Work - L.H

22

"Luke!" We walked over to who I recognised to be Luke's mum. They were sat outside around the large table. We had gotten here earlier so that he could see his family before his extended family arrived.

"Feel like we haven't seen you in ages, Lewi" His dad said as they all hugged him.

"And you must be Maddie" His mum said as Luke and I sat down.

"Nice to meet you" I said and smiled at her.

"Girlfriend, ey? How come you didn't tell us?" Ben teased.

"I told mum and dad. I assumed they'd tell you"

"So, how did you two meet?" Liz asked.

"I started working at the bar that Luke works at" I told them. They raised their eyebrows at Luke.

"She's not like the normal girls there" He clarified.

"I just need the money" I told them. "It's the only place that was offering"

"I'd prefer you not working there" Luke told me.

"But you get to see me more and watch over me"

"True"

"I'm sure Luke loves seeing you in those uniforms" Ben joked.

"What uniforms?" His mum asked.

"They have to wear really revea-"

"Ben's just being a dick. Ignore him, mum" Luke glared at his brother.

"Luke, language" Liz scolded. "Are you studying as well?" She asked. I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm majoring in film studies and minoring in media"

"Sounds interesting"

"It is"

***

"Luke seems to really like you" Jack said. Luke and Ben had disappeared inside. Everyone had arrived now yet we'd managed to occupy the outdoor sofas the whole time.

"I really like him" I told him and Celeste.

"He hasn't had a girlfriend in years. He's normally too shy to approach girls"

"Everyone says he's so awkward yet around me he never is"

"He's a strange kid" Jack said whilst Celeste nudged him.

"He's been like that since I joined this family and that was like when Luke was 12 or 13"

"Have you guys been together all that time?"

"Pretty much"

"Wow"

"I'm practically Luke's sister" Celeste said.

"No, because that's weird for us" Jack pointed out. We laughed just as Luke reappeared.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing" He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and passed me one of the beers he'd brought with him. "Thanks"

*****

"You girls don't need to help me. Go be with your boyfriends"

"No, it's fine. We don't mind, do we?" Celeste turned to me.

"No, we want to help"

"You guys can do the salad. Thank you" Liz said. We both shrugged and started cutting up different vegetables. "So, Maddie, how long have you and Luke actually been together?"

"About five hours. We only made things official on the way here. He probably wasn't planning on telling you that" They chuckled slightly.

"He made it sound like you've been together for at least a few weeks"

"Well, we met about a month and a half ago I think and we've been pretty close and flirty since day one. We've just kind of been hanging out and seeing where it's going. We've basically been together for the last couple of weeks"

"You seem so much better than his last girlfriend" Celeste said.

"Yeah, none of us liked her. We pretended we did for Luke's sake because we knew it wouldn't work out"

"How do I know you're not doing that with me?" I joked.

"You're genuine and I can tell you won't hold back. Luke needs someone like you. You compliment each other well"

"Thanks. Luke was right when he said he had the best family"

"We're pretty great" Celeste joked. I admired how close she was to everyone. She was basically part of the family without being married or related to anyone.

"You and Luke are staying here tonight, right?" Liz asked.

"As far as I know" Liz smiled and nodded before finishing preparing the meat.