vanilla // lrh

sixteen

"I don't know," I mumbled, thinking of my shift at noon, and how desperately I needed sleep.

"C'mon Ellie, live a little."

The name hadn't lost it's haunting charm, even when Luke was the one who said it.

I sighed, remembering the look on Luke's face the first time I witnessed him win a fight. The glow of life that radiated from his eyes was unlike anything I had ever seen before, and I wondered: what else have I been hiding away from?

"Where are we going?"

Luke answered with a wide, eager, smile.

"If I told you it wouldn't be much of a surprise, would it?"

**

"Luke, I've been to a bar before." I said, unamused, staring wide-eyed at the rusted sign of a bar, hidden down an alley. Luke was always hanging around the darkest streets in town.

"If you're going to continue with that pessimistic attitude we might as well go home." Luke sassed, mocking me, putting his hands on his hips.

I rolled my eyes at him, causing him to smile goofily at me.

"Stay with me, okay?" He asked, wrapping his arm around my waist, and opening the creeking door.

As Luke and I entered, not a single head turned to notice.

"Luke, honey!" A raspy feminine voice called from behind the bar, where a tall blonde woman stood, cleaning out shot glasses.

Aside from the woman at the bar, everything else in the room looked unlike anything I had ever seen before.

From the ceiling, punching bags fell like chandeliers, groups of men huddled around each.

"Whitney," Luke smiled at her, taking a seat at the bar, and I followed his lead. "Whatcha got for me?"

So that was Whitney. Or was it? The Whitney that Ashton drank over? The Whitney that seemed to tear apart Luke and Ashton's entire relationship? It couldn't be.

The woman looked twenty years older than Luke, wrinkled forming around her eyes each time she smiled.

"I think you've got another year until you can drink, love," She laughed, sitting down the shot glass she was cleaning, and sliding Luke a glass of beer.

"You won't like me once I'm legal," Luke joked, bringing the glass to his lips.

"Don't be rude, dear. Introduce me to your friend."

Before speaking, Luke continued to drink his beer until it was empty of any substance, his adams apple bobbing up and down at each gulp.

"This is Ellie," He said, slamming the glass on the table. "Oh shit, I mean Eloise." He corrected.

"She doesn't like when I call her Ellie, so naturally that is what I call her."

"Nice to meet you," Whitney smiled, and in her smile all I could think about was Ashton crying on the bathroom floor. There was no way this woman was the pain behind his tears.

"What brings you in, pretty boy?" She grinned, and I noticed that she was a smooth talker. Probably from decades of experience.

"Eloise has never seen a good time," Luke told her, tapping his fingers against the wood of the bar, almost as a cue for Whitney to give him another drink.

"I thought I'd give her a sneak peak."

"Go look around!" Whitney insisted, grinning at me. "You'll love it."

Luke stood up from his seat, holding out his hand for me to grab.

"Is that the Whitney?" I whispered, as he guided us to the bags that hung from the wall.

"In the flesh," Luke said, stopping, as all eyes fell on him, and the men stopped hitting the bags.

"How's it going boys?" Luke hollared, his voice lighting up the room.

Military-like, the four boys stood straight, and chanted "Great, sir."

"I'd like you to meet my friend Eloise," Luke said, as I smiled shyly at them.

His friend.

"I know she's hot, but she isn't available." Luke told the boys, causing them to laugh.

They looked high school age, and in no way looked like the boxers I'd seen Luke hang around.

I tried to hide the blush that snuck up the my cheeks, did he really think I was hot?

Luke commanded the boys to carry on with what they were doing, and then turned his back toward them turning me with him.

"They're training," He explained, leaning down to talk quietly in my ear. "I'm like their Lebron James."

Luke turned his head behind him, then back to me. "I've got someone I want you to meet."

"You think I'm hot?" I uttered, my words spilling out.

"Don't flatter yourself," He whispered. "Just because you're hot in general doesn't mean I think you are."

"That was harsh."

"Hey, it doesn't mean I don't think so either."

We stopped at the table that was in the center of the room, where half a dozen people sat around, playing cards.

"Megan," Luke called, and the familiar baby blues of my coworker met mine.

"El! Oh my goodness!" She slammed her cards on the table, getting up to hug me.

"What are you doing here!"

Before I could answer, the distantly familiar, cold voice that haunted my dreams for months spoke up from behind me.

"I was wondering the same damn thing."

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AHH! WHITNEY IS A MILF HAHA

IM SORRY THERES SO MANY CHARACTERS ARE YOU GUYS KEEPING UP OKAY? ITS KINDA GONNA ALL FALL TOGETHER BUT YOU JUST MEET EVERYONE AT DIFFERENT TIMES SO IT MIGHT BE CONFUSING!

I LOVE YOU & EVERY COMMENT LITERALLY MAKES MY DAY ILYSM