Page 80 of Don't Make Me Beg
Luka
Don’t worry, babe, I know that’s just your sexual frustration talking. Let me know if you need the master to give you another tune-up
All you have to say is: “Luka is a sex God.”
I’m putting my phone up now.
Luka
Your loss
My shoulder aches as I finally finish the paint outline of the giant cartoon Phantom. I can’t be sure just yet, but I think it looks pretty good considering I had to draw it freehand using only the quick grid reference from my sketch.
Ideally a projector would’ve made this easier, but with all the streetlights around here, I wouldn’t have been able to see the outline anyway.
“I thought you were gonna paint it?” Clyde calls from where he’s perched up on the sidewalk below.
“I’m not sure I like the expression on his face,” Fergus adds. “Might be a bit too scary for the children.”
“I hope you paint faster than you outline,” someone else mutters. “If this isn’t finished by the festival, it’ll look no betterthan the hideous graffiti that used to be there. Still can’t believe Luka would do something so vile to our sweet downtown…”
I glance over my shoulder to find the crowd has doubled in the last hour or so.
I offer them a polite nod. “Nice to see you all so invested in the process. Don’t worry—I’m nothing if not a perfectionist. You’re gonna love it once it’s done. Just trust the process.”
“We’ll see about that,” Clyde says, crossing his arms over his chest like he’s still not convinced.
I grit my teeth and force a smile. I should’ve known this would be a town spectacle the moment I agreed. These people are too nosy for their own good. You’d think they’d have somewhere to be, but I’ve had constant commentary for the last five hours, and the crowd’s only grown larger.
“So, I guess the rumors are true…”
My body freezes at the sound of the familiar voice.
There’s no way… I must be dehydrated or something, my mind must be playing tricks on me.
“How come you never told me that you painted?” he asks, and now I know I’m not hallucinating.
I make my way down the ladder, not wanting to do this in front of an audience. I grab his arm and pull him behind the alley, giving us a semblance of privacy. Jesus, I’m already dealing with enough gossip, I don’t need to add ex-fiancée drama to the mix.
“What are you doing here, Jimmy?”
He flashes me his dimpled smile that’s never seemed to work on me. “I was in the neighborhood. Had to bring your dad some paperwork, and he told me about your little quarter-life crisis… or whatever this is.”
Not buying that excuse for a second, I cross my arms over my chest and blow out a huff. “What do you want?”
He has the audacity to look like he’s wounded and his eyes flash to my ring. “Wow… I guess Luka Kingsley spares no expense…” He scratches the back of his neck and looks down. Even though he’s trying to seem unbothered, I can practically see his skin turning green with jealousy.
“Well, I’m so glad we did this. Now if you’ll excuse me…” I spin around to leave but his hand grabs my arm, stopping me.
“You didn’t sleep with him did you?”
“You can’t be serious,” I say with an eye roll.
Why is it that every single thing always comes back to this? Is that really the most important thing about me?
“You get me kicked out of school after turning in my paper before me… and then you threaten to forge my signature on a marriage license?—”
“That was your dad’s idea, not mine,” he says defensively. As if that reasoning is somehow better.
