sawyerdempseyâ:
âYouâre so good, Luke.â She found herself mumbling against his lips, as silence filled the empty space around them, her thoughts falling from her lips without hesitation. âYou canât be good all the time.â Sheâd always pictured him as so well put together. He had a home of his own, and sheâd never once seen him fall apart the way she was so prone to doing when she was alone. The evenings were always the hardest, especially when she settled into a cold backseat for the night, runny mascara on her cheeks and aching muscles, the smell of whatever man sheâd been with that night carrying on her skin. She wondered if Luke ever felt like that. Empty, and alone, the way she did. She hoped not.Â
There was something tender in the way she touched Luke, that she rarely found herself doing with anyone else. Usually a kiss was nothing more than that, her lips pressed to somebodyâs elseâs, more often than not leading to something more physical and demeaning. But, not with him. Not tonight. She met him with the same fervent urgency as he seemed to give off, and in that moment, she felt like the only thing in his world.Â
His phone began to ring once more, this time loud and unable to be ignored, the way she could have from the living room. Pulling back just slightly, her eyes searched his for some sort of explanation, a sadness on her face that, had she been able to see, she wouldnât have been able to explain. âYou should answer it.â She whispered, pulling away completely now, to sit on her knees, watching him search for the phone in the bed sheets. âI can go to the other room, if you want.â She offered, wondering if it was some sort of personal call that he wouldnât want her to be a part of, based on the way he was acting. âUnless you want me to stay.â
Her words struck something in him. You canât be good all the time. That was his problem. He was always trying to be good for everyone else. When he was a kid, it was his mom. When heâd finally met his dad, it was him. But who was it for now? Maybe heâd just gotten so used to it that he didnât know if he wasnât good. If he wasnât the guy who could keep it all together and still have a smile on his face at the end of the night, then who was he? There was no guarantee that heâd like who was under that farce, or worse, that the little family heâd built in Derry would like him. Maybe she wouldnât even like him.Â
The gentle touches and the feeling that ran through his body as the two of them connected, helped bring him back down when his thoughts were racing. It was moments like this when he was glad that their relationship was the way that it was. She didnât question him and he didnât feel like he needed to explain himself, so he relished in the feeling until the ringing became too much for him to handle. âIâm turning it off.â He shifted the sheets, finding the phone and holding down the button on the side until it shut off, turning off the ringing for good. Or at least until he turned it on the next day. âNo, donât.â His head swiveled towards her in panic, reaching out to grab her arm gently. âDonât go.âÂ
He tugged on her arm, pulling her towards him, her still on the mattress while he stood at the side of the bed. He towered over her, but he lowered his head to rest his forehead against hers. âIâm with you tonight.â Moving his hands up to her neck, he pushed his hands into her hair, fingers playing with the strands at the base. âNo more phone.â











