the hating game ; lrh

thirty-three

LUKE KNOCKS ON MY front door at around quarter to six, the loud sound of bone on wood filling the otherwise empty house.

I part ways with the refrigerator, where I am examining what food I could bring with us to eat rather than raiding Jane's pantry, and head for the front door. When I swing it open, I am relieved to see that Luke doesn't appear frustrated anymore about the fact that I'm forcing him to accompany me while I babysit.

"Hey," he greets me simply, pressing a soft kiss to my lips before stepping inside.

"Hey," I respond, shutting the door behind him and returning quickly to the still-open fridge. I pull out two containers and drop them on the kitchen counter. "Spaghetti meatballs or butter chicken?"

Luke makes a face at me. "Neither."

"That's not an option," I roll my eyes, but place the Tupperware containers back in the fridge regardless — we would just have to order something at Jane's.

Luke doesn't question my behaviour, instead simply taking a seat at the counter across from me. "How was Anna?" He asks, plucking an apple from the fruit bowl and biting into it.

"Do you really want to know?" I raise a brow at the blonde, following his suit and grabbing an apple for myself.

"No," Luke admits brutally. "Did you find a dress?"

I swallow the bite of my apple, hoping my nerves go down with it. I was hoping he wouldn't bring the banquet up. Couldn't we just have one night without an argument? "Yeah," is all I say, taking another bite.

"Can I see it?" Luke asks, watching me carefully.

I swallow again, casting Luke a confused glance. "You want to see my dress?"

"Yeah," he shrugs as if it's an ordinary request.

"I didn't know you were so interested in fashion now," I tease him with a smirk, which he responds to with a sneer.

"I'm not," Luke scoffs, rolling his eyes so dramatically at me he could give Anna a run for her money.

I stand up from the counter and walk my apple over to the bin. "You'll see it tomorrow."

"But we're not going together," Luke reminds me. I feel like smacking him upside the head — it was his idea that we shouldn't go together, after all. Why was he so hell-bent in seeing my dress, anyway?

"I'm still going to see you there," I try to seem calm and nonchalant about the situation as I stand before Luke. He wraps his arms around my waist, clearly comforted by the fact that nobody else is home, and pulls me close to him. "Besides, it's a surprise."

"Mmm," Luke muses, bringing his lips to my own. I relish in the feeling of them — soft, plump, gentle. Full of desire and care. Passionate yet delicate. The perfect mixture.

I pull myself reluctantly from him before we can get too carried away. Luke pouts as I do so, his bottom lip jutting out dramatically. "We should go," I tell him.

"Or we could stay..." Luke leans forward, but presses a soft kiss to my neck this time. I gasp lightly at the feeling, electricity shooting through my body and buzzing at the site of contact, but again manage to pull away.

"Luke, come on," I tug at his hair, though I'm not really sure whether I'm actually trying to get him off me now or not. I glance at the clock and realise that it's almost six, meaning that we're now late, and really pull him away this time. "Luke."

Luke lets out a groan of annoyance, letting his head fall back dramatically as he does so. "Fine," he stands up from his seat, plucks his keys off the counter and storms toward the door. "Fucking kids."