Chapter 37
I was watching a news story about a girl from Oklahoma that went missing a while back when I heard Clare come downstairs. Since the news didn't really piss me off, Clare had to come down and do the job. Because guys, if you hadn't noticed, she is a real bitch.
"Where is Luke at?" She asked, her voice polite in case he was in hearing range.
"A whore house," I said and rolled my eyes, looking up at her from where I sat on the couch. "Where do you think? He's cooking you breakfast because you never learned. Because I was the one that was made to do it prior to you finding a blind husband."
Looking at her too perfect hair so early in the morning, her too perfect complexion, and her eyes bright and wide awake... ugh, just pisses me off even more. In the morning, you are suppose to look ugly. That's God's rule at what happens when you wake up. Of course, she probably sold her soul to have the privilege of her good looks this time of day.
She rolled her eyes, not saying anything else as she walked off towards the kitchen, leaving my sight and I could hear them murmuring over something. But a second later, I saw Luke walk into my sight from the kitchen. Glancing up to him, I saw he only paused for a moment to meet my eyes as he beckoned me to stand and follow him. It's been such a common thing, a daily occurrence, I didn't need to think twice.
Following him into the bathroom down the hall, he flicked the light on as I closed the door behind us. In the small space, he came to face me like he did every morning. This bathroom downstairs, the one we were in now, was much smaller than the two upstairs so you can imagine how comfortable that made us.
"Here," he said, placing the small pill in my hand.
The awkwardness that was present in this situation came everyday so by now it had somewhat faded, thankfully. Everyday this happened and it gave me a reminder at how he was a great guy, for letting me flush the daily pill down the shitter. It was something that I was glad he let me do; yet, it made him incredibly guilty I knew. You could see it in the darkened green of his sorrow-filled eyes.
When he looked away from me in an obvious manner, I dropped the pill in the toilet and flushed it. Luke looking back to me, twisted the cap of my pills back on and put them in his pocket to put away until tomorrow when we would once again repeat what we just did. What I saw as a favor and what he saw as a type of betrayal.
"Hey, I want to ask you something," he said a second later.
"Then ask," I murmured, leaning back against the counter as I faced him in that small space. I'm telling you, it just wasn't healthy for me to be this close to him. Especially when I wanted him more and more as each day past. Yes, I know he was being an ass in a way for how strange he has been acting around me. I know he had to stay loyal to Clare. But honestly... that's why I think I was falling in love with him. Because he kept trying and trying and showing how committed he was. If he gave up on Clare quickly, then what kind of husband would he be? It was sad because I wanted him far away from her since seeing them together still... it hurt. But it would also hurt if he left her because then it would show his loyalty and commitment didn't run too deep. So honestly, that just made me a mess of strange feelings I had for him. But I guess I always was kind of a mess.
His scorching eyes seemed to want more than what he was asking; his words didn't do justice. My heart was still spinning, nonetheless. "There is this annual fair going on about an hour away. It's a really big event. Uh, they have one every year at the end of the summer so... I was wondering if you wanted to go. Like I said, it's a ways away so I doubt many people would know of or recognize you as much as they would here."
I didn't know what to think. Considering lately, it seemed as if he wanted to avoid me. "Why?"
"Um, because summer is almost over and I want to spend some more time with you before you go back to school. Summer only comes once a year," he said, smiling slightly. He could hear the suspicion in my voice and was trying to avoid directly addressing it.
"I bet Clare is going, right?"
"No, she isn't," he told me quickly, pursing his lips. "Today, she said she's going out with her friends to shop then out for a drink."
"Wait, you mean we would be going to the fair today?"
"Yeah," he said, smiling. And that smile... I mean, I know how girlie this sounds and shit but his smiles always made me smile. It was as if it was automatic. I tried stifling it but it's presence demanded one it seemed.
I blushed slightly, looking down as I spoke. "You know, I have never been to a fair."
"All the more reason to go. I can tell you're the type that would love the rides. There is more roller coasters at this one than most fairs so even better. Trust me."
I chuckled slightly, looking back up at him from where he continued to stand before me. Both of us still in our pajamas, you can imagine how cute he looked. His hair especially messy. Not to mention, he looked... well, true he still looked a little tense and stuff but it was better than before. Before, he looked and even appeared to be much stiffer. And I don't mean bellow his belt unfortunately. So I could actually see this day going well with at least a little less tension.
"Alright then. You better hope I have a strong enough stomach. Otherwise, you'll get my breakfast all over you later on."
***
"Well... what did you think of that one?" He asked.
We just got off of the first big roller coaster we rode. And let me tell you... holy shit. It was later in the afternoon and it took a couple hours for us to build up to the one we just got off of now because I never rode anything before. "It was one hell of a ride," I said, smirking up at him. He caught my bait and smirked himself as we walked through the exit of the ride.
"That's what she said," he smiled.
I chuckled as we started to walk, side by side with smiles still plastered there at how awesome today was turning out to be. We got here this afternoon and up to now, all we did was go on rides. So far, my personal favorite was the tilt a whirl and the one we just got off - a bumpy roller coaster. But that was out of who knows how many. And not to mention, we rode some multiple times like the cliffhanger and the swings. Now, we were onto the roller coasters. We rode a few so far but now, I knew it was time for the bigger ones. That would be interesting.
"You know, you're lucky I have a strong stomach. I would have taken pleasure in vomiting on you. That would have been funny."
He laughed, shaking his head as he looked down at me. Though the rides were unbelievable, like seriously worship worthy, I couldn't keep my mind off of Luke. Not because I'm falling for him but because after a while, there seemed to be no tension. None at all, which just made today even better. We forgot our lives at home (Clare) and were having a great day of just fun and new experiences. Since this is the first time I even been to something like this, and Luke has been here several times before, he was the guide, knowing which rides to go on in order to build up to the really big rides.
"Alright, where to next?" I asked, smiling up at him as we walked through the dry grass. And all this place was was dry grass. The fair was set up in a huge field and all around us was nothing but rides and carnival games of all kinds. People surrounded the place but surprisingly enough, nobody recognized me yet. Maybe because Luke suggested to keep my hair down again. Most people only saw me with my hair up and I did look quite different. Not to mention I was wearing more make up than I usually do.
"Well, that depends..." he said with a teasing smirk down to me. "Do you think you are ready?"
"Ready for what?"
He pointed to a ride that we were going to pass ahead of us. My eyebrows raised. It was another roller coaster but much larger than the last. The tracks led to a higher point in the sky before creating a couple twisting loops as it descended down at a fairly steep angle. Besides that though, we were looking at a new level of thrill from the last rides. This was a roller coaster that not only went upside down but it went incredibly fast too. Seeing and hearing the rush the tracks and coaster made together as well as the people's screams, I wasn't sure how I felt about this one. And yeah, yeah, I know I am brave and all. But maybe I just don't want to go on this one.
"Uh... I don't know," I said after we stopped walking. He looked down to me and when I declined the offer to go on that death machine thing, his lips parted and he groaned, his smile still present though.
"Oh come on! It wont be that bad. I'll be right next to you, you know."
I scoffed. "That's not my issue. I'm not scared. I just... don't want to go on this one."
He shook his head, taking a step closer to me and peering down into my hopefully stubborn eyes. We were standing in the middle of where everyone was walking, from one ride to the next, and in that moment, everyone else seemed to fade. All I could focus on was him. My breath hitched slightly at how close he stood, teasing me with taunting eyes. His face an inch from mine, I could tell he was trying to goad me into it, his eyes begging.
"Come on, Albs, don't be a Clare," he whined in a high voice, acting like a begging kid.
I processed his words and starting to chuckled. "Oh god," I said smiling and shaking my head, making his smooth, pink lips tilting up at my response. God he was standing so close... just to fuck with me. "First of all, I don't want to ever hear you call me that again," I said, still cracking up. "And two, how would I be a 'Clare'? I understand she is more of a thing than person but other than that, I don't know where you're coming from." Besides that ignored insult to Clare, since he was still so close, I smirked in his face. Pushing away the fact that I knew he wasn't intentionally trying to tease me in that way, I enjoyed returning the flirtatious behavior.
"Well, Clare didn't like going on the big rides like this when we went to this fair last year. I was hoping you would though."
I smiled stubbornly. "I'm sorry but--"
"If you don't get your ass on that ride," he said with smiling eyes, chuckling slightly. "Then I have the right to call you 'Albs' from here on out."
"Oh, you think so?"
He smirked, nodding. "Oh yeah."
I crossed my arms, leaning forward in a challenging yet playful stance. "And what gives you that right?" Fuck, his lips were so damn close to mine. Was I the only one that noticed?
"Well, you tell me who would stop me from calling you that? You?"
I rolled my eyes and bit my lip at just how we were speaking to each other. I mean, we teased each other and shit like that before. But... it was never like this before. This was ... well, flirtatious honestly. Maybe it was just me being stupid and wanting to look for signs but either way, I couldn't help the blush that I knew rose to my cheeks.
Pushing aside the realization that his scent made me want to drown in all of him, I debated in my head whether going on this ride would be worth never hearing that dumb nickname again. Well, I can tell you one thing: 'Albs' is not a name I plan to be called. I already hated the longer version of it enough.
At that moment, I noticed that the lowering sun hit his eyes so beautifully at that moment, it lit the tints of jade so brightly, enhancing the small brown specs and the emerald surrounding. His long dark eyelashes, framed perfectly with his expressing eyebrows, I had no choice but to look away.
"Fine," I murmured in a whisper, looking down to avoid his eyes.
He leaned closer when I looked back to him. "Good choice," he whispered again, this time in my ear as he started to walk again towards the enormous looking ride. Glancing to where he continued to walk, I took a deep breath, getting myself together before I followed after. I smiled to myself. Though I knew he didn't mean it, the illusion of flirting was awesome.
What wasn't awesome however was how long the line was. Talk about suspense. My heart started to go faster, seeing the ride in action before us. And let me tell you: damn.
"Are you scared, Almighty Albs?" he asked me from where I stood next to him, as if in complete shock that I would be scared.
I elbowed him in return. "Shut up, and I am not scared."
"Whatever you say," he said. More seriously though, he stated, "Just try to relax a bit."
I took a deep breath, hoping he couldn't hear it. Though I was anxious over this ride, I wasn't pressured. Luke understands that I'm nervous, even if I wont admit it. I really enjoyed that about him. He could joke about something yet be sincere or serious too at the same time.
By the time the slow agonizing wait was over, I was shitting bricks, ladies and gents. I mean, what do you expect when you're waiting in line and as you are, staring at the fucking thing you are about to go on in front of you. Not only do these lines give you more time to be anxious and worried over it, the sight adds to it.
It was two people per small section or little car. Sitting down, Luke taking his seat next to me, he gave me a reassuring smile as we pulled down the harness that pressed into our shoulders and around our chest, two metal handle bars on each side to hold onto. It locked into place and we were all secure.
"Hey," Luke said, looking over to me from my right. Glancing over to him and away from where I forced my eyes to the ground, I saw that he raised his hand in my direction. Looking into his eyes, I saw them filled with excitement but also understanding. "Take my hand."
I scoffed, playing under control. And honestly, I knew I could handle this. It was just... really different and yeah, it was a little scary. Keep in mind people, the biggest ride I have ever been on was the last one we rode. And according to Luke, a coaster like that was for beginners. Comparing it to this thing, I 100% agree. This had to be the biggest ride at the fair.
"I don't need to hold your hand," I said, trying to convince myself.
However, as I heard the death machine roar to life, my hand acted on instinct. The handle bars wouldn't be enough. I looked over to him in that small second and grasped his hand. My eyes meeting his, he smiled and I rolled my eyes, making him laugh.
"That's what I thought," he said, squeezing my hand back in reassurance. And... I can't describe the feeling it gave me, to hold his hand in mine. His palm warm, fingers wrapped around my hand as well, I smiled away from him and felt my cheeks blush. His large hand in mine, I can admit that I not only wasn’t scared anymore. I also found that it made the ride that much more fun. Because since I was no longer scared, I could actually enjoy it.
And I did. I screamed in excitement every time we went up and into the twisting loop of tracks, the thrill of the moment so different from anything I ever felt before. But all the while, I was still very aware of the feeling of his warm hand in mine. The air hit our faces and added to the swiftness the coaster brought as did the screaming people around us. My smile was present the entire time I could feel as I screamed and laughed in the thrill of the moment. The minute or two it lasted was completely worth the long and annoying wait.
“Oh, holy shit!” I laughed as the ride slowly pulled back into the landing platform and we were able to take the harnesses off. Looking to Luke, he showed me a bright smile as well and laughed. My hand wanted to linger in his but a second later, that contact was gone and it felt as if I was missing something…. Strange, yes, but that was how it felt.
“Tell me you liked it,” he said as we jumped out of the seats. We started to near the exit where I came to walk side by side with him once more.
“Liked it? That was amazing!”
***
The evening had soon turned into night. Yet, the time we spent hear didn’t seem like a whole day. We were having so much fun, it felt as if we were here for only a few hours. Ride after ride after ride, we rode until dark. Now, the entire fair was lit up with lights. Beautifully strung along the tops of rides as well as the bottom, small and large different colored bulbs illuminated into the night. And as of now, I was engaged in a dramatic battle to victory.
"Ugh," I groaned after seeing I missed the green bottle. Hell, I messed every bottle. I mean seriously, I was given enough chances, you would think I could at least through one ring around a stupid coke bottle. Nope. I was quickly learning the art of scamming people. The rip you off by charging three bucks per game then you don't even have a chance to really win. I was finding that out with every toss.
I tried throwing my fifth ring towards a bottle that looked closest to me. Screw the green bottle in the middle. I just wanted to get my ring around one and I didn't care which. When I tossed the ring towards the bottle, it didn't go around it but rather bounced off and onto the ground. That didn't happen. I tried until I was out of rings and swore under my breath.
I glanced up to Luke who looked amused at how pissed off I was. "What?" I hissed.
"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. "You're just getting worked up over a stupid carnival game."
"Well yeah," I said, smiling. "It's a stupid rip-off. I didn't win, I couldn't have, it coasted too much money, not to mention the prizes are cheap shit," he chuckled as he and I started walking down and along the other booths. They all offered different kinds of games, each presented by an annoying host that liked to beg you to play. I wanted to flip everyone of them off.
"If anyone, I should be mad. It's my money I'm waisting," he said. I looked up at him and smiled. Through the shadows, the flashing lights danced over him and lit up his beautiful features as we walked along. "Not to mention, you're the one that didn't win."
"Who's the pansy ass that suggested doing a dumb game?" I pursed my lips as I teased him.
"Pansy ass?" He asked, laughing as he looked down at me, his teeth showing in a nice smile.
"Come on, I'll show you how wrong you are," he said as he grasped my hand and led me pass a mass of people that were waiting in line. Smiling, my feet were forced to followed as he pulled me along, the tingling feeling of his hand in mine returning.
"Where are we going?" I shouted to him as he toed me along the line of booths of games.
"Here," he said, stopping when we were in front of another game booth. He let go of my hand and looked down at me, smirking. "I'll show you how amazing I am." Looking up, I saw this booth was for a game that involved shooting a few targets. Shooting. Luke's specialty (shooting guns, that is. Though I'm sure he wouldn't be half bad shooting his load of something else). Yeah, I know I'm pretty dirty randomly.
I chuckled and stared back up at him. I pointed into his face in accusation. Holding back my grin, I said, "Not fair, you are an expert at this. You need to be as bad as I am to do it."
He chuckled but before he could answer, a man interrupted us. Hell, I hadn't even noticed him standing behind the booth. I should have; each had one someone working it. "Hello folks," the man said to us, his hands crossed against his chest. "Care to play? Get three chances for three targets."
I looked back to Luke and saw him nod. He gave the man the money required and in return he was given a gun that, I was sure, wasn't anything close to what Luke took to work every day. Standing beside him, I watched as he loaded the gun with what looked like a small cork. When he was ready, he looked down at me.
"Watch the expert at work," he said, leaning into my face and gave me a teasing smile. Blushing, I bit my lip and shook my head. He put his focus back onto his objective.
Raising the gun, he squinted slightly but it only lasted a second. He barely took any time to aim. He just shot the gun and hit the target. Not only that, he hit the center circle. Bullseye. He lowered the gun a second later, put the next cork in, cocked it, then raised it again. He aimed it at the target that was further back from the last one. It was also a target that was moving slowly back and forth, moving unlike the first. Yet, he shot and he hit the bullseyes right on spot. He reloaded again and aimed again. The third target was moving back and forth like the second but at a much faster rate. It was also the furthest back and I figured that there would be no way for Luke to hit that bulls-eye. Hell, if he hit the target, that would be good. He took a little longer to line up this one before he shot. But when he did, he not only hit the target. He hit it with accuracy, hitting the bullseye again.
When he lowered the gun, I could only keep staring at him. I was staring at him throughout the whole thing - which lasted no more than a few seconds. All the while, I was truly amazed. Not only at his skill and how great of a shot he was. He just... looked incredibly different. More mature, more dangerous, more... attractive.
I felt a blush covering my face and when he set the gun down. His eyes found mine from where I was standing next to him. There was a fire of excitement in his eyes as well as a tease that said, 'I told you so.' He smirked at me, raising an eyebrow at me playfully, as if waiting for me to say something. When I could only stare at him, unaware at the moment of how I was openly staring at him in awe, he spoke first.
"That's what I thought, pansy ass," he said when he leaned closer to me to whisper. Damn, he was sure being flurtatious, or so it seemed. My breath caught and I felt my body tremble in shivers.
I was able to somehow respond to that one. I rolled my eyes and smirked up at him. "Doesn't count. You were trained in that sort of shit."
"What will it be sir...?" The man said, getting our attention back. He looked just as stunned, as if he couldn't say much else. His words, we realized, had to do with picking a prize. Looking around on the inside walls of the small booth, prizes ranged from huge stuffed animals to pieces of candy.
Glancing up to Luke, he smiled down to me. "What do you want?" He asked me, his eyes in mine with admiration. He looked back up at the walls with me.
My eyebrows lowered in confusion. "You want me to pick your prize for you?"
He laughed. "No. I want you to pick a prize for yourself."
That was... sweet. Very sweet but maybe that was just because nobody ever did anything like that for me. "Um..." I looked around and all there really was was stuffed animals. Which was absolutely fine. Just strange since I never had one before. "I want that bad ass dinosaur, right there," I said, pointing at where my eyes fell. It was cute, dark blue, and not that big but average sized. What more could you ask for in a dinosaur?
"The dinosaur it is," Luke said to the man.
The man smiled and grabbed it, handing it to Luke. As Luke turned back to me and we started walking away, he handed it to me and I smiled up at him as I took it. "Thank you. This is my first stuffed animal."
"Ever?" He asked, his eyes glazed over with a slight sadness at hearing that.
"Yeah. Remember, didn't exactly grow up with the essentials for kids."
His eyebrows slightly dipped in frustration but it faded as we walked on. I followed next to him, willing to go wherever he was heading. And that ended up just being at one of the picnic tables set up near a few concession stands. There was a string of lanterns strung above us, connected from one stand to another and creating a better light to see in from where we were sitting under the dark sky.
"What is that?" I asked as he sat down across from me. He had gone to one of the concession stands while he told me to grab a table. Now he returned and with something I never saw before. And trust me, it honestly didn't matter. I was starving and just wanted something to eat. The smell of greasy and delicious food here was making my stomach demand answers.
"This is a funnel cake."
"Will this cause an orgasm in my mouth? Is it that epic?"
He chuckled. "You bet it is."
It was. I mean, it's just a shame that I've gone my whole life without ever having one of these. As I we shared and both picked at the big plate of funnel cake, we joked around a bit and just talked nonsense. And through the laughter, I really wanted to ask what happened to cause this behavior from him. This dramatic change from what I have experienced the past few days to this tension-free day. I loved it but what caused it?
"Well... that took five minutes," he said, sitting back slightly from the empty plate in front of us. He was right. Between both of us picking at the deliciousness, it was gone in five minutes.
Smiling, I watched as he stood up and took the empty plate, throwing it away. Coming back to the picnic table where I was still sitting, he stood next to me and smirked down at me. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah," I said, looking up at him. "But you need to carry me to the truck. I'm so full, I can't move." I raised my arms to him to pick me up and he laughed.
"I don't think I could ever get bored hanging out with someone as funny as you," he said, crossing his arms stubbornly, smirking down at where I sat. The ass wasn't going to pick me up. "Come on, lets go."
I smiled at what he said. "Officer, you need to help me up. Are you just going to leave a victim of funnel cake here, unable to move?"
His eyes filled with humor over what I said and he rolled his eyes. I waved my arms dramatically until he scoffed and took a few steps near me, grabbing both of my arms. "You are such a lazy ass," he said, laughing as he pulled me up with my purposefully useless feet, dragging me back until my feet flopped away from the table seat. Both of us chuckling, when my feet hit the grass, he stopped and looked down to where he was still holding my strained arms. Smirking, he stopped dragging me, and let my arms go and let me fall all the way to the ground, laughing at me as I did as well.
"Hey, at least I'm not a pansy ass anymore right? Plus, laziness is in my nature."
He scoffed and bent down slightly to where I was resting in the grass, looking up at him. He offered my his hand and I took it. He pulled me to my feet and I was once again standing before him. From there, I grabbed my dinosaur he won me and we started walking back towards the entrance and to his truck.
***
"I'll be lucky if don't have permanent hearing damage," I said, getting out of his truck and slamming the door. Looking to him from where he walked around his truck towards the door, I walked up the porch steps with him.
He chuckled. "So fucking dramatic," he shook his head. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with country," he said, smirking down at me.
"Yes there is. And to make it worse, we were listening to it for the whole ride home," I said as I opened the front door and walked into the house. I knew Luke would have said something back, but he didn't. Not when we walked through the door and Clare came into our sight.
She was sitting on the couch, her eyes on us the moment we walked in. I could literally feel Luke tense up when he saw her. Except, she didn't look mad. She looked excited and happy and anxious at the same time. She was clearly waiting for us to get home to tell us something.
She stood up and smiled to us. "Hey, how was the fair?"
"Um, it was great," Luke said. I looked up and saw a guarded look in his eyes as he stared back at his wife. "How was your night out with your friends?"
"I'm surprised yo'ure not drunk," I commented before she answered, ignoring what I said.
"It was very good," she said, clearing her voice. "Actually, Julie was talking about how happy she was to go out again. After all, she just had her baby. But she said she has never been happier."
Luke smiled at her tightly and forced his legs to move to where she was. He kissed her lightly on the cheek and I saw it was done with hesitation at first. A moment later, they both sat down on the couch. Rolling my eyes, I started for the stairs before she called out to me.
"Albany? Can you stay down here for a moment. I actually want you to hear what I have to say." Looking at her, I saw a twinkle in her eye. One that I hated. One that said I didn't need to hear this but she knew it would get to me. I stared daggers at her as I came to sit in the chair, scowling at the bitch. Such a fun night... then the sight of her was slowly souring it.
"What is it?" He asked her.
She took his hand in hers and looked him deeply in his eyes. She smiled squeezed his hand and her next words were the last thing I wanted to hear. My heart sunk in my chest, my cheeks ran red, and my happiness over what tonight had brought completely vanished.
"Luke sweetie... I think I'm ready to try for a baby."
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This was a hard chapter to do and it took me forever. I'm not sure on how I did so comments would be appreciated. Anyways, what do you think of Luke's behavior around her? And what will his reaction be to Clare wanting a baby? Hope you enjoyed!