“Lukas, what are you doing here?” I repeated. I could hear the aggravation creeping into my voice. It was way too early for Lukas.
He stuck out his lip in a pout. “You wound me. You’re awfully grouchy, Josie. Are you missing Stefan’s massive throbbing cock this morning?”
“Lukas!” I groaned. I felt a blush spread over my face and chest.
“Fine, fine. I’m here to babysit you for a little while. And to take you shopping. We’re in New York City, baby.” Lukas clapped his hands and bounced up from the bed. He went to a bag and pulled out a pair of jeans, a black tank top and a black cardigan sweater. “This will have to do until we can get you some better clothes.”
“Babysit? Stefan made you fly all the way from Indonesia to babysit me?” I was fuming at Stefan. I didn’t need a babysitter. I was a 28 year-old woman. Half-immortal woman, I mentally corrected myself.
He sat back down on the bed and clasped my chin, forcing me to meet his icy stare. “First things first, Josie. Stefan didn’t make me do anything. You just had some scary shit happen, girlfriend. Stefan thought it would be better if you weren’t alone and I agree with him. You shouldn’t be by yourself right now. Besides, we’re neighbors. My flight got in last night and I heard the two of you christen the living room. I didn’t think you had it in you.” He fanned himself with his hand.
Lukas’ reasoning made the indignation about being watched fly out the window. Stefan was being proactive by having Lukas here in his absence. Shaking my head and laughing in spite of myself, I pulled the covers even higher. “Can you give me a little privacy so I can get ready?”
“I’ll be in the living room picking up your clothes. You know, the clothes that are strewn all over the living room from your sexcapades.” Lukas grabbed his issue of Cosmo, grinned impishly and blurred out of the room, closing the door behind him.
Pulling myself from the bed, I padded into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I jumped in and lathered up with Stefan’s soap and took an extra few minutes to wash and condition my hair. I hurried out of the shower and dried off. Plugging in the hair dryer, I blew my hair out straight and dabbed on some lip gloss. I dressed quickly in the outfit Lukas chose for me headed out into the kitchen, immediately noticing the smell of coffee hanging in the air. Searching for the source, I saw a Starbucks coffee cup sitting on the counter along with a blueberry muffin. I felt some of my earlier aggravation at Lukas drift away.
“I didn’t know what you wanted. It’s black coffee. There’s coffee creamer in the refrigerator and sugar in the cabinet.” Lukas said. He was sitting on the couch, flipping through his magazine again.
“Thanks. Sorry I was so grouchy earlier.”
“No worries, sweet cheeks. Anna and Georgia are worried about you, by the way. I told them you were vacationing with Stefan,” Lukas replied, not looking up from the pages.
“Shit! I should have called them. Things happened so fast I didn’t think to let Anna or Georgia know I was leaving. Did they buy it?” I nervously bit my lip.
“No doesn’t begin to cover it,” Lukas shrugged, glancing at me. He was quiet for a moment. “Have you given any thoughts about moving away from Bali?”
“Moving away?” I echoed, opening the lid of the coffee cup and adding sugar and half & half. I opened a few drawers until I found the silverware and stirred my coffee with a spoon. I took a deep drink and sighed in relief.
“You can’t stay in Bali forever, Josie. You won’t be aging anymore. Anna and Georgia are both smart enough to figure out something isn’t right. Unless you plan on telling them… or changing them.”
Lukas voiced my biggest concern and further drove the point home to how problematic my life had become. I knew when I decided to be with Stefan, it would complicate things. The knowledge of my new found immortality made the complex situation even more precarious.
“Talk to Stefan, Josie. He only came to Bali to find you,” Lukas said. “I know him well enough that he’d live in an igloo in Alaska if that’s what you wanted. He’s pussy whipped.”
Lukas threw down his magazine and stood up to cross the room to the island, his clever eyes noticing the folder of paperwork Stefan had presented me with last night. He cocked an eyebrow at me and opened it to peek inside, reaching in to retrieve the three credit cards with my name on them, laying them out across the granite counter. He walked to his messenger bag and pulled out a pen. He zipped back over to me and held the pen out to me.
“What do you want me to do with that?” I asked curiously.