I felt slightly nauseous from the strong drink I had at the new bar…
Note to self never let Ludo choose the drink that she created ever again. She can drink me into
debt, holy shit man.
"Oh, you're awake. I just woke up from my nap not too long ago too. Here I brought you a water bottle." She was just walking in so out of curiosity I asked her where she slept and she pointed to the chair beside my bed.
"Right there. Look It's my fault, I should have ordered something generic or lighter. I was careless you might have actually gotten sloppy drunk on family day, in front of everyone If I didn't tell him not to give you any more."
"That was a strong drink!"
" I don't willingly serve that drink unless I already know the customers' limits are similar to mine. But you said you were a big boy so… well… maybe I tried to show off a little, I'm sorry."
"Yikes man… you really know how to put people on their asses. Is that an item on the menu?"
"No, it's just a known recipe."
"Oh okay."
I watched her take a sip of her own water bottle and sit on the bed. I couldn't help it. I reached for her and pulled her to me by her waist. She pretended to punch me in the sides and shoulders softly tapping me all over so I caught her wrists and she started squirming more so I straddled her hips and held her wrists above her head. I smirked at the position I had her in and bent down to kiss her. She sweetly kissed me back when Julian walked through the wide-open door.
"Oh, I'm sorry." He then quickly shut the door and hurried away before I could explain.
I slowly got off of her, almost reluctantly. She just softly chuckled and sat up.
"It's almost 4 o'clock would you still like to go on our date? If not, I can always go home for the day and we can try again tomorrow."
"No! I-I'm so sorry I just think you should stay here with me where I can keep you safe… is that fair? Do you like that idea? And if you already paid for the entire week and a half I can pay you back."
"I haven't paid anything yet, they take their money when I check out."
"Aww perfect! We can go get your stuff together and then go on the date and when we are done you can sleep in the extra room next to mine. HOW'S THAT SOUND?" she genuinely smiled at me and chuckled.
"It sounds like you got it all figured out. I'm all for it but… I'm worried..."
"If you're worried about the money for the room-"
"No, I'm not worried about the price I was going to pay for a week and a half for the room I was staying in, remember… It's about us. What are we? Are we just keeping each other company? Because after Wednesday I'll be heading back to Delaware because I will now have to go job hunting when I get back, and that's where all my important documents are so I can't stay over here for too long. I'll need money soon and I can't just ignore my apartment."
"I understand Ludo, just know I want you here for a long time. You're not just nice company… okay? Hey… you said you have to go back to Delaware… This is going to sound weird but I will be going back to Delaware too. I live in Delaware actually."
"No way."
"It's true! I live in Wilmington and my office building is in Newport. I know my way around. Where do you live?"
"I live in Wilmington and work at the bar in Fairfax."
"You go the complete opposite way. Figures. The only thing is I go back home on the second day of operation for the new bar which is a Thursday and I have to ride the plane with all of the higher-ups that were congratulating me at the family day."
"Oh, I see."
"Would you like to just cancel your flight and fly with me? You don't have to, it's an honest question and you can say no if you want."
"… sure."
"Wait what? Really!" she chuckled softly through her nose.
"Yeah, I don't mind an extra vacation day."
"Awesome! Great."
"Come on, let's get going before it gets too dark to go for our date at the park."
"I mean sure but go change into something more comfortable."
"You mean change back into what I wore here?" My face instantly burned and my cheeks turned bright red while I nervously giggled. I forgot she doesn't have clothes over here yet.
"Uh yeah… that's fine."
She shook her head while laughing to herself and went to change and I did the same and we met in the hallway where we joined hands and started making our way to the car.
"Oh, sir! I'm sorry for the earlier interruption but uh, do you want me to cook dinner, or are you eating out?"
"It's fine and okay, yeah you can cook if you want."
"What would you like? I already ate so don't worry about me." I looked at Ludo and she took a minute to decide…
"Uh, chicken alfredo?"
"Okay."
"We'll be back soon." She sounded so natural when she said that… I don't know but it made me happy. Hell, it made me happy that I will be by her side and I won't be losing her by the end of the vacation. She really is a blessing.
"What she said." We then got in the GT and made our way to the hotel, got her stuff, and checked out. Then I drove her to the mall. It's time to get her that ring we talked about. She wasn't too picky with the ring and made her choice super fast. She decided to get a rose gold, and black tungsten ring. So I got a blue, and black tungsten. Just the thought of her wearing this every day made me happy.
I didn't give her the ring right away. I waited until we got back to the car then I got down on one knee and whispered.
"Will you pretend to be my wife?"
"I will." Then I put the ring on her finger and stood up to kiss her. It was fake but it felt amazing that she rolled with it for me. It made me so happy. I felt like a child.
We then made it to the park and I pushed her on the swing for a while. During which I learned several things about her. She loves the fall and the winter, she is obsessed with blue raspberry and strawberry, she always wanted to make money as an author, and her favorite part of the park is the swings. I want to learn more and I hope I will get that opportunity in the future.
We continued to walk around until we decided to take a break so i took a second to text Julian.
Hey, call me when dinner is done so
I can start heading home. I'd hate
for the food you made to get cold.
Alright?
Sure thing sir. I was thinking about doing
that anyway. I actually might be done soon
so be ready to come home I guess. I say in
about 5 minutes or so?
I nodded to myself, turned off my phone, and looked up at Ludo. She was looking around in absolute awe.
"It's so beautiful here."
"Is this your first time here?"
"Yeah actually… Believe it or not but I was always kind of scared to travel alone and get lost."
"I get that feeling a lot when I'm traveling by myself."
"Why is a guy as amazing as you single?"
"Because my late girlfriend of four years killed herself and she sent me her last words over text… that's why I act the way I do and dislike the things I dislike."
"If you don't mind my asking why did she kill herself and what were her last words?"
"Her last words aren't important right now but the reason she killed herself was because of the immense guilt she felt after cheating on me."
"Did she ever tell you who?"
"No offense but can we change the subject?"
"Yeah sure… sorry. I didn't mean to pry."
"It's fine."
"What about you?"
"The only loved ones I have lost are my parents and you know why I'm single."
"How long ago did they die?"
"They died about 12 years ago in a car crash. I don't know too much of the details. I was too young and in shock to remember… I was handed over to my uncle… "
"That's an odd place to stop talking."
"It's a tough subject."
"If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."
"No… I think it's fair if I tell you. It'll make avoiding difficult situations easier."
"If you say so."
"My uncle was kind and careful for the first three years… I can't say the same for the last three years. He became very aggressive and… sexual. So fifteen-year-old me suffered and was sexually assaulted over and over until I turned eighteen when I moved out and called the police about him. Now I have no family and a shit ton of mental and physical scars." she sighed to herself for a second and looked like she was pulling into a dark place in her mind so I stood up and pulled her into a hug instead.
"I'm sorry you suffered for so long… I'm sorry no one came to your rescue. I know it won't make any difference now, but I'm here and I won't let that happen to you ever again. I promise." she buried her face into my chest and tightly wrapped her arms around my torso.
"Thank you." for once in the short time that I have known Luanne she sounded so defeated and vulnerable. Not even when she was crying did she sound so defenseless… It broke my heart.
My phone started ringing and I immediately picked it up without checking the caller id. I'm not going to lie, I thought it was Julian.
"Yo man, have you heard from Luanne?" I shot a look of disgust at my phone screen. Why haven't I blocked his number yet?
"I've been trying to call her all n-" I hung up and blocked the number and as soon as I finished doing that Julian's number flashed across my screen.
At this point, Ludo had let go of me and was staring at my phone so I answered it and put it on speaker.
"We're on our way home now Julian."
"That's a great idea, Mr.C.E.O. Hurry, home. Dinner is getting cold."
"What did-" the phone beeped and hung up on me. Ludo and I shot a worried look at each other and rushed to the car. The words of that man echoing in my head.
Hurry home.