Chapter Thirteen

They had a similar breakfast routine the next morning: Becca was showered by the time she sat down to eat, then two of the others went to get ready as the third stayed downstairs with their guest. This morning it was Luke. He told her they'd most likely go to the shops first, then bake cookies and treats, before going to the Zoo as the day started getting darker so the lights would be at their most impressive.

He was on his way up to shower when the mailman surprised him by shoving a big stack of post through the door. Most of them were just Christmas cards, but there was one big envelope with his name on it from his firm. He recognized his secretary's handwriting on the compliments slip, which fell out of the envelope first before he got to its actual contents.

"Oh, hey Bexx, Tris sent me a copy of the San Antonio magazine, it's got your article in it," Luke called into the living room now as he started flicking towards the right page.

"Really?" she asked as she got up, sounding nervous as she met him halfway in the living room; she hadn't expected it out quite so fast, though it would make sense that it would be if people were expected to still be able to follow some of her advice. He held his arm out so she could step in closer and they could read together, as they each held one side of the magazine. "What do you think?" she asked, realizing when he leaned in closer that he hadn't finished reading yet. She obviously didn't need to read all of it, so had only skimmed through it to make sure nothing had been cut or changed.

"It's really good, well done," he assured her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, knowing that she had struggled through parts of it. "I like the pictures you used," he said softer in her ear, so his family wouldn't hear as they came down into the living room.

"Really?" Becca asked again, glancing sideways at him before realizing how close his face still was to hers. She'd been nervous about what he and her friends would think of them, as she hadn't really warned any of them that she'd be using them. Luke nodded with a small smile, as his oceans focused on her forest greens. "Phew," she managed to chuckle, making him laugh as his left hand on her hip pulled her in a little closer.

"What's that you're looking at?" Leanne asked, making them break eye contact.

"It's the article Becca wrote on how to survive the festive period if you're alone or a bit of a Grinch," her brother answered as he let go of his 'girlfriend' and held out the magazine towards her. "I need to shower now," he said and headed upstairs before she and their mother could read it and comment on the activities they'd done and the pictures in the article. He gave her a quick wink when she glanced at him as he headed away towards the stairs.

His family read the article and asked Becca about the activities and if she had any more photos she could show them. Leanne had seen some of them on Facebook when she'd found out her brother would be bringing her home for a few days, but Mrs. Shelton wasn't on social media. Their guest tried to show only those of the activities themselves, but Leanne managed to scroll through to find some of Becca and Luke together.

Once they were all ready to go they drove over to Costco where they would be able to pick up some presents (Becca hadn't picked anything up for her father yet) and everything they would need for baking cookies, making other desserts and generally getting through the upcoming festivities.

They then went home and made the first batch of Christmas cookies and had lunch, before making their way over to the Zoo. Becca didn't know where to look first; the real-life animals or the fantastic lights. About 75% of all the trees had colored fairy lights wrapped around their trunks and branches, one color per tree. There were lights set up in the shapes of snowmen, snowflakes in the trees, nut crackers, seals, gorillas, cheetahs or panthers and Christmas trees. There were also illuminated reindeer figures in front of a Santa on a sleigh, lights wrapped around posts to make them look like candy canes and even palm trees.

As a group, they decided to go around all the animal enclosures first, to see the animals while they could in the fading daylight and then did another circuit to see all the lights. It really did put some of the ones Becca had seen in San Antonio to shame. They took a break to get a hot chocolate at the stand, which Luke and Leanne swore to their guest was the best one she'd find in Chicago. Given that it was getting colder, she'd agreed to try it as soon as they said the word 'hot'. She was amused to see that there was a trio of Star Wars characters sat atop of the shack's roof; Darth Vader, Yoda and R2-D2, all suitably illuminated as well.

They called it a night when both Leanne and Becca started shivering almost non-stop; the former being warmed up a little by her mother as the latter was pulled into a hug by her pretend boyfriend.

The next day Luke decided that he would need to show Becca a bit more of Chicago. The Sky Deck was the obvious first choice, so he made sure to book two tickets online for them as they had breakfast. Leanne made plans with some of her old friends who still lived nearby, and Mrs. Shelton decided to take it easy for part of the day and to wrap up presents while no one was in to see them.

"So, what exactly are we doing today?" Becca asked as they headed out, and she had to duck further into her winter coat and scarf as the wind whipped up.

"First, we get a hop on, hop off bus tour around the city. We'll be nice and warm, but we can get off and walk around whenever you want. Then we'll grab a bite to eat and then head over to the Sky Deck. It's at its best as the sun starts going down," Luke explained.

"Sounds good," she nodded.

They got a bus into the city to make their way to the first stop on the bus tour. Becca was, to be honest, very grateful to get out of the wind. The bus guide did most of the talking and pointing things out, but Luke pointed out things to her as well in between; places he'd been with his dad or with his friends, and some that he'd like to show her later in her trip if they still had time before she left for Milwaukee on the twenty-second. She was comfortable enough that she wasn't too bothered about hopping off the bus too much, so they ended up doing the whole bus tour in one go before finally getting off to get some lunch. She'd taken plenty of pictures as they drove, and she put the odd one up on Facebook, but she wasn't too bothered about documenting everything in public.

They let their food settle as they talked before heading out to the Sky Deck. "See those things sticking out on the side of the building? That's where we're going," Luke pointed up. She followed his finger up and gasped. "I hope you're not afraid of heights," he teased a little as he took her hand and led her into the building. He'd been up himself twice before now and it was a little scary, even if you weren't afraid of heights, standing on the see-through glass floor with the city below you.

"It's safe, right?" Becca asked nervously as they made their way up to the right floor in the lift.

"Of course. Thousands of tourists visit every day," he assured her, his thumb rubbing the back of her hand comfortingly. "I've been up there several times," he added now, and he saw that worked a bit better as she tried to shake off her nerves. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be much of a queue so at least it meant she didn't have ages to get herself more nervous about it. She hesitated at the edge of the glass cubicle, peeking over it. The view across over the city was fantastic, but she felt a little uneasy about the glass bottom. "Come on, it's fine," Luke said as he stepped out onto the glass floor.

"No, no, no," Becca reacted as she held onto his hand to pull him back.

"Bexx, it's fine," he fought back a laugh. "I would jump to show you, but I think you'd kill me," he added, seeing her fight back a small smile of her own despite herself. "Come on, Bexx. One step at a time," he said now, taking hold of her second hand and gently pull her in. The brunette hesitated, one foot on the threshold, still peering down at the floor. "It's the same as when we went skating, don't look down. Look at me," Luke told her with a comforting smile. Her green eyes shot up to his face, feeling some of the fear leave her. He smiled when he noticed. "That's it, one step at a time," he encouraged her. Focusing on his blue eyes did really help keep her calm. Becca felt herself take a step forward, trying not to look down again. "Eyes on mine," he said softly when he noticed she was about to glance down, giving her a smile when she didn't.

She took another step when she felt how tight his hold on her hands was. "This is so freaky," she said softly, not able to believe that she now had both feet on the glass floor.

He gave a soft chuckle, giving her an apologetic look when she narrowed her eyes at him. "Sorry. You're doing really well," he told her now. He managed to get her all the way into the cubicle over a few minutes. He even managed to get her to let go of one of his hands and hold onto the railing instead. "See, not that bad?"

She took a deep breath before she looked out properly over the city. "Wow, it is beautiful," Becca said in awe. He'd been right that it looked spectacular as the sun started going down and the sky started changing colors in between and behind the high-rise buildings. Luke was about to let go of her hand, but she intertwined her fingers with his as she held on. It made her feel safe in that moment. She tried taking a few pictures with one hand but had to concede that didn't work. He chuckled as she dithered a little, trying to figure out how to still do this. He let go of her hand and, to still help her feel secure, rested his hand on her hip so he could grab hold of her jeans' loop if needed. She took a couple more pictures of the view, including of below, before she held her phone up. "Shall we?"

"Sure," he nodded, maneuvering her around so they had the background behind them as she held the phone camera up.

"Smile," Becca said as she felt him lean in. She leaned in closer to him as well, before she took the first picture. She felt his head against hers and she took another picture. "So, what's next?" she asked, wanting to step away but he held onto her as he then moved them out of the glass cubicle.

"You'll see," was all Luke said.