Straightening the Curves

Chapter Twelve: Walk With Me

Ali rolled over in her twin-sized bed, blankets getting more tangled as she did so. It was her night off, and she intended to spend the majority of it catching up on her sleep. But every time she closedher eyes, Luke's face appeared. Dang it, if he hadn't shown up yesterday she wouldn't be having this problem!

Her roommate, Roxie, was at the club so Ali was alone. The small two-bedroom apartment seemed too quiet for comfort. Maybe that was why she couldn't sleep. She fumbled out of bed to go and switch the radio on when she heard a knock at the door. She groaned. Maybe they'd think no one was home and just go away.

For a minute, she thought they had left. She relaxed and snuggled back down in her pillows. A few more minutes of silence later, she is interrupted again----by someone grabbing her feet and yanking her off the bed. She flipped over and landed on the floor with a THUMP!

"What in the---"

"Nice to see you, too," Luke grinned from where he was sitting on the windowsill. He shook his head. "You're almost as stubborn as Bo, not wantin' to leave bed."

"Luke? How did—how'd ya find where I lived?"

"I went to your club to find ya, but your friend Roxie told me that you were in bed at home—so she gave me directions."

Leave it to Roxie, Ali thought. She clumsily picked herself up off the floor and dusted off. "How'd you get in?"

"The escape ladder---y'know, it's not safe leavin' that window open at night. Someone might sneak in."

"Very funny," she smirked, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, since you've decided to visit, I suppose you want to do somethin'."

"Cooter sorta gave me a push out the door an' told me to do somethin' besides watch him watch me be bored." He threw her a pair of pants that were lying on the floor. "Put some clothes on an' let's go for a walk or somethin'."

She gave him a salute with her hand. "Yes sir, seargant, sir." He kept sitting on her windowsill. "Ya mind?"

He rolled his eyes and turned his head.

It may have not been raining, but the damp mixed in with the cold made the outdoors almost miserable. There wasn't that many people out in the area they were in, the small community that Ali lived at. Probably because they were smart enough to stay indoors where they couldn't catch frostbite.

Ali had her arm intertwined with Luke's as they walked down the street, the girl trying to stay warmer than what she was. She tugged her thick coat around her closer.

"So, where exactly are we goin'?" he asked her.

"What? It was your idea to come out here, you tell me where we're goin'!"

"I'm not a native, so I can't tell ya where we're headin'. For all I know we're goin' towards the Atlanta Swamp."

She laughed. "We don't have swamps around here."

"See, there ya go. No clue where we're goin'."

They turned a corner and neither of them saw the patch of ice that was hiding from view. Ali slipped on it and nearly fell over except that Luke grabbed her just in time and pulled her off the ice.

"You all right?" he asked her, the girl still holding onto his shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Kinda scared me there." She realized that she was still holding onto him and she released him. "I'm okay."

Luke let go of her waist and they continued walking as they were, Ali letting out a quick breath of relief. If she took one more look in his eyes like that again, she'd go insane. She cleared her throat.

"Soooo, how was the Marine life?"

He shrugged. "'Bout how I remember it. Lousy food, creaky cots, an' not nearly enough pretty faces to look at. How ya likin' it back in the city?"

"Oh, it's okay. I like it, but I miss bein' able to wake up in the mornin' without hearin' traffic outside, or drivin' to the middle of nowhere an' actually be alone, not breathin' in car exhaust every time I open my mouth. Yeah, I miss livin' in the country sometimes."

"Then why don't ya at least visit?"

"Aw, me an' Eve would be at each other like cats an' dogs, Luke. I mean, we love each other an' all but we just can't tolerate each other very long. To her, I'm just a loose cannon that made it my goal to make Rachel go bad. To me, she's just a high-an'-mighty goody-girl. Heck, I haven't even called her more than twice since I moved."

"I take it ya didn't go to her wedding then."

"No, but I give her credit for invitin' me. I do miss Rachel though, we always had fun together. I sure wouldn't mind goin' and seein' that little baby when she pops it out. I'd visit for a while to see it, of course."

A cold raindrop hit Luke's nose as they walked, and it nearly froze him solid. Before long, that raindrop was followed by another one, which was followed by yet another, and then they started coming in pairs. It didn't take long for a stampede of raindrops to come falling down onto the sidewalk.

Ali wrapped her free arm around herself. "Brrr, okay, this is as far as we go, I'm gonna turn into Frosty the Snowman if we stay out here."

"Wanna make a run for it?" he asked her, a big grin on his face.

"Do I have a choice?"

Luke turned them both around in the direction they had just come from. "Okay, line up—ready, set . . . go!"

At the signal, the two took off down the sidewalk. They slipped a little on the wet surface but they didn't fall any. The hardest part was getting around the corner. Ali even grabbed the "walk-don't walk" sign and swung herself around with it so she could stay off the road. The rain got harder and harder, colder and colder. Luke was in the lead, as he liked to be. Ali made herself jog a little harder and she grabbed his hand so she could keep up.

Sopping wet, they made it under the walkway that would lead to the stairs to Ali's apartment. Laughing, they ran up the stairs two or three at a time, at last making it to the door. Ali dug deep in her coat pockets, trying to locate her keys. She finally found them and quickly unlocked the door, opened it and the warm breeze of the apartment hit them like a tidal wave of comfort. They both went inside, taking in the heat, and Ali shut the door.

She tugged off her coat and threw it on the couch. "Next time we go for a walk, let's wait 'til it's above freezin', okie-dokie?" She saw that Luke was soaked. "Well, we can't have you goin' home in sopping wet clothes. I'll throw 'em in the dryer for ya."

He got this look in his eye. "An' I'm supposed to wear what while they're dryin'?" She flushed a little bit as a he got closer to her. "'Cause I don't think I can fit in your panties."

She looked him in his big blue eyes and melted. Oh, how she'd missed him all these months.

"I guess we'll just have to see about that, won't we?" she smiled at him mischievously. Her knees buckled when he placed a kiss on her lips, the warmness flowing from him to her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, not caring if he was wet or not anymore, and jumped in his arms.

He pulled back for a brief moment and gave her a slight smile. "Guess I was gonna have to strip anyways, huh?"