Second Chances (6 page)

*Luke*

I slid down the wall flopping to
the floor outside my room I knew where I would be staying. Right here standing
guard there was no way in hell I was going to let one of my horny team mates
take advantage of
Zoey
. She was a wreck emotionally
and after what I heard her confess tonight about her mother and then her
father…well she had a lot of reasons to be. I felt so bad that she had all this
going on right now and I wanted to be there for her but that wouldn’t mean
having sex with her and then when she woke up tomorrow realizing what had
happened she would hate me for it. I couldn’t bring myself to kiss her back I hated
that our first kiss would be remembered as that. Maybe she wouldn’t remember it
and then when she was ready I could kiss her and make it count. I had no idea
what this girl was doing to mean but she was beginning to make me soft. I am
sure the guys will have a great time with this once they get wind that I turned
down a hot girl that threw herself at me.

Seeing her dance tonight with
Sophia wow, now that was a show.
Zoey
is a very sexy
and seeing her dance around shaking her ass and running her hands over her body
was something I couldn’t turn away from. Half the guys here were making their
comments to each other and after the pissed off looks I threw at them I figured
they would get the point that she wasn’t fair game but leave it to Mitch to
miss the warnings. Once I saw him walk over to her my entire body tensed up. I
let it go for a few minutes even though I could read his expression he actually
thought he was going to get some. As soon as he put his hand on her waist well
let’s just say it took everything I had to not break his nose.
Zoey
was so pissed I was really getting used to that look
on her face it is pure fire. She doesn’t take shit. She is so damn stubborn and
so cute. All that shit she fired at me about liking slutty girls and no string
sex… it stung. I can’t lie I hate that she has those opinions about me. I am
trying to change for her I want to be different. I actually cared what she
thought of me and I have to admit that is not a feeling I am used to. I was
hoping by tomorrow morning after she slept it off she wouldn’t think I was an
asshole. Who was I kidding she was right I am an ass.

“Hey dude what are you doing on
the floor?” I looked up to see Blake looking down at me. “Everyone pretty much
scattered with the exception of a few stragglers.” He sat down opposite me on
the floor and leaned against the wall.

“Did you see
Zoey
earlier dancing with Mitch?” I asked without looking up.

“Not many people that were here
missed it. They also saw how pissed off you got about it to.” He tipped his
beer up again and continued “You know Luke it really is okay to like just one
person and have people know it. You don’t have to keep hiding your feelings
about
Zoey
because you are worried about how the guys
will react. She isn’t like the other girls you’ve been with. Dude she’s a
virgin you know that right?”

WHAT my head flew up to meet his
stare “How do you know that?” He shook his head “Well I wasn’t spying I swear I
just overheard Sophia telling Evan the other day and I can’t say I’m that
shocked. She just seems innocent in the way. She carries herself with
confidence she doesn’t need attention from a guy to make her feel important.
She’s been through a lot in the last few months
ya
know. She deserves a guy to treat her right. Luke I’m just scared that if you
don’t wake up and realize that she may not sit around waiting forever for you
to change you are going to miss a great opportunity…you put up a good front but
it is all for show.” He pointed his fingers toward my bedroom door “That girl
right in there would be good for you. You really need to wake up before she
realizes she is too damn good and moves on to a guy that will treat her right
and you can’t stop it.” He got up from the floor and slapped me on the shoulder
walking back down the hall “Night dude.” He left me to think about everything
he said and it all was so true.

I stood and slowly opened the
door to walk in.
Zoey
was curled up on my bed facing
the wall. All I could see was her hair it was wild and laying across her face.
Her hair is always untamed but utterly beautiful the way it waves all around
her face and down her back. I reached to move it away from her face when she lightly
whimpered and rolled over toward me. I sat down on the edge of my bed watching
her sleep. I could see her entire face now. Her lips are so full and perfectly
shaped I am not going to lie to myself I wanted to kiss them since that first
day I hit on her and she fired back at me. I don’t think she realizes just how
beautiful she really is. She seems flawless laying here as her chest slowly
rises and falls with each breath. Before I realized what I was doing my fingers
were tracing her lower lip slowly it is so full. I must have tickled her
because she quickly brought her hand up to itch her face then lightly moaned in
her sleep puckering it out. That cute little noise only made me smile. I’m not
sure how long I sat there with only the light from the hall coming in giving me
just enough to see her features clearly. This feeling that I had was so new and
completely unexpected. I felt like I could watch her forever and I would have
been completely happy with that. She deserves a good guy…I was making a promise
to myself at that moment to be the good guy no matter what it took. She made me
want to be who she deserved.

I woke up to the sun shining in
through the window. I hadn’t meant to fall asleep I was planning to go out and
sleep on the couch but here I was on my bedroom floor next to my bed. I sat up
and
Zoey
was still fast asleep on my bed. I stretch
and snuck out quickly closing the door behind me to allow her to continue
sleeping.  It was only nine twenty. I was surprised to find Evan and
Sophia in the kitchen eating cereal and toast. “Damn
Soph
you look like hell. How do you feel?” All she did in response is grunt and then
Evan followed “Hey you took care of
Zoey
last night
respectfully right?” I didn’t answer right away as I reached in the fridge for
the orange juice and I turned around making eye contact with Evan, “Well if you
mean I rescued her from waking up naked next to Mitch and made her sleep it off
in my room while I slept on the floor next to her to make sure no guys got any
ideas then yes I did.” Evan just nodded at me and finished his cereal. “
Eww
Mitch you’re kidding me he is not cute at all and he is…
eww
,” Sophia complained. I just smiled and kept drinking my
orange juice.  About that time I looked up to find
Zoey
walking into the kitchen. She was running her hand through her hair and staring
at the floor kicking her foot nervously back and forth. Evan spoke first, “So Zoe
you feel up for eggs and bacon…” he chuckled to himself and
Soph
hit him in the arm. “Damn it shut up asshole don’t talk about food.”
Zoey
had yet made eye contact with me she only spoke one
word, “Coffee?”

*
Zoey
*

Oh my god why did I do this to
myself I felt horrible. My head was pounding and my stomach was rolling. Not to
mention my mouth was so damn dry I felt like my tongue was stuck to the roof of
my mouth. This is exactly why I normally nurse only one drink the entire night
so I can avoid feeling like this the next morning. When I woke up and realized
I was in Luke’s bed I felt a sense of panic until I realized I was still fully
clothed and alone I calmed quickly. I had no idea how I had gotten there but it
could have gone much worse I guess. When I walked into the kitchen the first
thing I see is Luke standing next to the refrigerator and he was shirtless. Oh
my I felt a little warm and with the headache I had I felt a little nauseous. I
needed coffee badly. I couldn’t look up at him but now had him throwing a pot
of coffee on. Why did he have to be so yummy? I turned to face Sophia who looked
as bad as I felt. I remembered parts of last night I just wasn’t sure exactly
what may have been reality and what may have been all blurred together and all
mixed up. I remember Luke helping me off the stairs and I remembered being
really pissed off toward him but I couldn’t remember why or if I should still
be. I actually just felt really embarrassed. “Do you use cream and sugar?”
Luke’s tone with me was really sweet. For the first time since I walked into
the kitchen I made eye contact with him, “Yes both please.” He just smiled and
got them out putting them on the counter.

We all sat at the table as Sophia
and I groaned continuously once they realized how fun it was to mention things
they knew would turn our stomachs. Blake had eventually surfaced and joined in
on the fun. I figured at around eleven after I had taken a shower, brushed my
teeth and now felt a little more human that it was time to find my phone I was
pretty sure my mother had probably been blowing the thing up. Fourteen missed
calls, seven voicemails, and eighteen texts. I sat there on the end of Luke’s
bed staring at my phone when he walked in pausing for a moment and then walking
over to set down next to me. He brought his hand up and tucked the loose hairs
behind my ear causing me to turn to look at him, “Trying to decide if I should
call my mom or let her keep worrying.” He just looked at me for a second and
then placed his hand over mine. “
Zoey
I’m not going
to sit here and pretend to understand what you’re going through. You are
definitely a very strong person and I have to admit that I admire you for being
so strong.” I looked in his eyes a little stunned at his confession “Luke I
really appreciate that really but you are a little confusing are you bipolar.”
We both laughed and it helped lighten my mood slightly. “Hey Luke, Can I ask
you a question?” I sat picking at my nails waiting for his response. “You can
ask me anything.” I felt really nervous about what I was about to say but I had
to because the longer I was awake the more of last night I was starting to
remember. He placed his finger under my chin and turned me toward him slightly
lifting it to meet his gaze. Silently questioning me…I swallowed took a deep
breath and slightly above a whisper, “Did I throw myself at you last night and
force you to kiss me?” I held my breath as he kept looking in my eyes. “I was
hoping that you would forget that part of your night.” I dropped my gaze and he
quickly shifted to face me pulling me closer to him and lifting my chin again,
“Hey listen I didn’t want you to remember because I wanted the first time I
kissed you to be special. I wanted it to be a kiss that you would want to
remember… one that you would want to repeat over and over. As for forcing me…that
would be impossible because I have wanted to kiss you since that first night
after the football game.” He was looking at my lips and I licked them on a
reflex. He brought his eyes back to meet mine. I had to remind myself to breath
because I felt like I was going to pass out.  He slid his hand through my hair
to rest on my neck. “
Zoey
I’ve got to be honest right
now…I really want to kiss you. Can I kiss you? I promise it will be better than
last night.” He held my gaze and again I licked my lips I was so nervous. Of
course I wanted him to kiss me I was so scared I would not measure up to his
past but I really wanted him to kiss me. I realized I hadn’t answered him when
I heard him ask again. “Baby…You got to answer me…can I kiss you?” I nodded and
he brought his mouth to mine very slowly closing his eyes right before his lips
touched mine. It was such a gentle sweet kiss as he sucked lightly on my lower
lip. He slowly pulled back to look at me and then kissed me again with a little
more pressure and I felt his tongue slowly lick my lower lip. I opened my mouth
slightly welcoming him to continue and for a moment I completely forgot where I
was. Nothing else mattered I just wanted him to keep kissing me just like he
was. He was such an amazing kisser. I was floating through it I felt amazing.
He pulled back and looked at me, “Wow” he whispered. Wow was right. I wasn’t
ready to have him stop “More please…” I heard a low chuckle escape him. “Shit I
said that out loud didn’t I?” Still smiling he nodded his head “But, it’s okay
I’m more than happy to kiss you some more.” When he brought his lips back to
mine our tongues began dancing together so smoothly like we had been kissing
each other for years. My phone began to vibrate in my hands and we broke our
kiss as I looked down. “Talk to her. Tell her you’re okay…that you just need
some time. You can spend the day with me.” Luke lightly brushed his knuckles
across my cheek and he got up and left me to talk to her.  I took a deep
breath and answered.

Me: “Hello”

Mom: “Thank god
Zoey
. I have been worried sick.”

Me: “I’m Fine”

Mom: “Where are you?”

Me: “I’m with Sophia and some
other friends”

Mom: “Will you come home so we
can talk please?”

Me: “I can’t talk to you about
this yet because if I do…I am full of anger and I’ll say a lot of this I may
regret later. Right now all I want to do is hurt you. I want to tell you all
the awful things I feel toward you and I just need to filter it all before I
can talk to you.”

Mom: “I guess I deserve all the
hate
Zoey
. I understand your angry but I do love you
and your sister and I loved your father and still do love him very much.”

Me:  “Please Stop. I’ll have
to stop by sometime to get some clothes and things. I
wanna
see Lily because I don’t want her affected by this. So I will see you a little
later but not to talk. I have never tried to disrespect you momma but right now
I just want to say you are just
gonna
have to accept
the fact that I will talk to you when I am ready and not until.”