Chapter one
hundred and eighty-nine:
Jenna climbed
out of the back seat of the cab in front of a coffee shop that Luke had
specifically requested. She briefly checked her reflection in the window of the
shop. She felt ridiculous in the dress that Becky had chosen, but at least she
looked okay.
Jen drew in a
deep breath and opened the door. She stepped inside and scanned the room.
Luke was sitting
at a back table with a book in his hands.
Jen crossed the
shop in a few quick strides. He looked up suddenly and his entire face
brightened. “Jen! You look… Amazing.”
He stood straight up and embraced her tightly.
Jen hesitated
briefly, then wrapped her arms around his neck,
tightly. She rested her chin on his shoulder as he pulled her body closer to
his.
”I missed you,” He whispered softly into her hair.
“I missed you
too.” She replied, smiling slightly.
Jen finally
released him.
Luke smiled at
her, and gently tucked her hair behind her ear. “I wasn’t kidding, you look
fantastic.”
Jenna blushed
slightly. “Thanks. You look good too.” She wasn’t lying either, he was about
ten times cuter than she remembered him being.
Luke pulled out
a chair for her and sat down in his own just as a waitress brought him a coffee
and a tea for her.
“I hope you
don’t mind, but I ordered you a tea. Jasmine is still your favorite, right?”
She smiled,
touched by the fact he remembered. “Yes, it is.”
“Good.” He
chuckled. “The reason I wanted to come here specifically, is because there’s a
poetry reading going on, and I know you love poetry, so I thought you might
like to see it.”
Jen’s smile
broadened. “I would love to.”
“It doesn’t
start for an hour or so, so we could talk for a while-”
“Luke?”
“Yeah.” He looked up at her finally.
Jenna leaned
forward across the table and placed her hand over his. “I don’t think there’s
much to talk about. This whole fight was stupid, it
was totally out of line of me to put myself at the center of your life. I
shouldn’t expect you to make your whole life revolve around me. That was
incredibly stupid and immature of me.”
“Love,” He took
her hand in his. “This was my fault not yours. You have every right to ask for
my attention, and I should have given you more. I’m going to pay a whole lot
more attention to you from now on, okay?”
Jen smiled
inadvertently. She missed that nick name.
Luke raised her
hand and brushed his lips across her knuckles.
“I missed you.”
She couldn’t hide her smile even if she wanted.
“I missed you
too.” He laughed.
“How is school
going?”
Luke took a sip
of his coffee. “Well, I’m half-way through my degree. I’ve been in the top of
my class for the past two years, I’m taking seven courses a semester, and my
uncle has promised me a management job when I graduate.”
“Wow! Is this
the same uncle who is paying for your education?”
“He’s paying for
part of it. I’m working off the other part.” Luke chuckled.
“That’s still
amazing. You graduated high school early and now you’re steam rolling through
university.”