All I Never Wanted

Chapter 17

Annie stared at her reflection in the mirror taking in the rosy cheeks, shining eyes and the smile she couldn't seem to keep off her face. Positively giddy. That's how she looked. Was this normal?

She knew she'd never looked like this after she'd had sex with Brent. Of course, she hadn't loved Brent and even if he thought he'd loved her it was nothing compared to Luke.

The best she could muster to describe Brent would be affectionate. With Luke she wasn't sure there were enough words in the dictionary to describe him. Passionate. Unrelenting. Absolute. Unapologetic. Once he decided he loved her there was no holding back. He gave all of himself to her without fear in every way possible.

She knew him through all the gross, immature growing pains of childhood and had watched him succumb to the perils of peer pressure as a teen. She knew him inside and out, the good and the bad, and there was no one else she'd rather be with more than him.

The realization of how it felt to fully love another human being was so powerful it almost drove her to her knees.

What happened between them tonight went beyond sex and hormones, driven by a much deeper need to know and love one another. She had no idea it could feel this way and now that she did anything else would always be unacceptable.

The ferocity of her emotions surprised her but there was no fear. If she could've seen herself a week ago, knowing that tonight she'd be infinitely in love with Leonard Dukes, she wouldn't have believed it. Now she found it hard to imagine life without him.

She laughed at her reflection and then bent to splash water on her face before running a brush through her tangled hair. She'd been contemplating her feelings for so long Luke would either have fallen asleep or be assembling a search and rescue team.

When she finally emerged she found the former to be true. He lay on top of the blankets, stretched out with his hands behind his head, wearing just his fleece pants and his eyes closed. She smiled and crossed the room to find her hairband to tame her hair.

When she turned back around she found Luke awake and watching her with a sleepy smile gracing his face. Annie jumped, startled.

"Faking it, I see." She teased.

"I'm trying my hardest to stay awake, but you know what they say about guys and sex."

Annie crossed back to Luke and crawled over him onto the bed. "Enlighten me. What do they say?"

"The better it is the faster they fall asleep."

"Is that so? What's your record?" Annie asked with a grin.

"Hmmm, let's see. After you disappeared into the bathroom it took me all of thirty seconds to find my pants, put them on and lay back down. So, it may have been a full minute."

Annie laughed. "So, let me put two and two together here. If the faster you fall asleep equals the better the sex and tonight was the fastest you ever fell asleep. . . ."

Luke looked at her and nodded, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You're so full of it!" Annie declared.

"What? You don't believe me?"

Annie shook her head with a smirk.

"Why not?"

"I've found it's usually best not to. You and Toby are pros at heckling and harassment."

"True." Luke agreed, sitting up and propping himself against the headboard. "But I'm not messing with you. What you and I have Annie, it's different than anything else I ever felt. I have never been so tongue-tied asking a girl for permission."