Page 29 of Lucas

“I like your tenacity, I will say that. Look, I’m sorry you weren’t able to drop off your gift to my brother.”

Of course I’m the one who’s punching all the damn buttons as Landon leans on the wall with his arms crossed. Why is this damn elevator taking its sweet ass time? I’m so over this shit already.

I’m seconds away from running down the stairwell when the door pings, mocking me. I startle when he suggests, “Ladies first,” while gesturing with his hand for me to step inside. Fantastic.

With my heart pounding, I enter and immediately regret it. Instead of keeping his distance, he stands right next to me after pressing the button. He’s intimidating, but I don’t feel threatened by him. Maybe if he hadn’t made the snide comment about “being the flavor of the week,” I wouldn’t feel like this.

“If you see Lucas in the next few days, it would be great if you could tell him to call me. I have some time-sensitive papers to go over with him.”

“I’ll make sure to tell him I ran into you at his apartment.” But I won’t add the part about the creepy crawly feeling I have around him.

I want to burst through the door once it opens, but Landon has other plans when he grabs my arm.

“Take your hands off of me, now.”

He immediately lets go—smart move on his part since there are cameras inside this elevator and inside the lobby.

“I hope you have time to deliver what’s inside of that bag real soon, darling. Oh, and tell my little brother that I can’t wait to tell him his taste in women has improved immensely since the last time I stopped by.” I don’t bother with the niceties. I just haul ass out of the confinement of the elevator and suck in a breath of fresh air.

Well, that went great. Not! So much for ripping off the Band-Aid and dropping off his clothes. I’m finding out that nothing comes easy with Lucas. It’s not all black and white, there’s a gray area, too. And, I’m not going to lie, him not being at his apartment that early in the morning sets off all kinds of alarm bells in my brain. I thought for sure after the night we had that he’d sleep in for days. I know I’m still feeling the after effects, but in a very delicious way.

After entering my apartment, I set down the bag by the front door. Tomorrow’s another day. Let’s hope that Lucas will be home and his brother won’t get the bright idea to go there again.

20

Lucas

Last nightI slept like shit. Too many things running through my mind, and I can’t shut it down no matter how hard I try. I was fine all day long when the band and I were jamming, but when the house is quiet I have too much time to think. Then the what-ifs wreak havoc on my brain.

What if we’re not good enough?

What if we don’t win the audition?

What if I can’t make a career out of music?

What if I need to accept that check from Landon?

These kinds of thoughts are what keep me awake at night. That I’m not good enough. That I’ll never be good enough. And, yeah, maybe it’s one of the reasons I push the band so hard. I see the looks on their faces, they want it as badly as I do, but they don’t think they need to practice a million songs they already know. Repeatedly. That’s where they're wrong! We are only going to get one shot at this audition, so we need to make it memorable. Remarkable. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, you’re just as good as the next guy. Which means you need to be the best to stand out from the rest.

With a frustrated sigh, I climb out of bed and throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Why bother tossing and turning when it’s inevitable I’ll never fall back to sleep? Even the thought of closing my eyes and masturbating to a pair of luscious tits and emerald eyes does nothing for me. How fucked up is that? Especially coming from a sex addict who normally has sex on the brain non-stop. I don’t know. I’m hoping it’s because I’m not in my own bed and not because I’ve lost my libido or something. Well, that would suck!

It's only 6 A.M. when I go downstairs, so I don’t expect anyone to be up and about. And then the scent of freshly brewed coffee reaches me and lures me right in. Apparently, I’m not the only one who couldn’t sleep. Rounding the corner, I’m not surprised to see Mrs. C sitting at the table sipping a cup of coffee.

“Morning, Lucas. I had a feeling the instant you smelled coffee I’d have some company.” God, this woman. She’s so fucking amazing and I won’t let anything happen to her while I’m still breathing. I kiss the top of her head before grabbing a big mug when she adds, “There're pancakes and eggs in the warming tray. Just help yourself.”

“Ya know, if you keep this up you’ll never get rid of us.” She smiles and this time it reaches her eyes. Such a wonderful sight to see.

“I truly love having all of you here. This house is way too big for just Trevor and me. Stay as long as you like.”

Since I have a mouthful of her famous blueberry pancakes, I squeeze her hand in confirmation. I don’t understand how Trevor can live in this house and not be overweight.

“Do you remember how we used to fight for the last cup of coffee in the morning?” I ask. This time when the corner of her lips turn up, her eyes don’t smile like before.

Hesitantly, I reach for her hand and she clings to me for dear life. Fuck! I’m going to lose my shit. “Talk to me, Mrs. C. I’m right here.”

A sob like nothing I’ve ever heard rips through her chest. The next thing I know, I’m kneeling next to her and she’s wrapped in my arms. I have no words of comfort since I can’t promise everything’s going to be all right. I have no fucking clue. Fuck Cancer! She’s such a wonderful woman, and she shouldn’t be going through this when there are so many nasty people in this world. It’s so not fair!

I’m not sure how long we’ve been in this position when she pulls away. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Here, let me grab you some hot food and throw that out for you.”

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