Back to Us

Seven

I wake up to Lucas brushing his fingers through my hair. It feels amazing, and I bask in his touch. When I open my eyes, he's smiling at me.

"Hey, sleeping beauty."

I rub my eyes, thinking he must be crazy. I don't look my best these days.

"How'd you sleep?" he asks.

I nod, wanting to say good, but apparently my brain hasn't caught up with me being awake.

"Still tired?" he chuckles.

I nod again, covering my face because I'm blushing now. This is a first—waking up with Lucas in the same bed, I mean. I have no idea how to act.

"You're so freaking cute, Audi. Sleep. I'll make us breakfast."

He kisses the top of my head and gets out of bed.

Smooth, Claudia.

I pull the bed sheets over my head, wondering if he's always going to affect me like this.

Probably, I conclude.

I drift in and out of consciousness, but as soon as I smell pancakes, I can't resist anymore.

I sleepily pad out of the bedroom, finding Lucas cooking up a storm in the kitchen. I don't know when he changed, but he's wearing jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt. The color accentuates his features. Apart from his unruly hair, he looks like he just stepped out of a catalog.

I, on the other hand, am wearing sweats and an oversized hoodie. I don't know what's going on with my hair either. I stopped trying to fix it days ago. Needless to say, I look like a bum compared to him.

"Perfect timing," he says. "I was just about to come and get you. I hope you're hungry. If not, I'll be forced to eat your pancakes too. Not that I'm complaining."

"I am hungry, actually. I've been thinking about pancakes since I didn't get to have them at IHOP."

He pulls out a chair for me at the breakfast table, and it's set to feed an entire village. Besides the pancakes, there are eggs and bacon, toast, yogurt, granola, and fruit. I'm assuming he's eating most of this because I don't think I can handle more than the pancakes.

I sit back in awe. "I can't believe you made all this, Lucas. When did you learn to cook?"

"With my mom. I helped her around the house after my dad moved out. You could say we became close." He prepares two cups of coffee and sits next to me.

"That's great to hear. I'm glad you have a good relationship with her."

I wish I had a better relationship with either of my parents. Unfortunately, both of them have been strained since the affair.

"She didn't mind you taking off two weeks early?" I ask.

"No, she understood. I told her I had to go see about a girl. She's in la-la land with Boy Toy anyway."

Was that a Good Will Hunting reference? I wonder if he meant it like that. Especially the way he said it so casually.

I start preparing my pancakes, careful not to drown them in maple syrup like I usually do. I can't help pour a little extra after I'm done. I would be doing a disservice to my home state not to.

"She knew I was talking about you, by the way," he says with a wink. "She said it was about time. She also says hi."

God, there he goes again with the winking. It's simply not fair.

I stuff several bites of pancakes into my mouth because it's way too early to be having this conversation.

Lucas chuckles. "Sorry. Too much?"