Hello again, lovelies! So fun fact, this chapter has been done for about a week. I've been really particular about it because it's a new character POV and I wanted to try to do Luke justice for his birthday. I realized that Luke's birthday would have fallen on a Molly chapter and I kinda didn't want to write it from her perspective but I also didn't want to do two Angela chapters back to back, so... Surprise Luke it is. I hope you enjoy this chapter that was heavily procrastinated and picked apart by my cruel, self-loathing brain. (Even now I don't like the ending despite rewriting it)~Shaymie

Luke

Even though his dad was his boss and today is his birthday, he doesn't get a day off from work.

Any other year, he would have been upset about having to work on his birthday. But he was still in bliss over his date with Angela. It's still hard to believe that such a pretty girl was single. It was even harder to believe that someone like her could be so excited about going on a date with someone like him. He definitely wasn't anything special compared to the guys she must have known back in the city. For some unknown reason, she liked him. She chose him.

She kissed him. Twice.

He could still feel her lips against his, warm and soft and sweet from whatever lip gloss she was wearing. It was like getting a taste of heaven. He never wanted it to end. If they weren't at such a depressing festival, he would have kissed her again and again, until their lips were swollen and they had to come up for air. When she'd started talking about her parents as they sent their lanterns flowing down the river, he wanted to kiss away her sadness.

"Happy birthday, stranger." Think of the devil and she shall appear. He hammered in the last nail and pressed on the floorboard, satisfied when it no longer creaked. This house really was a piece of work. He straightened up and put the hammer in his toolbelt, looking up to meet Angela's eyes... Though his gaze wound up going down to her outfit. She was dressed in a crop top and leggings that showed off her fit physique. How had he not noticed her abs when they were at the beach— "Luke."

"Hm?" He forced himself to look away from that spot at the bottom of her top where he could see her sports bra underneath and looked up at her face. She rolled her eyes and handed him a plastic container. He cheered silently to himself when he saw it was full of the cookies from last night. He might have a new favorite food thanks to Molly. He wondered what he would have to do to get her to make more. Molly seemed to love baking, but it felt wrong getting such delicious treats for free. Maybe he could pay her?

"If you keep staring at me like that you're gonna inflate my ego. I'm not anything special, especially not when I'm all sweaty from working out." Angela grabbed an elastic from her wrist and tied her hair back into a ponytail. How could he not stare at her? She was absolutely gorgeous, but she didn't seem to think so. Were city people blind? Molly's cute, of course, but Angela's pretty too. Would it be overstepping if he complimented her? Would she think he was trying too hard? It's not like they're dating or anything.

Maybe they should be.

"You still have time to work out even though you're running a farm?" He had seen the abundance of crops she was growing this season, the rows upon rows of tilled soil she had to care for every day. She worked pretty hard for a city girl but he couldn't help but worry. It got stupidly hot in Castanet during the summer, and today her face was looking a bit sunburnt. She'd probably run herself ragged without even realizing it. Heatstroke was no joke.

"Molly said she wanted to start working on her stamina so she could help out on the farm more." Angela smiled, fondness filling her eyes. Luke shoved a cookie into his mouth to stop himself from kissing her right then and there. She was effortlessly captivating. "Back home, we used to go running together. She had to stay fit for dancing and I wanted to keep her company. She obviously stopped running after... after she quit. I didn't realize how much I missed it until now. It's almost like things are going back to normal."

Back to normal, huh? He didn't have a clue about what had happened to the sisters to make them leave the city behind. He of course knew that Molly used to dance, but he couldn't imagine what would make her quit when she was so young. An injury? No, she didn't walk with any sort of a limp. But she did always seem tired when he saw her hanging out with Chase at the bar. Half the time she was falling asleep at the counter. Maybe she was sick? But sick people don't run...

Stop it. That's none of your business.

"I hope you're taking care of yourself, at least. Don't want you passing out on our next date." Her eyes lit up at the mention of another date. If he didn't have to work, he'd take her out right now. He wanted to make up for all the dates she had never been asked on. Those city boys had to be stupid for looking right past her. No, not just stupid. They had to be blind. If he could get the balls to ask her out, then they should have been able to do the same.

"Luke, stop flirting and get back to work!" He flinched at his father's shout, his voice easily carrying through the thin walls. That was another thing they had to work on. Apparently the guy had a kid with sensitive hearing. Angela giggled (a real girly giggle, something he's only ever heard her do around him) and reached a hand up to swipe at something on his face. Her finger came back red. Just as she had done last night, she stuck it in her mouth, giving him a coy look.

"Are you always such a messy eater or are you doing this just to get me to touch you?" He felt his face heat up as she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, her chest pressing against him. If that wasn't enough, her tongue darted out, lapping at the residual jam. He felt lightheaded as she licked his cheek clean. He should have known that asking her out would crank the teasing up to eleven. He felt her smirk against his cheek before backing off. "Well, I guess I should let you get back to work before Dale yells at you again. See you at the bar tonight, birthday boy?"

"Yeah!" He grimaced at how strained his voice was. She grinned and turned to leave, blowing him a kiss over her shoulder. He tried to not stare at her ass as she left and failed miserably. Dear Goddess, she may be the death of him.

The bar was quiet after a majority of the patrons had left, the Parker sisters, Luke, and Chase being the only people left.

Molly was asleep at the bar, elbow buried deep into a plate of ravioli. It wasn't on the menu, but Chase made it special for her, even letting her hang out with him in the kitchen while he made it. And he didn't even let Hayden in there. Luke watched the chef roll his eyes and grumble about how she forced herself to stay awake to hang out with him before grabbing a bundle of napkins and wiping the sauce off of her. She must be a heavy sleeper because she didn't even budge, only snored lightly.

"Guess it's just you and me." Angela was surprisingly coherent for someone who's had a shit ton of alcohol, though she's been making her way through a pitcher of water for the past half hour. Still, Luke wished he had her tolerance. Since he had to work tomorrow, she promised to drink enough for the both of them. She looked at him teasingly, her finger tracing the rim of an empty shot glass. "How'd you like your birthday cake? Molly and I worked really hard on it."

"I-It was good..." It was hard to focus with Angela looking at him like that, with her looking like that, so pretty even in the dingy bar lighting. What did his birthday cake look like again? It was coconut, he knew that much. The sisters had brought it in hours ago but all he could remember was how good Angela looked in her skinny jeans and form-fitting band t-shirt. He hoped his staring wasn't too obvious, but she seemed to just know when there were eyes on her.

"Just... good? Not amazing or stupendous or incredible?" Her lips curled up into a seductive smile as she leaned in, so close their noses were almost touching and he could smell the booze on her breath. Her cheeks had a light flush to them. Whether it was from the alcohol or her flirting, he wasn't sure. "That's what they used to call me in bed, y'know. Amazing. Fantastic. Incredible."

"W-What?" His face suddenly felt burning hot. She was staring directly into his eyes now, hers dark and enticing. But there was also something else buried deep in them, a touch of... sadness? Regret? He didn't know what to call the emotion pooling in her eyes.

"I was a bit of a slut back home. Slept with anybody that was even the slightest bit nice to me at bars and clubs." She inched ever so closer, their noses now touching. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Pathetic, huh? A guy breaks up with me and I think getting into bed with strangers is the solution. But my dad had just died and I didn't know what else to do. I thought it would make me feel better, make me feel wanted, but all it did was make me feel like shit."

"Ange..."

"And then I moved here to get away from it and try to forget that my fucking famous violinist douche of a boyfriend left me for some teenager he knocked up on tour even though he told me that he 'wasn't ready for kids yet'. And I met you and you asked me out and it's not fair that someone as cool and handsome as you is interested in someone like me. I'm just someone's trash, Luke. I'm just a worthless washed-up whore—"

He closed the brief distance between their lips and kissed her. He couldn't stand hearing her talk about herself like that. It didn't matter to him what she's done in the past, and he could only hope that this kiss conveyed that. She pulled away and sat back in her seat, tears filling her eyes. He grabbed her face gently and forced her to look him in the eyes. Even drunk and crying, she was beautiful. How on earth could she have such a low opinion of herself?

"W-Why did you kiss me? I thought that you'd..."

"Angela, I don't give a flying fuck what you did in the city. That's all in the past." He thumbed away the tears that had started to fall from her eyes. What kind of idiot would cheat on her? She was the perfect woman, hardworking and kind and gorgeous. Oh well, one man's loss was another man's gain. And while he had been wanting to wait until they had been on a couple more dates, he couldn't stop himself. "Ange, I know you're really drunk and probably won't remember this, but would you please be my girlfriend?"

"I'm not that drunk," she scoffed. She sniffled and gave him a small smile. "You really want to date me even after I just spilled my guts about how much of a wreck I am? You realize you'll be stuck with me, right? A-And we haven't even gone on a second date yet. How can you be so sure you want to go out with me?"

"We'll consider this our second date, then. Ange, I wouldn't have asked you to be my girlfriend if I wasn't absolutely sure. So what do you say?" Her response was another heated kiss, her hands tangling in his hair. He wished they weren't sitting across the table from each other because he wanted her closer. He wanted to be able to hold her in his arms. Her fingernails gently scratched at his scalp, earning her a small groan in response. He was surprised at how much he liked how that felt. Maybe he'll take the bandana off more often.

How could anyone throw this away? Angela's kisses were dizzying, sweet and addictive. He'd never grow tired of them. He felt like he could get lost in them. He could get lost in her. Angela May Parker was like a drug. He just couldn't get enough of her. Where these feelings had come from, he had no clue, but he wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. His dad said it had been the same when he met his mother.

He was dizzy when they finally pulled apart, Angela releasing her hold on his hair. She settled back in her chair, the flush on her cheeks even more prominent. They stared at each other in a blissful silence, just... taking each other in. Angela was his girlfriend. He had a beautiful, sexy girlfriend who was honestly probably way out of his league. This was definitely way better than any present he could have possibly gotten today. Angela had apologized earlier for not being able to get him anything since she spent a lot on Molly's gift.

"Chase..." Molly mumbled sleepily, her voice cutting through the silence in the bar. All heads turned to look at her, but she was still asleep. This isn't the first time she's spoken in her sleep, but most of the time it's just incoherent mumbles. Chase paused mid-glass cleaning, an eyebrow raised curiously. Molly snorted and huddled further into her arms. "Mm...You're too grumpy... Y'should smile more..."

"Freckles—"

"I like your smile..."

Whatever Chase had been planning to say died off on the tip of his tongue at Molly's response, his mouth snapping shut. His cheeks were just the tiniest bit flushed but it was hard to tell if it was from embarrassment or the alcohol Angela had been making him drink throughout the night. She had insisted that everyone at the bar drink for Luke's birthday with the exception of Molly, who instead had a glass of lemonade. Angela smirked and looked over at Chase.

"Cat got your tongue, Mr. Sarcastic? Not used to getting a compliment from a cute girl?"

Her tone was light and teasing, but in a different way from how she teased Luke. He couldn't help but be a bit curious about Chase and Molly's friendship. In all the years that he's lived here, he's never really put in the effort to make friends. He doesn't go to festivals or even really leave his house much unless he's getting groceries or at work. How does a grouch like him become such good friends with Molly, one of the sweetest girls Luke's ever had the pleasure of meeting?

"Shouldn't you be making googly eyes with your new boyfriend or something?"

"Maybe. But it's more fun to try and get under your skin." Angela leaned back in her chair, her hands gripping the table for support. Luke watched carefully in case she stumbled backwards. She had tripped over nothing on her way to the bathroom earlier. She squinted at Chase as he walked out from behind the bar and cleared up the shot glasses from their table. Her mouth curved down into a frown. "Nothing really bothers you much, does it?"

"Nope." He popped the 'p' with a smirk. Angela set her chair back upright, her frown turning into a full-on scowl. Luke poured her a glass of water and handed it to her with a kiss on the cheek. Her expression brightened as she grabbed the glass and took a sip, blowing Luke a kiss from across the table. Chase rolled his eyes and pretended to gag. Angela put the glass down and looked at Chase with a sort of smug look on her face.

"I can't wait for the day I see you looking all lovey-dovey with someone."

"Hell would probably freeze over before that happened."