“Well, now that you’ve got your big, strong protector back, I’m going to take off,” Seb said, pulling me back into reality.
“Thanks, Seb. I appreciate you hanging out with me.” I may not have invited him over, but Seb was always good company, and I had to admit that I did feel better with someone in the apartment with me.
“Yeah, thanks, man,” Luke said to him, giving him daps and a quick bro hug.
Seb closed the door on the way out, and the first thing Luke did was go over to lock it.
“Everything went okay here?” he asked.
“Yeah, no issues. No one came by except for Seb. It’s been quiet.”
“Good.” He took his shoes off and placed them by the door. He must have come straight here after his shift because he was still in his police uniform.
“Do you need to go home and change and shower or anything?” I asked.
“Letty Girl, I’m not leaving you here for anything. You’re stuck with me now.”
Those pesky butterflies were back with a vengeance, his words affecting me down to my core. There was no one Iwould rather be stuck with than Luke Wilder.
“Okay,” I breathed out. “In that case, I have some taco salad if you’re hungry.”
“I’m good. Let’s just sit for a while and hang out.”
As he strolled past me, his hand brushed against mine. Things had felt different between us lately, an imperceptible shifting that was making me hopeful and confused. It was probably all in my head. Luke was the same he had always been. Loyal, strong, protective, steady.
I followed him to the couch, taking a seat next to him. How he smelled so good after being on duty all day was a mystery, but he did. It wasn’t a rich cologne scent. It was subtle, something that was distinctly him. I leaned toward him slightly to breathe it in a little more.
“Come here.” Luke opened his arm, inviting me into his space. My gaze roamed his profile, but he wasn’t looking at me. He had his eyes trained on the television, the ending of my guilty pleasure reality show playing out. I adjusted myself on the couch and fell into the spot under his arm, my head against his pec.
I felt like I was home. Like this was exactly where I belonged. Luke wrapped his arm around me, tugging me closer to his chest. His breath came out in a rush, as if me being close to him was settling to him.
“What do you want to watch?” I asked.
“What makes you think this isn’t exactly what I would have put on myself?” he asked with a soft chuckle.
I laughed, trying to pass the remote to him. “Here. Put on anything you want.”
“This is fine, Letty.” His hand moved to the side of my head, tucking my curls behind my ear. I lost all my will to argue asI curled myself into him, relishing in his warmth.
It was the most comfortable evening I could remember. After a couple more episodes of my shows, I was sick of listening to the TV.
“Hey, do you want to play a game?” I asked.
Luke’s entire body froze beneath me. “What kind of game?” he asked slowly.
My face flushed. I spent so much of my time around guys at the police station I was pretty good at guessing what was going through their minds. And Luke’s mind just went to a totally different type of game than I had intended. I rushed to clarify. “I don’t know. Like a card game or something?”
The way his body relaxed after that would have been comical if it didn’t send a sharp reminder to my brain that Luke and I were only ever going to be just friends. The relief he felt that I didn’t mean a fun, sexy kind of game was palpable. He was clearly worried that he was going to need to reject me.
Instantly, me lying on his chest was no longer comfortable and secure but rather awkward and ill-fitting. I pulled myself away from his hold. His arm tightened around me quickly before letting me go.
“Sure, but I should warn you, I play a mean Go Fish.”
I pulled a pack of cards from the drawer of random things in my kitchen, calling to Luke while I was in there. “Hey, do you want a beer or a water or anything?”
“I’ll take a beer if you’ve got it,” he answered.
I pulled two cans from the fridge and settled on the area rug in the living room. Luke joined me on the floor, folding his long body to tuck his heels under his thighs crisscrossed.
