Chapter 06: More than friends It was almost the end of lunch. Luke and I wanted to meet in private, away from everyone. The rumors about us had started, and we didn't want them to spread. They weren't very kind. Rumors never are. I can already predict what they'll say: He's using her, he'll dump her, she's related to a farm animal... That last one is a little creative, I'll admit. I learn so much about myself in rumors. "I should pick up your coffee more often," Luke murmured into my ear, closing the door shut behind me. I turned into him. His blue eyes had a sea of color in them. We were alone together now and hadn't been alone together since our date... There were four minutes before the bell would ring. I stood in a chemistry lab, surrounded by sterile counter tops and a shelf of bunsen burners. And, most importantly, him. Like I said, four minutes. No more time to waste. I reached out, took his shirt in my hands and pulled him towards me. Our lips crashed against each other. I pushed my body against his and he wrapped his arms around me, gripping me even closer. Three minutes. He pushed me against a counter top and his own fingers slipped under my shirt. With one easy flick of his wrist, I felt my bra suddenly loose on my body. I arched my back at the feeling and raised my hand into his dark hair. Two minutes. "Oh," I moaned as his lips left my mouth and traced my neck. One hand wrapped in his dark hair and the other raised in the air. He grabbed my wrist. Seconds before it crashed against a shelf of test tubes. They rattled, but no damage down. "Careful, Millie. Let's not bring the place down." I couldn't speak right now. I brought his head back up and pressed my lips against his. Then I kissed his jawline and his cheeks. One minute. His shirt was undone. Completely undone and partially ripped. It was my fault. All my fault. His hands were in my hair and his body was over mine, as we lay on the counter top. It was sterile no more. Zero. A shrill sound filled the classroom. "Is that the fire alarm?" I breathed heavily as I felt his body distance from mine. "You mean the bell?" "No," I smiled, knowing he was about to give me sh*t for this joke, "Because it's so hot in here." He laughed at me, so I playfully pushed him with my foot. We were both still on the counter top and he held onto my foot, almost pulling me closer with it. But we heard the sound of students outside and I quickly had to do up my bra while he buttoned his shirt. "Here, I'll help you," he said, when he saw I was failing and we were running out of time. People were right outside the door. He reached over and quickly clipped my bra together 0.5 seconds before the first student walked into the room. The door opened and a senior recognized him immediately, "Luke. Hey, you're in this class? And hey... you." I'm not such a household name, apparently. Shocker. "Hey you," I replied with an equally charming greeting. As more people filled into the classroom, I quickly picked up my backpack and ran past them all. I didn't want to be known for this. I did not want to be known as Luke's Monday lunch snack or whatever random, disrespectful thing they'll call me. "Hey, hey, hey," Luke called out my name as he chased after me. His hand rested on my shoulder to stop me from running, "Minnie, slow down. It's OK. You don't have to run." "I do," I said. "Why?" "Because the bell rang and I'm going to be late," I pointed out. Luke's blue eyes sank into mine, and his tone was soft, "Seriously. Why?" He knew me well enough to know when I was lying. "I'm not ready for things to change, Luke. Since we became friends, crazy things have happened. And I'm grateful for a lot of them. But you must admit that some of what happened was insane. And now, we're more than friends..." I thought about my house being spray-painted 'hooker' and the threatening letters I'd received as blackmail. I thought of Tamara at summer camp, when she called me a 'whore' for being cabin-mates with him. Or how Stacey had taken a humiliating photo of me in a bra just because he was paying any attention to me. If none of those things happened, then maybe I'd be excited for the world to know I was madly into Luke Dawson. Touching Luke was like fire. He made me feel warm but if I get too close, I get burnt. It's complicated, I guess. Luke was the most exciting thing to happen to me in a long time. He brought a lot of thrills... And I wanted him to prove that he actually cared about me, more than his reputation suggested. I remembered how he ignored me at school after our summer at camp. A girl doesn't just forget these things. Nor does she forgive... easily. Uh, why are emotions so complicated? I didn't want to admit these thoughts to him. He'd think I'm crazy. "Are you OK, Minnie? You're staring into space now." Oh, no wait, he already thinks that. So we good. Luke reached out and gently tucked a few loose strands of hair behind my ear. My ponytail had gotten messed up during our... lab break. "You're getting inside your own head again. I bet you're overthinking whatever you're thinking about," he said, his fingers grazing the side of my neck, "Let me walk you to class. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable with me." My emotions were clearly a mess right now. And my thoughts were tangled like my earphones. I'm not on that airpod level. So say something, anything, to get off the point. We started to walk to my English class. "So, do you invite girls to the chemistry lab often?" I asked. Oh god. As soon as I said it, I knew it was a bad question That was definitely going to piss him off. Honestly, it was innocent. I was just curious! Luke said, "I'm trying to be sweet here, which is a work-in-progress for me. Why do you have to call me out like that?" "You make it sound like a yes." "Well, people do it in the chemistry lab periodically." I was about to snap back, when I registered the pun and appreciated the pun. "There's that smile," he said. It crept up on me, despite my best efforts to stop it. He caught me. "No, I don't make out with girls in chemistry labs," Luke clarified, "I'll make out with you though." Cute... but I wasn't convinced. He only spoke about the present. What about the past? Luke has a way of saying things, that don't confirm or deny anything, but still get your mind off the point. Anyone else notice that? And if you didn't notice that... then that's the point. I let it go because the past doesn't concern me. We are each other's present. We stood outside my English class. It had already started and I was late. I didn't want us to separate just yet. My smile spread when I noticed how he missed the top button of his shirt and it was buttoned up wrong. I slowly unbuttoned each one, feeling the soft shirt between my fingers. He looked down, thinking I was about to make out with him in the middle of the hallway, when he saw how he'd messed up. "I was distracted," he said, running a hand through his hair. "You're distracting me." He enjoyed me re-dressing him and I enjoyed it too. I'm not sure how many people saw us, but I like to think not many. He kissed my cheek, before letting me go, "Have fun in class, Minnie." "I won't be in my element," I made another chemistry lab joke. He rolled his eyes but smiled, "OK, you want to be a nerd? I got my ion you." I walked into english class with a giant grin on my face, messed up hair and all the obvious signs that I'd been making out in between classes. The teacher didn't take kindly to my lateness, but let me off with a warning. I sat in my chair and dazed off instantly. "Hey," my seat neighbor whispered. I looked over and saw the tattoos on his strong arm. I gasped, "Jake. You're back!" Luke's half brother: the guy who told me to give him another chance. "I am," he said, "Did you get my text?"