Accidentally On Purpose Part 19

"Then I dump the d.i.c.k," I shrugged.

"You love the d.i.c.k," she said doubtfully.

"I love Luke."

"I feel you're in for some s.h.i.+t."

"Maybe so."

"Well...good luck with your s.h.i.+t."

"Thanks."

Donya had no idea how right she was. I was in for some s.h.i.+t.

The first thing I noted when I got to Luke's was that his car was in the driveway. I thought it was strange, but then I a.s.sumed he caught a ride with a coworker or took the train or something. The second thing I noticed was the rental car parked on the street in front of house. Curious, yes, but not suspicious. There were a lot of houses on the street, and sometimes parking was tight.

I started up the sidewalk to the front door, but realized I had mud on my sneakers. It had been raining a little earlier and I had stepped right into a puddle of mud when I went into my back yard to talk to my dad before leaving. I turned around and walked around the house. The plan was to leave my sneakers on the back steps and wash them down with the hose later.

After kicking my sneaks off, I used my key to let myself in the back door. The television was on, I could hear it. Okay, no big deal. It deters would-be robbers. However, the low girly giggle and the chuckle that was unmistakably Luke's was not on the television!

Thanks to my socks, I moved quietly through the kitchen without being heard. What I found in the living room on the couch was Luke and a blonde haired woman about my age. They were sitting very, very close. Too close.

"h.e.l.lo." I said, making both of them look up in surprise.

Luke quickly got to his feet.

"Babe, I thought you would be on your way to Florida by now."

"Yeah and I thought you were in D.C."

"The meeting was postponed late last night."

"Why didn't you tell me?" My eyes flickered to the woman. Her hair was ugly ugly.

"I didn't want you to change your plans for me. You don't spend a lot of time with D."

I raised an eyebrow and again looked at the hoe on the couch. She looked nervous.

"This is Claire," Luke waved her over. "She's one of my Chicago friends. Claire this is Emmy."

I shook her hand, but couldn't match her smile.

"I thought I met all of your Chicago friends," I said to Luke.

"Not all of them."

"I'm out here with some friends," Claire explained. "Doing the Jersey sh.o.r.e thing. It was dumb luck that Luke became free while we're here."

"Ohhhh," I said, not really sure what to say.

"Where's your shoes?" Luke asked, looking at my feet.

"So...can I talk to you in the bedroom?" I walked away before he could answer.

"Where are your shoes?" Luke asked me again, closing the door behind him.

"What's going on here?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"Claire is visiting the Jersey sh.o.r.e from Chicago."

"This isn't the sh.o.r.e!"

"No, it's not. When my schedule opened up, I asked her if she wanted to catch up."

"So you're catching up on your couch? Two inches apart?"

Luke crossed his arms and his eyes darkened.

"What is it you want to know, Emmy?"

"I want to know what the h.e.l.l is going on between you and Claire!"

"Is that what you want to know?"

"Yes!"

"No big deal right? Just a straight answer?" He was patronizing me, but I was too blind with anger to see where it was going.

"Right," I said, standing my ground.

"Okay. I will tell you what's going on between me and Claire."

"Okay!"

"Right after you tell me what's going on between you and Kyle."

Well...I wanted to come clean. Here's my chance. Maybe not this way, though.

I deflated, my anger floated away.

"N-n-nothing," I stammered. I was on the verge of wailing, but bit my lip to keep it back. "Sorry I jumped on you like that. I'm...." I started towards the door. "I'm going to go."

Luke followed me out of the room, calling my name.

"Nice to meet you, Claire," I said absently. I went out the front door, forgetting my sneaks.

"I'll be right back," I heard Luke say.

"Emmy," Luke got in front of me and stopped me.

"G.o.d! Everything SUCKS!" I yelled.

The Lab in the next yard, Pepper, answered with barking and whining and a few kids playing in the street looked over at us. Even Luke looked at me with apprehension.

"Give me an hour or so and I'll come pick you up from home," Luke said.

"I don't want to go home," I grumble. "My mother is there."

"Okay then stay here."

"I don't want to stay here with Claire."

Luke put his hands together in front of him, like he was trying not to flip out.

"Emmy," he said with controlled quietness. "Go do what you have to do to get yourself together. I will call you soon."

I sighed noisily and got into my car. It wasn't until I was a couple of miles away that I remembered my sneakers.

An hour later my cell rang. I dug it out of my pocket and answered.

"Where are you?" Luke asked.

"At McDonalds. Eating the entire menu."

"I have your shoes. Why don't you come get them?" His tone was light, almost playful.

"Is Claire gone?"

"Yes."

"Why did it take you an hour to get rid of her?"

"Actually, you you kind of got rid of her, and she left fifteen minutes after you. I was outside was.h.i.+ng your sneaks." kind of got rid of her, and she left fifteen minutes after you. I was outside was.h.i.+ng your sneaks."

"Sorry and thank you."

"Come home," he softly commanded.

I finished my fries and milkshake and drove back to Luke's. He was waiting for me at the door.

"In a few minutes, I'm going to take you to the bedroom and make you scream my name," he said as he closed and locked the door.

It wasn't really what I expected to hear. I didn't know what I expected, but it wasn't screaming o.r.g.a.s.ms.

"But first," he continued. "I dated Claire years ago. Nothing was going on when you came in today. We were just talking."

"You were cozy," I blurted out.

"Yeah, we were cozy, but nothing more. I I would never hurt you like that." would never hurt you like that."

The way he said that made me believe that he thought that I I could hurt could hurt him him like that, and he wouldn't be wrong. I felt like a douche puddle. like that, and he wouldn't be wrong. I felt like a douche puddle.

"There are some things in our relations.h.i.+p that need to be fixed," he said carefully. "I'll do my part, but you have to do your part, too, Emmy."

"Okay."

I was confused. Sometimes I thought that Luke knew more than what he was saying about Kyle, but then I thought there was no way that he would just stand aside and let some other guy do as he wished to his woman. There's no way he would stand for my divided heart. I believed that maybe whatever vibe I was giving off was the culprit. Maybe it was my own guilt surfacing on my face that registered in his mind and not some other solid fact. After all, I had been very careful with Kyle.

For me to do my part, Kyle had to go, but before I could begin to think of how to do that, Luke scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the bedroom. My screaming o.r.g.a.s.ms overshadowed any thoughts of Kyle.

Chapter Twenty-Six

As summer neared its end, my parents started discussing their travel plans back to Louisiana. My mom hara.s.sed me about getting married, and gave me ridiculous suggestions on how to accomplish it. I couldn't tell her I wasn't in any position to accept anyone's proposal. My dad reminded me that I didn't have to go anywhere if I didn't want to, but said he may not spend the whole summer in Jersey next year.

"It's not that I don't want to be with my favorite girl," he explained one morning. "But I am old, and I want to spend time with my grandkids and great grandkids while I still have time."

It made me sad to remember that my dad was getting older, and I felt bad for keeping him away from the rest of the family. I told myself that I would have to make a bigger effort to go back to Louisiana more often. Their life down there was important to them and I shouldn't negate that.

Luke and I had made plans to go to Wildwood on Labor Day. I was excited about stuffing my face with boardwalk fries, Scotto's pizza, funnel cake, enormous pretzels and salt water taffy. I couldn't wait to get on a few rides, play a few games, and to whip him at mini golf. I was even more excited just to spend the day with him. While things had not necessarily improved, they had not worsened.

I drove over early that morning. I was going to drag him from bed if I had to. I let myself in and headed towards the bedroom, but a slight noise from the kitchen caught my attention. I found him already dressed, leaning against the kitchen counter. My happiness and excitement instantly began to fade. The look on his face was serious, dead serious.

"Lena's not doing as well as we had hoped," he said so quietly that it unnerved me.

"I'm sorry," I said, unsure whether or not to reach for him.

"I'm going to leave sooner than I planned."

"How soon?" My heart began to race because I knew which conversation was about to take place, even though I had put it off for the entire summer.

"Next week. By the end of next week." He was speaking so stiffly to me that I took a step backward without thinking about it. "I've decided I don't want you to come with me."

I swallowed hard and offered the smallest of smiles. "I understand. You have a lot going on with your sister and family."