Disclaimer: The characters still don't belong to me. but they do belong to
the WB!
Later that afternoon, when Lucas walked into the Café he found a handful of customers quietly talking over coffee and a late lunch. There was also Nathan sitting at the counter, with his head bent over an open textbook. Haley was on the other side of the counter, leaning too closely to Nathan. The two didn't even notice Lucas walking into the diner, until he walked up to the counter and slammed his books down beside Nathan.
Haley jumped at the sound, but quickly regained her composure. "Hi Lucas," she said cheerily, ignoring her best friend's scowl. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," he said. Somehow the semi truce he had made with Nathan the other day, didn't make it easier for him to watch them together. "What are the two of you working on?"
"English essay," explained Nathan. "Kelly assigned it this afternoon."
Not that Lucas would know what was assigned in English, because when Mr. Kelly had stuck his head out of the classroom, he chose to run after Peyton and make sure she was all right.
"I can give you the assignment."
"Thanks," Lucas said. He took a seat next to Nathan. "Keith around? He asked me to meet him here after school."
"Yes, Keith is around," came his uncle's voice from behind. Lucas whirled around in surprise. "School was out an hour ago. Where have you been?"
"I didn't realize you wanted me to come straight here."
"Lucas, what part of grounded don't you understand?" Keith edged closer to his nephew and lowered his voice, so the customers wouldn't hear. "Now tell me where you were."
Lucas sighed. "Detention."
"For what?" Keith failed to keep his voice down.
"I cut English and Kelly caught me."
Nathan sniggered, but covered up quickly. Not quick enough, because Keith glanced over at him and then turned to Lucas. "Explain."
"My history teacher kept me late, to discuss our test tomorrow," Lucas said stretching the truth. He then explained how he went after Peyton, even though the English teacher had extended a personal invitation to him. "He caught up with me later in the day and told me I had to serve detention. It's not a big deal."
Keith shook his head. It wasn't really a big deal, he thought to himself, except that Lucas had been acting out since his mother had left town and a pattern was forming. "You didn't have to cut class. You could have stayed home altogether. I told you that this morning."
"Keith," whined Lucas, "it wasn't that. I just wanted to make sure Peyton was all right."
He had caught up to her in the parking lot and cornered her before she could jump into her convertible. But Peyton did not want to talk. He tried to calm her down before she started to drive, so that she didn't start running red lights as she had a few weeks earlier, but she didn't want to hear from Lucas. He then realized, he was the last person she wanted to hear from. He let her get into the car and watch as she zoomed off, leaving a cloud of exhaust fumes in her wake.
"Why'd you make me come to the café anyway? If you want to play warden, we can always do it at your shop."
"I'm not trying to play warden. I want you to help Deb out in the afternoon. She needs the help. Business is picking up, and another pair of hands would be useful after school."
Just then Deb walked out. She held out two pair of aprons. "You too Nathan. Every day after school. And when practice starts up again, you can come after practice. And I am playing warden," she told her son.
"You can't be serious, Mom," he said.
"I sure am."
Nathan opened up his mouth to say something, but Haley touched his arm. He glanced over at his tutor/girlfriend and thought about the proposition again. Seeing Haley every day after school, working side by side wouldn't be such an ordeal, he thought to himself.
Lucas caught their exchange and balked at the idea. "I'm not working together with him. I'll work at your shop Keith, but not here." The thought of watching his best friend and semi-estranged brother ogle each other day after day made him sick to his stomach.
Keith roughly pulled Lucas to the side. "I'm not giving you a choice. I want you to work here at your mom's café. This is for her. Not for you, not for me, not for Nathan and not for Haley. You and Nathan managed to find some sort of truce yesterday, and you better keep finding that middle ground, because until further notice, you are here until the dinner shift."
Lucas scowled but grabbed one of the aprons out of Deb's hands and put it on around his waist. "Yes sir," he said sarcastically saluting his uncle.
Lucas and Nathan worked side by side, silently under the watchful eye of Deb and their uncle Keith. It was about an hour before quitting time, when Brooke walked in. She cheerily waved at Haley and Nathan, but made a beeline to Lucas.
She sidled up to him and put a hand around his immense upper arm. "I see you're feeling better," she whispered into the back of his head.
He smiled and put down the tub of dirty dishes he was carrying. "Now that you're here," he said.
"Are you still grounded?" she asked.
"And then some," he laughed sheepishly. "But Keith has to work late tonight. You can come over for a little while," he said quietly in her ear. He leaned in closely and nibbled on her lobe.
Keith was in the kitchen, watching through the window used for serving. He watched Lucas with Brooke. Their hands were all over each other. They were giggling conspiratorially, as if they had a big secret to share. Keith shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Deb asked, coming over.
"Luke and Brooke Davis are a bad match. And I don't like it," he said.
At seven, just as the dinner shift started to swing under way, Lucas threw his apron behind the counter, grabbed a couple of sandwiches and headed home. He had told Brooke to come about eight, when Keith was sure to be gone for the evening. But Lucas wanted to straighten up some, in case the stink of vomit still lingered in the house.
He popped the antibiotics into his mouth and washed them down with a glass of water. He then set out to wash all the dirty dishes, wipe down the counters, and sweep the kitchen floor. He gathered up all the empty wrappers lying around the living room floor, before heading to his room. He took a can of disinfectant and a fresh set of linen and by the time the bell rang at eight o'clock, his room smelled like a hospital. Not the effect he wanted, thought Lucas, but definitely better than the alternative. He stuffed the dirty linen into the hamper and jogged to the front door.
"Ms. Davis," he said, bowing at the waist. "Lovely of you to come."
"So nice of you to have me here," she giggled. "I brought some refreshments." She handed him a bottle of wine. "From my parents' stash," she explained. "They won't notice it's missing until Christmas."
He led her into the living room, uncertain what to do next. "You eat?" he asked. "I grabbed some sandwiches from the café," he told her.
"I'm famished," she answered.
He took two plates and two glasses and set them out on the coffee table. They sat on the floor cross-legged. Lucas poured wine into both of their cups.
"Your uncle won't come home? Will he? Because, he's actually starting to make me more nervous than Nathan's dad."
"You and Nathan had a thing?"
"Oh no!" she laughed. "But being that his girlfriend and I are best friends I hang out there a lot. And let me tell you, there's what to be nervous about there. But your uncle is doing a fine job in that department too!"
"Dan makes me nervous too."
Brooke didn't say anything, but instead toyed with sandwich before her.
"I hope you like it," Lucas said, changing the subject. "I wasn't paying much attention to what I grabbed."
"I love veggie wraps. Thanks." She pulled out a roasted red pepper from her wrap and held it out. "Taste," she commanded.
He leaned forward, taking the pepper in her mouth, until his lips touched the tips of her finger. "I've never been much for vegetables, but this is good. And your fingers, well they're out of this world."
Brooke scooted over, until she was next to Lucas. She leaned forward, so that they could kiss. They started gently, but soon started to kiss hard and furious. Lucas pulled Brooke into his lap, and reached under her shirt, unclasping her bra.
"You do that well," she teased.
"Lots of practice," he said.
"I would never have guessed."
She moved his hand, so that it touched the tips of her breast, making the nipples hard. Lucas fell back, with Brooke on top of him. She reached under his shirt, feeling his solid abs. There wasn't an inch of extra meat on Lucas. Just skin and bones, she thought.
She kissed him harder.
"We can't Brooke," he said, starting to pull away.
"But we are," she said.
"No, we've got to stop." He tried to sit up.
"Why? You think your uncle will walk in," she said, pushing him down, and kissing him on the neck.
"That too. But Brooke, we can't do more than kiss for now."
"I like the kissing," she said.
"No, I mean it." He sat up, this time forcing her to sit up with him. "I've got to be careful, for the next six months, because of that tattoo."
That stopped Brooke cold in her tracks. "What do you mean?"
"I had to take an HIV test. It was negative, but they say you've got to be tested again in six months. I wouldn't want to put you in any danger."
Brooke sat up straighter, clasping her bra closed and fixing her shirt. "You really think you could have HIV?"
"I don't think so, but do you want to take a chance? I already got blood poisoning."
"We can be careful. Extra protection."
"Is it worth it?"
She eyed him. "I don't know. How are you in bed?"
Lucas laughed. Brooke was the only one who could make him laugh like that.
"Okay," she agreed. "Only kissing. No sex. Not until you're tested again. But Lucas, if we don't work out for whatever reason, before you're retested, I'm coming back to sleep with you."
With laughter bubbling on his lips, he pushed Brooke down again to kiss her some more. This time, she was the one who refused.
"I want a rematch on those videogames," she demanded. "The ones Peyton and your uncle interrupted."
Lucas set up the games, and they played until he heard Keith's car pull up the driveway. Brooke ran out the back door, so Keith wouldn't see her. Lucas quickly dumped the bottle of wine, hiding it under the rest of the garbage. He rinsed off the dishes and was sitting on the couch, by the time Keith walked in the front door.
"Quiet night?" asked his uncle.
Lucas nodded.
"Good," Keith said, ruffling the top of Lucas's head.
Later that afternoon, when Lucas walked into the Café he found a handful of customers quietly talking over coffee and a late lunch. There was also Nathan sitting at the counter, with his head bent over an open textbook. Haley was on the other side of the counter, leaning too closely to Nathan. The two didn't even notice Lucas walking into the diner, until he walked up to the counter and slammed his books down beside Nathan.
Haley jumped at the sound, but quickly regained her composure. "Hi Lucas," she said cheerily, ignoring her best friend's scowl. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine," he said. Somehow the semi truce he had made with Nathan the other day, didn't make it easier for him to watch them together. "What are the two of you working on?"
"English essay," explained Nathan. "Kelly assigned it this afternoon."
Not that Lucas would know what was assigned in English, because when Mr. Kelly had stuck his head out of the classroom, he chose to run after Peyton and make sure she was all right.
"I can give you the assignment."
"Thanks," Lucas said. He took a seat next to Nathan. "Keith around? He asked me to meet him here after school."
"Yes, Keith is around," came his uncle's voice from behind. Lucas whirled around in surprise. "School was out an hour ago. Where have you been?"
"I didn't realize you wanted me to come straight here."
"Lucas, what part of grounded don't you understand?" Keith edged closer to his nephew and lowered his voice, so the customers wouldn't hear. "Now tell me where you were."
Lucas sighed. "Detention."
"For what?" Keith failed to keep his voice down.
"I cut English and Kelly caught me."
Nathan sniggered, but covered up quickly. Not quick enough, because Keith glanced over at him and then turned to Lucas. "Explain."
"My history teacher kept me late, to discuss our test tomorrow," Lucas said stretching the truth. He then explained how he went after Peyton, even though the English teacher had extended a personal invitation to him. "He caught up with me later in the day and told me I had to serve detention. It's not a big deal."
Keith shook his head. It wasn't really a big deal, he thought to himself, except that Lucas had been acting out since his mother had left town and a pattern was forming. "You didn't have to cut class. You could have stayed home altogether. I told you that this morning."
"Keith," whined Lucas, "it wasn't that. I just wanted to make sure Peyton was all right."
He had caught up to her in the parking lot and cornered her before she could jump into her convertible. But Peyton did not want to talk. He tried to calm her down before she started to drive, so that she didn't start running red lights as she had a few weeks earlier, but she didn't want to hear from Lucas. He then realized, he was the last person she wanted to hear from. He let her get into the car and watch as she zoomed off, leaving a cloud of exhaust fumes in her wake.
"Why'd you make me come to the café anyway? If you want to play warden, we can always do it at your shop."
"I'm not trying to play warden. I want you to help Deb out in the afternoon. She needs the help. Business is picking up, and another pair of hands would be useful after school."
Just then Deb walked out. She held out two pair of aprons. "You too Nathan. Every day after school. And when practice starts up again, you can come after practice. And I am playing warden," she told her son.
"You can't be serious, Mom," he said.
"I sure am."
Nathan opened up his mouth to say something, but Haley touched his arm. He glanced over at his tutor/girlfriend and thought about the proposition again. Seeing Haley every day after school, working side by side wouldn't be such an ordeal, he thought to himself.
Lucas caught their exchange and balked at the idea. "I'm not working together with him. I'll work at your shop Keith, but not here." The thought of watching his best friend and semi-estranged brother ogle each other day after day made him sick to his stomach.
Keith roughly pulled Lucas to the side. "I'm not giving you a choice. I want you to work here at your mom's café. This is for her. Not for you, not for me, not for Nathan and not for Haley. You and Nathan managed to find some sort of truce yesterday, and you better keep finding that middle ground, because until further notice, you are here until the dinner shift."
Lucas scowled but grabbed one of the aprons out of Deb's hands and put it on around his waist. "Yes sir," he said sarcastically saluting his uncle.
Lucas and Nathan worked side by side, silently under the watchful eye of Deb and their uncle Keith. It was about an hour before quitting time, when Brooke walked in. She cheerily waved at Haley and Nathan, but made a beeline to Lucas.
She sidled up to him and put a hand around his immense upper arm. "I see you're feeling better," she whispered into the back of his head.
He smiled and put down the tub of dirty dishes he was carrying. "Now that you're here," he said.
"Are you still grounded?" she asked.
"And then some," he laughed sheepishly. "But Keith has to work late tonight. You can come over for a little while," he said quietly in her ear. He leaned in closely and nibbled on her lobe.
Keith was in the kitchen, watching through the window used for serving. He watched Lucas with Brooke. Their hands were all over each other. They were giggling conspiratorially, as if they had a big secret to share. Keith shook his head.
"What's wrong?" Deb asked, coming over.
"Luke and Brooke Davis are a bad match. And I don't like it," he said.
At seven, just as the dinner shift started to swing under way, Lucas threw his apron behind the counter, grabbed a couple of sandwiches and headed home. He had told Brooke to come about eight, when Keith was sure to be gone for the evening. But Lucas wanted to straighten up some, in case the stink of vomit still lingered in the house.
He popped the antibiotics into his mouth and washed them down with a glass of water. He then set out to wash all the dirty dishes, wipe down the counters, and sweep the kitchen floor. He gathered up all the empty wrappers lying around the living room floor, before heading to his room. He took a can of disinfectant and a fresh set of linen and by the time the bell rang at eight o'clock, his room smelled like a hospital. Not the effect he wanted, thought Lucas, but definitely better than the alternative. He stuffed the dirty linen into the hamper and jogged to the front door.
"Ms. Davis," he said, bowing at the waist. "Lovely of you to come."
"So nice of you to have me here," she giggled. "I brought some refreshments." She handed him a bottle of wine. "From my parents' stash," she explained. "They won't notice it's missing until Christmas."
He led her into the living room, uncertain what to do next. "You eat?" he asked. "I grabbed some sandwiches from the café," he told her.
"I'm famished," she answered.
He took two plates and two glasses and set them out on the coffee table. They sat on the floor cross-legged. Lucas poured wine into both of their cups.
"Your uncle won't come home? Will he? Because, he's actually starting to make me more nervous than Nathan's dad."
"You and Nathan had a thing?"
"Oh no!" she laughed. "But being that his girlfriend and I are best friends I hang out there a lot. And let me tell you, there's what to be nervous about there. But your uncle is doing a fine job in that department too!"
"Dan makes me nervous too."
Brooke didn't say anything, but instead toyed with sandwich before her.
"I hope you like it," Lucas said, changing the subject. "I wasn't paying much attention to what I grabbed."
"I love veggie wraps. Thanks." She pulled out a roasted red pepper from her wrap and held it out. "Taste," she commanded.
He leaned forward, taking the pepper in her mouth, until his lips touched the tips of her finger. "I've never been much for vegetables, but this is good. And your fingers, well they're out of this world."
Brooke scooted over, until she was next to Lucas. She leaned forward, so that they could kiss. They started gently, but soon started to kiss hard and furious. Lucas pulled Brooke into his lap, and reached under her shirt, unclasping her bra.
"You do that well," she teased.
"Lots of practice," he said.
"I would never have guessed."
She moved his hand, so that it touched the tips of her breast, making the nipples hard. Lucas fell back, with Brooke on top of him. She reached under his shirt, feeling his solid abs. There wasn't an inch of extra meat on Lucas. Just skin and bones, she thought.
She kissed him harder.
"We can't Brooke," he said, starting to pull away.
"But we are," she said.
"No, we've got to stop." He tried to sit up.
"Why? You think your uncle will walk in," she said, pushing him down, and kissing him on the neck.
"That too. But Brooke, we can't do more than kiss for now."
"I like the kissing," she said.
"No, I mean it." He sat up, this time forcing her to sit up with him. "I've got to be careful, for the next six months, because of that tattoo."
That stopped Brooke cold in her tracks. "What do you mean?"
"I had to take an HIV test. It was negative, but they say you've got to be tested again in six months. I wouldn't want to put you in any danger."
Brooke sat up straighter, clasping her bra closed and fixing her shirt. "You really think you could have HIV?"
"I don't think so, but do you want to take a chance? I already got blood poisoning."
"We can be careful. Extra protection."
"Is it worth it?"
She eyed him. "I don't know. How are you in bed?"
Lucas laughed. Brooke was the only one who could make him laugh like that.
"Okay," she agreed. "Only kissing. No sex. Not until you're tested again. But Lucas, if we don't work out for whatever reason, before you're retested, I'm coming back to sleep with you."
With laughter bubbling on his lips, he pushed Brooke down again to kiss her some more. This time, she was the one who refused.
"I want a rematch on those videogames," she demanded. "The ones Peyton and your uncle interrupted."
Lucas set up the games, and they played until he heard Keith's car pull up the driveway. Brooke ran out the back door, so Keith wouldn't see her. Lucas quickly dumped the bottle of wine, hiding it under the rest of the garbage. He rinsed off the dishes and was sitting on the couch, by the time Keith walked in the front door.
"Quiet night?" asked his uncle.
Lucas nodded.
"Good," Keith said, ruffling the top of Lucas's head.