Rebecca had the flu. It wasn't the best way to start of the week that marked exactly one month until her wedding, but it wasn't like she could control it. She had decided it was too late to get the flu shot so she settled for Noah's delicious chicken soup, tonnes of herbal tea and shots of honey here and there to keep her throat from burning. It was eight in the morning and Noah was off at work again. He had left an hour prior Rebecca's awakening and now she was home alone. Her mother had told her to do nothing until she was feeling more rested and energetic so Rebecca decided today would be her stress free day. She rang Luke at 8:37 in the morning.
"Hello?" she heard the low, groggy voice.
"Luke? It's Rebecca."
"Oh hey. Are you okay?"
"Yeah I'm fine. Well actually I'm not fine. You see I have the flu and I don't think we can hang out today."
There was a silent pause for a few seconds and Rebecca heard Luke groan. "You woke me up at eight in the morning to tell me we couldn't hang out?"
"Um, yeah."
"Becc you could've just texted or something."
"I know, I know but you know how I like to say it. Texting is for the insecure."
"I see. Well I don't care if you're sick, I'm going to come over... if that's okay with you."
Rebecca frowned. She really didn't know if it was okay with her. One side of her told her why not? They could be friends again despite what she had told Luke when they broke up. Another side of her told her no because what if Noah took their time together the wrong way?
"It sounds great," she croaked and hung up right away.
Rebecca didn't know what was going on with her. Sometimes she found herself thinking about her relationship with Luke that ended just short of four years ago. She remembered things so vividly like their awkward first date at Jean's Café just at the corner of their schools' street. She remembered their awkward first kiss before Rocco's soccer game. Luke had snuck his lips onto hers just briefly before Rocco could catch the two lip locking. After that, they snuck kisses around like a fat man sneaking doughnuts into his diet. Rebecca even remembered their awkward first time. Of course it was awkward for those who asked her about it but it was beautiful. Rebecca couldn't have imagined that experience with anyone else because past the awkwardness there was love and she knew it well and not one bone in her body regretted it.
She kept a journal that was hidden in her closet. Rebecca didn't know why she kept it; it was just there and the interest of opening it never appeared until she saw Luke at her engagement party a few weeks ago. The journal had everything. Notes that Luke snook into her bag were shoved in between the pages of the purple journal. Lipstick stains were pressed onto some pages on the days Luke kissed her when she wore red lipstick. Scribbled writing for when Rebecca and Luke fought about stupid things like movie preferences and what to eat for dinner. Lovely cursive writing for when Luke bought her red roses to make her happy when he was at band practice instead of watching her games. Everything was in Rebecca's purple journal and she held it in her hand for the first time in years. Before she could open it, the buzzer went off of her penthouse suit and she walked slowly to the door to open it. To her surprise, it was Noah's mother, Elise.
"Elise," Rebecca croaked.
"Oh Rebecca you look horrible! Did Noah really not skip work to be with you?" Elise's hands cupped Rebecca's face.
"I'm fine. A friend of mine is going to take care of me," Rebecca said. Her cheeks warmed (if even possible at her high temperature) when she thought of Luke dabbing a cold towel onto her forehead as they laid in bed together. No, no no. She couldn't think this way.
"You sure? You can always call me if anything happens," Elise said.
"I'm sure. I'll call you later to ensure my status," Rebecca said. Elise sighed before kissing Rebecca's forehead and walking toward the elevator and went home. Rebecca closed the door and went back into her room, dragging her purple bunny slippers across the hardwood floors.
About an hour later, Rebecca changed the channel in the lounge room to another morning news channel but most of them were over. She had a cold cup of tea in her hand because she was too lazy to warm it up. The kitchen was so far...
The buzzer went off again and Rebecca groaned before opening the door to see Luke in his usual black jeans and some dark shirt. Today it was a Rolling Stones black shirt with a few holes in it. He had a smile on his face.
"You look like what I flushed down the toilet," Luke laughed.
"Do you want to come in or not?" Rebecca chuckled.
"Yes please."
Luke walked right in as Rebecca slid to the side and closed the door behind him. She watched as Luke placed a bouquet of red roses on her granite kitchen bench and put a little woven basket next to it. Rebecca sat on the barstool in front of it as Luke opened the basket.
"I remember coming over to yours after school when you were sick. The guys would poke fun because they called me whipped. I bought you everything my mum would when I was sick and the next day you came to school," Luke said. He pulled out a little glass container with red rubber lid on top. Next, he had saltine crackers, flu medicine, a mug and a CD.
"You didn't have to," Rebecca said.
"Yes I did. You're getting married in a month. I also paid for an hour treatment at the spa in downtown tomorrow, anything you want."
"Why are you doing all of this?"
At this point, Luke looked up at Rebecca. She saw his pretty blue eyes that she didn't know she missed until she saw them just then. He looked wonderful; for a second she had forgotten why she let him go.
"Because I want to," was his simple answer as if Rebecca were oblivious and Luke had been hinting it all along like a childhood crush.
"Thank you," Rebecca whispered.
The soup tasted so good. Rebecca wondered where Luke had gotten it because he couldn't cook to save his life. She knew that as a fact... everyone did.
"Have you taken anything so far?" Luke asked. They were sitting on the lounge in Rebecca's lounge room, watching stupid talk shows that talked about obesity in Australia or teenager drinking cases.
"Not today, no," Rebecca said.
"Well you're going to take this," Luke held up a plastic bottle of flu pills that Rebecca didn't notice.
"I don't know that brand," Rebecca said, taking the bottle from his hands.
"It's Danish," Luke shrugged, "But don't worry I take this all the time and look at me."
Rebecca scrunched her nose in disgust. "I rather not." Luke just smirked.
"You know how many girls would kill for your spot right now?" he said.
"Why? Is it because of Noah? Plenty of girls want to marry him... I know. His family owns like half of New South Wales."
"Well yeah, I guess. But I meant me. So many girls would kill to have Luke Hemmings take care of them when they were sick."
"Yeah, I guess they would."
Luke shrugged, sighing and losing his upbeat attitude. "Too bad they only like the label of it. They don't want me, they just want the fact that they're with Luke Hemmings... not just Luke, you know?"
He shook his head, "You probably don't know."
"No," Rebecca said, "I do. So many girls want to be friends with me to get the first shipments of Michael Kors dresses and things like that. They want the stuff not the friend."
She frowned. Amy was her only friend and even she wanted all the things that Rebecca had mentioned and more. Rebecca only kept Amy around because she knew her the longest. Sometimes, Amy was a great friend and sometimes Amy was a great faker.
"I totally get it," Luke said, receiving the glass of water that Rebecca was drinking from and putting it in the sink.
"So are we really just staying indoors today?" Rebecca said with a frown.
"You'll get better soon if we stay indoors but its up to you," Luke shrugged.
"If we do go out, where would we go?"
"There's a bakery I've always wanted to take you to but... you know what happened before I could take you."
Rebecca looked down at her lap in guilt and then looked back up at Luke. He looked genuinely happy. She wondered what he did to make him so happy.
"Take me," she said.
"Y-you sure?" Luke asked.
"Yes, now we better go before I change my mind."
The bakery was huge and so busy. So many people were here and Rebecca smiled at people of all ages ordering, eating, chatting and everything. It reminded of her of a little workshop. The bakery was called Mira's Bakeshop and it was in the middle of nowhere but that didn't mean people didn't drive from allover to come buy whatever they sold here.
Luke held Rebecca by her shoulders. He didn't seem scared about paparazzi so Rebecca decided not to be either. People seemed to know the drill here. No pictures were taken, people just said hello to Luke and let him and Rebecca through. They went into the back kitchen and Rebecca was nervous.
"Luke what are we doing here? We're not allowed here," she said.
"Relax would you?" Luke laughed, "This is supposed to be fun and stress free."
"We're sneaking into the kitchen! How can this be stress free?!"
"Rebecca, Mira is my aunt. She opened this up back in high school and well you know the rest."
Rebecca watched in awe as Luke kissed the cheek of a little honey blonde lady with the whole chef outfit going on. She had flour wiped on her cheek and Luke wiped it off. He urged Rebecca to come closer and reluctantly, she did.
"Aunt Mi, this is Rebecca. Rebecca, my aunt Mi. This is her bakery," Luke said with a witty smile on his face.
"Oh this is Rebecca?" Mira's eyes gazed down at Rebecca's large engagement ring. "Oh my! Luke I didn't you were engaged. You could do better with the ring, Mate come on."
Luke's cheeks reddened and he hung his head low for a second. "Aunt Mi she's not engaged me, she's engaged to Noah Scott."
"Oh!" Mira said, giggling, "Well that was embarrassing."
Luke bit his lip, licked his lips and smiled. "Aunt Mira's going to show us how to make her famous red velvet cupcakes. They're her best seller," he said.
"Awesome," Rebecca grinned.
Baking was never Rebecca's forte. She could do a lot of things like see if you were near or farsighted just by looking at your side profile. She could solve maths equations in seconds and wrote essays easily. Amazing word choice came like a second language. But here she was, with a crimson apron over her jeans and blouse as she poured in six eggs into the large mixer. Luke put in the sugar and butter that he mixed together and then the vanilla went in, bicarb, a drop of oil, flour, cocoa powder and rich red food colouring.
The two watched the batter mix until Aunt Mira came back. She had a little cup of espresso in her hand and she smiled. "This is my secret ingredient. You add a splash of espresso and mix in some nutmeg. Makes your life so much better."
She poured the espresso right in and pinched in some fresh ground nutmeg that she had ground herself. The mixer went faster and soon Rebecca and Luke were spooning ice cream scoops full into a large tin of cupcake liners. Rebecca had seen twenty-four count tins but this one seemed like thirty. Three whole tins were filled and then Aunt Mira let the oven preheat before letting the two push the cupcake tins into it. She put a timer for half an hour and gave Luke a whole tub of cream cheese and Rebecca a few packages of mascarpone. Then a big container of icing sugar.
"Two parts cream cheese, one part mascarpone, one part sugar," Mira said, "Good luck!"
The cupcakes were delicious. Mira let Luke take a few home and Rebecca too. Luke kissed his aunt goodbye and Rebecca thanked her for the experience and cupcakes. Luke then loaded the cupcakes into the back of his car and opened the door for Rebecca to slide in. He went into the driver's seat and drove Rebecca home. Luke didn't get out of the car. Rebecca had been waiting for him to follow her and turn off the car but he didn't.
"Aren't you coming?" Rebecca asked.
"I have to get Indie from work," Luke said, "but I'll see you tomorrow?"
Rebecca frowned. A part of her wished that Luke would come in and spend a lot more time with her. But he had his own life and she had to respect that.
"Of course," she said with a tight smile, "Thanks Luke... for everything."
"What are friends for?"
Rebecca shut the car door and watched Luke's car drive off. Usually he waited until she went inside of the building but who was she to say usually? They only hung out a few times. It was just for a month because then her wedding would approach and then she and Noah would be in Switzerland for their honeymoon. That was why he was working so hard before the wedding: he could take time off later for longer.
After showering, blowing her nose, taking Danish medicine and warming up the rest of the soup Luke had brought and then drinking the tea he had made. Rebecca remembered this tea.
In Luke's mother's house, in the kitchen, Rebecca was sat on the kitchen bench sniffling away as Luke cut up lemons into little discs and dropped them into the boiling water. "The trick," the seventeen year old Luke said, "Is to let the water take the lemon juice out naturally."
He put the lid of the boiler on and watched it simmer for fifteen minutes before adding a load of honey and brewing some black tea leaves. Once it finished, Luke gave it to Rebecca and spread her jean-clad legs to slip in between them. He placed his hands on her waist and their faces became inches apart.
"Luke," Rebecca's sickly voice giggled, "I'm sick!"
"So? I have a Bio test tomorrow."
"What?"
"Oh sorry I thought we were listing the things we didn't give shits about."
Rebecca rolled her eyes, setting tea down on the wooden table and wrapping her arms around Luke's neck. She pushed his hair away from his face just the way he liked it (something only Rebecca was allowed to do) and pressed her lips onto his. Their lips moved in perfect sync and now and then Rebecca had to pull away because she couldn't breathe. Soon enough, the two infatuated teenagers alone in the large home were in Luke's bedroom with the tea on his bedside table as he attacked his girlfriend's body with sloppy wanting kisses.
Rebecca missed this tea but like most things, she hadn't realised she missed them until she had them again. She took a few sips and then set it on the coffee table. The door handle moved and Rebecca cleared her throat as the door opened. It was Noah.
"Hey Babe," he said softly and slowly as he walked in. He settled his things on the desk and came to give Rebecca a kiss on the boiling forehead.
"Who are the roses from?"
Rebecca tiredly looked up at the kitchen bench to see the red roses out of moisture. She stood up to put them in a vase of water and put them near the window.
"From Luke," she said. Something sparked in Rebecca's stomach once she said his name. It was like she had let out a secret and she wasn't supposed to.
"5SOS Luke?" Noah asked. Rebecca nodded.
"He went to come see you? That guy's amazing," he chuckled.
"Yeah," Rebecca breathed, "He brought all this stuff to make me feel better."
"Wow," Noah smiled, but it was a sad one. Rebecca frowned.
"Noah it wasn't to make you feel insecure," she said.
"No, I know that. It's just you're going to be my wife and if I can't be here when you've got the flu, how can I be here when something better happens like... a baby? Or what if you get seriously ill? I can't keep leaving work Becca they need me, you know that."
Noah's voice was so frantic like a little kid trying to explain to Santa exactly what he wanted for Christmas. However it was filled with anxiety and fear. Noah was going to be a great husband and a great father he just never truly admitted it because he always thought different.
"I know they need you. That's why I decided not to bother you and asked Luke to come by."
Rebecca lied to her fiancée because she felt if Noah knew that Luke came because he simply wanted to, he would get suspicious. Noah wasn't jealous but he wasn't stupid either. He didn't know Rebecca's past because he claimed he didn't care. All he cared for was the future and for his to be with Rebecca by his side.
"Becca you can always call me. You don't have to shy away because I'm busy," Noah assured. Rebecca sighed.
"Noah, it's all right. You are working hard so we can have that honeymoon and I'm working equally as hard to get the wedding preparations." Rebecca kissed Noah's nose and headed to the bedroom to change into some comfortable clothes. She checked the time to see it was just past nine and she snatched her phone that was charging on her bedside table to send a quick text to Luke.
Rebecca: Even though I've said it, thank you.
He replied instantly.
Luke: Even though I haven't said it, I'd do it all again to see you smile once more.
Rebecca was well aware that Luke never broke her heart. When they were together, Luke was perfect. Rebecca had lied to Luke saying he was worthless, good for nothing and a jerk that never cared about her feelings. Luke tried to prove her wrong telling her sweet things like 'I love you' and 'It's hard to express my feelings because I've never felt like this about anybody.' Luke knew exactly what to say at the right times. He was like a god-given gift from Heaven. But he was nothing Rebecca's parents wanted for her. He was far from perfect in their eyes and Rebecca wasn't going to lose them over a boy.
"Baby?" Noah opened the door of the bathroom. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and his broad shoulders, built arms and muscular front and back glistened with water.
"Yeah?" Rebecca said.
"From a scale of one to ten, how bad do you feel?"
Rebecca pondered for a moment. She had to admit, the sketchy Danish medicine made her feel a lot better and she wanted to take another dose just before bed.
"About an two. I don't feel that bad anymore except for the occasional cough," she shrugged.
"You know what I can do to make you feel way better?"
Noah ran his hand through his damn hair and licked his lips, smirking. He slowly crawled onto the bed still only in his towel and hovered over his fiancée. Slowly and surely, Noah's hands began to undo the buttons of Rebecca's silk pyjamas, teasing her as his rough hands began to roam around her naked front.
"They say pre-wed sex is good for the soul," Noah whispered into Rebecca's ear before kissing and sucking on her neck.
"Then I want," Rebecca said, but her breath hitched from noah undoing the bow of her pants and slowly sliding them down, "a whole lot of it."
* * * * *
The next morning, Noah was reading the newspaper. He didn't have to be at work until ten in the morning and it was only eight. Rebecca was on her laptop, messaging Rocco about who he was bringing to her wedding. He wanted to bring both of his little play-girls but Rebecca only wanted one. She favoured Priscilla over Sonia but Rocco favoured Sonia over Priscilla because she cleaned his house naked.
You're a pig, Rebecca typed. Rocco just sent her a bunch of 'hahaha's and they switched subjects here and there.
Rocco was three years older. He had a large house up in Darlinghurst, Sydney which he shared with Priscilla on Monday's, Tuesday's and Wednesday's and Sonia on Thursday's, Friday's and Saturday's. On Sunday's, Rocco liked to be alone or have massive parties to find a new girl. Despite all of this, he was Rebecca's older brother, a great businessman and friend. He had known Luke's older brother Ben from university. They were both business majors and graduated together. When Rocco was given a branch of Ripstar Exports, Ben was the man he hired.
Rocco said goodbye because he had a meeting so Rebecca moved into her email to find a few emails from her wedding planner and wedding dress coordinator. She hadn't told Noah about her recent weight-loss because he seemed to not have noticed. Secretly, Rebecca had her dress pinned as she was determined to have Luke take her to Cole's to find some junk food.
Rebecca didn't have time to jog anymore. She was constantly making table cards, going to dinners, taking a few days at work or trying to find her passport. Next week, Lord Howe Island was closing for the famous Rebecca Richards and Noah Scott wedding so they had a little less than three weeks to prepare. Rebecca was going to be in Sydney for the first and second week, preparing things to be shipped to the island and then on the last two weeks, all her guests would arrive and stay in a hotel as she would do last minute things. Rebecca desperately missed her easy-going life but it didn't look like it would be coming back any time soon.
Noah shut his newspaper. "Thinking about me?" he teased. Rebecca rolled her eyes.
"That's the last thing I'd think of," she said.
"Well if it makes you feel better, I was thinking of you."
He stood from his chair and Rebecca got a good look of him. Noah played rugby all of high school and university. He had extremely broad shoulders, toned everything and he had an award winning face too. Noah was perfect inside and out and Rebecca couldn't stop feeling so lucky.
Noah moved to behind Rebecca's chair, massaging her shoulders and Rebecca moaned.
"Last night. I was thinking about you in my arms last night. How you felt last night and how I want to feel you again," Noah said. Rebecca had to admit, Noah had the perfect words to swoon a girl into his arms but it was reaching nine o'clock and Noah hadn't showered yet.
"Noah you have to leave soon. Go shower," she said, standing up from her chair. Rebecca turned around to wrap Noah's waist in her arms. He did the same.
"Only if you shower with me," he said.
"Noah! No! Go!"
"Too bad."
Noah lifted Rebecca over his shoulders and they went into the bathroom. He peeled off her shirt, unhooked her bra, undid her pants and slid them down her legs before her underwear. Rebecca pulled Noah's shirt off, then his shorts, then his boxers before they hopped into the shower doing anything but cleaning themselves.
When they got out, Rebecca felt... wonderful. She grabbed her phone that seemed to be lighting up a thousand times a minute and saw a few texts from Luke. She turned to see Noah changing into his light blue dress shirt, staring at himself in the mirror. Then she looked at Luke's texts.
Luke: your appointment's at 11.30. I'll pick you up?
Luke: Im Elle!
Luke: U hav pretti name
Luke: Lukys mad at me
Luke: By rebecca
Seven hearts were followed by Rebecca's name and she smiled, typing an 'okay' to Luke. Then Noah came in with his hair brushed to the side, nice and fit.
"I'm going to go. I'll take you to dinner tonight? Eight o'clock sound good?" Noah asked.
"Sounds great," Rebecca said. Noah walked up to her, placing a delicate hand on the small of his fiancée's back before kissing her lips as she locked her phone in her hand and then he walked away and out of their home.
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Noah be thirsty. Comment! #roah or #ruke? I've used ruke already for another book but whatevz it stays
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