-1Chapter 28 THE TEASE

Elizabeth shifted from one foot to the other, glancing at her watch. Audrey swore her ride would arrive at ten a.m. sharp and here it was inching towards ten-thirty. If it wasn't for the fact she had promised her grandmother she would help her out with this hospital auction, she would forget the whole thing and call Robin for another war room lunch to keep both of their minds off the men they did not want to be obsessing over.

She hadn't talked to Robin since right before the other girl's quasi-date with Patrick. Elizabeth had gotten a cryptic voicemail referring to complete disaster and the idiocy of men in general, but she still had no idea of what exactly had happened between Robin and Patrick to cause such a reaction. She was dying of curiosity.

As much as she hated to admit it, part of the reason she had not called Robin back yet was the depressing lack of news in her own life. Lucky had not called. Had not stopped by. Nothing. No word. Elizabeth had started to move past confusion and was working on good and angry. How dare he kiss her like that and then nothing? Maybe girls like Daphne let him get away with that but not her.

The unfamiliar honk broke her out of her reverie. Shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand, she could faintly make out an older model truck coming towards the house. The powder blue 1950s wonder slowed and turned into her driveway. "Well it's about time," she muttered under her breath as she pulled herself up to her feet. "A three-hour drive to Buffalo. The least you could do was show up on time."

The cab door opened and a low whistle hit her ear as she approached the truck. She caught sight of his leg in well worn, well fitted denim first. Slowly her eyes traveled up his vintage Rolling Stones t-shirt, stopping when she saw her reflection in his sunglasses. His slow grin as removed the glasses confirmed that somewhere someone hated her. She had spent the last week and a half trying to avoid him and now here he was.

"I told you I would see you again Elizabeth." Lucky grinned at her. He had never appreciated the simple black tank top and jeans outfit so much before in his life. Her hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. She stood before him tapping her foot impatiently.

"Yes you did. Too bad you couldn't accomplish this on some other day."

"Do you have plans?"

"Not that it is any of your concern, but I am waiting on a ride."

"Big date?"

"An all-day affair. In Buffalo." Let him chew on that for a minute. Doesn't bother to call and then shows up like she should just be sitting there waiting for him. Okay she was sitting there waiting, but not for him.

Lucky felt his grin grow wider. When his mother had suggested this as his weekend project he had thought she was nuts. But now he clearly saw his mother truly was the angel his father had always claimed she was. He had spent the better part of the last week trying to figure out the best way to call and ask Elizabeth out. He knew he had messed up when he didn't call her back the next day. Or even the same day. But like an idiot he had listened to the advice of Cruz and Patrick. Don't be too eager, they had counseled.

So like the dolt he was he listened to them, realizing too late he had most likely had pissed her off yet again. Courtney had clued him in a few days ago when she mentioned some unflattering nicknames she had heard slurred in drunken rages at her place.

And now thanks to his mother, he had all day to make it up to her.

He moved towards the passenger door, aware of her eyes watching his every move. With a slight bow, he opened the door and gestured inside the cab. "Your chariot awaits malady."

Elizabeth looked at him as if he had lost his mind. "I'm sorry?"

Catching her confused eyes, Lucky smiled. "I apologize for being late. Now if you would like to get in, we can get on the road. It's a long drive ahead."

"What are you talking about?" Her grandmother loved her. Surely she wouldn't have done this.

"I'm your ride to Buffalo."

It had taken more time than Lucky would care to admit to get her to actually enter the truck. She had stared in disbelief, laughed (not his favorite reaction to his suggestion of spending the whole day together), and had even called her grandmother to confirm that he was, in fact, her ride. Once she had seemingly accepted the answer, she had hoisted herself in, wagging her finger in his face.

"This has nothing to do with you. I am only doing this to help out the auction."

Elizabeth had stared out the window the entire hour they had been on the road. Every early attempt he had made at conversation had fallen flat, so now the only noise in his truck was the radio.

His favorite station had lasted this long and had finally started to give up the fight. It sputtered, cutting in and out. Sighing, he gave up and reached for the dial, determined to find a half-way decent station.

Elizabeth watched the scenery blur by. She had convinced herself that it would be easy to just ride in silence with him. There was no doubt in her mind that she could constantly remind herself why she was mad at him.

That was until she looked at him. And just looking at him made her want to forgive him, especially when he licked his lips. That simple, unconscious action brought her right back to that kiss in her grandmother's den. And these urges she had to kiss him again.

So she stared out of the window. It was safer that way.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him start to turn the dial on the radio. The stations from home were fading. If he hadn't started searching for a station, the car would have been deathly quiet. And then she would have had to respond if he tried to talk to her. The one thing she could not stand was a quiet car.

After a few stations of nothing but static, a familiar guitar rhythm hit her ears. The male voice snarled through the melody singing as the obsessed lover desperate for attention he was. Elizabeth smiled as she immediately recognized one of her favorite bands. His hand's brief movement caught the corner of her eyes and on impulse she turned, stilling his with her own. "Stop!" His eyes caught hers briefly. Blushing, Elizabeth glanced away quickly. "I love Evans Blue." She offered.

Lucky had been sitting and praying for something, anything to break the silence. Some chance to at least get her to talk to him. If they were talking he stood a chance of getting her to not think he was an ass. Well not a complete one at any rate. He smiled. "They are good. I'm surprised you know who they are."

Shrugging, she still refused to look at him. "My brother caught them live when he did a job in Canada once. He introduced me to their music."

"Next time they come to town, I'll introduce them to you."

Part of her was a little outraged that he would use his position like that. The bigger fan girl part of her didn't care one bit. "You do not know them."

"Okay not well but I have met them a few times."

"So you were just trying to be impressive?"

"No I was just trying to get you talk to me." He turned slightly so he could glance at her when he smiled. "And that worked perfectly."

Shit, she thought. He was right.

"So this is your dad's club right?" Elizabeth looked around the dark blues club. The walls were decorated with vintage posters of Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, and Duke Ellington. The walls were plush with red velvet.

Nodding Lucky led her towards the back. "His second. I think mom said the stuff for the auction is back here." He led her towards the storeroom just left of the office.

"So how exactly again did you get roped into this?" She swiped at a cobweb that had threatened to attach itself to her head.

Lucky grimaced as he saw the mess in the small room. It had never been said that his dad was a clean freak. A pack rat, yes. And his mother had thought this would help him impress Elizabeth? "My mother rather forcefully suggested that I help out your grandmother get more donations and that it was finally the perfect time to clean out this office." He offered out a hand to lead her through the maze of junk. A person could get hurt if they didn't know the Luke Spencer storage method.

"So you knew all along you were my ride to Buffalo?" She tried to ignore the jolt of electricity she felt when she placed her hand in his.

"Guilty." He gave her a lop-sided grin that made her knees feel a little weak. "Would you have come if you knew?"

She smiled. "Maybe. But only after thoroughly yelling at you for ignoring me for a week."

"I meant to call but..."

"You were abducted by aliens? No wait. You were paralyzed in the fingers? You temporarily moved out of state?"

He had a feeling that admitting he had listened to some truly terrible advice would not go over well. He hedged his bets. "I was nervous?"

It was true. Not the entire truth but it was true.

"Nervous of me? Why would you be nervous of me?" He had worked with some of the most powerful people in the music industry and he wanted her to believe that he would be nervous of her? A nursery school teacher?

Her foot caught on a cord of microphone wire, sending her stumbling forward. He reached out and caught just before she hit the ground in a graceful face first motion. With an "oof," she collided directly with his chest.

Glancing up, she met his laughing eyes. He gently brushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. "Well this feels familiar."

Blushing, she pushed against him, trying not to think how easy it would have been for him to wrap his arms around her right then and there and kiss her again. "I am not always this clumsy." She straightened out her tank top and met his eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He leaned closer to her and whispered in her ear. "And for the record beautiful women always make me nervous."

The cleaning out of the office had taken longer than either one of them realized. The myriad of collectables had made for good distractions whenever the atmosphere became too charged. Elizabeth had been impressed they had actually found some decent stuff that would raise money for the children's wing.

Noticing the hour, they had decided to stop along the way to eat dinner. Seated across the table in the small mom and pop sandwich shop, it was becoming impossible for Elizabeth to deny the attraction she was feeling.

"Your dad did not do that!" She laughed.

Lucky smiled and took a sip from his water glass. "I swear. He was trying to fit Cameron's diaper to him with duct tape."

"How did Cameron survive to be this old?"

"My mother and my sister. I swear it's all up to them."

"I'm sure you have something to do with it as well."

"Thank you." He smiled as the waitress brought their food. A hamburger for him. A chicken sandwich for her. "So what about you?"

"What about me?"

Everything, he thought. I want to know everything, but that will probably scare you off. "Well why did you decide to move to Port Charles from Boulder?"

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "My grandmother needed help so I moved. It's not that big of a deal."

Lucky cocked his eyebrow. "I love my grandmother, but I admit to having trouble actually spending time with her and she only lives in the next town over. You moved across the country for yours. Excuse me for disagreeing, but that is a big deal."

Only because you don't know the whole story, Elizabeth thought. Moving here helped me out more than it did my grandmother. "Well she needed help. My brother is always away on set. My sister lives in Alaska. My parents are overseas working in France. It wasn't that hard of a decision really."

"Well if you won't acknowledge what a big deal it is, will you at least let me buy dinner?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Nope." Elizabeth quickly bent down and fished through her purse. Finding what she was after; she sat back up, holding up a credit card. "I have the family's emergency road credit card. Dinner is on Grams."

"In that case, I'll get dessert."

"Now that we have a deal on."

The sun was setting as they drove through Port Charles. Lucky drove slowly, mindful of the children still outside playing. Next to him, Elizabeth raised her hands above her head and stretched her arms, giving him a tempting glimpse of her flat stomach. He adverted his eyes, not wanting to cause an accident because he was too mesmerized by that brief glance of skin.

Elizabeth was surprised to realize she didn't want the ride to end. She feared this was a dream and once she got back to her home, she would wake up and Lucky would become Max, just like she feared. Or Daphne would become a reality and not just a mystery. As he turned onto Elm Street, she mused quietly. "Today has been really nice."

"It has."

The car turned into the driveway. Lucky killed the engine and faced her on the bench seat. She fought the urge to trace his face with her hand. "So how long will you ignore me this time?" she teased.

"Not going to happen." His eyes focused on her lips and the way her tongue sneaked out to moisten them when she talked.

"Promises. Promises."

Lucky lowered his head closer to hers. "I swear I will call you this time."

Her breathing slowed and Elizabeth could have sworn the temperature had risen twenty degrees in the cab. She couldn't think; all she could do was feel. From the fog in her brain, some bold part of her spoke. "Prove it."

Her words had barely been above a whisper, but Lucky heard them ringing in his ears as if she had yelled them. "Gladly." He lowered his mouth on hers quickly. This kiss contained none of the gentleness of his first kiss. It was harder, deeper, and more combustible.

Elizabeth found herself responding immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck. She felt herself being lowered onto the seat, fleetingly thankful the truck had a bench seat and not buckets. She opened her mouth slightly when she felt him pull her lower lip into his mouth.

Damn this girl could kiss, he thought. His hands traced down her sides, pausing when they found the edge of her tank top. He groaned slightly when she tentatively explored his mouth with her tongue. She quickly became bolder and he returned the favor, the kisses becoming a duel of give and take.

Of their own accord her hands slipped down and traced the outline of his abs through the tight t-shirt that had teased her all day. She wasn't even fully aware of their actions as they pulled at the edges of the shirt, desperately seeking skin to explore. She felt the shiver that went through him when her fingers met the flesh on his back.

He had been idly fingering the hem of her tank top until he felt her hands on his skin. Feeling embolden, he slipped his hands under her shirt, tracing indecipherable patterns at her waist.

This was too fast. She had only met him a handful of times and here she was making out like she was in high school in his front seat. A part of her argued that it felt good; it felt almost natural to be doing this. Another voice answered right back that she didn't want to be hurt again. "Oh...God...Lucky...we...have...to...stop." She could barely get the words out; her brain was so muddled by him.

"What?" He had barely registered she was speaking.

She slowed down her kisses, gently moving her hands back towards his face. Elizabeth pushed his hair back at his forehead, pressing a kiss there. "I think we need to slow down a little." She smiled at him a little. "I mean we haven't even actually gone out on a date yet."

Laughing he grinned down at her, pulling his hand from her side to push her hair behind her ears. "Well I'll just have to fix that won't I? Elizabeth would you like to go out with me next Friday?"

"I'd love to."