“We what?” Luke asks, his voice ringing in my ears. I flinch.
“We need to pick up Ashley,” I say calmly. “She said if we don’t she’s calling StarLife, and I hate to break it to you, but she has them on speed dial.”
A guttural sound escapes Luke, and I jump.
“Can we not?” Luke whines. His fingers drum against the steering wheel.
“You don’t, and we break up,” I say holding my fingers up, folding them into quotation marks.
“Ugh, fine,” Luke gives in, pushing down on the accelerator. I press a button on his radio, hoping that’s how I get it to start. I almost jump when the loud sound of cellos and basses floods the car. Classical music. No way. The light sound of a violin cuts through the other instruments, then a flute joins in as well.
“Luke Green, a classical music fan?” My voice gives away my amusement.
“Yeah, well, I used to play cello. My manager told me it wasn’t cool enough, so I had to quite,” Luke’s voice sounds hollow. His eyes stay on the road, but mine don’t. I can’t help but turn to look at him again. His cheeks are a slight shade of pink. I turn back towards the radio, smiling slightly.
I turn up the volume and lean back.
“Lucky for you, I like this song.”
I step up Ashley’s front pathway, and lightly tap on her front door. It takes a while, but then I hear the door’s latch being moved until it clicks into the unlocked position. I groan though, when the door opens. Logan.
“If you’re here to complain—” He starts, running his fingers through his gelled hair.
”Save it,” I huff, pushing past him. I literally push past him, walking straight into their house. I hear a car horn honk from behind me, but I don’t turn around to see what Luke wants. If anything, the honk is a motivator to go farther into the house, find Ashley, and get out.
“Ashley?” I call out, my voice ringing through the empty den. I hear footsteps on the stairs and sigh with relief. One more minute in the same room with her big headed brother could suffocate me.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Ashley huffs, smearing a deep shade of red lipstick on her lips as she passes a full length mirror in the entry way. She’s wearing a sequin top, and worn black skinny jeans that I’m pretty sure actually belong in my closet. Her hair is tangled, but I think she actually wants it to look that way, so I don’t even say anything, although many comments dance across my mind.
“So, is that handsome boyfriend of yours driving us?” She asks, her frown turning into an anticipated smile.
“Ash,” I warn. “I’ve told you. He isn’t my boyfriend.”
Ashley just waves her hand, reaching for her purse, pulling it off of a hook by the front door. She turns back to me.
“Can we stop for lunch?” Ashley asks, her stomach growling loudly as if to help prove her point. “I haven’t eaten since last night, and I’m famished”
I sigh, and nod. What harm could lunch do?
“I saw you on the TV this morning,” Ashley continues. Her mouth is never closed, I swear.
“Yeah, well, I really hope they cut out half of what happened,” I say, remembering my little speech. That speech wasn’t meant for the whole world to hear. I probably shouldn’t have even said anything.
”Mel, that was done live. Nobody could have missed your speech, or the way Luke protected you,” Ashley waggles her eyebrows and I shove her.
“Can we go?” I ask, pointing at the door. When Ashley nods, I nearly run out of her front door, thankful to not be sharing the same air with Logan. I hear a slam behind me, and I know the feeling I have for Logan is mutual. He’s a brat.
I rush to Luke’s car, thankful when Luke opens the door for me, then moves to open the rear passenger door for Ashley.
She sends him a flirtatious wink and it’s all I can do to keep from laughing. She doesn’t give up, that’s for sure.
Luke sighs when he sits back in the driver’s seat, and I finally can’t hold back my giggles. He sends me a silencing glare, but then his lips form a crooked smile. I chat help but smile back. If there’s anything I’ve learned about Luke Green, it’s that his smile is never just thrown around like I always thought. His real smile that is. Not the one he flashes for the cameras, but the one he uses when he’s actually… happy.
”Okay you two lovebirds, can we get going?” Ashley asks, sticking her hand in between us. Luke grumbles, and I can’t help but laugh again.
“Where to?” Luke asks, using a demeaning tone that makes me want the smack his arm.
“Eh, how about the mall? They have a nice food court.”
Luke looks at me, rolling his eyes. Ashley would kill me if I ever said this out loud, but I can tell she annoys Luke. A lot.
“So, we picked you up so that you can go to the mall?” Luke asks, flipping the radio on, quickly dialing it back to a station playing pop music.
“Yeah,” Ashley says. “I figured you guys would have time.”
I sigh. Sometimes…
“We do have time, but I figured we were dropping you off at work,” I say. My voice sounds slightly agitated.
“I got the day off,” Ashley says, her feet kicking my seat.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she just wants to spend the day with Luke and I. Maybe even just Luke. Her celebrity crush is in town… I’m pretty sure she just wants to spend time with him.
“How about Melissa and I drop you off,” Luke begins. “But then we split and go somewhere nicer for lunch.”
“Fine.” Ashley huffs. “But you won’t find anywhere better than the food court.”
Luke grins. His eyes light up, and his grip on the steering wheel loosens.
“That’s a challenge I’m willing to accept.”
A/N ~ Thank you for reading and voting! I would really appreciate some more feedback :D I hope you enjoyed this chapter!