Play No More (Player Next Door sequel) ✓

56 | All Things Luke

"That's a fair point," I conceded, "but our conversation wasn't very productive."

"From my experience with boys, they problem solve in a different way," she shrugged, "Some cultures encourage boys to be strong and silent and that can interfere with their communication. But, hey, what do I know? You know Luke better than me, but I haven't seen him really connect with his emotions."

I have.  Sometimes.

I reached out for another walnut. The chef had his back turned.

**

I went to my room and tried not to think of Bianca at the back of my mind. She had once warned me that Luke would grow tired of me, like he has every girl before. That terrified me.

His distance scared me.

I needed to change my mindset. I should be enjoying this vacation and not overthinking everything. Luke's not stuck in his room feeling sorry for himself, so why should I?

I walked into the bathroom and took a hot shower. I tried to enter a calmer mood by thinking of the clear sea water and colorful fish I had seen snorkeling. 

Tonight, I was going to dress up in one of Nicole's outfits. I wrapped myself in a soft towel and padded over to the wardrobe in my room.

Nicole's gorgeous clothes hung in their individual cover bags on the rail. I picked out a white corset with a square neckline. Then I matched it with tight shorts that had a playful white and slightly transparent skirt over it. (outfit 4 on my Instagram)

This was the first time I had ever worn an outfit like this. It was more expensive than everything in my closet combined. It was also extremely tight on me. Extremely.

**

I ran downstairs and ran straight into Austin. He was wearing a tropical print shirt, unbuttoned to show off his pecks.

"Woah, what's the rush, Mill-" he stopped when he noticed my outfit, "Good look, Millie."

I blushed, not used to compliments on my appearance. "Thank you, Austin."

We both walked into the living room. Chad was crouching by a cabinet to grab another bottle from the lowest drawer.

Chad looked up as we walked in and whistled. "You dressed up."

I looked around and saw that no one else was wearing a party outfit. Oma, who was the epitome of style in this house, was in a maxi dress and sandals.

"It's a casual five course dinner," Chad explained, holding the bottle, "We'll change to go out after."

There's no such thing as a casual five course dinner in my mind.

"She'll wear whatever she wants," Luke interrupted, stepping towards me in a crisp white shirt and black trousers.

His hair was still wet from the shower and his skin had tanned from a day out in the sun. He smiled at me, "You look incredible, by the way."

If I blushed when Austin complimented me, I turned beetroot when Luke did.

"Finally, we can eat now," Bianca exclaimed, trying to gather everyone into the dining room.

"We're going to need five minutes," Luke said, before glancing back at me, "Is it OK if we talk now?"

"Aren't we going to hold up dinner?" I asked.

"Not if we can start on appetizers," Austin offered, somehow standing beside us as if he was a part of the conversation, "The oysters looked really good."