Chapter 107
“Okay, that was close,” Laura gasped, trying to catch her breath before Lucky and Liz came out. Luke just chuckled and started to sip at his drink as though he had never left the table.
“Hey, what were you guys doing?” Nikolas asked from behind them, making them both jump.
“Nikolas!” Laura exclaimed, spinning around to see him. “How long have you been here?”
He frowned at the guilty expression on her face and glanced over at Emily, who was standing next to him. “We were here for the whole show. We were kind of late, so we got stuck at a table in the back. Why did you all just come running out of that hallway?”
Laura looked at Luke, waiting for him to come up with an excuse. He glanced over at Carly, figuring this was her forte, but she just raised her eyebrows, at a loss for words.
“A mouse!” Charisma suddenly shouted.
“Yes!” Carly agreed enthusiastically. “There was a mouse!”
“Right, that’s it, a mouse,” Laura agreed. “I hate those things.
Nikolas turned to Luke suspiciously. “Luke, you were running away from a mouse too?”
“It was a big mouse,” he said, spreading his hands in front of him as if to show how big. “I should really tell Bubba about that. Wouldn’t want this place to get shut down.” Nikolas rolled his eyes and was about to say something more when Lucky and Liz came out, hand in hand.
“Something’s up with them,” Liz whispered to him as they entered the room and saw Lucky’s parents, Carly, Charisma, Nikolas and Emily all huddled around their table. They stopped and watched them for a moment.
“Maybe they’re just talking,” he said with a shrug.
She shook her head, chewing on her lower lip in contemplation. “I don’t know.... I’m getting a weird feeling.”
He turned to look down at her and smiled. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re cute when you’re paranoid?”
“I’m not paranoid!” she insisted, giggling a little. “They’re up to something.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist and leading her to the table.
Luke looked up and smiled as they neared the table. “Here come the lovebirds now!”
Everyone turned to look at them, smiling innocently. “We were starting to wonder if you’d ever come out,” Carly said with a sly smile.
“Hey, did you guys see a mouse anywhere back there?” Nikolas asked suddenly, determined to figure out what was going on with everyone.
Liz wrinkled her nose and looked over at Lucky. “A mouse?”
“Don’t you have a daughter to get home to?” Luke asked, turning to glare at Nikolas.
“She’s at Lucy’s tonight. Why are you so eager to get rid of me?”
He shrugged. “I’m always eager to get rid of you, why should tonight be any different?”
“Luke...” Laura warned, kicking him under the table.
“Hey guys, we’re going to head home, okay?” Lucky asked, anxious to get out of there.
“Of course, you’ve probably got a lot of... catching up... to do, right?” Carly asked with a sly grin, causing them both to blush slightly.
“Good night, guys,” Lucky said pointedly, pulling Liz away from the table before they could say anything else. She turned and waved to them, then followed him to Alexis’s table. She was sitting next to Jax, smiling at him over her drink, trying to pretend she hadn’t just watched the whole exchange at the other table.
Lucky set the ripped divorce papers in front of her. “We won’t be needing these anymore, but thank you for your help.”
She looked down at them and smiled. “It was my pleasure. I’m glad everything worked out for you.”
Lucky and Liz exchanged a grin, then nodded. “We have to get going, but we’ll see you around.”
“Bye guys,” she and Jax said, waving as they hurried outside. Once they were out the door, Alexis looked over at the Spencer table and found Luke grinning at her. She laughed and rolled her eyes, then returned her attention to Jax.
~*~
As they drove away from Luke’s, Lucky glanced over at Liz, who had been unusually quiet since leaving the club. “Everything okay?”
She turned her head and nodded. “Yeah. You don’t think they all know, do you?”
“All of them?” he asked, surprised. “No, they couldn’t. Just my dad and Alexis. And maybe Jax, but that’s all.”
Liz nodded, relieved. “That’s what I thought, too. It’s just that they were acting so weird tonight....”
Lucky chuckled softly and turned on to their street. “In case you haven’t noticed, my family always acts weird.”
“Fine, then they were acting weirder than usual. I’m telling you, something’s up with them.”
He pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. “Maybe, but whatever it is, it can wait, don’t you think?”
She smiled as she looked into his eyes and nodded. “You’re right. We’ve got other things to worry about tonight.”
They got out of the car and hurried to the front door. Liz was about to go inside when Lucky grabbed her arm, stopping her. “Wait, let’s do this right.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, turning to frown at him in confusion. He grinned and quickly swept her into his arms to carry her over the threshold. She laughed and locked her arms around his neck. Once they were inside, he smiled up at her and kicked the door closed behind them.
“You can put me down now.”
“What if I don’t want to?” he asked playfully.
“Trust me, in a few more seconds, you will. I’m not as light as you might think!” When he didn’t budge, she laughed again and slapped gently at his shoulder. “Come on, Lucky, you can’t carry me all night!”
“Oh, all right,” he sighed, setting her back on the ground. He then walked over to the radio and switched it on, searching through the stations until he found the one he wanted. There was a song ending, so he walked back over to her and pulled her into his arms. “Dance with me?”
“I’d love to,” she giggled, gazing lovingly into his eyes, “but the song’s over.”
“Give it a minute, there’ll be another one. That’s the wonderful thing about the radio, there’s always another song coming up,” he teased, tightening his arms around her waist so that her body was pressed against his even more. She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder as the next song began.
Here I am
Broken wings
Quist thoughts
Unspoken dreams
Here I am
Alone again
And I need her now
To hold my hand
“Hey,” she whispered, not wanting to ruin the moment. “Isn’t this Miguel?”
“Yeah, it is,” he replied, his eyes closed as they swayed slowly to the music.
“He sent me a song last week. It was really beautiful.”
“Really? He sent one to me, too.”
She pulled back enough to look at him and they both smiled. “Was it called ‘I Count the Minutes’?”
“I think so. I don’t think I realized how much I really missed you until I heard it.”
Liz sighed and returned her head to his shoulder. “Me neither.”
She's all, she's all I ever had
She's the air I breathe
She's all, she's all I ever had
It's the way she makes me feel
It's the only thing that's real
It's the way she understands
She's my lover, she's my friend
And when I look into her eyes
It's the way I feel inside
Like the man I want to be
She's all I'll ever need
“Elizabeth?” he asked softly, his voice low and dreamy.
“Hm?”
“I love you.”
Liz turned her head to look at him, her smile radiating pure joy. “I love you too, Lucky, so much it hurts.”
So much time
So much pain(but)
There's one thing
That still remains (it's the)
The way she cared
The love we shared
And through it all
She's always been there
Lucky kissed her gently, his lips lingering on hers for a moment before he spoke again. “I never want us to be apart again. I don’t think I could bear being away from you for even a day.”
“Good, because I wouldn’t let you go for that long. I don’t think I could ever let go of you.”
She's all, she's all I ever had
In a world so cold, so empty
She's all, she's all I ever had
It's the way she makes me feel
It's the only thing that's real
It's the way she understands
She's my lover, she's my friend
And when I look into her eyes
It's the way I feel inside
Like the man I want to be
She's all I'll ever need
As the song ended, Lucky leaned down to kiss her, losing himself in her soft lips as the next song began.
Tonight you're mine completely
You gave your love so sweetly
Tonight the light of love is in your eyes
But will you love me tomorrow?
Liz gasped and broke the kiss, backing away from him.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, confused by her reaction.
She fell back onto the couch behind her and rubbed her head. “I don’t know, I just... this song...”
Lucky sat next to her and reached for her hand. “What about it?”
“I remember it,” she whispered, staring off into space.
“Yeah, my dad played it for that wedding reception.”
She shook her head. “No, that’s not it...it’s before that...” She gasped and turned to him, her eyes wide. “I remember, Lucky. In the plane....we danced to this...the wedding...oh my gosh, I remember all of it!”
[Song Credit: “She’s All I Ever Had” By: Robi Rosa, George Noriega, Jon Secada, © 1999 A Phantom Vox Corp., Muziekuitgeverij Artemis B.V. & Foreign Imported Productions & Publishing.]
