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Pretty Girls ⇼ Luke Hemmings

One Last Date.

“Valerie,” Luke’s voice was soft as he pushed the stray hairs out of my face. “Val, baby, wake up.” He cooed, but I couldn’t move. I was too exhausted. Groaning, I turned towards the sound of his voice, squinting my eyes and trying to adjust to the light.
“What time is it?” I asked, afraid that we’d slept all afternoon and through the night. My body nearly sprung up, my heartbeat quickening as I looked out the window.
“Half past midnight.” He smiled as I let out a sigh of relief, pushing my knotted hair out of my face. “Come with me.” He held out his hand, and I reluctantly took it, allowing him to pull me up.
“Where are we going?” He already had Petunia attached to her leash, and she waited patiently by the door while Luke pulled a sweater out of his suitcase and handed it to me.

He didn’t need to tell me to put it on, as I figured we were going to take her for a walk. But when we went downstairs and headed straight for his car, I gave him a confused look.
“I’m taking you out for one last date.” He grinned, seeming proud of himself as he opened up the passenger side door for me. I climbed in the car, forcing a smile as he ushered Petunia in after me. He said it like this was it, like we’d never see each other again. And maybe we wouldn't. Maybe we’d breakup before he left, maybe we’d breakup in the middle of the summer, or maybe we’d just lose touch.

It hurt to think about. My whirlwind of a year was coming to an end. I’d no longer be a freshman. And in 9 hours, the man I love is going across the globe. The worst part, is that I really don’t know how we’d get on without each other. I wasn’t sure if we’d both be hurting, or if it would only be me. Would I be hurting? From the moment we met, Luke and I have spent nearly every day together. That is, unless we were fighting. And we were always fighting. But now, I couldn’t remember the last time we fought.

How did we get here? How did this beautiful, damaged man get me to forget about my own damaged past? How did we become so in love, that I felt comfortable giving up my purity? It all happened so fast, but so slow at the same time. I wondered if he felt the same.

As he got in the car and buckled up, I slid my purity ring off my finger and placed it in the cupholder. I don’t think he noticed, but I didn’t want him to. I wasn’t sure if he was somehow taking his car with him, but if he was, I wanted him to find my ring and think about me. I knew mom and dad would be upset when they noticed I stopped wearing it, but I didn’t care. I needed something to leave him, as if my purity wasn’t enough.

I wasn’t paying attention much to where we were going, but smiled at him when he reached over and grabbed my hand. The music played quietly on the radio, and he brought my hand to his mouth and pressed a light kiss against the back of it. All to soon, he put the car in park and shut it off.
“What are we doing here?” I asked with a small laugh when we got out of the car. We were in front of the park we went to for our first date.
“I thought it’d be nice to relive an old memory.” He let Petunia off the leash, and she immediately ran towards the water, jumping in. Luke pulled me close, his arm draping across my shoulders as he led me to the dock. “Do you remember coming here? We sat right here-” he paused, sitting on the wood and letting his feet dangle over the edge.
“And we talked about our families.” I finished the sentence for him, smiling as I sat next to him.

Nothing was said for the longest time. Luke finally broke the silence, changing the subject.
"It's warmer then I thought it’d be tonight." I laughed a bit, nodding.
"It is." I agreed.
"I bet the water’s warm." He smirked. I tore my eyes away from the water and to him. What is he thinking? "Perhaps we could go for a dip." I scoffed.
"Perhaps not!" I exclaimed, laughing. "You're crazy!" He smiled a warm, enchanting smile.
"Aw, come on, baby! It'll be fun! Live a little!" I shook my head.
"I live everyday!" I said, pretending to be offended while he laughed
"Only when you're with me. Come on! Only for a bit?" He compromised, pulling me to my feet as he ripped off his shirt, throwing it on the dock.
"You're insane!" His eyes were bright blue, staring into mine as he ran his thumb along my bottom lip. I nearly melted.
"It's probably not even deep." He whispered. "It'll be fun."
"Okay." I whispered back.

He kicked off his shoes and socks, followed by his jeans and jumped in as I stared at him, shocked and still fully clothed.
"The water's perfect!" He yelled, standing so it reached his chest. “Come on, you said you would!" He frowned. Without wanting to overthink it, I slowly undressed to my bra and panties. "I'll help you in." He breathed, walking toward the dock. I knew it was just an excuse to touch me, but I didn't complain. His long arms reached up, settling on my waist. "Ready?" He asked, I eagerly nodded. He lifted me with ease, and set me in the water. I felt the sand sink into my toes as I shrieked.
"Luke! It's freezing!" I gasped. He threw his head back, laughing. “You said it was perfect!”
"You wouldn't have came in if I told you... And then, I couldn't do this." He grabbed my waist, pulling me close to him. Our chests touched as he leaned down, pressing his lips against mine.

As I responded to the kiss, he lifted me, allowing me to wrap my legs around him. I was vaguely aware that Petunia was swimming circles around us, but I didn’t care. My arms wrapped around Luke's neck, my fingers digging in his hair as he held me up by my thighs. Our tongues battled for dominance and, like always, I let him win.
"I'd love to stay and do this with you, Val... But I'm freezing." I laughed a bit as he carried me to the dock, lifting me up and setting me on the wood as if I were as light as a doll, then climbing up himself. When I was about to stand to get dressed, he grabbed my chin lightly, pulling it toward him. How I wish he was this Luke the whole time. How I wish he didn’t put up so much resistance before falling in love with me. So sweet and gentle. His thumbs scaled the bottom of my eyes, wiping off most of the smeared makeup as he chuckled.
"You know, you don’t need this shit." He whispered, and I didn’t know how to respond to him. So, I merely nodded. We slowly dressed, Luke leaning over and kissing me every now and then while I wrung out my hair, letting the damp hit my back.

He helped Petunia out of the water and held a hand out to me. When I took it, he led me down the path. I knew exactly where we were going. Petunia beat us there, lying in the grass as we made our way to the swings. He helped me on one, immediately walking behind me and giving me a gentle push. I laughed as he repeated the action twice more before taking a seat on his own swing and gaining momentum.

We didn’t talk as we swang, only giving each other quick glances as we laughed. He reached out to grab the metal chain of my swing but before he could catch it, I jumped off. My feet implanted in the wood chips before I took off running.
“Where are you going?” Luke called after me, laughing. I heard his feet crunch in the wood chips before he ran to catch me. I kept up the pace, looking back at him and letting out a small shriek when he caught my waist. He pulled my body against his, our chests touching as he pressed his lips against mine. “Are you running away from me?” he asked, his forehead lying against mine. I shook my head, my eyes closed.
“Never.” I whispered, setting my hands on his cheeks and getting on my tippy toes to give him another long, deep kiss. “Take me home, Luke.” That was all he heeded to hear. He grabbed my hand, called Petunia over, and we headed back to the frat house.