A lesson Paris has taught me is that the pizza here is inedible compared to New Yorker pizza. I thought about the ooey gooey goodness of a New York slice while I bit into my lukewarm and thin piece. I barely ate the whole thing before I was done and couldn't eat the rest, slumping back against the beanbag on the deck.
Rose and Juleka were cuddled up on a beanbag eating pizza next to me and Ivan was passed out in a wicker chair with his legs sprawled out. Luka and I shared a beanbag quietly eating our disgustingly bland pizza.
"You ok? You look like you're about to gag."
"You guys gotta have the worst pizza on this planet."
He laughed, leaning down to put his half-eaten slice on his plate.
"Well, I think it's pretty good."
"You have nothing to compare it with so-"
"We're going to bed to see you guys in the morning."
Juleka and Rose both stood up, obviously too exhausted to deal with our bickering. Rose yawned and Jul put an arm around her leading her inside to her bedroom.
Luka nudged my thigh which was neatly tucked underneath me, chuckling.
"Guess our bickering drove them away."
I giggled into my hand, glancing over at Ivan who was snoring softly.
"Hey let me show you something."
I raised an eyebrow curiously as he rose from his spot on the beanbag and held a hand out to me. I took it and let him lead me to the mast at the front of the ship, he took ahold of the ladder and nodded up at the crow's nest at the top.
We climbed to the top and sat against the inside legs bent slightly to fit. There were already blankets and a pillow there so we got comfortable and looked up at the stars. The night was clear and the stars were burning bright in the fall sky.
"This reminds me of home."
"Do you have a crow's nest at home that you haven't told me about?"
He chuckled, and I lightly punched him on the shoulder.
"No, stargazing. Caleb and I would do this all the time on the fire escape of his family's apartment."
My eyes traced the lines of the big dipper, a smile spreading across my face.
"We would blast our music so loud sometimes, the neighbors would go down the first escape to complain. But we would hide inside before they would get down to us."
I frowned and leaned my head on Luka's shoulder.
"Homesick?"
"Ya..."
"Tell me about your friends."
"Well, there's three of them Trevor, Caleb, and Jake. They're all like brothers to me, I couldn't imagine my life without them. We usually see each other on holidays and spend the entire summer together."
I could feel Luka's gaze on me and could see him out of the corner of my eye. The only thing I could think of was why stare at me when there are millions of stars in the sky above us. Of course, I didn't say this, simply continuing to talk about my friends.
"Caleb and I grew up in New York together, he probably knows me better than I know myself. We met Jake and Trevor later, Jake is the sweetest person you will ever meet. He lives in Vermont with his four younger siblings. Trevor is the laid-back one of the group he always knows what to say. He used to live in Pennsylvania but he moved to L.A. a year or so ago."
"How did you guys meet, to begin with, I feel like you're all pretty spread out?"
He gave me an inquisitive look, internally I panicked for a split second before slipping a lie past my lips easier than it should have been.
"In a public chat room, we all were on, I think I was thirteen at the time."
In reality, Caleb and I auditioned for our record label together as a pair and were put with Trevor and Jake in hopes of cultivating a record charting band from the ground up. Three years later the three boys are my found family, and we're the most popular band of our generation.
Luka slumped further down the side of the crow's nest, putting his head on top of mine.
"You get this sparkle in your eyes when you talk about your family. I noticed it earlier too."
He yawned, drawing me closer.
"It's really cute."
A blush crept across my cheeks, as I curled into his warm embrace. We don't say 'good night' just eventually our talking drifts off and we both fall off into a peaceful sleep.
Waking up was both pleasant and disappointing. I wanted to stay longer in the warm embrace I was feeling, but couldn't remember how I got there in the first place. I peeled my eyelids back as the rays of sunlight offended my eyes. Lifting my head groggily, I found Luka and I leaned up against the inner side of the crow's nest.
Luka is still sleeping, quietly snoring. One arm snaked around my waist pulling me to rest on his chest, the other falling on his thigh. Butterflies floated up to the surface, my stomach twisting in a way I knew all too well.
'He is your friend's brother, he does not see you that way.'
I wriggled out of his hold, tucking the blanket we had been sharing tight to him to keep in the warmth. Eventually inching my way down the ladder to the main deck, I walked back to Jul's room to check on the girls. On the way I passed Ivan still passed out in one of the chairs, snoring loudly.
I peeked my head into Juleka's room and was met with the two both snuggled up on the air mattress, sleeping peacefully. In no way was I planning on interrupting the adorable scene, so I simply walked down the hall to the small kitchenette they had at the end of the hallway. It was a simple tiled corner of the room with a counter, a stove, a sink, and a small fridge.
Rummaging through the cabinets I pulled out what I was looking for, pancake mix and chocolate chips. I found a frying pan under the sink and placed it on the stove, clicking the dial. After a bit more time spent searching for ingredients in the fridge and making the batter, I finally poured it into the pan.
I had just finished sprinkling the chocolate chips on the batter when frigid hands wrapped around my waist from behind. My first reaction was to flinch, but before I could turn around a tired voice cut me off.
"Mhmm... you're warm."
Luka rested his forehead on my shoulder. Skin cold to the touch, guilt settled in my chest.
"I- sorry for...you know leaving."
He shook his head into my shoulder, could feel his face contour into a smile against my skin. He chuckled raspily, morning voice still evident.
"Stop being so nice, you're fine."
As quickly as the contact came, he squeezed me before releasing me. Opting to lean against the counter next to the stove.
"You didn't have to make everyone breakfast."
"Who said it was for you guys?"
I gave him a side-eyed smirk, and he chuckled, running a hand through his hair. The pancake makes a splat noise after it's flipped against the griddle.
"But seriously I enjoy cooking for people, it's a nice change of pace to cook for others besides just myself."
"Do you ever get lonely living alone?"
I shrugged, not looking up from my task of pouring more batter into the pan.
"Not really, my dog Snickers lives with me plus I just call people when I do get lonely."
"Well maybe I could change that, can I come over to your house sometime?"
"Having the band practice at my house would be pretty cramped."
I absentmindedly answered, scrunching my nose at the thought. I flip the final batch of pancakes onto the plate, pick one up, and eat it plain.
"I meant just myself, I'll bring my guitar too."
He looked over at me, I froze halfway through the motion of biting my pancake. I swallowed it down eventually, blushing slightly.
"Sure."
He smiled down at me.
"Now I got to try one of your pancakes."
My footsteps clicked down the hall to the main deck, my duffle bag was slung over my shoulder, and held the skateboard close to my chest. I needed to leave early to take care of Snickers, much to the disappointment of the band.
'The band. Haven't said that in a while, I miss the group.'
As if I had summoned him by my inner thoughts, my phone started ringing, and I paused to answer it.
"Sup Idiot."
I rolled my eyes at Trevor's greeting.
"Not much loser."
We both giggled while I stepped off the boat onto the dock.
"What isn't it like 4 o'clock in LA right now?"
"Ya around there, I just got off the phone with the vampires they said because our turnout was so good in Paris Halloween bash is going to be there too.
Vampires, Trevor's loving nickname for our record label. He came up with it on our first tour, he reasons that they 'suck the energy out of us and the money out of our fans.'
"Awesome, I don't have to travel far."
"Ya lucky you."
He grumbled like a child.
"Shut up you butt, be happy for me!"
I could practically feel his playful sneer through the phone and see the dimples forming around the corners of his mouth.
"Never."