She looked over at me and smiled. “Do you know how sexy you look, leaning up against that counter?”

“Why don’t you show me?” I smirked.

“Don’t tempt me, Luke. As it is, I’m running late, again,” she said as she put her bowl in the sink.

She turned to me and put her hands on my chest. “I have to go, because if I’m late, Charley will start spreading some horrible rumor about us.”

I chuckled, kissed her lips, and hugged her goodbye. “Have a good day, babe. I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too,” she said as she kissed me one last time.

I walked into my apartment to find Gretchen cleaning up the kitchen.

“Morning, Luke.”

“Morning, Gretchen,” I responded as I headed towards my bedroom.

As I was gathering my laundry, Gretchen stood in the doorway.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Shoot.”

“Giselle called me; her and Lucky ran into Lily’s mother in Seattle. With that being said, Lucky accidentally told her that Lily lives here.”

“Shit, that’s not good, right?”

“No, it’s not, because if she or Brynn come here, there’s no telling what might happen.”

“Maybe Lily and her mom should have a talk. Family is really important, and I would hate for Lily to completely lose hers over what her mother didn’t tell her. It was for the best that things worked out the way they did or else I never would have met her.”

“You don’t understand, Luke. Lily’s life has never been normal. She’s told you about her father’s affairs and his alcohol and drug use, right?”

I turned around and looked at her as I carried the basket of dirty clothes to the living room. “I knew he had multiple affairs and he drank, but she never mentioned anything about drugs.”

“He did every drug out there and then some. I remember going over Lily’s house one day, and her dad was snorting coke right off the kitchen table.”

“Shit, that’s terrible,” I shook my head as I poured two cups of coffee.

“It really is, Luke. She’s made up her mind to remove herself from her family, and I think we need to do whatever we can to protect her. I don’t want her to get hurt again. I love her too much to see her go through that pain. She’s a good person and doesn’t deserve it.”

“I love her too, and I will protect her in every possible way. I don’t want you to worry.” I smiled.

Gretchen grabbed her things and left the apartment. I was really bothered by the fact Lucky said something to Lily’s mother, but he didn’t know what was going on, so I couldn’t really blame him. I decided not to tell Lily about what Gretchen told me because I didn’t want her worrying about it, especially tonight, at my family’s dinner. As I was excited to bring Lily home to meet my parents, I decided to send flowers to my two favorite women. I grabbed my phone and called the local florist. I had a nice arrangement sent to my mother for the dinner table, and I sent Lily a dozen red roses with a card that read:

“Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman.

I’m missing you already.

Love always, Luke.”

As it was a beautiful day, I decided to go outside and work on some songs. I took my laundry to the laundry room, threw it in the washer, grabbed a notepad, pen, and my guitar, and headed over to the pool. As I sat in the chair and set my phone down on the table beside me, I looked up at the sky as the sun went behind a cloud; one of the very few clouds that filtered the sky. I thought about the conversation Gretchen and I had about Lily’s family as I grabbed my pen and started writing down the words that came to my mind:

Even the clouds will say

There’s nowhere we can get away from everything

There’s nowhere we can practice positivity

I strummed the C and F chords to find the perfect tune, and then my mind went back to the first time Lily and I met. She didn’t put up with my bullshit when I was an ass to her, because I could only focus on myself and my problems.

When all I see is me

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

I strummed the C, F, and G chords to produce a tune that fit the words to this song I was writing. Lily’s heart had been broken, not only by her father and her mother, but also by her ex-fiancé and her sister, and it kills me to see her cry.

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

My phone rang, and Lily’s beautiful picture lit up my screen. I smiled as I answered, “Hey, beautiful.”

“I just received some beautiful red roses from a really sexy guy named Luke. You don’t know him by any chance, do you?”

“Can’t say I do, but when I find him, I’m going to kick his ass for sending my girl flowers.”

“They’re beautiful, Luke; thank you. My students are very excited, and they keep making kissy noises at me. Charley came up to my desk and said they better be from you.” She laughed.

I chuckled. “I’m glad you like them, babe.”

“As you can hear, my class is out of control. I miss you, and I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Lily.”

“Bye, Luke.”

I smiled as I set my phone down. Were things moving too fast? I wasn’t sure, but the only thing I knew for certain was that she’s the first woman to catch my attention and make me feel something since the accident. I played the chords again and added a couple of more lines before Mrs. Kramer called me to come fix her leaky toilet.

I’d sail the ocean blue

Or I’d fly a rocket to the moon

But I’m good for nothing without you

I got up from my seat, headed back to the apartment, grabbed my tool box, and fixed Mrs. Kramer’s toilet.

Lily

I set the vase of roses that Luke sent me on the counter as I thought about what I was going to wear to his family’s house. I was starting to get nervous because I haven’t met anyone’s family in a very long time. I always worry they won’t like me or find something wrong with me. I wondered where Luke was; usually he’s waiting for me when I get home. Looking out my window, I noticed his motorcycle wasn’t there, so I grabbed my phone and sent him a text message.

“Where’s my knight in shining armor?”

A few moments later, a message came through.

“I’m at the store, babe. I had something that I needed to pick up. I’ll be over shortly.”

“See you soon,” I replied back.

I walked into my bedroom and opened the closet door. I wanted to look perfect for his family, and I didn’t want them to be able to see the destruction that had been left inside me thanks to my family. I took off my work clothes and stood in front of the open closet in my bra and panties. Suddenly, a voice came from behind me, startling me from my thoughts.

“Well, isn’t this a sight for sore eyes,” Luke said as he leaned up against the doorway with his hands behind his back.

“Shit, Luke, you scared me,” I said as I turned around and looked at him.

“Sorry, babe, but what do you expect when you’re standing there in nothing but your bra and that delicious lace thong.”

I smiled as I walked over to him. “What are you hiding behind your back?” I asked as I ran my finger down the front of his shirt. His top lip curled as he looked at me and brought his hands forward, revealing a helmet.

“Surprise!” he said.

I put my hands over my mouth in shock. “Luke!”

“I know, you probably hate me right now for this, but you should have your own helmet if you’re going to be riding on my bike.”