Chapter 18
Carly returned to the dining room a few minutes later, and everyone managed to make it through dinner without any further arguments. When dinner was over, Monica suggested they all move into the den for drinks, but Ned politely refused, saying that they had to get going. They said good-bye to everyone and left the house.
“Well, that was interesting,” Alexis said with a laugh once they were outside. She looked over at Liz and Lucky and smiled. He was still holding her hand, although neither of them seemed to realize it.
“Can’t say I didn’t warn you!” Ned chuckled, walking with them to the waiting limo. The driver opened the door and Lucky and Liz crawled in . Liz looked up at Alexis, waiting for her to get in as well.
“You coming?” she asked. Alexis smiled and shook her head.
“No, I’m going back to the gatehouse with Ned,” she answered, waving as the driver shut the door. She turned back to Ned and grinned.
“You look awfully proud of yourself,” he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer. “What are you up to?”
“Now what makes you think I’m up to something?” she asked innocently, batting her eyelashes at him.
“Well, for one, this is the first I heard of you coming home with me tonight.”
“Oh, well, I just decided. Of course, if you don’t want me there...” she said jokingly, pulling back from him. He quickly tightened his grip and pulled her close again.
“Of course I want you there. Come on, let’s go.”
~*~
“So, are you completely traumatized now?” Lucky asked with a laugh once the limo began to move.
Liz smiled and shook her head. “No, but I was worried for a while there that they were going to come to blows. Thanks for coming, by the way. For some reason, having you there made it easier. And thanks for putting up with the whole date thing. I think we fooled them, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Lucky said. “Even Emily seemed to buy it, although I guess the next time I see her, I’ll have to tell her the truth.”
“Right,” Liz said quietly, trying to hide her disappointment. She had been hoping that maybe this phony date would lead to something else, possibly even a real one. She sighed and leaned back in her seat. What was she thinking? A Spencer and a Cassidine? She may not know that much about the two families yet, but she already knew that a Spencer would never date a Cassidine!
Lucky heard her sigh and looked over at her. “Are you okay?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yeah, just tired. It’s been a long day. That dinner took a lot out of me!”
He laughed. “Sometimes I wonder how Emily lives with them. I can’t imagine putting up with that on a daily basis!” He leaned in closer to her. “Just imagine how they are when they don’t have company!”
“I can’t. That poor girl!” The car slowed to a stop in front of Lucky’s house. As the driver came around to open the door, he turned to Liz and smiled. “Thanks again, Lucky,” she said, returning the smile.
“Any time. Believe it or not, I actually had fun tonight. We’ll have to do it again sometime.”
She laughed. “Again? I don’t know if I’ll be up to going three again any time soon!”
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t mean going to the Quartermaines. I meant we should do something together again. I’d like to get to know you better.”
Liz’s stomach did a little flip. “Really? I mean, sure, I’d like that too.”
Lucky climbed out of the car and waved. “Cool, I’ll see you around then. Bye, Elizabeth!”
“Bye, Lucky.”
Lucky watched as the limo pulled away, then went inside the house, knowing that his parents would be waiting for him.
“Hey, Cowboy, how was the date?” Luke asked with a grin.
Lucky shook his head. “It wasn’t a real date, Dad. But it was fun.”
“Did the Qs behave?”
He laughed. “No more than usual. First, they argued about Jason and Michael, then they flipped out about Ned and Alexis getting married, then AJ and Ned argued about ELQ, and then they argued about Jason some more. Basically, the same old stuff.” He wandered back into the kitchen to see if his mother was there. She turned around and smiled at him as she washed the dishes.
“Hey, honey, how was dinner?”
Lucky sat down at the table. “It was good.” Just then, a soapy glass slipped out of her hands and headed for the floor. It stopped in mid-air and Laura chuckled.
“Thanks. It’s a good thing you came in here,” she said, grabbing the glass and putting it back in the sink.”
Lucky shrugged. “Glad to help. Hey, have you figured out what Lulu’s power is yet?”
“No, it’s too early to tell. I didn’t know mine was healing until I was 16 or so.”
“What about Nikolas. Has he ever mentioned when he knew his was mind-reading?” Lucky asked, biting into an apple. “You know, I’ve always been jealous of him for that. He got the cool one.”
Laura chuckled and shook her head. “I don’t know. He spent most of his childhood with Stefan, and since it doesn’t work on relatives, he probably didn’t even know about it. Anyway, what’s wrong with yours? I don’t know how many times I wish I could freeze things!”
Lucky shrugged. “I guess it’s okay, but I can’t use it in public like he can. People might freak out, you know?”
“Good point,” Laura said, putting away the last dish and turning back to smile at him. “So, if you could read minds, whose would you want you read first?”
“I don’t know,” he lied. “Never thought about it.”
Laura smiled and shook her head. “Liar. You’d go straight to Elizabeth’s and you know it!”
He blushed. “What makes you so sure of that?”
“Because I’ve seen the way your eyes light up whenever you talk about her. Plus, I’m your mother, I just know these things.”
“Well, maybe. It’s too bad she’s a Cassidine, otherwise I could just ask Nikolas to do it for me!”
Laura sat down across from him and smiled. “Well, you spent the whole night pretending to be dating each other. Do you think she might be interested?”
“I don’t know. I told her I wanted to get to know her better and she agreed, so maybe.” He chuckled. “What would Dad say if he knew I had a crush on a Cassidine?”
“I’d say go for it,” Luke laughed from the doorway. “As long as she doesn’t grow fangs, I’m all for it.”
“Dad,” Lucky groaned, standing up from the table. “They’re not vampires! They’re just people.”
“Maybe, but one of them’s a witch, so who’s to say the rest aren’t freaks too?”
“Oh, so now we’re freaks?” Laura asked jokingly.
Luke walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. “Of course you are, that’s why I love you.”
Laura sighed. “It’s not quite the answer I was hoping for, but I guess it’ll do. I love you too, Luke.”
Lucky groaned. “That’s my cue. I’ll be in my room, throwing up.” He walked out of the kitchen and headed upstairs.
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