“Don’t leave this bed. Call in, and tell them you’re sick. I’m not letting you go.”

I laughed as I turned and looked at him. “I have to go. I have a class to teach, and remember, your niece is part of that class.”

He sighed as he kissed me. “Fine, but I’m joining you in the shower.”

“I was hoping you would.” I winked.

He grabbed me, turned me on my back, and started tickling me. I laughed and screamed at the same time. Suddenly, there was knock on the wall. Luke stopped, looked at me, and we both started laughing. Luke didn’t knock back, he banged on the wall.

“Dude, it’s called payback!”

Luke got up and took my hand as we stepped into shower; then we had sex before starting our morning.

I looked at the clock on my phone as I threw my hair up. Luke walked up behind me as I stood there in my bra and underwear. “I made you some coffee,” he said as his hands traveled up my sides, and his lips met with my neck.

“Thank you, and you need to stop, or I’m going to be late,” I said as I turned around, kissed him on the lips, and then made my way to the bedroom to get dressed.

Luke stood in the doorway of my bedroom, leaning up against it with one arm while holding his coffee cup in his hand. “I want to see you tonight.”

“I want to see you too,” I said as I put on my heels and stopped in front of him.

“Kiss me and I’ll let you through.” He smiled.

I smiled as my lips met his. I wanted to leave him with more than just a kiss, so I stuck my hand down the front of his jeans and grabbed his semi-hard cock. He moaned. “Lily, how could you?”

“How can’t I? You’re too damn irresistible,” I said as I lifted his arm and walked through.

I heard him chuckle as he followed behind me. I grabbed my bags, my keys, and my coffee cup from the counter. Luke opened the door, and we both walked out.

“Have a good day,” he said as he kissed me.

“Uncle Luke!” Charley exclaimed.

He broke our kiss and looked at her as she ran down the rest of the stairs to him. “Hey, peanut.”

“I saw you two kissing.” She smiled. “Did you spend the night?” she asked.

Luke looked panicked as we both looked at each other. “No, of course not; Lily had something that she needed fixed,” he said.

Maddie stood behind Charley and smiled at me. “Let me drive Charley to school for you,” I said to Maddie.

“That’s ok, Lily, you don’t have to do that.”

“I want to. I’m going there anyway, and I’m already running late,” I said as I looked at Luke.

“Mommy, please!” Charley squealed.

“Ok,” she said as she gave Charley a kiss goodbye. “Thank you, Lily.”

“No problem.” I smiled as I took Charley’s hand.

“Bye, Mommy, bye, Uncle Luke,” she said as she walked out the door.

Luke

“Would you like to join me for some coffee? I know you’re dying to talk to me.”

“Yes, I do want coffee, and yes, I’m dying to talk to you.” Maddie smiled as she followed me into my apartment.

I walked into the kitchen, poured the last of the coffee in a cup, and just as I handed the cup to Maddie, Sam walked out of his bedroom, straightening his tie. He walked over and fist-bumped me.

“Thanks for keeping me awake all night,” he said as he picked up the empty coffee pot and looked at it.

“No problem, man.”

“As much as I’m happy that you finally gave in and had sex with the hot girl next door, I have to go to a meeting. We’ll talk about it later, dude. Love you, Maddie,” Sam said as he walked out the door.

“Love you back, Sammy.” She smiled, and then turned to me. “The only thing I want to know is if you’re ok.”

“I’m fine, Maddie,” I said as I started another pot of coffee.

“You’ve been depressed for over a year, Luke. You haven’t made any attempt to meet or date anyone, and now all of a sudden, you’re spending the night with the girl next door.”

“That’s because the right girl never crossed my path. I didn’t think I’d ever fall for anyone after Callie. She was my life, my whole world, and you know that, but since Lily moved in, I started seeing things differently. She makes me smile, Maddie. No one has been able to do that in a very long time.”

“I know, and I’m happy for you. I just don’t want you or her to get hurt. You both have endured enough pain. Mom and Dad are going to love her. You know they’ll want a family dinner as soon as they get back from their cruise, right?”

“I know, and I want Lily to meet them.” I kissed Maddie on the top of her head and walked to the bedroom to change. I had work that needed to be done.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Lily and our night together. I didn’t plan on making love to her quite yet, but she wanted me to, and who was I to deny her. I needed to tell her about Callie and the accident. I was actually surprised she didn’t ask about my scar last night. My phone beeped with a reminder about the job I needed to do. I snapped out of my thoughts and back into reality; then I grabbed my tool box and headed upstairs to Mrs. Lopez’s apartment to fix her garbage disposal.

“You have that look, Luke,” Mrs. Lopez said.

“What look would that be, Mrs. Lopez?” I asked as I tightened the pipe under her kitchen sink.

“The look of love.”

I chuckled. “Is that so? How can you tell?”

“I can see it in your eyes. They have a new life about them. Who is she?”

I crawled out from under the sink and threw my wrench in the tool box. “I’m not in love, but I have met someone that I really like.” I smiled.

“Ah ha! I knew it!” she exclaimed. I sure hope it’s that cute little blonde that just moved in next door to you.”

“As a matter of fact, it is, and her name’s Lily,” I said as I took the bottle of water she held out me.

“I’m happy for you, Luke. I know you’ve had a rough year, and you deserve true happiness.”

I closed my tool box and picked it up from the floor. “Thanks for the water, Mrs. Lopez. Everything’s working perfectly now. Just call me if you need me,” I said as I walked out the door.

I walked back into my apartment, set my tool box down, then sat on the couch, looking at my phone. I missed Lily already. She’s always on my mind, and it’s driving me crazy, so I decided to send her a text message.

“How about dinner tonight at your place? We can cook together.”

“That sounds great! I don’t cook though.”

“I’ll teach you. We can go to the store together when you get home.”

“Alright, I can’t wait.”

“Me neither.”

As I was watching TV, and thinking about how slow the day was going, there was a knock on the door. As soon as I opened it, Lily threw her arms around me and kissed me. I pulled her into the apartment, kicked the door closed with the heel of my shoe, and pinned her up against the closet door as I kissed her passionately. After a moment, she broke our kiss and smiled at me.

“I missed you,” she said out of breath.

“I missed you too, and I couldn’t wait for you to get home,” I responded as my lips made their way behind her ear.

The door opened, and Sam walked in. “Really? You do know there’s a bedroom down that hall over there, right?” he said.

Lily and I laughed as I shook my head at Sam.

“Seriously, dude. I don’t want to come home and find the two of you having sex on the couch, because I may have to join in.”

I smacked him on the back of the head as I walked by. “That’s not even funny, bro,” I said as I pointed at him.

“Lily thinks it’s funny. Look at her; she’s laughing.”

“Babe, don’t humor him, please.”

Sam was laughing as he walked to his room.

“Are you ready to leave?” I asked as I walked over to her and ran the back of my hand softly across her cheek. She nodded her head, so we headed out the apartment and walked to the Jeep.