The Jacket Snatcher

Chapter 66- If I Do...If I Don't

"I was annoyed that Jake came into my room."

His jaw locks. "Don't mention that right now." He shakes his had slightly. "And I remember, you being upset before he ever walked in."

"Okay! Fine! I was upset because I saw the picture of you with Allie!" I blurt out after realizing that he's not going to back down.

His eyebrows furrow. "Picture with Allie?"

"It looked like you were in a club or something..." I say, dropping my gaze and probably blushing from the mortification of admitting all of this.

After a moment, he responds. "The one with a whole group of people? Steph, why on earth would you get upset about that?"

"I don't know, okay?! I just did."

He lets out a frustrated noise, which makes me finally look back up at him. He's pushing his hair off his forehead like I've seen him do a hundred times before.

"I just don't understand," he starts. "You made it pretty clear that you just wanted to be friends, but now you're telling me that you're getting upset because of some girl in a picture?"

"It wasn't some girl; it was your ex-girlfriend," I mumble, but he hears.

"Yeah. Ex-girlfriend. Just like you made yourself."

"I know I did, but that doesn't mean that I don't still--" I cut myself off before I can say anything else embarrassing.

Luke raises his eyebrows. "You still what?"

I shake my head.

"What were you about to say?" He leans closer.

I bite my lip and shake my head furiously.

"You're unbelievably confusing."

"You don't think I'm confused, too?" I stare at him. "You're out with other girls one night and then you fly out to see me a few days later when we aren't even dating! How are we supposed to be just friends when you fly to my rescue like this?"

"Geez, Steph, I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't! What do you want from me?"

Now it's my turn to run a frustrated hand through my hair. I stand to my feet, unable to take the tension of sitting side-by-side. But Luke doesn't let me escape, standing up to match me.

"Are we actually fighting about this? You needed me, so I came! Get over it." His words are an odd mix of caring and annoyed.

Just as I'm about to answer, the door to the apartment opens. Both of our heads whip around, and I freeze in disbelief. This cannot be happening. Rachel and Jake can't seriously be walking in on us mid-fight like this.

Rachel's eyes widen as soon as she sees Luke, while Jake wears a guarded and blank expression. Under normal circumstances, them walking in on us arguing would be awkward, but with the unresolved conflict from last night, the tension is unbearable. I can feel Luke looking over at me, waiting for me to take the lead. However, I have no idea what to say or do.

"Uh, hi," Rachel says, breaking the silence. "You must be Luke."

She puts on a smile as if nothing is wrong and shakes his hand.

"I'm Rachel, and this is my boyfriend, Jake."

At the mention of Jake's name, I notice the muscles tighten in Luke's jaw, but he doesn't say anything. He nods politely to Jake and then turns back to me, studying me carefully.

"Babe, I'm really tired," he says to me.

I try not to react to the 'babe' comment, knowing that he's only saying it for my benefit in front of Rachel and Jake. Following his lead, I take his hand and walk toward the back hallway.

"Well, it was nice meeting you! Goodnight, Steph!" Rachel calls after us. I grit my teeth. Does she really think everything can just go back to normal? Or is she putting on this front because Luke's here?

After pulling Luke inside my room, I shut the door and lock it. The locking is probably a little overboard, but I want as many barriers as possible between them and us.

"You okay?" Luke asks, sitting beside me on the bed.

"I just don't understand how she can't see what a bastard that guy is." I shake my head. "Thank you, by the way."

"For what?"

"Pretending that we're still together. If Rachel knew we weren't, she would probably be convinced that I really do still like Jake."

Luke nods his head. "Don't mention it."

We sit there in silence for another few seconds before I clear my throat.

"So, um, how long are you staying?" I ask.

"My flight is tomorrow night."

"So soon?" I ask, my heart dropping.

Luke stares at me as if trying to read a blurry sign. "I have to get back to record."

"Oh. Okay." I hate how clipped our responses are, but I don't really want to go back to our previous conversation. "Well, what do you want to do tonight?"

He gives me a small smile. "Well, I wasn't really lying when I said I was tired... long flight."

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense."

"Want to just watch a movie?"

I brighten up at his suggestion, expecting him to have wanted to go straight to sleep. I pull out my laptop, since there's no television in my room, and pull up Netflix. While I'm getting it set up, Luke stands, pulls his shirt over his head, and heads for the bathroom to get cleaned up.

Suddenly, I am all-too-aware of the locked door. I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. Pull yourself together, Steph. You've seen him shirtless hundreds of times.

When he comes to sit back down, he smells like toothpaste.

"Here. You choose," I say, handing the laptop to him. When our hands brush, I try to ignore the electricity that shoots up my arm. Seriously, what's wrong with me?

Luke picks some action movie and leans back against my headboard. The only way for both of us to watch is if I sit close and we share the laptop between our laps, so a little hesitantly, I scoot over to join him.

When I do, I debate leaving a strip of space between our bodies before deciding to just be comfortable. With a sigh, I lean up against his side. His arm naturally slides behind me and rests on the bed beside my hip. As the movie continues to play, I become increasingly aware of just how tired I am. That nap I promised myself after running errands today is way over due, and my restless night and early morning are catching up with me.

Wondering how he will react, I hold my breath and let my head sag onto his shoulder. When he doesn't say anything or make any moves to change position, I let relax into him. After several moments, I notice that, not only did he not move away, but also his hand has moved to rest on my side instead of the bed. His thumb starts rubbing slow circles into my hipbone, lulling me into an even drowsier state.

My eyes flutter shut as I start to drift out of consciousness. However, while still half-conscious, I decide that I need to say something.

"I'm glad you're here," I whisper before turningmy head and leaving a soft kiss on his shoulder. I'm not sure what possesses meto do it, but any regret of my actions slips away as my mind finally succumbsto sleep.

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A/N

The song at the top is one of my all-time favorites and helped inspire the title of this chapter. Give it a listen! You won't regret it <3 <3 <3