A shadow crossed his face. “I’m not really sure. They’re still in the no-contact phase.” He said this like I knew the phases of rehab. “I’ll get to see her in a week. She wasn’t happy about going, but it was the only way to keep her job. And I was moving in to take care of Andy.
“That was another reason I wanted third shift; it was great hours for Andy’s schedule. I can take him to school, sleep while he’s there, then pick him up. Some days he does the swim lessons, others we just come home. I get him dinner and to bed. When I have to go to work, my neighbor, Mrs. Jankowski, comes and sleeps here.”
“Wow, that’s nice of her.”
He shrugged. “We have a deal. I do some repairs for her and do her grocery shopping and errands and shit like that. She’s not big on leaving the building.”
“That’s really great of you to move back in here to help out.”
“The truth is, it’s probably saving my life. I knew this was coming as soon as I saw my mom was in trouble. She’s been fighting it, on and off, most of my life.
“I was either going to go down the same path, or turn it around right then. Andy made me take a good look at where I was headed.”
“And your father? And Andy’s?”
“My dad died when I was twelve. Gunshot. Andy’s dad is out of the picture. Has been since the married asshole ran out on my mom once he knocked her up.”
“Oh,” I said. “That sucks.”
He put both his hands on my face, cradling it. “I want you to know, Lily, that I would never do something like that. We’ll be careful and shit, but if you ever…ifweever…I would never leave you high and dry.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” I said, looking into his pleading eyes. “I know you wouldn’t, Lucas.”
Although the last thing I wanted to think about as a freshman in college was an unwanted pregnancy, I knew that if I was pregnant with his child that Lucas would step up like he had for Andy.
“And thank you for telling me all this. You didn’t have to.”
He rested his forehead on mine, still holding on to my face with strong, callused hands. “Yes, I did, Lily. Yes, I did.”
He kissed me, so, so sweetly. It was a kiss full of thanks and acceptance, and I returned it with all the emotions that swirled inside me. I placed my hands on his soft T-shirt, on his chest and abs, feeling his body tense and jump under my touch.
“Lily,” he whispered, breaking the kiss, then resuming it with a deeper, probing, devouring melding of mouths and lips. “God, Lily.”
I slid my hands under his tee, needing to feel his skin. “How deeply does Andy sleep?” I murmured when Lucas left my mouth and began kissing down my neck.
“Not deeply enough. Not for all the things I want to do to you. Not for how much I want to make you scream my name.” As if to prove his point, he nipped at my neck and I let out a moan. A none-too-soft moan at that.
“See?” he said, chuckling, then returned to my neck, his hands sliding from my face down my body, stopping at my waist, where he tugged me toward him.
I swung a leg over and straddled him, finally in the position I’d wanted to be in that night in the back seat of Stick’s car. He sank into the back of the couch, only leaning forward when I tugged at his shirt. He lifted his arms and I peeled the offending cotton off of him, again marveling at the sheer perfection of him. And now, I could see the tiny scar at his shoulder. I leaned forward and placed a kiss on it, then continued to strew kisses along his amazing chest, swirling my tongue around his nipples.
He smelled faintly of chlorine and the soap they have in dispensers in the showers at the IM building.
“Christ, Lily, you’re killing me. We really can’t.”
“I know. We’ll stop,” I said, not wanting to.
“Not yet…not yet,” he whispered, his hands now leaving my waist and anchoring in my hair. “God, I knew it would be fucking amazing,” he said, wrapping his hands deep in it, tugging gently.
I raised my head from his chest, sat up tall. He dropped his hands still holding my hair, causing me to tilt my chin up.
“Christ, you’re beautiful,” he whispered.
I looked down at him. “So are you,” I said, then ducked my head, needing to kiss him again.
And cursing that cute little boy sleeping in the next room.
It wasn’t the little boy that drew our session to a swift conclusion, but the noise of a key in the lock and the front door opening.
