As promised here is part 2 of last chapter, I don't know when I'll post again, but do me a favor and share this story with your friends, follow, like, comment. Thanks for the reviews I love them.
KING LUCAS
CHAPTER 9
"Can I throw my shirt in your dryer? I'm definitely not walking home in this." He laughed and rolled his eyes. He walked out into the hallway, with Maya following close behind. He hadn't heard his mother arrive, she had her bag hanging on his hand looking puzzled at the 360 cupcakes that stood there in her kitchen counter.
"Lukey? Were you hungry, honey?" He turned his head to her mother, who hadn't noticed he was standing in the hallway, and then back at Maya. He knew how bad this looked, but there was no going back, in fact he could use it to his advantage.
"Hey, momma." He said, quietly.
"Hi", she looked at him, then Maya stepped to his side, wanting to have a look at his momma. "Oh, hi..." She raised her brows when she saw the little blonde girl next to him, her hair wet and appearing to be wearing nothing but one of his shirts.
He came forward, with Maya not far behind.
"Mom, this is Maya, she's from school, uh... we were baking cupcakes." He said, Maya noticed how unprepared he was for this, which made the whole exchange better. "It's for a bake sale... for prom."
"I see..." She was looking suspiciously at her son, but when her eyes fell over Maya, it changed completely, a smile settled on her face. "Oh but, where did I left my manners? Maya, is it?" She came close to Maya, embracing her in a tight hug.
"Yes, nice to meet you Mrs. Friar." She said awkwardly, she was not a hugger.
"It's Ms. Friar, actually, but call me Elizabeth or Liz." She said, this made it so much worse, she looked at Lucas who was clenching his jaw and looking at the floor.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Maya said, flushing a little.
"That's fine, sweetie." Liz placed her bag on the couch and took her sweater off.
"I thought you were on call tonight." Lucas said to his mother.
"I changed my shift with Thomas, her daughter's birthday is tomorrow." She said, sitting on the counter. "Can I grab one?"
"Sure, for 5 bucks", his mother stared back, Lucas laughed, "I'm messing with you, I have to put these in the dryer, I'll be back." He went back to the last door of the hallway and entered the room, leaving Maya and her mother alone in the kitchen.
"So... Kitchen nightmare?" Liz asked, taking a bite of the cupcake and making a pleased sound.
"Yeah", Maya chuckled, "we had a setback with the mixer, everything ended over me."
His mother laughed, she had a nice laugh, like his son. She was beautiful, probably reaching her forties but could only see it on her eyes, she was very tall with honey hair like her son. Lucas had gotten a lot out of her, although Maya had never seen his father, which seemed to be out of the picture. But the most telling detail were her eyes, they were of a deep forest green, his were more like a sea green but they had the same golden spots in them.
"I have to say, I love your apartment." Maya added at the end.
"This is what a big settlement can get you", she joked.
"Where did you get those libraries?" Maya had to know.
"Oh, Lucas made those." She said, looking back at the bookshelf.
"What?" Maya asked, baffled.
"He took on woodwork back in Texas, in fact I think he has the first one he made in his bedroom, that one is a little crooked though, but he has gotten really good at it. I brought my favorites, the rest are in my parents house in Austin."
"Wow, I didn't know he could... They're beautiful..." Maya couldn't believe that the same Lucas that she knew, had a mother like his and had a hobby of making incredible pieces of furniture.
"I know, right? He's the grown up around here. He practically takes care of everything." She said with a smile that didn't reached her eyes, but that disappeared when she noticed Lucas coming back, but Maya understood what she meant.
"I hope you are not embarrassing me, mom" Lucas asked from behind her.
"I was about to take out your photo albums." She said, smiling.
"Oh God, you packed those?" He asked, resting his elbow on her shoulder.
"Of course, how else can I remember about those sweet little cheeks?" She said, grabbing his cheek with one hand, he wrinkled his nose and for the first time since they had met Maya was looking at Lucas be a nice person, she wondered if his mother knew what an asshole her son could be. "I'm going to take a quick shower, clean off the hospital smell."
She left them alone in the kitchen, with 359 cupcakes.
"Your mom is so nice", Maya said, "what happened to you?"
"You don't know me at all, I could be the nicest person in the world" He said, looking for parchment paper in the kitchen cabinets.
"No, I'm pretty sure I read you right, you are a dick." She said, she was resting her elbows on the counter and her head on her hands.
He laughed, he wanted to try something ever since his conversation with Farkle.
"Just don't go falling in love with me." He said, making eye contact.
"That's gold, why would I ever fall in love with you?" She sat up straight, suddenly interested in what he was saying.
"I heard you like bad boys." He began packing the cupcakes on the plastic box, putting a sheet of parchment paper in between layers.
"Josh is not a bad guy, does being older make him a bad person?" She had stand up to help him put the cupcakes away.
"Of course not, but using you for sex does." There it was, a subtle way of putting that card on the table, now it was time for her move and he needed to watch carefully.
"He's not using me!" Something new popped up in her eyes, it felt like a threat, he was finally going somewhere, Josh was a sensitive matter, it was clear that several people had warned her about it or that not many approved it, but she went ahead and got him.
"I think I would know. In fact I can assure you that he is..." He was going to say something else, but was interrupted by the dryer alarm. "Your shirt is ready."
He walked down to the last door of the hallway, it was a small room, the washing machine and dryer were on one side and then there was a shelf with all the cleaning supplies. He reached down and took her top out handing it to the blonde girl.
Instead of telling him to turn around or close his eyes, she took the hem of his shirt and passed it above her head, leaving her with her black bra in front of Lucas. He was dumbstruck, his eyes falling heavily to her chest, he frowned looking at her, with that same heavy shadow that fell in his eyes when they kissed at the party.
"What are you doing?" He finally asked.
"Well since nothing is ever going to happen between us again, I don't see the problem of me changing in front of you." He had no words, every time that he thought he was getting closer to understanding her, she would do something completely unexpected and leave him lost on her behavior. "Why? Is it bothering you?" She said, crossing her arms, pulling her boobs together.
He got closer, to the point she had to step back, but he didn't stop until her back contacted the wall. His nose was touching her forehead, he placed a lost strand of hair behind her ear and traced carefully her jaw with his thumb, he was meticulously slow in his movements.
When he reached her chin he lifted her head so she could she him, she was panting, after loosing her breath from hitting the wall.
"Don't play a game you can't win." He said dead serious.
"I think I already won." She said , she tried to walk away from him, but he stopped her and everything else happened so fast. He picked her up like a doll and placed her on top of the washing machine, her hands fell over his biceps to steady herself.
"Don't test me, Maya." Whispering it to her ear. "You still owe me one for what you did in that party." He slipped a finger under a strap of her bra, carefully pulling it to one side of her arm. He kissed her shoulder, but just so lightly, she let out a soft gasp in surprise by the delicacy of his touch. He repeated the gesture, moving slowly, after his fourth kiss, he put the strap back to its original position.
He towered over her, his hands traveling from her wrists to her shoulders, to her neck, so he could hold her head. His touch was hot, but gentle, barely there, but it still sent jolts of electricity across her body.
He lowered his head, but just when his lips were brushing against hers, she closed her eyes and he smiled. He suddenly walked back, she felt cold, and she realized that she had fallen for his act.
"I won't do anything", he said changing his voice completely, his features softened, Maya frowned, "you taught me a lesson that day, I won't play with Riley, I won't play with you, there's plenty of girls on school far more interesting."
He couldn't win her if she still thought that he was interested in Riley or her for the moment. He had to win her friendship first. At least he had just successfully tested that she was attracted to him.
"You should put on your shirt." He said, picking it up from the floor where Maya had dropped it and handing it to her. She had a frown in her face, puzzled by him.
He left her so she could change and returned to the kitchen. When she came out he had already finished packing, he was closing the lid as she grabbed her bag and fixed her hair.
"Do you need a ride?" Lucas asked, putting the plastic box on the floor.
"No, I'll just take the subway."
"I ordered some Chinese food, it should be here soon." Lucas' mom said, coming out of her room, drying her hair with a towel. "Maya, you're not staying for dinner?"
"No, I should leave, it's very late already."
"Is Lucas driving you?" She asked, looking at her son first.
"There's no need, I can take the subway." Maya responded quickly.
"Walking at this time alone, I can't let you do that, Lucas can you take her home?" He moved closer to the two.
"Ms. Friar, seriously, I can take care of myself." Maya said, putting her hand up.
"Maya, c'mon, I'll take you." Lucas said taking his keys from the bowl behind her, Elizabeth looked at Maya who sighed.
"Thank you." Maya said, kindly. She seemed to be stuck with him.
"Come back here again and I'll show you that photo album I told you about." Maya giggled and nodded. They left, Lucas grabbed a sweater and a couple of cupcakes before the door behind them.
"Riley will notice that some cupcakes are missing." Maya said.
"I'm market testing." He said, smiling. The doorman opened the door for them, to the chilly air of night.
"You can leave now, I'll walk home alone." She turned around and left him, but he followed close behind. "Why are you following me?"
"I'm not." He said defensively. She walked faster, passing next to Cal again, who was holding a hot drink. He saw them and smiled.
"Trouble with the lady, Lucas?" She heard Lucas laughing behind, she stopped to hear what he had to say about that.
"She's being stubborn and doesn't want me to take her home." Cal laughed.
"Women make our lives impossible, but we also can't live without them." Cal said, taking a sip of his coffee, Lucas felt the same way, what hearts could he break.
"I brought you these." Maya turned around, Lucas handed him the two cupcakes he had brought with him. "Tell me if they are good." The man's face illuminated, he even closed his eyes when he tried the treat. Lucas smiled, Maya watched him very carefully, he had been nice throughout the day, maybe he was right and she didn't know him enough, maybe he was a dick to her because she never gave him the chance to be different.
"I'm glad you liked them, now if you'll excuse me, I have to take her home." With that Maya turned and walked away, she could hear Lucas footsteps as he jogged to catch her.
"I thought you weren't following me?" She said, turning at the corner.
"Now I am." He said looking down at her. "Will you let me drive you?"
"No." She simply responded.
"Then I'm just going to walk next to you." He put his hands on his pockets, the sweater hanging in one of his arms.
"I've lived in the city my whole life, I can take care of myself." She said, annoyed.
"I don't doubt it. I'll still follow." She rolled her eyes, but said nothing against it, she knew that he wouldn't leave her alone.
And so they walked, next to each other, without speaking. They entered the subway station, he followed carefully for he didn't know where she lived. They mounted the subway, but still they did not say a word, even when he put his hand on her hip to hold her when the train stopped, he did it out of a reflect, she looked down at his hand, but he removed it quickly and they continue their journey.
As they rose from the ground back at the streets, Lucas noticed how they were in a very different part of town. Here the streets were more alive by night, big signs, a lot of lights, the people sat on the sidewalks.
They walked a little more, Maya finally broke, as Lucas hoped she would.
"Why did you walk me home? And it better not be because of those southern modals."
"I wanted you to be safe and that's not southern modals, it's just modals." She was cold, her skin aroused by the air, the hot days were coming to and end, fall was coming. He extended his sweater to her. "You're cold."
"I don't need it." She said, looking forward.
"Does everything have to be a fight with you? I brought it for you, so just take it." She gave up and took the sweater, the sleeves covered her hands.
"See, I don't get it. Are you a nice guy pretending to be a dick or a dick pretending to be nice guy?" She said looking at him, he smiled.
"You're welcome." He had read the news headline on Cal's paper, 'Cold winds come early this year' and with what she was wearing he knew she would eventually need it. He just needed to take the matter home. He sighed loudly.
"I know we started on the wrong foot, but I'm really making an effort here to prove to you that I'm not the idiot you think I am." Lucas said. "I want us to be friends."
He had done it, he could see it, his mother had helped, even though he hadn't planned that she would be there. She was confused by him and she didn't know what she would do, but of Lucas was right about her she would lean towards his nice side.
"What do you think?" He asked, she narrowed her eyes and looked at him.
"We'll see."