Betting on You

54

f i f t y f o u r

"Are your eyes covered?"

"Yes."

"... I can literally see your eyes, Maddy."

I giggled as Luke reached out and lowered the beanie back down and over my eyes again, darkness clouding my vision once more. "Fine, but I'm curious!"

"It's supposed to be a surprise."

"Then you should've had it wrapped," I teased, turning my head to my right, tilting it slightly upwards, where it sounded like where Luke's voice was coming from. I reached out and grasped the air, wanting to touch him. "Where did you go?"

"I'm right here," I could hear the smile in his voice as he stepped closer to me, then I think stepped behind me because then I felt his chest against my back and his hands on my hips. I felt a delicious chill run up my spine and I leaned back against him without thinking. The plush of his slightly puffy vest in combination with my own winter coat made his chest a soft surface as I leaned against him.

Luke and I had spent almost the entire day together.

Of course, we had agreed that that would be our plan for today, but actually spending the entire day with him was much more exhilarating than I could've imagined.

When we had gotten up to his room last night... or rather, early this morning, we had changed, gotten ready for bed, and spent the first 20 minutes awkwardly sitting next to each other on his mattress with Luke's laptop between us. He had put on teenage mutant ninja turtles, and while it wasn't much of a relaxing movie to wind down to, all I really wanted to do was cuddle.

And then, in a surprising turn of events, Luke had been the one to ask me if we could cuddle, and I wasted no time draping myself over him, snuggling into his chest. Just like always, I had felt safe and secure and so at home in his arms and I just couldn't explain it.

We had fallen asleep with me still in his arms and by 9am I was the one nudging Luke awake, very much excited to get our day started. Whatever this gift was that he had for me was making me nervous and happy all at once. It had been years since the last time anyone's ever gotten me a gift for Valentines' Day. I thought I'd be spending this years' romantic holiday with Darius, but.. well.. this was a much better turn of events.

Luke had later helped me over to my balcony so I could feign as if I had come home last night, as I was supposed to have. Then, once we had both gotten ready, we had told our parents that we were hanging out and that was that. Which worked well enough, seeing as lately, anytime I'd mention hanging out with Luke, my parents were eager to shoo me off to him. I was getting the sneaking suspicion that Liz had mentioned Luke's depression to my parents because they were acting as she had when she had asked me to hang out with her son more.

But then there was the fact that Luke said he had to talk to my parents about whatever the gift had been, and it was clear they knew we were picking it up today. They were acting just as secretive as Luke was, and the suspense was killing about what the gift could potentially be.

Once we had gotten into Luke's car, he had placed his beanie over my head and then lowered it further so that it covered my eyes; A makeshift blindfold. And based on the fact that we had been in his car for at least an hour, wherever he had taken me was most likely in the next town over. Which only made me more curious as to what the heck this present was.