HANDLE WITH CARE
6. Karaoke Date.
A N N I E
After a not so good get together in the park, Annie decided that Luke should probably choose where their weekly outings would be.
So when he walked into the office with a wide smile on his face Annie could already feel the pit in her stomach. He smiled unusually wide for someone who was walking into their therapy session.
"What's got you so chirpy?" Annie chuckled, waving a quick goodbye to Jack before closing the door behind him.
She made her way to her normal seat, having one of the mints on her table as she felt the beginnings of starvation peck inside her.
"Because," he stated, head tilting with chipper-ness as he ran his fingers through his hair, "I have the perfect place for us to go on our next adventure."
Annie giggled at his attitude, she rarely, if ever, saw him happy, let alone like this.
"Adventure? Is that what that was?" She quizzed, the tip of her nail scratching along her teeth, a nervous habit she inhabited in high school.
She caught herself in the act, pulling her finger from her mouth and shaking the thoughts from her head. She would never do that anymore unless she was on a date and especially not when she was in a session. And his was not a date.
"That was a... trial? The real- none depressing- adventures can start this week." He shrugged, popping a mint into his mouth and smirking at her cockily.
She was noticing this confidence boost in him, she had no idea what it was but it was kind of comforting, and also very attractive.
That was most definitely not allowed, thinking of a client that way was beyond irresponsible and unprofessional, the last thing Annie wants to be.
But he did look good biting his lip right now, and playing with the rings on his fingers. She was wondering if he had a hair cut too, it looked a little fresher than normal.
"Hello? Annie?" Luke snapped his fingers in front of her face, something Annie appreciated and also found rather condescending.
He obviously noticed the distaste in her facial features and retreated his hand, gulping before smiling again.
"What were you thinking about?" He licks his lips, slouching back in the sofa cushions, making the bottom of his shirt crease up a little bit and exposing the pale skin. Annie diverted her eyes, looking back to Luke's face and shaking her head, her own smile cracking.
"Where were you thinking of going on this adventure?" She avoided his question because honestly, she had no idea how to answer it. He rolled his eyes, noticing her distraction but continued nonetheless, biting on the inside of his cheek.
"It's a surprise, when should we go?" His fingers tapped against his leg, which was bouncing up and down at an anxious rate.
"How about tomorrow? I finish early." She asked, pulling at the front of her bun to try and loosen it a little.
"Sounds perfect," as he spoke the word it triggered the memory of Nina clicking on that video of Luke singing. He sounded really good, and looked it too, but she didn't think of him like that because she wasn't actually sure how old he was there.
-
Annie was having a fashion crisis. She had no idea what to wear for Luke and her 'adventure'. The only thing she could think of doing was asking Nina for help, which was actually the best idea she had.
"Well you don't want to look like you're trying too hard but you still want to look hot, so." Nina rummaged through Annie's wardrobe, scavenging for something that fit into the right category.
She pulled out a white V-neck jumper with long sleeves and some blue jeans, passing them along with a belt to Annie to change into.
Once she had the appropriate clothes on, Nina passed her the heels and started working on her hair, which Annie appreciates greatly. Nina was the best at doing hair, having three little sisters really helped her in that department. She did a low ponytail with the top completely flat and swept back, Annie's edges styled perfectly too. She went into a little too much effort for her client, but she couldn't help it, if she did any less then she would of felt underdressed.
The knock at the door shivered Annie back to reality and she seized up, completely nervous and unsure how to react with this whole situation. Nina jogged down the stairs and Annie raced after her, cursing her out for nearly opening the door and greeting the boy.
Annie opened it instead, smiling widely at him before her eyes travelled down his body. He looked stunning, he defiantly tried as hard as Annie which made her feel a lot better. When her eyes came back to his face she noticed how his were still lingering on her body, lip between his teeth as he smirked at her.
"You look... good," he smiled, hands in pockets and fiddling with the house keys he had in them.
"Good? I didn't go through all this effort for good," Nina chimed, coming from behind Annie and crossing her arms. "I'm Nina by the way, if you don't remember."
"I remember," he chuckled, shaking her hand before looking back at Annie, "and you look stunning."
"Thank you," she blushed, turning to face Nina in attempts to hide her redness.
"Now then," Nina flapped, looking from Annie to Luke, "have her back before midnight, and no drinking." She demanded, the joking tone having a somewhat menacing undertone.
"Yes ma'am," Luke smiled, holding his hand out for Annie which she happily took, rolling her eyes at her best friend.
"And use protection!" Nina shouted down the street, waving out the window and winking at the pair.
"Nina!" Annie screeched, laughing with embarrassment and covering her face with both her hands, apologising to her client for her best friends in appropriate actions. She didn't take his hand back when he offered it out, giving him that look of it's not allowed.
The walk was around 30 minutes, and if Annie's feet weren't too big for these shoes then she wouldn't of minded. She tried to hide her discomfort and she surprisingly did it very well considering the absolute torture she was feeling.
"Care to explain what we're doing?" Annie smiled, thanking Luke as he held the wooden door open for her. She clicked inside, looking around the area, it was a restaurant with celebrities. Well, more like celebrity lookalikes. The waiters and waitresses were dressed as celebs throughout the years, the most obvious ones were the Beetles, the Spice Girls, Elvis and Madonna. Annie chuckled at the costumes, looking back to Luke as he had a wide smile on his lips.
"Well, considering we both admire music and love food-" Luke started, smiling politely at the waitress making her way over. "I thought it'd be a good idea." Annie nodded her head, greeting Waitress Madonna as she came and led the two to a table by a small wooden stage with a screen behind and in front and a microphone.
"Is this a karaoke pub too?" She giggled, turning away from the empty stage and facing Luke once again.
"Seems like it," he shrugged, swallowing thickly before his eyes met Annie's, "I'm not singing though. I don't want to sing."
"I didn't expect you to sing, but if I'm singing I'm going to need a drink first." She raised her eyebrows before taking one of the drink menus, biting her lips as her eyes left Luke's. Luke stared at her for a moment longer before grabbing a menu, noticing how the prices weren't the cheapest. It's not that he couldn't afford it anymore, he could, but he was also starting to slowly run out of money.
Admittedly he had a lot of money, having three #1 albums and selling out hundreds of arenas did pay off well, but then not doing anything for a year solid also causes a dint in your wallet. He also didn't want Annie to think he was mega rich or anything, he wanted to keep that part of him a secret for now because for all she knew, he was just a normal guy who lost his parents.
Sure, she had seen the poster he had of the band but that didn't really show the extent of their fame, no where near the amount of profit they actually made. He didn't brag about it, ever, and he rarely spent it on himself. Sometimes he would of bought nice clothes that were a little on the pricey side, and his old apartment was definitely more than average price, but he didn't brag.
Annie's eyes scanned down the menu, and she noticed how all the meals were named after iconic songs such as Poker Face and Mr Brightside (which was a delicious sounding cottage pie).
"I think I'm going to go for the Use Somebody," Annie chuckled, personally loving the Kings Of Leon song and the sound of the meal it was supposed to be.
"That does sound good, but I think I'm going to get the Lego House." Luke suggested, telling their orders to the waitress and waiting patiently as she left.
Now was the part Luke was dreading the most, the part where they sat in silence and waited for the food to arrive. He had memorised hundreds of conversation starters and yet none of them sounded good enough to bring to Annie's attention. She seemed occupied already though, grinning widely at the middle aged men singing along to Little Lion Man by Mumford And Sons, a band Annie had a special place for in her heart.
"I love this song," she beamed, watching as the man sang the words immaculately, even if his singing wasn't perfect.
"I've never heard it before, who is it?" Luke wasn't looking at the bald man, he was looking straight at Annie, watching as her smile grew when she turned to face him.
"A band called Mumford And Sons, they were my first concert back in England when I was 16." She commented, noticing how Luke's eyebrows raised in amusement.
"You lived in England?" He realised just how little he knew about Annie, and yet she knew a lot about him because realistically she had to, considering she was a therapist.
"Born and raised, moved over here when I was 18 though, wanted to start fresh," she shrugged, noticing how Luke's eyes were trained onto her face, especially her lips when she talked. "What about you? Always lived here?"
"Uh, no, Australia, born and raised." He smirked, winking quickly as the food was set down my Waitress Madonna, who wished them a delightful meal.
"Now that you mention it I can notice a bit of an accent." She smiled, beginning to eat as the both of them discussed many stories and jokes with one another, smiling no matter what.
Even after their meals, they continued to sit and talk and have a few drinks whilst listening to the multiple people attempting to sing. Annie was desperate to hear Luke's voice but she wasn't going to bring it up, she knew it upset him and that's the last thing she wanted.
He seemed to be enjoying himself and that was the main goal of these outings, which Annie regularly forgot. This was business, not friendship. But damn did it feel good.
He was currently doing that squeaky laugh of his where his nose scrunches up and his eyes squeeze shut, all because they weren't being the kindest of people by somewhat mocking those failing to sing. Mocking was actually an understatement, the comments they made were offensive and down right rude, but they were funny.
It made Annie feel slightly bad but it felt so good too, to laugh this loud in a public place, with a friend laughing just as hard. It was different, as funny as Nina was it had been a long time since Annie laughed like this. And even longer for luke.
•
I haven't edited this yet sorry
Let me know what you think!
Thank you for reading
Please vote and COMMENT
lotta love
A x