Chapter 5: Encounters in the Darkness

The winter sun had long since set while we were in the diner, but a nearly full moon illuminated our path as we walked to the truck. Luke took his coat off and offered it to me.

“No, but thank you. I'm quite comfortable,” I said, hugging his massive shirt around me tightly.

It was true, the beer still had me feeling all warm and cozy. The cold dry air stung my cheeks.

He opened my door for me… he really was such a gentleman.

I crawled up into the truck and turned to him.

“Thank you, sir, for such a lovely dinner,” I said, batting my lashes again. We both giggled.

“You’re welcome, Andrea.”

“Andy,” I said. “My friends call me Andy…”

“Well, then you’re welcome, Andy,” he replied with those smiling eyes. “Mind if I try to buckle that seatbelt just this once?” he asked.

“Knock yourself out,” I agreed, holding my hands up in surrender.

Luke leaned over me to pull the strap across my lap. What is it that makes him smell so damn delicious? My pulse quickened and I did my best to remember the resolution I’d made in the restroom.

Luke tugged on the seatbelt and clicked it into place effortlessly.

“Seriously? What the h*ll?” I wondered aloud.

“I guess this small-town seatbelt is too old-fashioned for you fan-dangled big city folks.” He chuckled and shut my door.

The first part of the drive back to the house consisted mostly of me trying desperately to stay awake for fear I'd snore, or some treacherous thing like that. Not that I cared. But I was a proud woman. And okay, maybe I cared a little. I tried to strike up a conversation.

“You know, Luke, I’m not a total b*tch,” I said.

“I don’t think you're a b*tch.”

“Well, then angry, or whatever you called me… you just learn to be guarded when you grow up like I did.”

“Oh? And how is that? How did you grow up?” he questioned.

“In the land of make-believe,” I answered, rolling my eyes.

“What does that mean?”

I shifted. “My family is kind of…” I scratched my head and searched for the words. “Let’s just say that they are well-known in Chicago. So, I grew up being watched and scrutinized constantly. I was basically forced to pretend that my family, my life, was perfect,” I explained.

“But in reality, it couldn’t have been any farther from the truth.” I sighed.

“Every family has their dirt,” said Luke.

“Yeah, well, my family’s dirt could refill the Thornton Quarry,” I replied with a yawn. My eyelids growing heavy.

“The what?” he asked.

Despite my efforts, the exhaustion from early morning travel combined with the alcohol ultimately prevailed. I leaned against the door frame and fell fast asleep for the remainder of the ride.

I awoke with a jump.

“We’re here,” he whispered, getting out of the truck. I wiped a little drool from my mouth, grateful for the darkness. When he opened my door, I noticed that his coat had been laid over me. God, could he stop with the Mr. Thoughtful?

“You were shivering in your sleep,” he said.

“Thank you.” I held it up for him.

“My pleasure. Let’s get you to bed, Andy,” he smiled, taking my hands.

My pulse quickened as I slid down from the truck in front of him.

I followed him up the path as he carried my ridiculous suitcase. He opened the door for me and I reluctantly stepped inside. My nerves back on high alert.

The house was dark and quiet but for the ticking of the large clock. Luke turned on his phone's flashlight.

“The old man’s a light sleeper,” he whispered and motioned for me to follow. To my relief, he showed me to a room at the opposite end of the hallway that Bill had come from.

Blue lay sleeping outside the closed door. He stood up and stretched, his bottom wagging with delight upon seeing Luke.

He opened the door and turned on the bedroom light.

“That’s weird,” Luke said, looking into the room.

“What?” I asked.

“Oh, nothin’,” he said, distracted, then cleared his throat. “The bathroom is down there,” he added, pointing his flashlight a few doors back down the hallway. “If you need anything, I’ll be on the couch out front.”

“What? Luke, am I taking your bed?” I asked, feeling a pang of guilt.

“It’s the guest room.” He shrugged. “And you’re the guest.”

“Well, thank you. I’ll be out of your way soon enough.”

“It’s no trouble,” he insisted, then wished me goodnight and turned to leave.

“Luke,” I whispered.

He looked back at me.

“Thanks for dinner.”

He simply smiled, nodded, and walked away. I wished he would stay—he had proven to be a rather pleasant distraction after all.

The guest room had its own fireplace, and remnants of a fire that had been made several hours prior had burned down to a few glowing embers. It smelled heavenly, it smelled like Luke…

I shook my head and told myself to act sensibly. I dug my makeup bag out of the monstrosity of a suitcase and headed quietly to the bathroom, using my phone as a flashlight.

After I washed up, my curiosity got the better of me and I peeked inside the medicine cabinet. I was impressed by how orderly everything was. I started to close the cabinet when I spotted a bottle of cologne. I picked it up and pulled the cap off of it, placing it under my nose. G*d, it smelled good.

I sprayed a little on my wrist and snapped a picture of the bottle with my phone. Perhaps I’d buy a bottle for Owen as a parting gift for our last night together. I put the bottle back and closed the cabinet.

I peeked out into the hallway and slipped back towards the guest room, where I stripped off all of my clothes and crawled under the blankets. I fluffed my pillow and closed my eyes, desperate for sleep.

Suddenly, I sat up with a start when I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I sat frozen, listening closely and trying not to think about Richard and what footsteps down a dark hall reminded me of.

Then I heard the shower turn on. Luke had probably been waiting for me to finish in the bathroom so he could shower. I laughed at myself with relief and sniffed my wrist. Hopefully, he didn’t notice the scent of his freshly sprayed cologne.

Despite my exhaustion, I tossed and turned for nearly an hour, trying my best not to think about the man whose house I was sleeping in… or his right-hand man.

To my dismay, my buzz had worn off, leaving me quite parched. I swallowed hard and tried to sleep and ignore my growing thirst. But it was useless, all I could think about was a tall glass of water.

I climbed out of bed, wrapped Luke’s shirt around my naked body, and slipped out into the hall towards the bathroom.

It was pitch-black and I stumbled over something. “Shit!” I grumbled. In my rush, I had forgotten my phone…

I decided to wait for my eyes to adjust and feel my way to the bathroom. After they had adapted somewhat, I was able to slowly make my way down the hall with my left hand gliding along the wall.

My hand stopped suddenly when it felt another hand on the wall. I jumped and started to scream as someone cupped their hand over my mouth and pulled me in firmly.

“Andy!?” It was Luke’s voice.

“Luke!” I whispered loudly, half terrified and half aroused. “You scared the shit out of me!”

“Shhh!” he said in my ear quietly, holding me close to him. “I thought I heard a noise. Everything okay?!” he whispered, his arms releasing me.

I could still feel his body’s heat next to mine.

“Yes, I was just… really thirsty and I didn’t want to wake anyone by turning on the lights… but, I tripped over something,” I said, frazzled and embarrassed.

“Okay. Here, give me your hand, I’ll guide you to the kitchen.”

I felt around in the darkness for him and found his calloused hand. He held onto my fingertips with his and turned to walk down the hall. I reached out with my other hand and held onto his thick, muscled forearm.

I had never really liked muscles much, but d*mn.

He led me slowly down the hall and through the living room.

“Watch out for the couch on our right,” he instructed, then gently lifted my hand and held it out so that my fingertips grazed the back of the couch.

Wandering in the dark with him was surreal and oddly sensual. It felt as though I was in a dream. I wondered if he felt that way too…

At some point, he paused and I smashed into his backside. We were both shaking with silent laughter. I let go of his forearm and cupped my hand over my mouth to stay quiet. I thought I could hear his hand searching for something.

Then he seemed to turn around. I could smell him. He was facing me. I could feel his body almost touching mine. Oh, G*d, is he going to try to kiss me? Will I let him kiss me? I certainly wanted him to in that moment. I lowered my hand from my mouth and bit my lip in anticipation.

“Andy, open your eyes.”

I opened my eyes and there was Luke looking down at me in the entrance of the now dimly lit kitchen. My right hand was still holding onto his fingers.

He chuckled.

Apparently, the sound I’d heard was the kitchen light being turned on. I hadn’t even realized that my eyes were still closed! I must have looked so ridiculous standing there. I wanted to crawl under a rock and die…

“I’ll get you some water,” Luke whispered and let go of my hand.

I stood frozen with humiliation. Had he realized what I was anticipating and intentionally rejected kissing me?

I was used to many forms of rejection from my mother, but never from men. Maybe it was just because of who I was in Chicago, and here, I was just another girl? My cheeks burned red.

He placed a glass of water on the counter and pulled out a stool.

“Thanks,” I said.

He motioned for me to sit.

“That’s a pretty good-looking robe,” he said with a smirk.

I looked down at his shirt hanging loosely over my naked body and felt all the more humiliated. I wrapped it tightly around me as I walked towards the glass of water.

“I thought I was just walking to the bathroom,” I explained, my cheeks continuing to flush.

“It suits you rather well.” He smiled.

I had no desire to prolong my humiliation or make any more of a spectacle of myself that night.

“I think I’ll just take my water to bed.” I pushed the stool back in and took the water off the counter.

“Sure,” he said. “This time, I’ll bring a flashlight.” He walked towards the living room to grab his phone.

I straightened my hair and wished desperately that I could erase the last 60 seconds of my life.

Luke returned, holding his phone. He turned on the flashlight and led me back down the hall. I followed him, keeping my hands to myself this time with one arm holding the shirt in place around me and the other carrying the glass of water.

He opened the bedroom door.

“Thanks, goodnight,” I said shortly, eager for the painful awkwardness to be over with.

He wasn’t looking at me, his eyes were focused on the floor.

“What is that?” he asked while pointing the phone's flashlight at a small object.

There, tucked next to the doorframe, sat what looked to be a box of some sort.

“So, that is what I tripped over?” I whispered.

Luke knelt down and picked up the box. He held it, turning it under the light. It looked like a postal package with a label on it—a very old one. The corners were all bent and bruised.

“Mind if I come in the room so we can turn a light on?” he asked.

“No,” I whispered and flipped the light switch. Luke stepped into the room and quietly closed the door. He held the package up to his face, his eyes squinting to read the shipping label.

“What does it say?” I asked, stepping closer to take a look. Luke handed it to me.

“It’s for you,” he said…