rain ✧ lrh

9. what is this, twenty-one questions?

Luke stood outside for a moment to catch his breath and - while he would never admit it - hype himself up. When he finally entered the door and swiped his card, he carried himself over to Nova's seat. He bent down behind her before she was able to look up, his lips dangerously close to her ear as he whispered, "Did you miss me?" A phrase that sent noticeable shivers through her body. He smirked as she jumped, the reaction something he had desired.

"Jesus - fuck, Luke," she turned to look at him.

He took his seat beside her.

"Did I scare you, Caine?" Luke's voice was low and rough, a sound that made Nova shift unnoticeably in her seat.

"No, you didn't."

"Are you lying?"

"No."

"Are you sure, princess? You seemed pretty scared to me."

There was that reaction again - the blush in her cheeks and the fidgeting in her seat. Luke bit back a smirk that was threatening to reveal itself.

"You're late," she changed the subject.

"So you did miss me."

"No, I'm just stating a fact. You're late," she crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Kind of sounds like something a person who missed someone would say."

"I'm just hungry," Nova defended, getting more and more flustered at the sound of Luke's post-run, early-morning voice.

Luke nodded and stood from his seat and Nova followed. They walked towards the line of students waiting for food together and he let her take a spot in front of him.

"Why did you wait for me to get here before you got yourself food?"

"I wanted to prove that I actually was going to eat for once."

"Hmm," Luke hummed in though behind her.

She turned to look at him when the line stopped moving, "What?"

"Sounds like you didn't want to eat without me."

"No," she denied quickly.

Luke chuckled behind her and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "No need to be embarrassed about it, princess," his fingertip drew a line from her shoulder to her wrist, "I think you were waiting for me, yeah?" He couldn't stop the next words that tumbled from his mouth, "Such a good gi-"

"Next in line!" A voice interrupted his words and forced Nova to breathe.

She grabbed her food and waited patiently next to Luke as he got his and followed him back to their table. When they sat down, she forced herself to break the silence,"So, where are we going for lunch?"

"Where do you want to go?" He allowed the conversation to shift.

"I dunno, I don't really eat anywhere off campus - I usually try to find somewhere to eat here or some fast food place so I don't spend too much money," she rambled, "But I'm fine with anywhere you want to go."

"I'll make it a surprise."

"Not an expensive surprise," she begged, "I have to reiterate that I barely have thirty dollars in my bank account at any given moment."

Luke raised a presumptuous eyebrow, "You think I'm letting you pay for yourself?"

A blush made its way onto Nova's cheeks, "I-I mean, I assumed I would."

He shook his head, "Don't worry about it," and then popped the cap off of his water bottle and took a drink, "Besides," he set it back down, noting the way Nova's eyes stayed on his lips for a second too long, "Why would I invite you - practically force you - to come out with me if I expected you to pay? I might be an asshole but I'm not that kind of asshole."