Learn to Fly (18 page)

Mike caught Luke's eye and gave a slight nod. He got up
and kissed the top of Lenny's head, “I have to go to bed or
I'll be grumpy tomorrow.”

Lenny let out a small groan of disappointment but it was
halfhearted. Her eyes flicked to Luke's briefly as she said
goodnight to the drummer and Luke felt his stomach do a somersault.
He wondered when, if ever, she would stop affecting him with a single
look.

Mike retired to his bunk and Luke crossed over to the
sofa and placed the guitar across Lenny's knees. She didn't resist
as he guided her fingers to the correct positions, letting his hands
linger too long on her soft skin.

“
Yikes,
I can see why you have such thick calluses.” Lenny winced as
she squeezed her fingers around the neck.

“
You’re
tough; you’ll develop some of your own soon enough.”
Luke could smell her shampoo and it took a fair amount of restraint
for him to not lean over and bury his face in her hair. He watched
the delicate features of her face as she concentrated on her finger
placement. She was learning quickly, just like he had anticipated.

“
I
like you in my shirt,” he softly murmured in her ear. Lenny
stilled her motions. She didn’t look at him; instead, she
readjusted the guitar on her lap and continued to focus.

“
It
really brings out your eyes,” he spoke slow, leaning closer to
her. He lightly brushed the hair off of her shoulder, exposing her
neck. He wondered if her skin tasted as sweet as it smelled.

Lenny sighed heavily
and her shoulders fell. She pushed the guitar back towards Luke and
stood up.

“
Goodnight,
Luke.”

Luke quickly put the
guitar down, stood up and grabbed her hand. “I don’t
understand. Where are you going?” His eyes searched her
pained expression.

“
I’m
going to bed. You should too. We’re both tired and I really
don’t think you’re processing things rationally.”
She tried to tug her hand out of his grasp but he held on.

“
Len,
I’m sorry, please don’t go yet. I got carried away; I
just like being near you.”

Lenny's face was
guarded. “When the sexy lead singer of the hottest band in the
world starts talking about your eyes, it gets pretty weird.”

“
You
think I’m sexy?” Luke tried to joke with her, hoping to
get her to stay. Nope.

Lenny made a face
and yanked her hand away. “We’re friends, Luke. Don’t
wreck it just cause you're horny,” she snapped.

She was hurt. And
offended. Luke was desperate to make it right. He wanted to kick
himself for being too damn pushy. He thought she was feeling what he
had been feeling; he had read the whole situation wrong. And now she
was slipping away from him again.

He gently grabbed
her by her shoulders and waited till she looked him in the eye.
“You’re right, we are friends. The last thing I want to
do is make you uncomfortable.” He brushed a piece of hair off
her face. “I realize our situation is...complicated. It's
just...” he stumbled on his words. “You’re…this
unstoppable force of nature and sometimes…I let myself get
carried away when I’m around you.”

“
It’s
fine,” Lenny replied coolly. “Sway explained the rules
to me: What happens on the bus, stays on the bus.” She pulled
back and tried to give a small smile but she looked entirely too sad.
“Old habits are hard to break...I get it.”

Luke frowned down at
her. “Sometimes I don’t think you listen to a word I
say.”

“
I
will give you credit, though,” she continued, “You rock
stars sure have a way with words.” She started to back towards
the bunk area. “We’ll just pretend that this didn’t
happen and then no one has to feel awkward.” She tugged at the
hem of the shirt she was wearing. “I’ll wash this and
get it back to you.”

“
You
can keep it,” he waived her words off and tried again. “What
about you getting some sleep? Can't we still...?” He gestured
to the couch where he had automatically planned on spending every
night holding her until the tour ended.

“
I
don't think that's a good idea anymore.” Lenny's eyes pulled
down on the sides with a deeper sadness than Luke had seen before and
he felt like he'd gotten kicked in the stomach. “I'll see you
in the morning.” She turned and disappeared into the center of
the bus.

Luke
slumped back on the sofa, giving up. Not having the strength or
mental clarity to convince her she was wrong. He hadn't been trying
to take advantage of her, he'd simply gotten caught up in her
presence. Caught up in her smile, her laugh, her very
being.
It had been a long time since a girl had made him feel this crazy.
And she had no idea. Not even a clue.

He sat in the quiet
of the cabin, listening to the hum of the wheels. He picked softly
on the guitar, and jotted notes on a sheet of paper he’d been
carrying in his back pocket. If nothing else, this girl had inspired
some of his best writing.

He rubbed the scruff
on his face. No one, ever, in his life had started a fire like this
inside of him. He thought about what might happen when the tour was
over and his heart ached at the idea of her disappearing from his
life.

***

Lenny
lay in the bunk facing the wall with her arms crossed over her
middle. She felt like she was tearing apart her insides. She wanted
to go to Luke and crash into him. Wrap her arms around him and not
let go. But it would ruin everything. It would ruin him.
She
would ruin him.

Every
moment she spent with him was intense. It was all she could do to
keep her wits about her. Walking away from him had required more
mental fortitude than she could have foreseen. If he would have
kissed her... She closed her eyes at the idea; that would have been
the end of her. She would have came apart completely and she doubted
very heavily that she'd be able to survive that kind of a wreck.
Different
worlds. Different people. Different futures.

She would stay away
for a few days; they needed to clear their heads. A little time
apart and they would be feeling...differently.

***

Three days. That's
how long it had been since Lenny had left Luke standing in the cabin
on the bus with a broken look on his perfect face. For three days she
had successfully avoided seeing him and talking to him. Except for
those ninety minutes where DBS took the stage. Then she couldn't take
her eyes off him. Couldn't stop imagining what that kiss would have
felt like had she let that moment continue. Couldn't stop wanting
him to make another attempt.

She rubbed her tired
face with her fingertips and tried to suppress a yawn. Three days
since she'd slept. Yep, it was back to that. She looked at her empty
coffee cup and wondered if a fifth refill would be a bad idea. She
looked around the small coffee shop, planning on waving down the
attendant.

She froze when she
saw Luke standing in the doorway. Looking directly at her. At first,
she thought maybe she had been daydreaming about him so intensely
that she had imagined him. But no, he was as real as he'd ever been.
Tall, lean, and perfectly created like a work of art. A sculpture
come to life. Her fantasy with living breath.

She
was trapped. She couldn't exit without causing a scene.
Of
course he's going to come over here, s
he
thought with barely controlled panic as he made his way towards her.
He settled into the vacant seat across from her, never breaking eye
contact.

“
Hey,”
she said with a small, sideways smile.

“
I’ve
missed you,” Luke responded and then winced at his own words.

“
I’ve
been busy. This leg of the tour is pretty…intense.” His
eyes were bluer than normal today. She felt her traitor of a heart
speed up at his close proximity.

Luke visibly
swallowed. He was obviously trying to keep from spooking her again
and she felt a stab of guilt.

“
What’s
that?” He nodded at her notebook.

“
Just
some poems…stupid stuff, really.” Lenny closed the
weathered book and laid her arms on top.

“
Can
I see?” Luke reached across the table, his fingers touching
the edge of her hand and setting her on fire. Lenny hesitated but
released it to him stiffly. How much was she supposed to deny him?
She was already withholding the friendship she had promised wouldn't
get awkward. It wouldn't hurt to let him read some old ramblings of
a shattered girl in recovery.

Lenny held her
breath as he leafed through the pages. She thought a few days apart
would cool things off between them. Logically, it should have. She
was wrong. Whatever they felt for each other had gained strength.

“
These
are really excellent, Lenny.” Luke was absorbed in the written
words and Lenny was rethinking letting him read her most personal
thoughts. Sure, not every single one of them was about her in
particular. But she had never really shared them with anyone besides
Scott. And that was just because Scott was so damn bossy.

“
No,
it’s just pointless…girl stuff…” she
trailed off, finding it difficult to have this conversation.

Luke looked up at
her swiftly, “Nothing about you is pointless.”

Lenny licked her
lips nervously. Why did he make her feel like this? She wanted to
run away. She glanced at the door, planning her escape.

“
Please
don’t go.” Luke pleaded, reading her thoughts. Her
chest burned at his request.

“
I
should get back, Carl wants me to…” She was trying to
come up with a plausible lie.

Just then her cell
phone rang and she jumped. She hurriedly pulled it out of her pocket
and glanced at the call screen. Speak of the devil, it was Carl.
She answered it, ignoring Luke’s heavy sigh.

“
Hello?”

“
Hey,
have you seen Luke? He won’t pick up my call.” Carl
sounded irritated.

“
Yeah,
he’s right here” She handed him the phone, thankful for
the interruption.

“
Hello?…What?…Right
now?…” Luke closed his eyes in frustration and brought a
hand up to rub his forehead. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be right
there.” He hung up the phone and handed it back to Lenny, “You
shouldn’t have answered that.” Luke’s demeanor had
shifted dramatically.

“
What
was it about?” Lenny wasn’t sure she wanted to know
based on the clench in his jaw and the narrowing of his eyes at the
center of the table.

Luke stood up and
grabbed her hand pulling her to the door, not worrying about her
reaction. “Just some garbage I have to deal with,” he
growled.

He tucked her
notebook under his arm and pulled her down the street possessively.
Gone was the Luke who was trying too hard to not cross any lines.
Lenny was thrown off by the sudden alpha-male, take-charge Luke that
was striding purposefully down the sidewalk. She half expected him
to toss her over his shoulder if she didn't comply. He didn’t
release the firm clasp on her hand until they were climbing up into
his bus, more agitated than Lenny had ever seen him.

As Lenny’s
eyes adjusted to the darkened inside of the lounge she made out the
figure of someone sitting on the couch. A tall, leggy, buxom
brunette was filing her nails. She had on a severely short skirt and
a cleavage baring top. Alarm bells started to go off in Lenny's head
when she saw Carl standing a little ways away with his arms crossed.

“
Hey,
baby,” the boobilicious girl lilted when she saw Luke. She
smiled and showed too many teeth, reminding Lenny of the shark from
Jaws
.
Her stunning blue eyes were half-lidded, as if in a sleepy, sexy
daze.

“
What
are you doing here, Ashton?” Luke got right to the point.