'You pulled the covers off the bed, pillow stuck between your legs. Oh, what a beautiful mess.'
Luke shrugged himself awake, realizing the music came from Becca's alarm clock in the bedroom: she must've set it last night before he'd come back, as she definitely hadn't gone into her bedroom after that.
'My T-shirt's never looked so good, I'm laying here like I could stay forever next to sleeping beauty, you got no idea what you do to me. I hope your dreams come true, last night was perfect, we stayed up too late. But it was worth it, to wake up seeing you. Sleeping beauty.'
His attention now went to the woman asleep in his arms. He remembered how, when she'd felt cold, she grabbed her fleece blanket and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, so she could curl up against him. He remembered smelling her perfume and conditioner as she did, even now feeling the same butterflies in his stomach that he did last night. He carefully brushed a loose curl from her face, thinking he'd never seen her looking more beautiful.
'Sleeping beauty, you got no idea what you do to me. I hope your dreams come true. Last night was perfect, we stayed up too late. But it was worth it, to wake up seeing you. Sleeping beauty.'
There was a part of him that didn't want to wake her, so he could keep holding her like this. There was another part that wanted to wake her, so they could get ready to fly home to Chicago together, away from Derek and pretending, to just be around each other. Her second alarm on her phone made the decision for him, making him jump when it went off. The sound as well as him moving finally made her stir.
"Oh… morning," Becca sounded surprised that they were laying on her sofa like this.
"Morning," Luke said back, smiling when she looked up at him.
"Sorry for falling asleep here," she said as she gave a stretch before sitting up and away from him a little. She'd obviously not meant to sleep on the sofa with him instead of in her own bed.
"Don't worry, it's okay," he nodded, giving her another smile.
She rubbed her eyes before smiling back at him. "We should probably get ready to head to the airport," she said now, realizing what today was and why she would've set her alarms. She got up with another stretch, her pajama shirt riding up a little to flash her toned stomach. She pulled it back down, not having noticed that he'd noticed. "What time do we have to be at the airport again?" she asked.
"We need to leave in…" Luke started as he looked at his watch, "two hours."
"In that case, boyfriend, I'm going to kick you out, so I can get showered and ready, and so can you," Becca told him with a teasing grin, pulling him up off the sofa.
"You're harsh woman, give me a chance to wake up," he responded, chuckling when she gave him a nudge. "Alright, alright, I'm gone," he conceded, picking up his suit jacket from the armchair and headed over to the door where his shoes were. "I'll be outside with a cab in exactly 1 hour and 50 minutes, no asking for more minutes," he warned her as he pulled his shoes on.
"Yeah, yeah," she shrugged as she followed him to the door. She opened the door as he pulled his jacket on.
He turned towards her just before he was about to reach the threshold. "Bexx, thank you again for last night. You have no idea how much it means to me," Luke said seriously now as he took hold of both of her hands.
"Anytime," she assured him with a smile.
"You're amazing, you know that?" he said, his eyes taking her in. He saw her blush slightly. "I'm not sure what I would've done without you the past few weeks." Her green eyes widened a little in surprise, not sure where he was going with this. "Bexx, I think I…" he started on an impulse, stopping short when he heard something outside and leaned in to kiss her. One of his hands let go of hers so he could pull her in closer by her waist, as her free hand now made its way up his chest to his neck.
"Luke…" Becca said as she pulled back slightly.
"I know, I'm sorry, I thought I heard Derek," he quickly said to stave off her telling him off and stepped back. "I'll see you in an hour and three-quarters," he backed away when she gave him a look that he couldn't read.
"Yeah, see you then," she nodded, closing the door before he'd even made it down the first flight of stairs.
What just happened? he asked himself as he lightly jogged down the remaining stairs to get to his car quicker.
Both rushed through their morning routine, trying not to think about how they'd left it, in order to be on time for their flight. It wasn't really until they'd made it through check-in and security that they were forced to confront some of it.
"You okay?" he asked carefully when she'd still not said much as they walked around the duty free. "I'm sorry about this morning, I really did think I heard Derek," he added at the same time that she'd started to say, "I'm okay, I'm just tired."
"It's fine, I get it," she addressed what he'd said instead of repeating herself and he couldn't help thinking she sounded annoyed. He sighed to himself, thinking he needed to have a brain-to-mouth filter before he spoke. He followed her to the café, where they had a drink and some breakfast before heading over to their gate. All the while speaking only when needed.
Becca hadn't exaggerated when she said she would sleep on the plane – they barely got through the safety procedures before she was already dozing. She had her own travel pillow but as she slept for longer, her head slowly ended up on his shoulder. Luke looked down at her for the longest time, thinking about what he could do to stop her being annoyed with him. He still didn't know what to make of how he'd been feeling recently or why he'd kissed her once, possibly twice 'unnecessarily' in the space of a week, but one thing he was sure of; she'd become too important to him and he didn't want to lose her.
He spent the next two hours trying to think things through, only to still not have more than 'sorry don't be mad' when they announced they would be preparing for the descent. "Bexx, we're almost there," he said softly as he gently tried waking her. It took a few minutes, but eventually she sat up straight, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Look, I know you just woke up, but I just wanted to say again that I'm sorry. And I hope you're not too mad at me," Luke said, deciding to bite the bullet and just go for it. She looked at him a little reproachful for having to think about this while still half asleep, sinking into her hoodie a little more. "It would be a shame to ruin the next few days," he added hopefully, at which she gave a sigh and a small smile.
"Okay, fine. Let's forget about it and just try to make the most of the next few days. I'd hate to ruin your homecoming for you and your mom," Becca conceded it wasn't worth staying angry over. After all, she too had kissed him once or twice because Derek had been around. Granted that was earlier on in their agreement but the same reason nonetheless. Therefore, she could hardly hold it against him. The relieved smile he gave her spoke volumes; clearly, he'd been worrying about this for most of or the whole flight.
"Thanks, Bexx," he surprised her by pulling her in for a hug.
"Don't mention it," she said as she hugged him back, feeling him press a kiss to her hair.
"Luke!"
Becca was surprised to see him grimace before he turned around.
"Leanne?" he asked, sounding surprised. Luke had obviously told his mother when they'd be arriving at Chicago's O'Hare airport, but he hadn't expected anyone to pick them up. It was an easy taxi ride home, so he'd been planning on doing that. It would also give him some more time alone with Becca before they'd get to his place.
"Hello twin brother," his sister grinned before pulling him in a reluctant hug. "Alright, that's enough," she decided and let him go, feeling him chuckle. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" she asked him now, spotting Becca stood next to him.
He gave her a glare before he turned to his pretend girlfriend. "Yeah, Becca, this is my annoying little sister Leanne. Lee, this is Becca," Luke said, saving his smiles for his guest.
"Nice to meet you," Becca said, holding her hand out.
"You too," Leanne said as she shook it. "And I'm only little by two minutes," she added, poking her tongue out at him. "So, how did you two meet?" she asked curiously. Their mother had mentioned it in passing, but she wasn't entirely sure she'd told it right.
"It's a long story," her brother said uncomfortably. He didn't really want her to know, if he had to be honest. It was best if she just knew they were friends.
"I've got time, the whole journey home," the blonde said, giving him a playful shove.
"How about, no?" Luke told her, picking up both suitcases, despite Becca's protests. "Where's the car parked?" he prompted his sister to lead the way.
"This way. So, Becca, how long have you known my idiot twin brother?" Leanne asked as she hooked her arm through that of her brother's new friend.
Becca glanced back at him, to see if he didn't mind her telling the truth, seeing him give a shrug. "Oh, well, officially just over a month but we'd met once or twice before that," she answered.
"Good, good. Tell me more," the blonde said with a chuckle, making the other two laugh before they could help themselves.
They managed to get Leanne to drop the conversation as Becca asked about things along the route, which was only a 25-minute drive anyway.
"Oh, I like the look of those woods," Becca said when she spotted the trees. She loved going to the woods for walks back in Milwaukee, and even in San Antonio when she had a chance.
"That's Sidney Yates' Woods, it's right round the block from ours," Leanne answered with a vague gesture.
"We can go for a walk at some point if you want," Luke offered as he turned in his seat to look at her.
"That would be great," she nodded with a smile, getting a smile in return. His sister glanced over at him and in the mirror at her other passenger, wondering what was going on. Friends did not share those kinds of smiles. Maybe their mother could get it out of him. "What are the plans for the next few days?" Becca asked now, realizing they hadn't spoken about that yet.
"I think Mom wants to have a day or two of traditions," Leanne answered. "Baking cookies is definitely on the list," she added.
"Oh yum," their guest reacted from the backseat; that was one tradition she would happily get behind. "Any other good traditions?" she asked curiously.
"There's the Zoolights at the Lincoln Park Zoo we always go to," Luke said with a shrug, figuring their mother wouldn't let them not go and it would be a nice way of showing Becca around.
"Oh yeey, I definitely want to go see those," she said, poking his shoulder to make sure he knew she meant it.
"Yeah, yeah, don't worry, we'll go," he chuckled, reaching back to grab hold of her hand to stop her from poking him again. He rolled his eyes when his sister gave him a questioning glance. "That's us," Luke pointed his childhood home out. The outside was a grey-green with lots of windows. Leanne parked the car on the drive, in front of the garage door. It looked like a comfortable house to have grown up in. "Come on, I'll give you the tour, we can get the bags later," he said as he got out of the car and opened the door for her. She got out with a smile, still having to get used to him doing that for her. As soon as he opened the front door, they walked into a wide-open space, with the seating area first and the kitchen and dining area along the back wall of the house. The floor was beautiful hardwood and Becca could imagine the two siblings chasing each other and sliding across it in their socks. The kitchen was modern with a big cooking island in the middle, with two stools on the dining room side. The dining table was in front of the massive back window, looking out over the big backyard.
"This place is great," Becca said as she looked around the living room. It was so spacious and light.
"This is nothing," Luke said with a cocky voice, giving her a wink before he led the way upstairs. He only pointed out his mother's bedroom and the laundry room. The bathroom was next to the room she'd be sleeping in, which was decorated in a light and airy manner; very light blue on the walls with nature paintings, gauzy curtains; a cabinet with a flat screen TV; a simple queen size bed and a white fuzzy thick rug by the foot of the bed. "And…" he said dramatically, walking further into the room to a door in the corner, "a walk-in closet!"
"What?!" Becca responded as she rushed over to peek in, leaning past him. "I can't believe your guest room has a walk-in closet. I don't even have one at home or with my parents," she said in slight awe. She was loving this house more and more.
"Well, all our bedrooms have them," Luke said honestly, looking back at her and suddenly noticing how close she was to him. Despite having been on the plane for several hours, she still smelled of Herbal Essences golden raspberry and mint shampoo and Diamonds perfume; it was intoxicating. He took one last deep breath of her before he leaned back into the doorpost. "Come on, I'll show you the rest," he said before she could turn towards him and led the way out of her room. The room next to hers and the stairs was the biggest room after the master bedroom, and it wasn't hard to guess whose it was. The blue in this room was a little darker but still stylish. The floor was more of a grey wooden floor, with a dark blue fuzzy thick rug in front of the window. The bed looked quite high up, with a simple wood base, but when she walked in she could see there were several spaces in the bottom for books and other bits and pieces. "This is my bedroom," he said, sounding like he was admitting something shameful.
"I like it," Becca said as she looked around before heading to the window and looking out over the backyard. "It suits you," she added, turning back to him, seeing him sink down on the edge of his bed. She smiled as she took him in.
"Thanks," he smiled back, holding her gaze for a few seconds. "Next stop," he said as he got up quickly before they could get lost in each other's eyes again and held the door open.
"How much more is there?" she asked as she followed him out.
"Leanne's room, the bathroom and the downstairs family room," Luke said with a shrug.
"We just came from downstairs," the brunette said confused, making him chuckle.
"We have a basement level, with a family room and an office," he explained as he led the way downstairs, making her think that it was a good thing he wasn't coming to visit hers on this trip, as her house would be a massive letdown after this place.
After Becca had seen downstairs and told him that was her favorite room of the whole house, they went back up to get their luggage out of the car.
"I'll let you unpack and freshen up. I'll be downstairs when you're ready," Luke told her once he'd helped her get her bag up to her room. He figured his unpacking wouldn't take as long as hers, as he knew he'd still have stuff here and wouldn't need to bring everything with him.
"Thanks," Becca gave him a sweet smile as she leaned against the door. "I won't be long," she added.
"Great," he nodded with a smile of his own, hesitating for a moment. She wrapped her arms around herself, wondering what he was thinking. "Right… I best be…" he said a little awkwardly, gesturing to downstairs before he briefly touched her arm and headed downstairs. What the hell is wrong with you? Luke asked himself as he made his way downstairs. Becca peered out of the door around the corner to watch him head down before she headed into her room.
"Luke," he heard his mother's happy voice just before she pulled him in for a hug.
"Hey mom," he said, and he could feel how happy she was by how tightly she was holding him.
"I'm so glad you're home, baby," Mrs. Shelton said, giving him a kiss on his cheek as she went through his hair. It had been over a year since her son had been home and she couldn't even begin to explain how much she'd missed him.
"Me too," Luke said as he returned the kiss, ignoring her pet name.
His mother pulled out of the hug to look at him properly with a smile. "Still as handsome as ever," she smiled in a tone only a mother could use.
"Mom," he objected as only a grown-up son could when his mother was being embarrassing. He was just glad that the only person around to possibly witness it was his sister, who'd probably had a similar welcome when she'd come home two days ago.
"I'm sorry," Mrs. Shelton chuckled, sounding anything but. "Now, tell me about Becca, where is she?" she asked curiously. She'd been thinking that whoever it was must be pretty special for him to agree to bring her home, even if they did have some sort of agreement. The only girl he'd brought home was Kirsty and he'd obviously asked her to marry him before she broke up with him.
"She's just unpacking and freshening up upstairs," Luke answered, a little hesitant at how excited his mother sounded. That couldn't be a good sign, she was probably getting a lot of wrong ideas. "For the record, we're friends, nothing more," he told her strictly.
"Okay dear," his mother responded with a shrug, playing it nonchalant. She'd let him believe she believed him for now.
"Mom," he warned her, not sure he did believe her.
She held her hands up innocently as she gave him a smile. "Oh, you must be Becca," Mrs. Shelton surprised him now, as she spotted Becca come in over his shoulder. "Welcome," she smiled as she headed over to her guest. Her son turned around towards her as well.
"Hi Mrs. Shelton, thank you for letting me stay," Becca started.
"Oh, none of that, please call me Miranda," the older lady set her straight as they shook hands, seeing her guest nod.
"Okay, well thank you, Miranda," she said with a smile, taking in her host. Leanne looked almost the spitting image of Mrs. Shelton and both were pretty much like a female version of Luke. She looked young for what Becca assumed was her age and she could imagine that she was a very active and fit person, if she was anything like her son.
"So, I bet you're getting hungry. Let me just get changed and then, if you want, you can help me in the kitchen and we can all get to know each other," Mrs. Shelton said now, hiding a smile when she saw her son wasn't too impressed with the plan or how she'd phrased it.
"Mom," he complained, making his pretend girlfriend laugh. He gave her a warning look, only making it harder for Becca to stop laughing. "Bexx," Luke said now, making both women laugh.