Page 58 of Where We Met

Chapter Nineteen

Savannah

"Whatareyouthinkingabout?" Luke's voice pulls me out of my trance, realizing I’ve been looking out the window for a while.

I glance over at him, seeing how his curious eyes hold so much adoration. It makes me want to clutch my chest in response.

"I was just thinking how much I'm going to miss them," I tell him.

"They definitely loved you. I think Giorgio only signed on the dotted line because of you."

I shake my head with a smile. Luke doesn't realize the power he has over people. He's naturally good at making anyone and everyone feel at home and appreciated.

"Even Giovanni?" I tease, earning me a side eye from Luke.

Giovanni told Luke about the plan to get him to crack. I was terrified that he would think I was behind it, but Isabella admitted she was the mastermind. Thankfully, Luke took it all in stride and only minor disbelief, shaking Giovanni's hand in the end.

I don't think either of us could regret what happened in Italy. It was too magical, too life altering to regret. I smile briefly, then think about what's to come when we land.

"It's going to be a long five weeks until the semester is over," I tell him.

The mood suddenly changes to a gloomy one as we sit in silence, staring at each other, knowing that as soon as we get off this plane, everything has to change.

"It'll go by faster than you realize," he finally speaks. "In the grand scheme of things, five weeks of abstaining from anything sexual isn't going to be the end of the world. Right?" He looks at me like he's worried I'm going to change my mind about us.

I smile at him, hoping to ease his mind. "I'll take you any way I can get you."

Just as the plane touches down, Luke breaks the rules and unbuckles his seatbelt. I'm expecting one of the stewardesses to say something, but nobody does.

He puts each of his hands on my arm rests and leans down, crashing his lips to mine. His slow, drugging kiss lights up my body before he pulls away too soon.

"I just needed one more kiss to hold me over," he whispers then backs up and sits in his seat.

Within minutes, we are parked and being escorted off the plane. We descend down the stairs, where our luggage is waiting for us at the bottom. Flying commercial after this experience is going to suck.

Luke and I stroll next to each other and walk back to the main entrance. When I stop at the passenger pickup area, he turns around, looking at me strangely.

"What?" I ask.

"Why did you stop?"

"I need to get a car back to my apartment."

"Don't be silly. I parked my car in the long-term parking. I'll drive you home."

Dread instantly fills my insides at the thought of him seeing where I live, knowing it will set him off after that heated spiel he gave me about my safety being his priority.

"No, it's okay. I don't want to inconvenience you," I say.

He doesn't seem to be having it, as my hand is now grasped tightly within his as he drags us in the direction of his car.

"You're being ridiculous. I don't live too far from campus."

Well, I guess that's that. All I can hope is that he doesn't know the streets of Cleveland very well and just thinks it's a run-down area.

We load our things into his fancy car, another glaringly obvious reason why the next hour isn't going to go well and pull out of the parking lot.

He asks for my address and proceeds to type it into his GPS. If he’s familiar with the street name, he doesn't show it. I take a deep breath as I try to think of a good explanation for why I live where I live, too stubborn to tell him I refuse to let my dad down by admitting I can't swing the rent and utilities on my own at my old place.

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