idyllic.
"You look good honey, where are you going?" My dad drawled, sipping his wine as he smiled at me. He was a silver fox, with deep green eyes framed with long lashes I had inherited from him. My mom was the typical Californian blonde: waist-length hair, sparkling blue eyes and tanned skin. We shared the same full mouth, naturally cherry red. She was often mistaken for my sister-although I wasn’t sure that was too much of a compliment for me...
"I’m off to Luke’s. Remember the dinner I told you about? I may stay at his house after- in the spare room, obviously..." My voice trailed off as I blushed under my dad’s amused gaze.
"Honey, it’s fine. You are eighteen now. If you tell us where you are going to be, we trust you. Just be good and keep us informed. Oh, and Gretchen? It will always be the spare room,capiche?"
My dad raised an eyebrow at me as I cringed. I blew kisses at them both, slipping on my trusty black boots when I heard Luke’s car beeping its familiar horn. I called goodbye and left.
Luke whistled as I got in his car. "All this effort for me, babe?" he winked.
He wore a deep blue shirt that brought out the colour in his eyes, his trousers ironed to perfection as though we were attending a wedding or something.
"Am I okay in this?" I asked, looking pointedly at his clothes, then waving a hand over mine.
"More than. How am I going to concentrate on anything but you tonight?" he murmured as I blushed deeply. I knew what he was referring to. We had been together long enough to take our relationship to the next level- but I was hesitant. If it was up to Luke, we would be at it twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
He pulled away from the curb whilst I fiddled with the radio to find some music.
"So, Clara can’t make it. She has cheerleading practice,” Luke grinned at me, knowing I had no tolerance for his cousin Clara.
"Clara? Is this your entire family?"
I groaned inwardly at the thought of spending the entire evening downstairs with Luke’s family. They were nice enough, but they liked a drink more than most people which could become awkward.
"Yeah, pretty much, babe. You’ll be fine."
He squeezed my leg as he swung the car into his driveway. Luke’s family is well off; his dad was a successful writer and his house proved as much.
Luke parked the car, and I got out, inhaling deeply as we approached the house. His mother Bella opened the door to greet us, a beaming smile on her face.
"Gretchen! How lovely to see you! How are you?"
She embraced me, smelling of expensive perfume and air-kissing each side of my face. I peeled off my boots as Luke wandered away to find us some drinks.
"Go get settled in the lounge, darling."
Bella gestured towards the large room behind the stairs where I could hear laughter and music. I walked in to find an elegant lady sitting on an armchair with a glass of champagne in her hand, smiling as her gaze fell upon me.
"Ah, Luke’s little girlfriend has arrived, how sweet. Hello, dear.”
A hand brushed my back, and I turned to see Luke grinning as he thrust a glass of champagne towards me.
