We reached our apartment building, and I let out a sigh of relief. He pulled into a parking space, and a car pulled up next to us. I looked over and saw my student, Charley, getting out of the car. Luke got off his bike as Charley ran up and hugged him. I took off my helmet.

“Miss Gilmore!” Charley’s eyes lit up.

Luke looked at her. “This is Miss Gilmore; your teacher?” he asked in shock.

“Yes, Uncle Luke, that’s her.” She smiled.

I looked at Charley with widened eyes. “This is your uncle that you’ve been telling me about?”

“Yes! It sure is!” Her smiled widened.

A woman was walking over to us with a couple of bags in her hands. Luke immediately took them from her. She looked at me and held out her hand. “Hi, Miss Gilmore, I’m Maddie, Charley’s mom.”

I smiled as I shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Please call me Lily.”

“Miss Gilmore, why are you riding on my Uncle Luke’s motorcycle?” Charley asked.

“Your teacher lives in the apartment next door to me. Her car broke down, so I gave her a ride home,” Luke said.

“I had no idea you lived here, Lily,” Maddie said. “Charley and I live in the apartments upstairs. My parents own the building.”

“Uncle Luke, can Miss Gilmore come with us to the carnival on Friday?” Charley asked.

Luke looked at me, and I looked at him. I could tell he was uncomfortable. “Thank you for inviting me, Charley, but I won’t be able to make it,” I said.

“Uncle Luke, tell her she can come,” Charley whined.

“Yeah, you can join us. Maddie has to work at the bar Friday night, so Charley’s staying with me,” Luke said nervously.

“Please, Miss Gilmore. Please,” Charley begged.

How could I resist her? “Ok, Charley, I’ll go.” I smiled as I put my hand on her head.

We walked inside the building, and I said goodbye as the three of them headed upstairs to Maddie’s apartment.

I opened the door and threw my things on the chair. I grabbed a bottle wine and poured some into a glass. I stood against the kitchen counter as I remembered something Charley said about her uncle. She said he didn’t have a girlfriend because she died. I was in deep thought when I was startled by a knock at the door. I looked out the peephole, and Luke was standing there.

“Hi!” I smiled. “Come on in.”

He walked inside. “I just wanted to tell you that I called my buddy’s garage. They towed your Explorer, and it’ll be ready sometime tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Luke. I appreciate it. Do you want a glass of wine or a beer?” I asked.

He put both hands into his jean pockets. “Nah, I need to get going,” he said. He opened the door and turned around. “I’m driving Charley to school in the morning; I can give you a ride if you don’t already have one.”

I tilted my head as my heartbeat was starting to quicken. “Thank you, but I don’t think the three of us will fit on your bike.”

Luke shook his head and laughed. “We wouldn’t take my bike. I have a vehicle.”

“You do?”

“Yes, and my sister wouldn’t let me take Charley on the bike anyway; she hates motorcycles.”

“Thank you for your offer. I think my students would appreciate you making sure their teacher gets to work.” I smiled.

“Ok then. I’ll meet you here in the hall at 6:45 a.m.” He smiled back.

I took a deep breath as he shut the door. Something’s happening to me. That feeling was beginning to come back, and it scared the shit out of me. I can’t and won’t let myself go down that road again. I’m happier alone. I need to be alone for my own sanity because I couldn’t take more heartbreak. Just as I was getting caught up in my emotions, there was a knock at the door. I looked out the peephole, and saw Luke standing on the other side. I opened the door and stared at him.

“By the way, I’m Luke Matthews,” he said as he held out his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you, Luke Matthews. I’m Lily Gilmore,” I replied as I shook his hand.

He turned and went back to his apartment. I shut the door, smiled, and headed for the shower.

Luke

I couldn’t believe that Lily was Charley’s teacher. I walked into the apartment where Sam was cooking dinner.

“What are you making, dude?” I asked him.

“I’m making chicken parmesan. Gretchen’s coming over for dinner,” he said.

“Thanks for the notice, bro.”

“Sorry, I was in meetings all day, and it was kind of a last minute thing. Did you go and pick up Lily?” he asked.

“Yeah, I had her car towed to Huey’s Garage. It’ll be ready tomorrow. Hey, did you know that she’s Charley’s school teacher?”

“I knew she was a teacher, but I had no idea she was Charley’s. That’s pretty cool, don’t you think?” he asked.

“I guess. I’m driving her and Charley to school in the morning. Maddie has to be at the bar early for a meeting. Lily’s going with me and Charley to the carnival tomorrow. Why don’t you and Gretchen come with us?”

Sam gave me a pointed look; his brow raised. “You asked her to go with you to the carnival?”

“No, Charley asked her to go.”

“And she said yes?” Sam asked in a surprised tone.

“Yes, she did. She wasn’t going to turn down Charley.”

“That’s great, Luke. Gretchen and I already have plans for Friday night though, sorry.”

“Wow, you’re really serious about this girl,” I said.

“I really like her, man. She’s all I ever think about.”

I walked over and put my hand on Sam’s shoulder. “That’s great. I’m really happy you found someone. I’m going to go up to Maddie’s to give you and Gretchen some privacy.”

“Thanks, man.” Sam smiled.

I walked out the door and up to Maddie’s apartment. Charley was playing video games, and Maddie was cooking dinner. I could tell something was wrong with Maddie, and it looked like she’d been crying.

“What’s wrong, Maddie?” I asked.

“Nothing’s wrong. It’s the onions,” she said.

“Daddy called,” Charley spoke from the couch.

“Is that true?” I asked Maddie.

She nodded her head without saying a word. “What did the bastard want?!” I spat.

Maddie turned and looked at me. “Not in front of Charley, Luke.”

I looked over at Charley who was lost in the world of video games. “Then let’s go into the other room. I want to know what that bastard wanted,” I whispered.

We walked into Maddie’s room. “All he said was that he’s coming to town in a couple of weeks and that he wants to see Charley. I told him that he couldn’t see her until he paid his child support, but he said I better watch it or he’ll take me to court and sue me for full custody of her.”

“Over my dead body,” I said in anger.

“Calm down, Luke. I have a couple of weeks to think of a plan. Technically, I can’t keep him from her. He’s her father,” Maddie said.

I shook my head as I walked out of the bedroom. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Charley.

“Are you and mom ok?” she asked.

“Yeah, we’re ok.” I smiled as I kissed the top of her head.

After dinner, I went back to my apartment. I opened the door and stepped inside. I didn’t see Sam or Gretchen. I didn’t have to see them; I could hear them before I reached the hallway. I rolled my eyes and walked out of the apartment. I didn’t need to sit and listen to them having sex. I stood in the hallway and thought about going to Bernie’s, but I decided I wasn’t up for it, especially since I was driving Lily and Charley to school tomorrow morning. I stood and stared at Lily’s door. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and the way she held onto me while on the motorcycle. She held on as if her life depended on it. She trusted me even though she was scared to death to get on that bike. I smiled for a moment and thought about knocking on her door. I decided it wasn’t a good idea, so I went back inside the apartment, took my guitar from the stand, and sat down on the couch. I played a few chords as loud as I could to let Sam know I was home.