“You know what?” He tilts his head to the side and before I even have a chance to respond, he comes running toward me. I turn around and take off running as fast as I can, but Luke is too fast. He picks me up, throws me over his shoulder, and swats my bottom.
“Luke, so help me God, if you throw me in that pool, I will kick your ass.”
“Gonna pull the guns out on me, baby?” he teases, and before I know it, I am flying through the air and landing in the pool. I come up for air and see Luke diving in the pool right beside me. He suddenly swims over to me, grabs me by the waist, and pulls me into him, sweeping the hair out of my face. I wrap my legs around his waist and gaze into those big green eyes as he slowly spins us around in the water. “You are so damn perfect. I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have you in my arms again. Thank you for this.”
My mind is reeling from his words and I can’t seem to think of anything to say. So, I do the only thing I can think of. I lower my mouth to his and kiss with everything I have; seven years of missing him, touching him, making love to him, everything. And he kisses me right back, making slow, passionate love to my mouth. We stay that way for what seems like hours before Luke guides us to the edge of the pool and lifts me up, sitting me down on the ledge. I take his face in my hands and wipe the water off before placing both of my hands on each side of his face, and look into his eyes.
“We are both lucky, Luke. Not many people can say they got a second chance to be with the one person they love. I know we have a long way to go, but it doesn’t change the fact that my love for you has never waned. It has always been there and it always will be.”
Chapter Nine
After a relaxing day by the pool, we go back inside and change into our clothes. Luke takes our suits and hangs them up to dry. Just as he returns, his phone starts ringing. He picks it up off of the counter and looks at the screen.
“I have to take this,” he says and answers the call, telling them to hold on for a moment.
“I’ll start dinner,” I whisper at him and he strides off toward his office. I begin looking through the fridge for something to make and see he has everything I need to make a pork tenderloin. I gather all the ingredients, along with everything to make a salad, out of the fridge, and then search through the pantry for potatoes. By the time Luke gets back, I have everything put together and in the oven.
“Something smells good, babe.”
“Yeah, you had everything I needed for a tenderloin. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, not at all. I love seeing you in my kitchen.”
“I love to cook, but with my job and with Lu–” I snap my mouth shut, realizing how close I was to saying something about Lucy. Shit!
I gather my bearings, hoping my almost fuck up isn’t clearly written on my face. “Anyway, I just don’t always have the time to cook like I would love to.”
By the look on his face, he didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong and we wander out to the deck. Luke grabs two beers from the fridge outside, then stretches out in one of the lounge chairs and pulls me onto his lap. The sun is slowly starting to set and the colors in the sky are changing. It reminds me of a coastal sunset, how beautiful the colors are as the sun disappears into the ocean. We used to watch the sun fall into the soft waves of Lake Michigan when we were younger, lying on the sand, wrapped in each other’s arms. Our first time was on that beach under the warm pinks, oranges, and yellows streaking across the horizon.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts and ask Luke something I’ve been curious about. We’re getting to know each other again, after all. What his life was like after he left is very much a part of who he is now. “Tell me about California. What was it like there?”
“California is very busy. We lived in the Orange County area where things are very expensive and college tuition is crazy, but the nice thing is that the people are very laid back. Antonio and I moved out shortly after we relocated there and lived together all through college. We partied most of the time, but still managed to keep our grades up. We also were accepted into the same law school.
“After I finished law school, we all moved back here. My parents live in the same house as we did before. What about you, Shayne? Tell me about Texas.”
“It’s very hot and very dry there. A lot of oil and a lot of hot cowboys.”
“Cowboys, huh?”
Before I can respond, the timer goes off, telling me that dinner is done. We both get up and go inside. I tend to the food while Luke gets out two plates and silverware and sets them on the counter. I prepare our plates and we take them over to the table. We continue to talk about our college days and our jobs. Luke listens very intently as I tell him all about nursing and the satisfaction I get out of it.