// luke //
Cate led Luke up to her room, softly shutting the door behind them. He set his phone on her desk, watching as she dug through her dresser for pajamas.
He wasn't sure whether he would just sleep in his work clothing, or how comfortable she would be if he stripped down to his boxers.
"Luke," she caught his attention gently.
"Hm?" he replied, running a hand through his hair.
"Can you turn around please?" Cate asked sweetly, a blush running across her cheeks as she clutched her pajamas to her chest.
"O- oh yeah, of course," Luke agreed, a little flustered at the thought of her changing only a few feet away. He graciously turned his back, twiddling with his fingers.
Figuring that asking Calum for a shirt to borrow would escalate the situation into something that could easily turn fatal, Luke decided he'd just strip down to his boxers. He wasn't really sure how Catie'd feel about it, so maybe he'd take getting undressed slowly. He knew he'd very willingly keep his dress shirt on for her, so he had better start with that.
He decided to take off his shoes, figuring she wouldn't want him to wear those in her bed. If she asked him to, Luke knew he wouldn't hesitate to do so, but he didn't think that was going to be the case.
"You can turn around now," Cate said quietly.
Luke turned back around, a little surprised to see her pjs were a pair of blue shorts and a white crop top that did nothing to help his racing mind. She was busy arranging her work clothes onto hangers, walking over to her closet. He watched with raised eyebrows as she opened the door to reveal a large walk-in closet, finding space on one of the bars to hang her uniform.
"I'm going to go brush my teeth," she told him, shutting the door. He nodded, figuring this was a good time to undress.
Slowly, he undid his belt, slipping it out from his trousers, before those followed as well. He unbuttoned a few shirt buttons as well but kept the thin material on, unsure of if she'd be uncomfortable with it off.
Carefully, Luke gathered his things, putting them in a neat-ish pile on the floor by her dresser, out of view from anyone who came into the room. He hoped she wouldn't mind.
Cate poked her head out of the bathroom, her face clearly damp with water. She was going to say something, but instead was distracted by how he'd only half gotten changed. "You're going to sleep in your shirt?"
"Well, I just- I figured-" Luke shrugged, turning a little red, not quite sure how to explain. She just giggled, retreating back into the bathroom.
Unbuttoning his shirt as well, he dropped it into his sort-of-neat-but-also-sort-of-messy pile of clothing, feeling a little out of place as he waited for Cate.
With her hair flowing over her shoulders and her eyes twinkling, Cate walked over to her bed, leaning over in front of Luke to readjust the mattress. Either she really was clueless about how revealing her shorts were, or she was teasing him. He figured it was the first option, knowing her, so he did his best not to look.
She climbed into the bed, pulling the covers up from where they were neatly made. "Are you just going to stand there?" she asked playfully, glancing up to see Luke standing a little awkwardly by the end of her mattress. He made his way over to the opposite side, cautiously getting into the bed. Before he could stop himself, a whimper escaped his lips at how good the feeling of her mattress was against his sore muscles. Cate just giggled and turned away with a blush before lying down beside him. Luke reached out, tugging the sheets overtop of them, making sure Catie was covered.
"Hey," he rasped, recognizing one of the blankets in his hand, "you've still got that blanket."
She turned even redder, nodding. "Mhm."
"Why?" he asked, a crooked smile growing on his face anticipating her answer.
She was silent for a moment. "Well, it- it smells like you." Her voice was so soft when she replied, he almost swore he imagined it. However, how she averted her gaze immediately and blushed even more made him realize he had heard correctly.
Luke felt his own cheeks redden at her statement. He really didn't think he smelled nice in the slightest. Yeah, he didn't smell bad, but to smell so good that a seventeen-year-old girl would keep a random blanket she didn't need with his scent on it said something.
"Wel- uh, I- that's...sweet," Luke murmured, not sure what to say.
Cate didn't reply, instead snuggling into the mattress, her head against his shoulder.
"Luke,"
"Hm?"
"What time do you need to wake up tomorrow?"
"Mm, seven?"
"Could you get my phone for me please?" she asked sweetly. "It's on the nightstand."
He turned his head, stretching out his arm to grab the device, which he handed to her. After setting a seven a.m. alarm, Cate gave it back to him to put back, and the reassuring bonk of the metal meeting the wooden stand told the two it hadn't fallen.
"Clap."
"What?"
"Clap!" she insisted, watching as he hesitantly brought his hands together in one short smack. Instantly, the lights turned off and Luke chuckled.
"Neat."
"Who says 'neat'?" Cate wrinkled her nose, feeling Luke's much larger body start to spoon her comfortingly.
"I say neat."
"Old," she muttered jokingly. Luke just sighed, aware of her arm sliding a little cautiously across his torso.
It was nice. Nice to sleep in a bed with a high-quality mattress, nice to be in a properly air-conditioned house, and nice to be sleeping next to someone he actually liked.
Luke relished in how she fit so well with his body, like a puzzle, and how she felt against him. Her elbow was dangerously near his crotch, but he was not about to start thinking with his dick, or about his dick, or anything to do with his dick.
"Luke,"
He would never tire of her inquisitive tone saying his name, and then the soft little pause that followed.
"Yeah?"
"Were you ever friends with Autumn?"
He was not expecting that.
"S- sort of,"
"What do you mean?"
"Like we were friends, but we weren't really...friends..." he trailed off.
She looked confused.
He reddened, glad she couldn't him see in the dark. He didn't really want Catie to know about his history with Autumn or the rest of his 'dating' habits, but she asked. "We- we used to...to hook up."
"Oh."
"What's bothering you?" he asked, curious as to why she wanted to know.
"Well," he could hear her pout, which, when she wasn't being playful, hurt him to know she was upset, "she's been a lot worse to me lately. Especially whenever you're around."
Fuck. Of course she'd take it out on Cate.
"We ended...things- badly, and I guess she's just envious of- of our re-relationship," Luke stumbled over his words, hoping she'd accept whatever the fuck was that explanation.
"Oh."
"Tell me next time, yeah? I'll talk to her," more like getting into a screaming match in the back room after work until their lungs gave out.
"Okay."
He slipped his arm around her shoulders, fingers entangling in her hair lightly. He noticed how despite all the space on the bed, they were so close they barely took up half of it. He didn't really know how they'd gotten here, but he definitely didn't mind. It was way better than her still being intimidated by him.
He wondered how long It would last.
//
Luke groaned, the annoying buzzing of Cate's pink phone beside him startling him out of his sleep. Reaching over to the nightstand, he picked it up, pressing the "dismiss" button before setting it back down.
Cate murmured nonsensically against his bare skin, her fingertips grazing his skin gently. They'd shifted closer during the night, her head on his chest and his arm draped around her body. He knew she'd be blushing if she was awake enough to realize.
He went to prop himself up on his elbow, making sure that he didn't disturb the sleeping girl, realizing with a jolt that he had... an issue. Luke paled, praying that she wasn't awake yet. However, the half-lidded brown eyes that met his as he glanced down at her made his false hope plummet to his stomach.
"Luke," she mumbled, watching as he traced his tongue across his lips nervously.
"Y- yeah?"
"Are you going to get ready for work?" she asked groggily.
"Uh, yeah, in- in a sec," his voice caught in his throat raspily, trying to calm his breathing. "I just... want a moment to stay here- for a moment."
She raised her eyebrows, but she just smiled softly, starting to adjust her legs before freezing.
Luke knew why.
It was only another moment until she started to slowly pull her legs back from where they were intertwined with his.
He could tell she was blushing even in the dark of the room.
He tried his best to fill his head with images of nasty things; things like bugs and vomit and wet leaves. Wet leaves? He shook his head again, eventually getting to thinking of spiders. Gross, furry, crawly spiders with eight little black eyes and-
Oh, thank God. He exhaled heavily, relieved.
"Do you not want to get up?" Cate asked softly, being quick to switch the topic. She was still red.
"No," he sighed, running a hand down his face.
"What if I got up with you?"
"To do what? Getting dressed at seven a.m. as a 'nice gesture' would probably ruin your whole day," Luke muttered.
"I could work a full day," she shrugged, gently getting to her elbows, still lying on her stomach.
Luke smirked, tossing his head back. "You aren't even scheduled today."
"I'm sure they wouldn't mind the extra help," Cate defended her case, knowing there would be no way she was going to get back to sleep now.
"You really want to do this?"
She nodded.
"'Mkay...I'll text Autumn, see what she says," Luke gave in, a little hesitantly. He knew that not only was it not a work day for Cate, but she had also never worked an entire day before.
She smiled in triumph, rolling out of bed.
Twenty minutes later, she stood at her desk, making sure her cell phone and a few other things were tucked neatly into her handbag, before turning to where Luke was waiting on the corner of her mattress.
His hands were shoved into his black dress suit pockets, matching the plain black dress shirt he seemed to wear so often. Of course, he was wearing the exact same thing he wore yesterday, which he knew Ashton was definitely going to bug him for answers about. His answer probably wouldn't bring any sort of peace of mind to the other clerk, but he wasn't in the mood to think of something better.
Luke got to his feet, noting how Cate was ready to leave. He held the door open for her, his hand hovering over the small of her back as they walked out of the room.
He glanced at his phone they walked out to his car, having just received a grudging reply from Autumn that Cate could come in today. Based on the fact that they were already leaving, Autumn's verdict didn't really matter, but it was better that she had agreed, otherwise, Catie would've been in for some major bitching.
The car ride over was rather silent, but Cate could tell that Luke was brooding over something. She wasn't quite sure as to what; however, all of that was revealed the second they stepped into the hotel at 7:43 a.m.
The desk clerk- who she recognized to be Calum's other friend, Ashton- looked stressed out of his mind, and Cate was slowly starting to realize that everyone was much more stressed than they were yesterday. Much more.
She barely had a second to breathe before a frantic Harper- Harper?- grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to the restaurant.
"Girl, I have no clue why you here-" Harper started to say, glancing down at her for a quick pause, "because it's a Thursday, and the morning- but we need you."
Luke watched as the little girl was whisked away before being immediately greeted by the manager.
"Oh, thank God," the man nearly fainted. He was in his forties or so, named Burt, and Luke- along with the rest of the staff- had a sneaking suspicion that he was gay. Which explained a lot, honestly.
"Hey," he replied warily.
"Okay, so, we have the suite all prepared and everything, but but buuut-" Burt paused, his lips pursed and a very tentative expression on his face, like he was about to deliver bad news and really, really didn't want to. But he was the manager, so he had to. Luke waited with a scowl.
Trying to make himself seem a little taller and more assertive to the younger and much tougher Australian, Burt prepared himself for the anger that was going to explode once he shared the news. He couldn't let Luke know he was scared to tell him, or show any sign of fear. He was like a wild animal. So, drawing back his shoulders, and doing his best to keep a neutral expression, he took a deep breath.
"M- Mrs Irvine is, well, she's sick, and their- their caretaker had to stay with her...so, they- they needed someone t-to 'fill in'," he laughed nervously, "erm, a-and they requested you."
His last few words trailed off into the abyss, and Luke leaned forward with raised eyebrows.
"They wanted you."
"For what?"
"T-to take...care...of them," he mumbled, wringing his hands.
"Jesus Christ."
Weren't they rich enough that they could fucking pay someone, anyone else to do this? Why Luke?
Doing his best not to bash something with his fists, he took a few steps away, locking his jaw tightly.
"Seriously, Burt? What the hell?"
"She...she specifically requested you," he shrugged, holding his clipboard nervously in front of him lest he was attacked. He didn't mind Luke cursing, there were no guests around, and if it saved him from taking his anger out on him, he preferred it.
Luke spun back around, an incredulous look on his face. "Why me?"
"I- I have no idea."
"Can you tell them no?"
Burt looked terrified of the suggestion. "I-I..."
So, no.
Groaning, he took a seat at his desk, curses floating into the air from under his breath. Elizabeth shot him a look.
The week was almost over, but it was so far from it.
- -
ello
that's like genuinely my favorite photo of luke ^
dude i added sugar to sparkling water last night ( don't ask ) and it exploded
anyway love you all : )) see you beautiful people later ✌️🌓 also the moon emojis on iPhones are just so pretty like w h a t
c xx