"You know, for someone who hates horror movies, you have a rather impressive collection," Luke shouts from my living room.
I quickly shovel the remainder of the popcorn into the large bowl and bin the packet on my way out. Leaving my kitchen and entering my living room, I find Luke lying flat on his stomach ransacking my DVD collection.
"Most of those are Dan's; he liked horror movies," I say, hauling a handful of popcorn into my mouth like the graceful lady I am.
Luke snaps his head to the side and eyes me suspiciously, his shimmering blue eyes meeting my boring green ones in the process. He offers me an apologetic look while going to stand up.
"Sorry for bringing up 'he who shall not be named,'" he says, placing a hand in the popcorn bowl and taking some for himself.
I laugh at the nickname, then almost choke on the mouthful of popcorn I'm halfway through chewing.
"It's fine. It's been almost a year now, you know," I say, sitting myself down on my couch and facing the TV.
"Has it been that long?" Luke asks, shock lacing his voice.
I nod my head in response, offering him a weak smile.
Dan is my ex-boyfriend. We met at university and were together for a total of two and a half years until life oh-so-kindly decided to get in the way. He got offered a job in Scotland not long after we graduated, and it was simply an opportunity he couldn't refuse.
Cue the heartbreak.
He'd asked me to go with him initially, but I declined as I didn't want to leave London.
Or Luke.
When the time finally came, we ended things on good terms, and even though we no longer stay in touch, I still have him on Facebook and every so often I check up on him to see how he's doing.
Luke and Sasha had both been my rock during that Godawful time and the pair completely respect my decision to never talk about him.
Hence, the very fitting nickname Luke deems appropriate.
I'm brought out of my thoughts when Luke takes a seat next to me, causing the couch to dip slightly. He reaches out and grabs my hand firmly in his, the suddenness of his touch sending a warm spark pulsing up my arm. I find myself taking comfort in our small contact and secretly enjoy the moment for what it is.
"Love you, cupcake," he whispers, causing a huge grin to spread across my face.
Hearing that nickname brings a memory flooding back to mind and I can't help but smile as I remember.
~~~
"Maya, please let me in before I break your fucking door down!" Luke's voice sounds frustrated from the other side of my door.
I bury my face further into my pillow in the hopes of drowning his voice out.
Much to my annoyance, this doesn't work. I can still hear him hammering on my door like a maniac. Peeling my extremely tender, not to mention tear-stained face off my pillow, I finally speak.
"Just go away, Luke. I want to be left alone," I say, sounding completely exhausted.
The hammering suddenly stops, and I hear him puff out a tired breath.
Thank God, he actually listened.
I slump back onto my bed, covering my eyes with my arm, allowing another wave of tears to spill over.
I feel awful.
A sudden noise from outside my window startles me and I quickly sit up. Luke's goofy face comes into view, which instantly causes a strangled laugh to sound from the back of my throat.
I swiftly move to open my window, saving my idiot best friend from falling to his death.
As soon as it's open, he steps in looking rather pleased with himself.
"You're an idiot, you know that?" I say, hitting his chest lightly.
He doesn't say anything; just smiles instead.
"I got you a present though," he protests, as if doing so will change my mind about him being an idiot.
But that's not going to happen; the stupid boy just climbed my drainpipe to get inside my bedroom. What if he had fallen and hurt himself? I'd feel responsible for not letting him in through the door.
"I don't want it," I say, miserably making my way back to bed and pulling the covers over my head.
Luke huffs out a dramatic sigh and removes the covers from my face. He caresses my cheeks with his rough hands and locks his burning gaze onto me.
I feel oddly vulnerable under his judging eyes and his firm, yet gentle hold on my face has me feeling safe in seconds.
"Jake Richardson is a fucking tosser and doesn't deserve your precious tears," he whispers softly.
I say nothing. Instead, I keep staring at Luke.
He reaches for his backpack and rummages around in it. Finally finding what it is he is looking for, he brings out a plastic container and offers me it. Curious as to what it is, I sit up and hold my hands out, retrieving the package. I sneak a look at Luke who is grinning from ear to ear, clearly excited to see my reaction. Without wasting any more time, I open the lid, revealing a purple cupcake from my favourite bakery just down the road from my house.
On the top, in pink icing, are the words:
'Boys are stupid.'
A heartwarming sensation spreads through me just as a huge smile etches its way across my face. I wrap my arms around Luke's neck, wanting him closer to me.
"Not all boys are stupid," I tell him, bringing my head around so that I can see into his eyes.
They're glimmering under the light in my room and remind me of shining diamonds.
"You're not stupid, you're amazing," I say, kissing his cheek.
He smiles, positioning himself further onto my bed, making me move over so there's enough space for the both of us on my single bed. His natural warmth instantly wraps around me, once again creating that safe feeling. I find myself involuntary leaning into it, almost touching him in the process.
"He was talking about you at school today. Bragging about it, so I broke his nose," he says, looking at me with such intensity I'm left momentary speechless.
Two days ago, at my sixteenth birthday party, I'd lost my virginity to Jake and afterwards, instead of falling madly in love with each other like I'd so badly wished for, he'd dumped me and told everyone about us.
I'm both hurt and humiliated.
"Luke! You broke his nose?" I ask, not even bothering to hide my shock.
He smiles proudly and nods his head.
I stare at him for a brief moment before finally loosing all control and cracking up in hysterical laughter. Luke joins me and as we're both clutching our stomachs in a desperate attempt to suck more oxygen into our lungs, I catch him staring at me. A wave of unknown emotion passes through me as I stare into his bright, energetic eyes, but I soon shrug it off.
He notices me looking and I respond the only way I know how.
"Love you, Lukey," I say, smiling widely at him, already feeling slightly better about everything.
"Love you too, cupcake," he says, tapping the tip of my nose with his finger.
At the mention of cupcake, my eyes grow even wider and I grab the delicious cake from my lap and take a huge bite. I moan out of pure pleasure at its greatness, which earns another laugh from Luke. I offer some to him and he wastes no time in taking a huge chunk out of it. I lean back against my bed frame and Luke does the same.
"Can we watch Me—"
"I'm already one step ahead of you," he interrupts, climbing off my bed and popping the DVD in.
He knows me so well.
He returns to his side of my bed and wraps his arm around my shoulders, taking another chunk out of the cupcake.
I rest my head on his chest and glue my eyes to the TV.
"Thank you, Luke."
~~~
A gentle squeeze to my hand snaps me from my thoughts and I look up to find glowing, blue eyes locked onto mine.
"Luke, do mind if we—"
"I'm already one step ahead of you," Luke interrupts me, getting off the couch and walking to my DVD collection.
Popping the disk in, he sits down next to me and pulls me into his solid chest. Wrapping me up in a warm hug, he lets out a heavy sigh.
"Shut up, you secretly love it," I protest, nuzzling my cheek against the fabric of his t-shirt.
He laughs, causing my head to bob up and down in the process.
"Nope, I hate it, but luckily, I love you," he says, kissing the top of my head lightly.
I move my head's current position to give myself a better angle to view his face. I smile wickedly, seeing right through his lie.
No one hates 'Mean Girls,' not even Luke.
~~~~
I'm not sure at what point in the film I fall asleep, but I wake up to the sudden feeling of floating. I flicker my eyes open, only to stare up into giant, blue pools looking down at me.
Luke is carrying me to bed, something that often occurs after film night.
"Go back to sleep, I got you," he whispers, opening my bedroom door using his foot.
I do as I'm told and allow my heavy eyes to close once again. I inhale a deep breath, loving the smell of vanilla and lavender that fills my mind while enjoying the relaxing feeling that comes with it. From underneath me, Luke tenses, and I feel myself being lowered. Laying me gently down on my double bed, he strokes away pieces of my hair that have clung to the side of my face and kisses my cheek. He grabs my duvet and places the warm, fluffy material over my body, making sure I am fully covered.
"Later, gater," he whispers before turning to leave my room.
I'm too tired to respond, I just moan a quick, "Goodbye."
Luke laughs at my sleeping state and quietly closes my door behind him. After that, it doesn't take long for the darkness to take over and for it to pull me into a deep sleep.
~~~~
I wake up to the sound of my blaring alarm and to the blinding sight of golden sun rays sneaking through the gap in my curtains. Letting out a frustrated groan, I begrudgingly get out of bed and enter my bathroom. I take a quick shower, making sure not to wet my hair in the process.
Dry shampoo will see to that problem.
Stepping out, I dry myself off and wander into my kitchen. I catch sight of Luke sprawled out on my couch and instantly roll my eyes, silently laughing at him. Grabbing a cushion, I aim and fire. The feather-like bundle whacks him straight in the face and as he moans like a little bitch, I mentally congratulate myself for taking such a great shot.
"Was there any need?" he asks, clearly unimpressed at my methods of waking him up.
I simply shrug my shoulders and shoot him an innocent smile.
"You owe me breakfast after a move like that," he argues while standing up and stretching out each limb.
He walks into the kitchen behind me and rests both elbows on the countertop. He flashes me his best 'I'm adorable, please make me pancakes' look, which I instinctively choose to ignore and instead, offer him a cereal bar.
"I don't have time to cook you breakfast, I have to be at work in forty minutes and so do you, remember?" I say, flicking the switch on my kettle and prepping my morning tea.
How anyone can manage their daily routines without a morning cup of tea is beyond me.
"But May-May..." Luke says, resembling a two-year-old.
I shoot him a serious look which soon shuts him up.
"Luke, you need to go home and change, you can't turn up for work looking like that," I say, waiting patiently for the water to boil.
Luke's currently training to be a lawyer and works for a really high-end firm. The type of firm where staff are expected to wear suites and Rolex watches. Sasha and I are both PA's to different businessmen and although we're expected to dress professionally, it's not half as fancy as Luke's work. Dropping his head lower and sighing dramatically, Luke finally pushes himself off the bench and saunters over to me.
"Fine! I'll see you tonight," he says, grabbing my waist and pulling me into a giant hug.
His tight hold on me leaves my body gasping for air.
"Can't wait. Let's get drunk!" I reply, shooting my hands in the air like a crazy person.
Luke shakes his head disapprovingly at me as he leaves go of my waist. He turns around and exits my kitchen, grabbing his belongings from my living room in the process.
"Tell your perv of a boss to keep his hands to himself," he shouts, poking his head back through my kitchen door.
I respond by laughing before turning my attention to the kettle, which has now finished boiling. I hear my front door shut and proceed to prepare my tea in my travel mug.
Ah, thank God it's Friday!
~~~~
"Do you have those notes from the meeting this afternoon, Maya?" Mr. Thompson, my boss, asks while peering into my cubicle.
His flirtatious grin has me on edge and I physically have to stop myself from cringing at his unprofessional behaviour. Nodding my head politely and shooting him a small smile, I dig through my huge stack of papers in the hopes of locating the meeting minutes. Finally finding the folder, I hand it over to him and he gladly retrieves it, allowing his hand to lightly graze mine in the process. His grin widens and he leans further over my desk, blowing his cool, minty breath across my face in the process.
"Maya Crofton, where would I be without you, huh?" he says in a hushed tone so only I can hear.
I've been Mr. Thompson's personal assistant for three months now and his flirting is something that happens on a daily basis. At first, I hadn't minded; in fact, I quite liked it. His perfectly styled golden hair along with his shimmering, emerald green eyes are enough to make any girl weak in the knees.
Yes, including me.
After a month or so, I found myself responding to his flirting with my own methods of seduction, but that all came to a halt when I met his wife.
Yep, imagine my horror when I discovered the little prick had been married the entire time.
"Earth to Maya?" His voice cuts through my thoughts, bringing me back to reality.
I snap my attention to his eyes, and I notice a glimmer of mischief swirling around in them.
"Sorry, zoned out for a second. What were you saying?" I ask, blushing furiously as I do so.
He shoots me a smug smirk and presses himself even closer to my desk.
"I was asking if you had any plans this weekend," he states nonchalantly.
Forcing my mind to stay alert, I answer him.
"Oh, nothing much. I'm going out tonight with some friends and depending on how that goes, I could be in bed the rest of the weekend," I state, not realising my mistake.
Mr. Thompson raises both eyebrows and flashes me a seductive smile.
"Sounds fun," he says, winking at me.
I stare at him wide-eyed, realising how my previous statement may have been misconstrued as something else.
"In bed with a hangover, I mean," I squeak out in a desperate attempt to redeem myself.
Mr. Thompson throws his head back in furious laughter, giving me a great view of his flawlessly shaved jawline. I'll admit, even though he's married and therefore completely off limits, I do still appreciate the six-foot hunk of deliciousness standing in front of me.
Think of it as window shopping, I can look but I can't touch.
"I think I prefer the first one, to be honest," he says, turning on his heel and walking back to his office.
He reaches the door handle but before entering, he turns his attention back to me.
"Enjoy your weekend, Miss Crofton. Whatever you may get up to," he says, clearly enjoying my flustered state.
With one last dazzling smile, he enters his office, leaving me thankful for some alone time.
God, this man has no morals!
A quick glance at my watch tells me I only have twenty minutes left until my shift ends, which also happens to mark the beginning of the weekend.
I've said it once, I'll say it again; thank God it's Friday.
My phone chimes, bringing me out of my momentary daze, and I scramble around in my bag trying to find it. My hands land on the device and I bring it out, the screen revealing I have one unread message.
It's from Sasha.
'My sister's boyfriend has gone and cheated on her, so I'm going to have to pass tonight! Have fun without me and be good ;) xx'
I stare at the screen, my heart instantly going out to poor Selena. I've only met her a few times, but no one deserves to be cheated on, ever.
Puffing out a tired breath, I reply.
'Better go to the dog shelter tomorrow, Sash. Someone's dick needs to be removed! ;) Seriously though, tell Selena I'm sorry. Love you xx'
I glance, once again, at the time; fifteen minutes left.
I tap my foot on the floor impatiently and stare down the clock on the opposite side of the room. In my hands, my phone chimes again, signalling I have another message.
It's from Luke.
'Looks like it's just me and you tonight, little one. I'll pick you up at 8:00! x'
I reply with a quick 'okay' and decide to busy myself for the next ten minutes by tidying my desk. When 5:00pm finally does come around, I'm out of there like a shot.
...And the weekend officially begins. I wonder what exciting events await me.
Again, note the sarcasm.