Chapter Two

Luke had always been an early riser. Practices and runs demanded by his soccer coaches over the years had cultivated an internal alarm clock that got him up promptly before the sun every morning, but that morning was different. The sunlight, strong for an English winter was forcing its way between the gaps of his blinds when he finally opened his eyes. He stretched and yawned, taking a quick glance at the clock before he put the focus on his bed mate. Ellie was still fast asleep, her light brown hair spilling in all directions over his feather pillow. She was turned away from him, but the view of her naked form beneath the blanket was still a sight to behold. He moved towards her, closing the distance between them and putting an arm around her. In her sleep, she relaxed against him. She felt good, smelled good…and last night had been incredible.

He hadn't gone to Peter's wedding looking for some girl to bring home, in fact he had pretty much thought the night was going to pretty boring because he would be alone, but then he had seen her during the ceremony and then again at the reception and well hell, he had to meet her. It took him most of the night to work up the courage though and to find a moment when she wasn't acting like the world best god damned maid of honor. Towards the end of the night he finally found the chance though and with a few glasses of jack and coke behind him, made his way over to her. His opening line about Justin Timberlake was probably the worst in history, but it had made her smiling this amazing 1000 mega-wat smile at him so he guessed it couldn't have been all bad. Then there was the jolt of energy she had given him, the skipped beat of his heart…

Bringing her home though, that hadn't been the plan at all. Hell it was hard to even remember how they had gotten back here. They had talked, drank a bit, danced and then…he half remembered getting a cab and making out in the back seat of it, but that was it until they had come through the front door. He remembered everything after that very well.

Suddenly flooded with the erotic memories of the night before, he wanted her again. He kissed the hollow of her neck, letting his lips heat the bare skin beneath. She moaned in response, but did not wake. He used his left hand to move down her sides and back up again, and then to her front, more pressure in his lips now as he kissed her neck. She began to shift then, pushing herself closer against him and his almost painful arousal. He palmed every curve and peak on her body with an increased frenzy and nudged her onto her back. He was just moving over her when her eyes flew open and her body went rigid underneath his. The move threw him, but he tried to keep the mood going and smiled down at her. "Morning, gorgeous."

"Morning?" she held onto her confusion and then looked at the windows beyond him. "It's morning. Oh my God, it's morning."

The words pushed Luke back to his side of the bed. She scrambled to a sitting position once she was free, clutching the blankets around her naked body. She then looked around the room with wide, disoriented eyes, everything about her screaming regret.

"Ellie?"

She didn't answer, but her face fell into the palms of her hands as if she was going to start crying on him.

Damn it, maybe she had been more wasted than he thought last night.

Carefully as if he were trying to calm a skittish animal he put a hand on her arm. "Ellie, you remember last night don't you?"

Hearing her name must have brought her some kind of clarity, because she suddenly looked up her dark blue eyes sparkled with acknowledgment. "Yeah, yes." She swallowed. "Of course I remember; I was just…it's late. What time is it?"

Luke turned and reached for his Movodo watch on the nightstand. "Eight thirty."

Her eyes squinted in frustration and to his surprise, still wrapped in the blanket she stood, ripping it from the bed. "I need to leave." She began to grab at the various articles of her clothing that had been thrown around the room the night before. Her wrinkled maid of honor dress, the white lace panties and the bra to match. He had personally removed both with his teeth, but he didn't think now was the time to point that out.

While she was doing that, his desire for her had completely died and he realized his best bet was putting some clothes too. He grabbed a pair of sweats he had slung over a chair the day before and a clean t-shirt from the top of the dresser.

"Do you have a bathroom?" she asked the ridiculous question while attempting to hold her gown, underwear, shoes and ensure her makeshift cover-up stayed in place.

"Yeah, right there," he pointed behind her.

Silently she turned and made for the room, shutting the door firmly behind her. When she came out a minute later she was wearing the wrinkled dress and walking unsteady on the heels. The blanket was flung over an arm and he watched as she set it back down on the bed. For a moment they were both silent. She stared at him, or rather did her best not to stare at him and Luke felt his spirits sink lower. He had had fun the night before, but it was clear now that she hadn't.

"Look Ellie, I'm sorry if—"

She pursed her perfectly formed lips and shook her head. "You don't have to say anything. It was a mistake."

"Well I wouldn't say that." Damn it, he didn't think there was anything mistakable about it. "Look can I get you some coffee or tea or something." He had to prove to her he wasn't a complete piece of shit because that's what she was clearly thinking.

"No, I can't. I really do need to leave."

"I'll call a cab for you then."

"I can manage on my own."

His flat was a studio and finding the front door was easy enough for her, but she hesitated once she got to it and turned back to him. "I'm sorry. I'm…"she didn't finish the sentence and quite frankly Luke didn't want her to.

"I'd love to see you again." He cut in.

Her gaze snapped to him surprised. "You…would?"

Luke had to hold back a laugh. "Yeah, of course. Apart from the amazing sex last night, I did have a good time with you."

He felt rather proud of himself when her cheeks reddened at his words, but then regretted them as she looked away and seemed to refocus on her desire to escape the apartment and his presence. "I don't think that would be a good idea." She said in a quiet tone, "It was nice to…meet you though." She moved for the door handle, her hand extended, but in a last ditch effort Luke put his hand over hers.

"Can I at least give you my number?"

The request made her stop and, filled with renewed enthusiasm, he grabbed a pad and pen from the entry way table and quickly scribbled down the digits. He handed it to her, transferring the sticky end of the post it to her soft finger-tip. She looked down at it and then back at him, her face now unreadable.

"It's my mobile, so I'll usually pick up." He assured her with one of his winning smiles.

She nodded and opened the door without interruption. She didn't say good-bye as she slipped out into the hallway, or even before the door closed behind her. Luke leaned against it after, feeling a mixture of guilt and confusion over the whole situation. He hadn't been that drunk last night, he was sure of it and neither had she. The first few minutes after their initial meeting had been awkward, but she had seemed to warm up towards him as the night went on. What had changed between now and then? He was a good enough looking guy. No Brad Pitt or even a David Beckham, but plenty of women had told him over the years he wasn't ugly and judging by that math alone he couldn't disagree with them. And if no one had been saying the same to Ellie, they had been wrong. The girl was a knock out. Her hair had reminded him of honey and smelled just as sweet. Those eyes too, dark blue pools that had downright sparkled when she had laughed last night and her body…he had to suppress a moan as he thought about that tall and lithe frame in his arms and then under his own. She had said something being a dancer hadn't she? Yeah, he could see it. Even the way she walked had a certain grace about it.

He definitely wanted to see her again. Hopefully she came to the same conclusion soon and utilized the phone number he had given her.

"Mum." Ellie pulled the key from the door and stepped into her flat. Kicking off the heels that had been paining her since she had put her feet in them a half hour before, she pushed the front door shut and shed her coat. She caught the scent of breakfast from the kitchen and followed the aroma through the hall and poked her head through the doorway. Her mother was just pulling a pan off the stove and startled when she saw her daughter.

"Ellie, when did you get in?"

"Just now."

"I wasn't expecting you to be out all night."

Attempting to hide her embarrassment Ellie padded to the kettle and began to pour herself a cup of tea. "Yeah, sorry about that. It wasn't planned."

Ginny Atkinson assessed her daughter, noting that she still wore her bridesmaids dress, the state of it and the tone in Ellie's voice that clearly said she wasn't telling the whole story. She had known her all her life, she knew when something was amiss and Ellie knew there was no fooling her, so why did she bother with the act? "Eleanor." Was all she said.

Ellie sighed, knowing her guilt was evident. "Please mum, don't. I really don't want to talk about it." She took a sip of the strong brew and closed her eyes. How could she have been so reckless, she thought. She prided herself on her responsibility, her common sense, her…prudish nature. It was what she wanted. It kept her safe. It kept Sophie safe.

Ginny could take a hint, but that did not mean she would forget. "How was the wedding?"

Thankful for the new topic, Ellie finally turned back to her mother and smiled. "It was beautiful. Juliet was gorgeous, the ceremony was perfect and the reception..." she hesitated, thinking of Luke's smile suddenly, the way he had held her on the dance floor…"well it was nice too."

"Then I'd call it a success." Her mother smiled and went to the cupboard, pulling a Dora the Explorer tumbler and plate out. She began to fill it with eggs and toast and went to the fridge to fill the cup with milk. "We had a quiet night here. Quite uneventful."

"I'm glad to hear it." Ellie took another sip from her cup, and had just swallowed the hot liquid when an energy filled whirlwind burst into the room, blond curls mussed from sleep, clutching her Minnie Mouse doll in a small chubby grasp. "Mummy!" She ran and jumped into Ellie's arms, covering her with kisses and questions. "Where did you go?"

"Sweetheart, remember, I went to Aunt Juliet and Uncle Peter's wedding? I told you all about it yesterday at breakfast. Mummy had to be there to hold the flowers."

Sophie grinned when she heard this. "Oh yes and then there was a ball."

The easiest way to explain what a reception was to her 3 year old was to compare it to Cinderella's ball and Ellie had done just that. "Yes, that's right."

"Did you meet a prince?" she then asked with a giggle.

"What an excellent question, Sophie." Ginny spoke up, leaning against the counter with a knowing look on her face. "Did you meet a prince, Ellie?"

Ellie pulled her eyes from her daughter to glare at her mother. Her mother did not cower, of course she didn't, instead she shot back her all knowing glance that any ruler of any country in the world would pay money to have. Ellie turned back to her daughter, "Sophie, darling, don't you think Granny should go home and make poor Papa his breakfast?" Ellie fired the second shot in the silent battle with victorious accuracy.

Her mother sighed and shook her head. "Sophie, I give you permission to give your mother ten times more grief than she has ever given me. She wholly deserves it."

Sophie of course didn't understand, but she smiled anyway, her sunny disposition shining through. Ellie then picked her up so she could kiss her grandmother good-bye. Ginny turned to Ellie after and sighed with a smile. "Good-bye darling."

"Good-bye mum." She replied.

On her way out, Ginny gathered her Burberry suitcase from the guestroom and then stopped to put on her jacket at the front door, it was then that she noticed a small scrap of neon yellow paper on the floor. The post it had been hastily folded in half, the back sticking to the front, but what had been written on it was still quite visible. The name "Luke" and a phone number hastily written below it.

Ginny looked back towards the kitchen where she could hear the sounds of her granddaughter and daughter still. Gone all night, coming home in the same clothes she had worn to the wedding and now a phone number that had clearly fallen out of pocket, she saw the obvious immediately. She had suspected the reason behind her daughters early morning entrance before, but here was the proof. Ginny wasn't shocked or even disappointed. She had practically led the women's liberation movement in London during the seventies, or so she liked to tell anyone who would listen, but it was the fact that Ellie had finally made a move to break free of the prison she had sealed herself into was what truly mattered. The fact that this young man had cared enough to give her his number too was also a good sign.

With a wry smile, Ginny took the post it and tacked it to the crafty little cork board that Ellie hung by the door for last minute reminders, making sure to unfold it and smooth out the paper neatly before doing so.