❝ all I know is you held the door
you'll be mine and I'll be yours ❞
I walked hand in hand with Luke as he lead me into Jack's house. I guess Jack had finally realized that it was too cold to have bonfires outside, so he had opted to have everyone hang out in his living room.
It was a few days after Christmas and we had all decided to get together once before the new year. Not many people knew about our relationship (I had only told Alyssa, but I didn't know if Luke told anyone) but I'm sure they would after this.
Luke didn't even knock, just pushing open the door and tugging me in behind him. He left me to greet Jack, Nathaniel, and some of his other friends, while I went to hug Alyssa.
"How has your break been?" Addie asked me as I sat down with them. "How was your first Christmas back?"
"Good, good," I said, finally able to warm up a bit now that we were inside. "My mom and I spent Christmas with Luke's family and that was great."
"Oh," she said with a smile. "And what's up with that?" I bit my lip to hold back my smile. She just laughed.
After a few more people arrived, we all settled down a bit and the conversation flowed easily. I was sitting next to Alyssa as Addie told us both a story about her younger sister knocking over the Christmas tree when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and I was suddenly lifted into the air.
"Luke!" I squealed, knowing who it was without even seeing his face. "Put me down!" Although I admit that I had quite a nice view from over his shoulder, I didn't enjoy being suspended over the ground.
Instead of doing as I asked, he carried me over to the beanbags on the other side of the room and plopped down with me in his lap.
I slapped his arm. "You can't just walk over and pick someone up whenever you want. I was listening to–"
Luke cut me off, pressing his lips against mine, my arms going around his neck almost automatically. I heard whoops sound from around the room, and I smiled into the kiss before pulling away.
"About time!" Jack said with a smile. Even though it had been a couple weeks since Luke and I first kissed, I still couldn't hold back the blush. "I just want to let you know that I would have made a shitload of money betting on whether you two would get together or not, except nobody would bet against me."
Nathaniel scoffed. "That's because it was so obvious they liked each other. Betting against them is just asking to lose money."
Jack smirked, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Oh yeah? And what about you? Even though they both liked each other, it still took balls to make a move. Balls that you obvious don't have."
I furrowed my eyebrows, looking at Luke. He just smiled at me and nodded his head back to the two arguing boys. It was obvious that I was missing something, and by the confused looks on almost everybody's faces, I wasn't alone.
"What are you saying then?" Nathaniel asked, clearly peeved.
Jack threw his hands up in the air. "I'm telling you to grow some balls, Nate!"
Nathaniel stared at him for a few more seconds before grumbling something unintelligible and standing up. He looked around the room before heading over to the couch that I was previously sitting at. He stopped in front of Alyssa, pulling her up so she was standing before he put his hands on either side of her face. He stared at her for a moment before pulling her face to his and kissing her.
I gasped as she eagerly wrapped her arms around his shoulders and the two were practically making out in the middle of Jack's living room. Luke turned my head away from the scene until I was looking at him.
"Are we that gross when we kiss?" I asked him, and he just laughed.
"Nah, we're way cuter than them." I laughed, pecking his lips.
"I'm sure we are."
After the new couple finally broke apart, Alyssa looked at me with a huge grin and Nate received some slaps on the back from his friends. We all settled down yet again, and some people even brought out a board game to play. I snuggled up against Luke and listened to some people talk about what they've down over break.
One of Jack's friends was telling us a story about working at his family's ranch when Luke nudged my side.
"What?" I asked, and he grinned.
"Would you wanna ride a horse tomorrow?"
"Really?" I had always wanted to ride a horse, but I was too scared to go when we lived here before. "You'll take me?"
He shrugged. "Sure. We have a bunch of horses out back, I can take you to them tomorrow."
I smiled at him. "I would love that."
We jumped back into the conversation, and pretty soon Jack brought out the ingredients for s'mores, lighting up his fireplace so we could roast marshmallows.
I sat in front of Luke, my back against his chest, his legs spread out on the outside of my own. I was holding the roasting-stick-thing in my hands with Luke's overtop of mine.
"Luke, stop!" I laughed out as he wiggled the marshmallow through the flames. "If you don't stop, it's gonna catch on fire!"
"That's the point!"
I laughed as Luke held it over the flames, roasting it properly. Once it was finished, I let him pull it out, completely letting go of the stick. He pulled the marshmallow off, but I noticed that he didn't have the graham crackers or chocolate set up.
"Luke, what are you doing? How are you gonna make a–"
I was cut off when a marshmallow was smashed all over my lips. I tried to open my mouth to yell at him, but my lips are stuck together. Meanwhile, Luke seems to be laughing his ass off.
"It's okay, Cass, I'll help you out there." All I could do was widen my eyes before his lips were on mine.
I had never experienced anything as sensual yet awkward as Luke licking the marshmallow of my lips. At first, it felt strange to feel his tongue running around the outside of my mouth, but as soon as his teeth pulled at my bottom lip, I was a goner.
I turned around until I was practically straddling him, both my hands reaching up to his cheeks. He groaned as I kissed back harder, quickly deepening the kiss. I ran my hands through his hair, lightly tugging and eliciting yet another moan. I was practically sitting on his lap and could easily tell he was enjoying the kiss. Maybe a little too much.
"Oh my god guys, get a room!" Yelled Jack.
Luke and I were pelted with about three marshmallows before we pulled apart. I felt the heat instantly rush to my cheeks; I had completely forgotten we were at someone else's house, surrounded by out friends. I buried my face in Luke's neck, but he just laughed.
"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you," I whispered in his ear. I moved my hips just a fraction, but it was enough to make Luke freeze in his spot. Now I was the one who was laughing.
"Mate, if you're going to do that, at least take it to the guest room or something," Jack called. "That's disgusting."
I laughed and went to stand up from Luke's lap, but he pulled me back down.
"Nuh-uh, now way you are leaving me here with a boner in plain view." I sat down by Luke again, successfully shielding his 'problem' from anyone else's eyes. I spent the rest of the night in Luke's arms, surrounded by some of the best friends I could ever ask for.
Luke came by my house early to pick me up to go riding. I decided to be stereotypically country and wear a red buttoned up flannel and some bootcut jeans. I knew he would let me wear his sister's boots, so I just slipped my feet into my Ugg slippers and met him out front.
"Ready to have the best time of your life?" He asked, and I gave him a blank look. He just laughed and opened up my door for me before heading to the driver's seat. We talked during the short drive to his house, but before I knew it we had pulled into his driveway and he was opening the door to get out.
"So, like, how big is a horse?" I asked, and Luke just laughed.
"You've really never seen a horse?"
"No! When am I supposed to see a horse when I lived in places like Seattle and Chicago?"
He reached over and grabbed my hand in his. "Come on, you're going to love Sugar. She's as sweet as her name."
Luke lead me down the path, through his back yard and towards the farm part of their land. He lead me through a gate in the fence and towards the barn. He opened the doors and I was instantly hit by the stench of manure.
"Come back over here and I'll set up your horse."
I watched as Luke worked, putting the saddles and whatever onto two of the horses. I had absolutely no idea what he was doing, but I did know that Luke looked good while he was doing it. I loved watching his muscles flex as he lifted and pulled.
We hadn't even gotten on the horses yet and I was having a great time.
However, when Luke lead the horses out of the barn, I completely changed my mind.
"Come on, it'll be fun! You'll be fine."
"I am not getting on that... thing."
Luke was trying to get me to ride the horse named 'Sugar', but I was not having any of it. The thing was huge.
"Cassie," Luke wined, rolling his eyes at me. "It's fine. Soph does it all the time, and she's like, six."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Sophia is nine, Luke."
"It doesn't matter. It's just a horse, it's not gonna kill you."
"How do you know?" I practically screamed. "Do you know how many people die a year from horses?"
"No, I don't."
"Well... me neither, but it's probably a lot."
Luke let out a groan, throwing his head back in frustration. He had already mounted on his horse–Jackson, I think his name was–and he was waiting for me to get on mine.
Don't get me wrong, the horse was beautiful. I didn't know much about horses, but I knew it's charcoal grey coat was pretty and it looked graceful as hell. However, that didn't mean I wanted to ride it.
"I don't even know how to get on the horse!" I whined, rubbing my hand up and down the horse's neck. Her sweet sounding named didn't do much to reassure me.
From atop his horse, Luke lead me through the steps of getting up, putting my feet wherever they were supposed to go and where I should grab the saddle.
After about fifteen minutes of struggling, I was finally on top of the horse, the reigns in my hands but having absolutely no idea what to do with them.
Luke lead the way, and it turned out that I didn't have to do anything; Sugar just followed Jackson around.
We trotted through the fields, occasionally walking through grass but usually sticking to the dirt path. Once we got to the edge of the fields near the forest, Luke stopped his horse and turned around to look at me.
By the smirk on his face and the mischievous glint in his eye, I knew he was up to no good.
"I'll race you back to the barn."
My eyes widened. "Luke, no! I don't even know how to work this thing! I'm gonna die!"
"No you won't, you'll be fine."
I looked down at my wrist, studying the large black splint it had just been put in.
"It's just a scaphoid fracture, you'll be fine."
I lifted my eyes to Luke's glaring at him. "This is all your fault, you know."
"I'm not the one who fell off the horse."
"You're the one who forced me to get on the horse, then proceeded to try to race me when I had no idea what I was doing."
Luke smiled sheepishly at me and I rolled my eyes.
The door opened once again, the nurse–Ms. Jackson, funnily enough–walking through it.
"Okay, it looks like you're good to go. Keep that splint on for at least six weeks, then you'll have to go to your regular doctor for a checkup to see whether you'll need it on for any longer. You can take it off for showers, but try to leave it on at all times, especially when you're sleeping."
I thanked her as we headed out the door and through the halls of the hospital.
"I really am sorry, you know," Luke said quietly as we exited.
I looked over at him, and my heart almost broke when I saw his guilty expression. He genuinely felt bad.
"I know," I said, slipping my hand into his. "I don't blame you."
He smiled back at me as we walked together to his car. He stopped me before I could get in the passenger seat and turned me so I was facing him. He reached his hands around my waist and placed them at my lower back, pulling me closer. He ducked his head and placed his lips on mine.
Even after all these weeks, I still wasn't used to kissing him. Every time felt like the first, it felt like when we made out under the stars in the back of the truck. I could never grow tired of it. As his mouth moved against mine, I couldn't help it as my lips lifted in a smile.
We eventually broke apart and he helped me into the passenger seat before sliding into the other side.
As he drove we both sung along to the radio, and I couldn't help the ear-splitting grin that took over my face. If I could just pause time and live in this moment forever, I would.
Too bad I couldn't.
School starting again was probably the worst thing ever, not to mention how pissed my mother was when I came home with a fractured hand. Of course, she didn't blame Luke, but that didn't mean she was happy with me.
Having to wake up early was a real bitch. Sleeping in was one of my favorite hobbies, but the start of school took that away from me.
On the flip side, dating Luke made school infinitely more enjoyable. He walked me to and from classes whenever he could, carried my bag because he still felt bad about my broken wrist, sat next to me at lunch; it was great.
Alyssa and Nathaniel were one of the most unlikely couples ever, but somehow they worked. She was naturally outgoing, but he made her shy and coy. Meanwhile, she managed to turn a disrespectful bad boy into a whipped boyfriend. Love is a beautiful thing.
Except when they're constantly eating each other's faces at lunch; that's not so beautiful.
Near the end of January, Alyssa approached me at lunch with the biggest grin on her face. "Cass! Just who I was looking for!"
I eyed her warily but sat down next to her. Luke hadn't gotten there yet; he told me he had to stay back today to talk to a teacher. "What's up Alyssa?"
"Would you and Luke be interested in going on a double date with Nathaniel and I? Not something cheesy like a restaurant, probably something cool like paintballing or go-carting."
I smiled. "That sounds great! I mean, I'll have to ask Luke about it, but I'm pretty sure he'll say yes."
"Ask me about what?"
I turned around to see Luke walking up to the table. He smiled at me, bending down to give me a kiss before sitting on the other side of me.
"Double dating with Nate and me, but doing something cool. I'm really feeling paintballing," Alyssa explains.
Luke grins. "Sure, sounds great. I'd love to whoop Nate's ass in a game of paintball. As long as Cassie is okay with her hand?" He asks, turning to me.
I scoff. "If it involves coordination, I'm gonna suck whether I have a broken hand or not."
Luke grinned. "Then it's a date."