It’s been a week since Lucas’ accident. A week since we both admitted how much we love one another. I have been taking care of Lucas as he heals. He broke his dominant arm, and although it’s adorable to watch him try to do things with his left hand, it’s also sad. I end up helping him with a lot of things, which he both appreciates and doesn’t like.
He’s a proud man like most and all he wants is to be better already, so he doesn’t have to depend on me so much. I have been staying at his apartment all week, but it was time for me to go back to my flat. I missed it, and I needed more clothes. Of course, Lucas tagged along. I didn’t mind at all.
You would think that we would have grown tired of one another after a whole week beside each other, but it was very much the opposite. We wanted more of one another, and the notion of being away from each other killed us. I was happy to know I wasn’t the only one of us who felt this way.
‘I’m almost done with your freshman year of high school now,’ he informed me, as we sat on the couch. I had been working on my homework and Lucas had been busy reading my journals again.
‘How do we feel about my freshman year?’ I asked curiously.
‘I’m growing very jealous of this Ian.’ I laughed, thinking he was joking, but I quickly contained it as I noticed he was not. I shook my head at him.
‘There’s no need to be jealous of him. He was the first good friend, and that’s it.’
‘If you say so, Rose.’
I continued with my work and Lucas with my journal. He continued reading without complaint. I’d almost forgotten how much I had written about Ian in those journals. He took up most of my freshman year journals and almost all my sophomore ones. I’m not sure how he’ll feel when he realizes Ian is still in those.
‘Hey, Lucas?’
‘Yes, my Rose?’
‘Ian may be in a lot of my journals, but I hope you know the feelings I had for him don’t hold a candle to the ones I have for you now.’ I turned to look at him, seeing him smile at me. He leaned forward, kissing my cheek sweetly.
‘Good,’ he whispered.
We grew silent again as I focused. The subject matter was getting harder each week. I still hadn’t fully decided what to do with dad and his news of a new baby. I don’t want anything to happen to it, but I also don’t want to drop out, and let my years of hard work go to waste. Is that selfish of me? Would I be an asshole if I chose myself?
‘Rose, when’s your birthday?’ Lucas randomly asked, making me realize neither of us actually knew that about each other. It was odd that we would admit our love before evening knowing the basics about one another.
‘Christ, we don’t know much about each other,’ I gasped.
‘Easily corrected. My birthday is April 26th.’
‘Mine is June 3rd,’ I answered him.
‘A summer baby.’ He smiled.
‘Favorite color?’ I asked him, wanting to know all the little things now.
‘Hmm, does gold count?’
‘If you want.’
‘Okay then, gold. What about you, Rose?’
‘Teal.’ It’s always been teal.
‘Interesting,’ he mused. ‘Favorite pastime?’
‘Watching movies, or hitting the punching bag at the gym. You?’
‘Reading.’ He smiled, holding my journal up and making me blush lightly.
‘Favorite sport?’
‘Soccer, of course,’ he answered me.
‘I like to play volleyball best, but I’ve played soccer too. I like to watch soccer the best.”
‘So you’d watch me play if I joined a team again?’ He asked me, almost seeming insecure as he did.
‘I would love that.’ I bit my lip as I imagined him in a soccer uniform. He’d be hot as hell in one. I got off my spot, straddling him on the couch. My eyes and body were hungry for him. We hadn’t been as sexually active with him hurt, causing me to become some rabidly horny dog. I grabbed his face, leaning down and kissing him passionately. I licked at his bottom lip, asking permission to enter. Our tongues danced against each other in a swirl.
‘You stay still, and let me do all the work.’ I whispered in his ear as I stood up. His intense brown eyes watched me as I slowly undressed before him. I undid his pants and pulled them off him with his boxers, leaving his shirt on, not wanting to move his arm much. My hands slid onto his thighs, spreading them to allow my torso in. I took his flaccid dick into my mouth, feeling it start to grow with each suck and lick. He groaned as I continued to move my head against it. When he was nice and hard, and extremely horny for me, I stood up. I straddled his lap again, aligning my entrance perfectly with the tip of his dick.
I slowly slid down his shaft until he was deep inside me. I waited a moment before I began to sway my hips against him. My hands gripped his shoulders tightly, not looking away from his eyes as I continued to bring us both pleasure. Lucas’ hand crawled up my body until it found my breast. His finger traced along the small scar from my surgery.
‘You’re absolutely perfect, Rose, battle scars and all.’
His words drove me up, making me feel so good. Somehow, he always manages to say the right things to make me feel better about my insecurities. I had started to hate the scar on my breast, feeling it made me look unattractive. His words pushed those insecurities far away, because I know he means it. I’ve begun to notice Lucas never says anything he doesn’t mean. I continued swaying against him until I reached my climax. I then began sliding him in and out of me, causing my thighs to burn as I continued. I kissed him passionately, leaving our mouths open as we breathed one another in. I held his head close, feeling his chin on my breasts. Before I knew it, I’d milked Lucas of all he’s worth. We stayed like that for a moment longer with Lucas growing soft inside me again.
‘Thank you, Rose,’ he whispered before kissing me again. I love this man.
I can’t go to New Hampshire. I realize I’ll be uprooting Lucas, too. He said he would move with me, and as much as I love the idea, I don’t want to take him away from his family. I’ll go after graduation unless something happens between now and then. I’ll ask Joe to keep an eye on them for me. Joe is the man who has given me every tattoo on my body except the pink ribbon with mom’s name on it. He knows how dad is, thanks to our many sessions together. A good tattoo artist is like your therapist. You lay on their chair and talk as they work. Joe was always great. In my junior and senior year of high school he got me a job to help me save for college. He also made sure I was fed dinner every night. It was more than I’d had in a while. I know Joe will watch dad’s girlfriend carefully for me if I ask him to. If anything happens, I’ll rush home.
I wonder if they will have a boy or a girl. I never imagined being an older sister, but I won’t take the role lightly. I will shield that baby from living the same life I did. I will ensure it lives better than I did, even if it means it lives a life without a dad in it every day. It’s better than one where he or she may be abused. Better no dad than our dad.
Don’t worry, little one, I’ll keep you safe.
Time flies by when you’re actually enjoying life. Halloween was this weekend already and Lucas and I will have been dating for a month now. I felt giddy thinking about it. Lucas and I have not spent a single night away from each other since his accident. We alternate between his apartment and my flat. We each have our own drawer, but I honestly have 2 drawers and a quarter of his closet at his place.
‘We have to match, Rose,’ Lucas argued with me over our Halloween costumes.
‘Do we have to dress up? Aren’t we too old for that?’
‘Take it back. We are never too old,’ he argued back, making me smile with his playful tone. ‘Please, Rose, dress up with me?’ He gave me those eyes again, the ones that always melt away my resolve. He was not playing fair.
‘Fine,’ I sighed. ‘But nothing that’s going to have me half naked.’
‘Never,’ he shook his head. His cast was finally due to be removed this Friday, in time for Halloween. He was excited to have it gone. He was getting tired of not being able to scratch very well with the cast on. His arm had been healing so quickly.
‘What about this one?’ He asked, showing me a couple of pictures of Beauty and the Beast. ‘You know cause, you’re my Rose?’
‘I get it, but there’s no way I’m wearing a big poofy yellow dress.’ I shook my head no.
‘You’re right. Okay, okay, let me get serious. Let’s see what would my Rose actually like to wear,’ he mused to himself as he continued to scroll through costume ideas. I wasn’t even sure what I would want to wear. I am not one for dressing up much. Trying to come up with an original costume idea is impossible. Plus, so many of the adult women, costumes are so sexualized. Like everything is sex this or sexy that. I’m tired of it.
‘I think I found it,’ Lucas smiled triumphantly as he turned his phone again.
‘I think you did.’ I smiled back happily. He knows me so well. It was simple, nothing that made me look sexy or too frilly. He’ll be Jack and I’ll be Rose in the greatest love story. Only we’ll have a happier ending, since we won’t be on a sinking ship. I love the movie Titanic.
The week flew by and Lucas and I were getting his cast removed. I’m not going to lie, it was not a pleasant smell and Lucas’ arm looked all pale and pruney, making me crinkle my nose. Lucas was happy to be free of the cast, finally. I gently ran my hand over his arm. He had a few scars now, but they were scars that reminded us of how precious life is. They were scars that helped us tell each other how we truly felt. They were beautiful.
‘I love you, my Knight,’ I told him as I continued to stare at his naked arm.
‘I love you, my Rose.’ He kissed my temple, making me smile.
‘So, the party’s tonight, right?’ I asked him.
‘Mhm, Leo is excited to go. Rachel is coming to town again, and they’re going together.’
‘When do you think those two are finally going to tell each other they like one another?’ I shook my head disapprovingly at the two. It was obvious Rachel loved Leo, and he liked her back.
‘What do you mean?’ Lucas was shocked by my question, like he had never fathomed the thought.
‘You can’t be serious? You haven’t noticed the way Rachel looks at Leo? Or how she always goes to him first? How she’s always at his side anytime she comes to town? Lucas, you’ve gotta pay more attention.’
‘Seriously?!’ He looked genuinely surprised.
‘Yes, seriously.’
‘That would be so awesome. Leo would actually be family. We have to get them together, Rose. Play cupid with me tonight?’ He was very excited for tonight now. It made me laugh.
‘Okay, I’m down.’
Lucas and I devised a plan for tonight we hoped would get those two to confess their feelings for each other. It was fun scheming with Lucas. He was devilishly wicked in a cute kind of way. I loved being part of the plan making. We both got dressed in our costumes. Lucas wore a white long sleeve shirt with brown trousers and suspenders, looking like Jack. I had on the iconic purple and white dress with pink sash around my ribs. The one she wore the night the ship sank. Since it’s cold in New York for Halloween, I had on the coat Jack gave Rose part way through the night.
‘Are you ready, Rose?’ He asked, holding his arm out for me to take.
‘Ready, Jack.’ I grabbed it, getting into character with him.
He smiled sweetly at me as we headed out of his apartment. We decided to take my car tonight. Lucas drove the car. I made the mistake of letting him let me drive once, and I saw how scared he was. He wouldn’t admit it, but I could see how rigid and pale he had become. He needs control in order to be in a car. I don’t mind not driving, anyway. I hate driving in New York, so I’m fine with him chauffeuring me around. Especially if it gives him peace of mind.
We arrived at the sorority row where we planned on hopping from house to house and enjoying the different festivities at each. We paid the cover at the first house, waiting for Leo and Rachel to meet up with us. We headed outside to the backyard where different games had been set up. It was less crowded out here than inside. Lucas grabbed me a whiskey as we waited.
‘Wanna play a game, Rose?’
‘Always.’
‘I’ll tell you something about myself and you guess if it’s true or not. If you guess wrong you take a drink. Then we’ll switch’
‘Sounds like fun.’ I felt like I knew Lucas pretty well now. Of course, I don’t know all about him. A month is not enough time to know everything, but I feel like I could make good inferences based on what I know about him.
‘Okay, first statement,’ he said, shifting his shoulders to stand up straighter. ‘I was arrested once.’ I hadn’t expected him to say that. I, honestly, had no clue and could see it being either.
‘Can I ask a question?’
‘Only one,’ he said, holding up his index finger.
‘How old were you?’
’17.’
‘Then I say it’s true.’ I figured a lot of 17-year-olds get in trouble. Besides, if it was when he was 17 then it meant John was alive. If John were alive, then they must have gotten into some shenanigans together.
‘That is…’ he waited a moment to try and keep me in suspense. ‘correct. I did indeed get arrested. I guess I have to take a drink since you got it right.’
‘What did you get arrested for?’ I asked him curiously. I can imagine it being something stupid, but I am curious to know exactly what it was.
‘John and I were messing around after a soccer game and jumped a fence to get into the baseball field after drinking a bit. We were caught instantly.’ Lucas laughed at his past self as I’m sure the memory played out in his head.
‘I could see that,’ I mused. ‘Okay, my turn. My tattoo artist taught me to play guitar.’ I was trying to throw him for a loop, but all it did was make him laugh.
‘My one question is how many tattoo artists have you had?’
‘Two.’ I held my fingers up as I answered.
‘Then I say it’s true.’
‘That’s right, but how’d you guess?’ I took a drink of my whiskey while I waited for him to answer.
‘I saw the guitar in your closet a while back. I could tell you played, and I didn’t figure you learned from your dad. Ian doesn’t seem the type to play, and you didn’t have many friends then.’ He knew me so well, even past me.
‘I hadn’t realized you knew I played. I haven’t played in a little while.’ I need to pick it back up before my fingers soften back up.
‘I want to hear you play one day.’ He rubbed my cheek sweetly with his thumb while he spoke.
‘One day.’ I nodded.
‘What can I do to get you to let that day be today?’ He stepped forward, closing the space between us. He was trying to use this close-proximity to entice me into doing what he wanted.
‘Hmm, you’d have to show me something you can do that I haven’t seen before.’
‘Okay, deal. Wait right here,’ he said as he raced off from my side.
I’m not sure where he went or what he’s doing, but I didn’t like the fact I was now alone. I played with the drink in my hand to keep myself busy. My eyes roamed the party, scanning for any familiar faces. I could see a couple of engineering students getting plastered in the distance. They were taking shot after shot. I would have never guessed one of them as a party animal.
‘Liv?’ An all too familiar voice came my name.
I should have figured he’d be here.
