Chapter 7
Abby opened her eyes, wincing at the bright sunlight streaming into Luka's living room. She glanced at her watch, 9:25 am. "Wow!" she thought, "I haven't had such a good sleep in a long time." She untangled herself from the quilt and sat up, running her fingers through her long, chestnut hair.
She could smell the nutty aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the apartment and she realized the shower upstairs was running. She reached for a mug out of the cupboard and poured herself a full glass of the steaming coffee. Taking a small appreciative sip, Abby looked into Luka's refrigerator. The shelves were bare except for a carton of milk and the remnants of the casserole they had had for dinner the night before. She made a mental note to go shopping that afternoon.
Abby heard the water cut off upstairs and ten minutes later a clean-shaven, fresh smelling Luka wandered downstairs.
"You look much better today," Abby commented, "the colour is back in your face."
Luka smiled, "Yep. A delicious home cooked meal and warm bed was all I needed to get back on the right track. Hey, I noticed this morning when I was making the coffee that there is an embarrassing lack of food in this apartment. Do you wanna go grocery shopping?"
"You read my mind. But, if you want to stay here and rest, I can go pick up a few things." Abby was still a little concerned about Luka getting back out into the world too soon after his illness.
"Don't worry about it. I feel really good and I could use some pointers on how to grocery shop effectively. I usually just buy Kraft Dinner and bagged baby carrots for the week but I have a sneaking suspicion that you won't want that every night." Luka smiled at her, "Besides, the last time we went grocery shopping together I knocked that whole stand of oranges over and the look on your face was priceless. Did you know Abby that I still sometimes lay awake at night and laugh? That was too funny."
Abby glared at him, "If you want to have to explain to the store manager how your thirty-one year old boyfriend didn't know that if he ran his cart into the orange stand too hard he would create an orange avalanche, then be my guest. But I'm not going to clean up a thousand oranges off the floor again!"
Luka raised his hands in defence, "I helped too!"
"Yeah but you also stepped on a few of them making even more mess." Abby was desperately trying to keep a straight face as she recalled that afternoon but soon failed. "I guess it was pretty funny though, especially when you hit me in the back of the head with an orange." Abby soon found herself laughing at the memory.
"Yeah, it was a good shot." Luka chuckled and picked up Abby's hand, "I miss those times Abby."
Abby felt herself stiffen. "No," she chastised herself, "don't get involved again, it can't be good for either of you." She sighed, "Then why does it feel so good?"
Abby squeezed his hand back gently then released it. "Just let me go have a shower, I'll be ready to go in 20 minutes."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
An hour and a half later, Luka opened his apartment door open and pushed inside with two bags of groceries. Abby followed carrying two lighter bags. "Well Luka, I must admit. I was very impressed by your behaviour, nothing was broken and the manager didn't even make an appearance."
"I told you I could behave in public." Luka dropped the bags on the counter and began unloading the food into the fridge. I just have one question Abby, what is asparagus? It looks kind of yucky."
Abby laughed at the look on his face. "It's a vegetable Luka. Very healthy and very good." She pulled an assortment of fruits and veggies out of the grocery bags and deposited them in the crispers.
"Whatever," Luka said, "I'll have Kraft Dinner tonight."
"Oh no you won't! Since you most likely haven't had KD since you left for Africa, we can have that for lunch. But, I'm going to make turkey lasagne and Caesar salad with garlic bread for dinner."
Luka nodded in agreement, "Sounds good. But can we have some of this ice- cream for dessert?" Luka picked up the carton of orange sherbet and put it into the freezer. "I love ice-cream and if memory serves me correctly, you do too."
Abby smiled, "Yup, we can have ice-cream for dessert."
* * * * * * * * * * *
"No Abby, you press this button! No not that one, oh no, well, there you go. You're dead." Luka pressed the reset button on the Playstation. He didn't realize how hard it would be to teach Abby the basics of Donkey Kong, his favourite game.
Abby laughed in mock frustration, "I can't help it. This damn ape doesn't grab onto the rope and those alligators down there are scary."
Luka rolled his eyes. "Maybe we should just play Scrabble or something that doesn't involve technology."
"Hey. Are you calling me stupid?" Abby glared at him in indignation.
Luka shrugged, "No, just computer illiterate."
Abby laughed, "Yeah well, these are just boys toys. But here, give me the controller back, I wanna try again." She reached for the control but Luka pulled it away from her. "Luka, give it to me." Abby tried to pry it out of his fingers but he just yanked it away and held it above his head.
"No way Abby, it's my turn!" He attempted to smack her hand away while keeping a death grip on his control. "Leave me alone, I'll show you how its done."
Abby wasn't having any of that. She leaned herself on his body and practically crawled up his chest to get to the control. She was laughing, but suddenly, she realized her face was only inches from Luka's. She stopped trying to grab the control and was rapidly, yet unexpectedly, lost in his eyes.
The familiar smell of Luka mixed with his cologne made her heart skip a beat and she was frozen. All thoughts had scurried out of her head expect her sudden desire to kiss him. To feel his warm lips against hers as they danced.
Quickly, it hit her that she was crossing back into familiar, yet unfamiliar territory. She felt a slap of uncertainty hit her square in the stomach and she pulled away, sitting back on her side of the couch.
She fought to control her breathing, which had sped up and she wrung her hands together nervously. "Luka," she stammered, "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me, I'm sorry. I'm." She started to get up when Luka reached out and grabbed her by the hand. She froze in half stance, and looked to the floor.
Without a word, Luka gently pulled her back to the couch. He sat up from his reclining position and leaned closer to her. Abby was still looking at the floor and jumped when she felt Luka's hand on her shoulder.
He pulled a lock of hair that had fallen over her face back and caressed her cheek. Abby closed her eyes in contentment. She felt him lean closer to her and his warm breath on her face. Fear suddenly raced through her blood. This couldn't happen; they were both hurt too bad last time when it didn't work out.
She started to turn to him, "Luka, we can't." She was cut off when his lips met hers in the lightest of kisses. He wound his fingers loosely into her hair and deepened the kiss.
Abby was completely lost for words as she felt all the fear and uncertainty wash out of her body like water going down a drain. She responded to him and leaned her body against his. Their lips danced together to their own rhythm and peacefulness wrapped around Abby like a blanket.
Luka pulled back and still holding her head gently in his hands, studied her face for a reaction. He expected either anger or a smile but he certainly didn't expect tears. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw Abby's face crumple and a sob escaped from her.
Deep regret hit him instantly knowing that he had upset her. "Oh my god, Abby I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to upset you." He started to get up off the couch when Abby's desperate "Wait" made him freeze.
"It isn't that I'm upset Luka, because I'm not. I just," her voice faltered, "I just want this to happen so bad but I'm terrified it will end with one or both of us hurt. I don't want you to regret me." Her voice had become very small and weak.
Luka sat back down, "God Abby, I will never regret you. No matter what happens, I would never ever take back anything about you. I promise you that."
He wrapped her up in a big, affectionate hug. "I've loved you Abby Lockhart for so long now that it hurts."
Abby's breath caught, he loved her? "Oh my, Luka. I don't know what to say." She tried to brush the tears off her face, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get emotional there on you."
Luka smiled, "Its okay Abby. You know that it's okay for you to let emotions out once in a while. You are safe with me." Keeping her wrapped in his embrace, he lay down on the couch and arranged Abby so that she was comfortable against his chest. He reached for the quilt that was now hanging on the back of the sofa and spread it over their bodies.
Softly, he kissed her forehead and smiled as he saw her eyelids drooping. "Lets get some rest now Abby. We can talk later."
She nodded nearly impeccably and burrowed deeper into the crook of his neck. Luka pulled the blanket up to her ears and soothingly rubbed her shoulder. He whispered in her ear, "You will always be safe here. I promise."
Abby wrapped her arm around his chest and fell into a deep, peaceful slumber. Luka was not far behind her.
Abby opened her eyes, wincing at the bright sunlight streaming into Luka's living room. She glanced at her watch, 9:25 am. "Wow!" she thought, "I haven't had such a good sleep in a long time." She untangled herself from the quilt and sat up, running her fingers through her long, chestnut hair.
She could smell the nutty aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the apartment and she realized the shower upstairs was running. She reached for a mug out of the cupboard and poured herself a full glass of the steaming coffee. Taking a small appreciative sip, Abby looked into Luka's refrigerator. The shelves were bare except for a carton of milk and the remnants of the casserole they had had for dinner the night before. She made a mental note to go shopping that afternoon.
Abby heard the water cut off upstairs and ten minutes later a clean-shaven, fresh smelling Luka wandered downstairs.
"You look much better today," Abby commented, "the colour is back in your face."
Luka smiled, "Yep. A delicious home cooked meal and warm bed was all I needed to get back on the right track. Hey, I noticed this morning when I was making the coffee that there is an embarrassing lack of food in this apartment. Do you wanna go grocery shopping?"
"You read my mind. But, if you want to stay here and rest, I can go pick up a few things." Abby was still a little concerned about Luka getting back out into the world too soon after his illness.
"Don't worry about it. I feel really good and I could use some pointers on how to grocery shop effectively. I usually just buy Kraft Dinner and bagged baby carrots for the week but I have a sneaking suspicion that you won't want that every night." Luka smiled at her, "Besides, the last time we went grocery shopping together I knocked that whole stand of oranges over and the look on your face was priceless. Did you know Abby that I still sometimes lay awake at night and laugh? That was too funny."
Abby glared at him, "If you want to have to explain to the store manager how your thirty-one year old boyfriend didn't know that if he ran his cart into the orange stand too hard he would create an orange avalanche, then be my guest. But I'm not going to clean up a thousand oranges off the floor again!"
Luka raised his hands in defence, "I helped too!"
"Yeah but you also stepped on a few of them making even more mess." Abby was desperately trying to keep a straight face as she recalled that afternoon but soon failed. "I guess it was pretty funny though, especially when you hit me in the back of the head with an orange." Abby soon found herself laughing at the memory.
"Yeah, it was a good shot." Luka chuckled and picked up Abby's hand, "I miss those times Abby."
Abby felt herself stiffen. "No," she chastised herself, "don't get involved again, it can't be good for either of you." She sighed, "Then why does it feel so good?"
Abby squeezed his hand back gently then released it. "Just let me go have a shower, I'll be ready to go in 20 minutes."
* * * * * * * * * * * *
An hour and a half later, Luka opened his apartment door open and pushed inside with two bags of groceries. Abby followed carrying two lighter bags. "Well Luka, I must admit. I was very impressed by your behaviour, nothing was broken and the manager didn't even make an appearance."
"I told you I could behave in public." Luka dropped the bags on the counter and began unloading the food into the fridge. I just have one question Abby, what is asparagus? It looks kind of yucky."
Abby laughed at the look on his face. "It's a vegetable Luka. Very healthy and very good." She pulled an assortment of fruits and veggies out of the grocery bags and deposited them in the crispers.
"Whatever," Luka said, "I'll have Kraft Dinner tonight."
"Oh no you won't! Since you most likely haven't had KD since you left for Africa, we can have that for lunch. But, I'm going to make turkey lasagne and Caesar salad with garlic bread for dinner."
Luka nodded in agreement, "Sounds good. But can we have some of this ice- cream for dessert?" Luka picked up the carton of orange sherbet and put it into the freezer. "I love ice-cream and if memory serves me correctly, you do too."
Abby smiled, "Yup, we can have ice-cream for dessert."
* * * * * * * * * * *
"No Abby, you press this button! No not that one, oh no, well, there you go. You're dead." Luka pressed the reset button on the Playstation. He didn't realize how hard it would be to teach Abby the basics of Donkey Kong, his favourite game.
Abby laughed in mock frustration, "I can't help it. This damn ape doesn't grab onto the rope and those alligators down there are scary."
Luka rolled his eyes. "Maybe we should just play Scrabble or something that doesn't involve technology."
"Hey. Are you calling me stupid?" Abby glared at him in indignation.
Luka shrugged, "No, just computer illiterate."
Abby laughed, "Yeah well, these are just boys toys. But here, give me the controller back, I wanna try again." She reached for the control but Luka pulled it away from her. "Luka, give it to me." Abby tried to pry it out of his fingers but he just yanked it away and held it above his head.
"No way Abby, it's my turn!" He attempted to smack her hand away while keeping a death grip on his control. "Leave me alone, I'll show you how its done."
Abby wasn't having any of that. She leaned herself on his body and practically crawled up his chest to get to the control. She was laughing, but suddenly, she realized her face was only inches from Luka's. She stopped trying to grab the control and was rapidly, yet unexpectedly, lost in his eyes.
The familiar smell of Luka mixed with his cologne made her heart skip a beat and she was frozen. All thoughts had scurried out of her head expect her sudden desire to kiss him. To feel his warm lips against hers as they danced.
Quickly, it hit her that she was crossing back into familiar, yet unfamiliar territory. She felt a slap of uncertainty hit her square in the stomach and she pulled away, sitting back on her side of the couch.
She fought to control her breathing, which had sped up and she wrung her hands together nervously. "Luka," she stammered, "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me, I'm sorry. I'm." She started to get up when Luka reached out and grabbed her by the hand. She froze in half stance, and looked to the floor.
Without a word, Luka gently pulled her back to the couch. He sat up from his reclining position and leaned closer to her. Abby was still looking at the floor and jumped when she felt Luka's hand on her shoulder.
He pulled a lock of hair that had fallen over her face back and caressed her cheek. Abby closed her eyes in contentment. She felt him lean closer to her and his warm breath on her face. Fear suddenly raced through her blood. This couldn't happen; they were both hurt too bad last time when it didn't work out.
She started to turn to him, "Luka, we can't." She was cut off when his lips met hers in the lightest of kisses. He wound his fingers loosely into her hair and deepened the kiss.
Abby was completely lost for words as she felt all the fear and uncertainty wash out of her body like water going down a drain. She responded to him and leaned her body against his. Their lips danced together to their own rhythm and peacefulness wrapped around Abby like a blanket.
Luka pulled back and still holding her head gently in his hands, studied her face for a reaction. He expected either anger or a smile but he certainly didn't expect tears. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw Abby's face crumple and a sob escaped from her.
Deep regret hit him instantly knowing that he had upset her. "Oh my god, Abby I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to upset you." He started to get up off the couch when Abby's desperate "Wait" made him freeze.
"It isn't that I'm upset Luka, because I'm not. I just," her voice faltered, "I just want this to happen so bad but I'm terrified it will end with one or both of us hurt. I don't want you to regret me." Her voice had become very small and weak.
Luka sat back down, "God Abby, I will never regret you. No matter what happens, I would never ever take back anything about you. I promise you that."
He wrapped her up in a big, affectionate hug. "I've loved you Abby Lockhart for so long now that it hurts."
Abby's breath caught, he loved her? "Oh my, Luka. I don't know what to say." She tried to brush the tears off her face, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get emotional there on you."
Luka smiled, "Its okay Abby. You know that it's okay for you to let emotions out once in a while. You are safe with me." Keeping her wrapped in his embrace, he lay down on the couch and arranged Abby so that she was comfortable against his chest. He reached for the quilt that was now hanging on the back of the sofa and spread it over their bodies.
Softly, he kissed her forehead and smiled as he saw her eyelids drooping. "Lets get some rest now Abby. We can talk later."
She nodded nearly impeccably and burrowed deeper into the crook of his neck. Luka pulled the blanket up to her ears and soothingly rubbed her shoulder. He whispered in her ear, "You will always be safe here. I promise."
Abby wrapped her arm around his chest and fell into a deep, peaceful slumber. Luka was not far behind her.