Chapter 52
“Lucky, we need to work on the project!” Liz said, giggling as he nuzzled her earlobe. They had been in his room all afternoon trying to finish up the last part of the project, but neither of them could concentrate on it.
“Okay, okay,” he said, moving back from her and looking at his notes. “I’ll be good now.”
He looked so cute sitting there, trying to act all serious, she couldn’t help herself, and leaned over to kiss him. As she tried to pull away, he grabbed the back of her neck an deepened the kiss. She surrendered to him for a moment, then struggled free again. “Lucky, the project!”
“Hey, you started that one!” he said.
“Oh, right. Sorry about that.”
He chuckled and leaned closer to her. “You don’t have to apologize. I didn’t mind.” He started to kiss her again, but she pushed him away, laughing.
“Down, boy! We’re almost done with this, so put your hormones on hold for a little while longer, okay?”
“Fine, but you have to put yours on hold too!”
She rolled her eyes and picked up her notes. “Okay, so we’re going to therapy and you’re sleeping on the couch...”
“I really don’t see why that part’s necessary. Don’t you thinking kicking me out of our bed is a little drastic?”
“Not at all. You cheated on me, you’re lucky that’s all I’m doing to you!” she answered, shooting him a warning glare.
He shook his head. “I still can’t believe we have to do this. It’s so unrealistic!”
“Why? Husbands cheat on their wives every day! It’s probably the most realistic of all the problems she passed out!”
“Maybe for other people, but not for me. I would never cheat on you, not in a million years.” There was a hint of desperation in his voice, like he was really afraid she wouldn’t believe him.
Liz smiled and leaned across the bed to kiss him again, forgetting their earlier vows to behave. “Don’t worry, I never thought you would. Although, wouldn’t we at least have to be going out first before you could cheat?”
He smiled at her not-so-subtle hint. “You mean we’re not?”
“Well, I don’t remember ever being asked,” she said, grinning at him.
“I guess I just assumed it was understood.”
She chuckled. “You know what they say about when you assume something...”
“Yeah, yeah. All right, fine. We’ll do this your way then.” He moved closer to her, pushing their notes out of the way. “Elizabeth, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”
“I would like nothing more,” she answered. He cradled her face in his hands and brought his mouth to hers, the project completely forgotten for the time being. After kissing for a few minutes, they pulled apart, breathless. “I can see we’re not going to get anything done today.”
Liz giggled. “Yeah, I know. If we’re going to that restaurant tonight, I better get home and start getting ready.”
He looked at her and pouted. “You look perfect the way you are.”
“Thanks, but this isn’t exactly within their dress code, you know!”
He pulled her into his arms and smiled. “But I don’t want you to leave yet.”
“That’s sweet, but you’ll see me again tonight. It’s only for a few hours. We can’t spend 24 hours a day together, you know!”
“Why not? We’re married,” he said, trying to keep a straight face.
She laughed and got off the bed. “Very funny. Try telling that to your parents and my grandmother and see if they buy it. Come on, walk me home.”
He got up and walked out with her, ignoring his parents as they left the house. They walked back to Audrey’s in silence, their arms wrapped around each other. When they got to her front door, Lucky pulled her closed and kissed her. “I’ll be back at 7:30, okay?” he asked softly, his face still only inches from hers.
She nodded slightly, her heart racing from being so close to him. “I’ll be ready.” He kissed her again and watched as she went inside.
~*~
The doorbell rang and Liz glanced at the clock. “7:30, right on time!” She rushed to the door and flung it open. All the air left her body when she saw him standing there. He looked absolutely gorgeous. How had she gone so long without noticing that?
Lucky stood there and stared at her, mesmerized by how beautiful she looked. “Wow,” he whispered, unable to move. She had on a short red dress, and her hair fell loosely over her shoulders.
She giggled and grabbed her coat. He backed up a little so she could come outside, but couldn’t tear his eyes off of her. “You look....”
“So do you,” she said, reaching up to kiss him. “Come on, we don’t want to miss our reservation.”
He shook himself out of his stupor and walked with her to the car. They arrived at the PC Grille on time and were seated at one of the more romantic tables. Liz smiled at him from across the table, the candlelight dancing in her eyes.
“So, have your parents been teasing you non-stop since last night?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but I’ve been ignoring them. If it wasn’t for them nagging me so much about you, I might not have been so stubborn before. We would have probably gotten together much sooner.” He reached across the table and took her hand, rubbing his thumb in circles on the back of it.
“Hey, I was just as stubborn, you know. Although I will say that I was ready to kill your parents at the carnival that time.”
He chuckled. “Me too. You don’t know how badly I had wanted to kiss you then. All three times.”
“Oh, not half as badly as I wanted you to kiss me! And I was ready to throttle Gram that night. Or Gatsby. I wasn’t sure who I was more angry with! I think, deep down, ever since Ms. Kraft made us kiss at the wedding, I’ve wanted you to kiss me again. It was so unexpected, but it felt so right, even though we hated each other back then.”
“I never hated you. I was just really annoyed with you most of the time,” Lucky said with a smile, still caressing her hand.
“Me too.” They continued to smile at one another until the waiter brought their food.
After dinner, Lucky drove her home. They kissed good-night a few times, neither of them wanting the night to end. Finally, Liz pulled away and opened the front door. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”
Lucky nodded, kissing her again quickly. “You can bet on it.” They both groaned at his comment, remembering how half the town had been betting on them. She went inside, waving at him as she closed the door, then rushed upstairs to get ready for bed.
A few minutes later, she climbed into bed and turned off the light. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she heard a noise at her window. A smile broke out on her face as she turned to see what was causing it, and she quickly jumped out of bed and opened it, letting Lucky inside.
“What are you doing here?” she asked once he was done kissing her.
“I was hoping to see you in those pajamas again,” he answered with a grin.
“Well, now you have, so you better get out of here before Gram hears us!” she said, blushing and pushing him back to the window. He climbed outside and turned back to her, kissing her again before she closed it. She watched him climb down and sighed happily, then crawled back into bed, falling asleep with a huge smile on her face.
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