Page 9 of Part of Me
“Don’t stop on my account,” I say, once I have regained some sort of composure. He pokes his tongue out at me and I walk over to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He nuzzles his cheek against the top of my head. I close my eyes and breathe in his aftershave. He has used the same scent for years. It was one that I picked out for him on his twenty first birthday.
“Good day at work?” he asks as he changes the subject from his singing skills.
“Actually, it was in the end.” I let go of him and go to get myself a drink. I grab a glass from the cupboard, fill it with water and take a sip, leaning back on the worktop as he looks at me expectantly.
“What are you hiding from me?”
“I’m not hiding anything,” I reply, trying to sound innocent.
“Really? Well that tell-tale sign you have going on says otherwise.” Luke has pointed out on numerous occasions that when I have something of importance to tell him, my lips purse together and I scrunch my nose up slightly.
“Okay, so maybe I do have some news.”
“Well come on then, out with it,” he says as he goes back to the hob and stirs the contents of a saucepan.
“Deana offered me a new job today,” I say, containing my excitement.
“Seriously?” he says as he stops stirring and turns to face me. I nod. “And?”
“She has offered me the position of being her personal assistant.” I refrain from squealing in delight that my career is finally going in a more positive direction.
“Oh my God,” Luke says as he comes over and lifts me up, twirling me around. I laugh and try to stop my water from spilling everywhere. “That’s awesome news.” He places me down and the grin that spread across his face is infectious.
“I know. I have to give her my answer on Wednesday morning at nine o’clock.”
“You mean you didn’t bite her hand off there and then?”
“No, Luke, I didn’t. I was in too much shock.”
“You are going to accept it though, aren’t you?” he asks, turning the hob off and opening the oven to pull out whatever creation he is cooking. Luke has always been more experimental with cooking than I have, and what he pulls out of the oven looks mouth-watering.
“Hell yeah I’m going to accept.” I watch Luke as he starts to dish our food onto plates, and once he has finished, I help carry everything over to the dining table. I take a seat and wait for Luke to join me. He gets a beer out of the fridge and then comes to sit opposite me. “This looks delicious,” I say as I inhale the delicious aroma wafting from my plate.
“Thank you,” he replies. As I begin to eat, I moan as the taste of the food hits my tongue. The chicken is cooked perfectly, and the sauce is out of this world.
“This is really good,” I say as I take another mouthful. “Did you make this from scratch?”
“Of course I did. You know that I don’t do any of this ‘out of the jar’ bollocks.” I laugh as he feigns a look of shock at the fact that I may have thought that he had used a ready-made sauce.
“How could I forget?” I take a sip of my water and continue to eat my food.
“So, tell me about the whole conversation with Deana,” Luke says, and I fill him in on everything Deana said––in-between mouthfuls of food. Luke listens quietly, and I know that his brain is processing the how’s, what’s and why’s. “Well, it just shows that your hard work has paid off.”
“That’s just it though… I haven’t ever done anything directly for Deana, so I am a little surprised that I have come up on her radar,” I say. Luke fidgets, but I don’t think anything of it for the time being.
“You obviously did something right otherwise she wouldn’t have offered you the position.”
“I guess,” I say as I place my knife and fork down, having finished my meal. “So you wouldn’t mind me taking the position?”
“Why would I mind?”
“Because being a PA is a little different to being just a receptionist. It might mean that I have to go away for work at short notice, and it means longer hours.” Luke takes my hand from across the table.
“Charlie, I have no problem with this whatsoever. You always support me when I have to go away for work, and I will do the same for you.” He smiles at me, and I feel my heart melt a little.
“I love you, Luke Sanders.”
“I love you too.” He lets go of my hand and starts to clear away the plates. I watch as he busies himself tidying up. He has been there for me for the last ten years of my life. We have shared so many highs and lows that we know how each other’s minds work.
