Loving Luke | muke [c]

Twenty Four

The sun crept in through the flowing curtains, making me wonder when I had opened my bedroom window to allow the ocean breeze to seep into my room. I groaned as I rolled over, inhaling deeply and instantly being greeted with the scent of Luke. I didn't even have to open my eyes to realise I wasn't in my room, that I hadn't slept alone in my bed. I had, yet again, tied myself to Luke and to the feeling of having his heart beat against my chest as I was taken into a world of dreams where Luke and I could be together. Calum's words echoed in my mind as I pulled the covers further up my body, feeling like I was getting a hug from the blond that had slept next to me. I stuck my arm out from under the covers, reaching out for the blond that I had hoped would be still asleep next to me.

I was faced with an empty side of the bed, causing me to peel an eye open lazily. I could hear the distant crashing of waves a few kilometres down, and the sudden desire to take Armani down to the dog beach burst inside me. I sighed, sitting up in Luke's bed and ruffling my hair that was stuck to my forehead like it would be whenever I wore a snapback. The sound of pans clattering in the kitchen caught my attention, stomach instantly growling as I thought of Luke making us breakfast. I smiled to myself, feeling like for the first time in quite a while, I was genuinely happy. I wasn't waking up feeling like being next to Luke would be a task. I didn't feel like there was so much I had to hide from him, even though there was. On that sunny morning, all I could think was that I was waking up to the company of my best friend and that feeling was indescribable, no matter how short lived it could be.

I tossed the sheets aside, standing up quickly and rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I opened the bedroom door. I could already hear the scratching of Armani's nails against the hardwood floor, meaning the growing labrador was running to give me a good morning. I grinned as I saw him turn the corner, rushing towards me with his tongue sticking out. I dropped to my knees, allowing the puppy to put his paws over my legs, licking me as I ran my hands over his smooth fur and pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

"Good morning, boy." I cooed, taking his face between my hands as to attempt to calm him down slightly. "Did you have a good night? Did you? You wanna go to the dog beach today?" Armani got off me, running around in circles as if to show his excitement. "Good boy." I sighed as I stood up, patting his head once more before making my way to the bathroom to brush my teeth and then the kitchen.

I smiled as I spotted Luke standing behind the stove, chest exposed as he quickly tossed some ingredients into the frying pan. I could see his laptop was open on the dinner table, meaning Luke had been doing some online studying early that morning. It was strange, however, to see the journal we had found back in Luke's apartment open next the MacBook. I frowned slightly, taking a small step closer to it curiously to try and catch a glimpse of what was written on it. The sound of Luke's voice instantly made me freeze, eyes flickering over to the blond that was already looking at me.

"You had a long sleep." Luke said, attempting to smile. But even from where I was standing, I could see it was a fake one. "It's almost midday already."

"Oh." I cleared my throat, walking towards the kitchen counter and jumping up to sit on it. Luke narrowed his eyes at me, as if to tell me to get down. I simply smiled instead. Without giving much thought to it, I reached out to grab Luke's arm, pulling him so that the blond was standing between my legs. It was almost automatic, leaning down to press our lips together in a quick kiss.

This time, however, I was surprised to see Luke pull away, putting his spatula down on the counter before wrapping his arms around my neck once more. I could feel his fingers threading through my hair as I looked into his eyes, seeing the waves of emotion trying to fight for total domination. Confusion, sadness, affection. If only this affection could be the same affection I felt towards him. For the first time in my life, I felt like the butterflies from holding Luke this close to me had vanished. This didn't feel like something surreal to me anymore; this felt perfect and this felt right. It was as if, even for a split second, soulmates meant nothing and Luke was mine. Luke went up onto his tiptoes, eyes glancing down at my lips as one of my hands reached up to cup his cheek and the other remained loosely wrapped around his waist.

He made the first move to kiss me once more, this time grazing his tongue over my lower lip to grant him access. I hadn't kissed many people before in my life, I hadn't felt the desire to kiss anyone other than Luke my entire life. I felt his tongue against mine, the slight taste of coffee invading my mouth and making me thirsty for more. Everything around me seemed to dim, the sound seemed to be muted and nothing else mattered in the world except for the bitter taste of coffee on Luke's tongue and the fresh taste of toothpaste on my own. For the first time in my life, I felt myself ignore the world around me, focusing solely on Luke's hand flat against the nape of my neck and my fingers digging into the skin of his lower back, pulling him closer to me. That was the first real kiss Luke and I ever shared, and everything about that kiss felt that way. Real. We could be real.

"Do you want to take Armani down to the dog beach today?" I asked, trying to sound as neutral as I possibly could. Luke licked his lips as he reached for his spatula again, returning to the stove and messing around with the scrambled eggs on the frying pan.

"Sure." Luke nodded, not looking up at me as he did so. "That should be nice."

-

The sun had started to set over the sea at Jindalee Beach. The breeze that swept over the coast was enough to keep us cool, but warm enough to get young kids and dogs playing in the waves. Luke and I walked along the coast with our fingers laced together, shoes in our hands and Armani running off the lead. I could feel Luke hold my hand a little tighter whenever Armani leapt a little too far, almost like an overprotective parent would do when their child wandered off eyesight. I smiled to myself, turning to the blond as I watched his hair move around with the wind.

"Stop worrying," I chuckled. "He's fine. He's just having fun."

"What if a bigger dog attacks him? He's just a little puppy!" Luke said with a shake of his head. I could feel him holding back from running up to our golden labrador to put him back on the lead. I pulled Luke closer to me, letting go of his hand and throwing my arm over his shoulder. Luke allowed me to do so, wrapping his own arm around my waist as he gently placed his head on my shoulder.

"He'll be fine, Lukey. We won't let anyone hurt him." I could feel Luke let out a long sigh, eyes focusing on the different shades of purples and oranges that painted the sky, making it yet another breathtaking sunset Perth was so used to. The blond didn't say anything else on the subject, simply gripping onto my shirt a little tighter whenever our puppy approached another dog. I had never seen Luke love something so much like he loved Armani. And I was glad I had been the one to give him something he could love with all his heart.

"If only we could stop the people we love from getting hurt." He mumbled after a long silence. I smiled sadly down at the sand, rubbing his arm soothingly. I knew that at that moment, he was talking about Ashton and Calum. If only he knew he could be talking about me.

"If only." I nodded in agreement.

~~~

I posted a new story called "seventeen" !! pls go check that out, it would be hella rad !!

ps. i gET TO SEE WITH CONFIDENCE, NECK DEEP AND STATE CHAMPS TOMORROW AND MORE IMPORTANTLY I GET TO MEET ABBY IM SO EXCITED YOU HAVE NO IDEA