Page 115 of Burning Deceptions
And this was the harder ask. “Um. How about you coming home with me?”
His eyes narrowed into slits. “Your dorm?”
“No. Not the dorm. Hickory Bend. Sunday. I mean on Sunday, with me, and stay until Tuesday when I come back.”
Luke’s teasing expression melted right before my eyes. He tugged his hand free and righted in his seat. “I don’t … That’s not …” He blew out a breath. “I know I said I wanted to meet them, but this is—sudden. Isn’t it sudden?”
Fuck. Why was he so afraid? This man could be so bold and strong but so weak when it came to this.
“We don’t have to say we’re together. You can just be my friend. They won’t care.”
“Your friend?” He turned, brows raised, and scoffed. “A friend nearly twice your age? Somehow, I feel that would be even worse.”
“Luke.” I reached for his hand and savored the glimmer of renewing hope when he didn’t deny me. “My family’s nothin’ like yours. I’m already out. They won’t care. I promise you. They’re not fancy like your family, but they’d welcome anyone and everyone. No judgment.”
“Asher …”
Before he could deny me again or dim the warm glow in my soul this day had become, I did it for him, hoping it wouldn’t hurt as much this way.
“Hey, don’t worry about it.” I kissed his hand and let go. “It was a stupid idea.” I grabbed my bag from the back seat and fussed over my coat, doing anything and everything not to look at him.
“Don’t be mad, please? I’m just not—I don’t know if I can—”
I exhaled rather loudly and stopped flitting around. “I’m not mad.” I glanced his way and snickered at his raised brows. “I swear, I’m not. I was worried about askin’ you, but I’m not mad. I don’t understand, exactly, but I’m tryin’ to.”
Luke cleared his throat. “Can I think about it?”
I snapped my head around and bit my lip. “Really? Will you?”
He gulped as if I’d asked him to enter a haunted house with a raging axe murderer waiting inside or something. “Yes.”
“Okay.” I smiled as brightly as I could. “Okay. Yeah, think about it. I ambushed you anyway, right?”
When I reached for the door handle, Luke grabbed my arm and tugged me closer. I faced him again, butterflies swarming my insides. Luke cupped my neck and pressed a kiss to my forehead.
“I promise I’ll think about it.”
If he couldn’t do this, if he couldn’t meet my family, a huge part of me, then could we ever be together? I nodded, stuffing the doubts deeper and deeper.
Luke didn’t let go, only glanced around my shoulder at Aunt Penny’s place. “Do you, um, do you need to be here?”
I cocked my head.
“What I mean is, will you stay with me? Until Sunday? I can bring you back then, to get your car, unless you had plans with your aunt.”
“No.” I shook my head, and Luke slumped forward, nodding. “I mean, I didn’t have any plans. I was only here because it was closer to you.”
“You—”
“I’d love to stay a few more days with you in your scarily white apartment.”
Luke chuckled but had to agree. The place could be a mental ward with padded rooms. Except without the padded rooms, obviously.
I texted Aunt Penny and Savannah as Luke took off back across town. This time, the ride was too long. I’d been slowly undressing him the entire way, but he reversed my efforts to get him naked before getting out, saying he didn’t want to scandalize his neighbors. He’d already conceded much of his private life just walking me from his car to his home, he said.
The next few days were heaven, and Saturday morning, as we lay spent and watching the sun brighten the sky, Luke said he’d meet my family.
Not waiting a second, I jumped from bed, stole the pretentious duvet off the floor, wrapped myself like a mummy, and went out to his balcony to let Momma know.
