Chapter 9

After Francis left for the night, it was just me and Luke again.  I sat on my bed, still stunned and just trying to let it sink in.  And I didn't know how.  My head was spinning with every possible thing we could do and yet, it was as if I were still lost with confusion on what our options were.  Luke seemed to know what he was doing though.  He wasn't a mess like me but you could tell he was on edge. 

He moved with purpose though, with intention, and like he knew exactly what we needed to do.  I always liked that about him; he had confidence, a plan, and knew what he needed to do something even if he didn't know what.  When I had enough sense in me to snap back to reality, I realized what he was doing as I watched him swiftly move about my room.  He grabbed random things around my room.  My phone, make up, wallet.... Luke grabbed mostly clothes from my closet, throwing it on my bed without a glance towards it's destination.  He was in a rush, clearly, as he sifted through my closet even more for clothes.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a dead voice.

"We are leaving town," he said curtly and I felt my eyes widen. I shouldn't be that surprised though.  What alternative was there to packing everything up?  A sleepover at his parents? 

Luke grabbed the suit case from my closet and strode towards me, not meeting my gaze, and laid it on my bed, unzipping it. 

"We can't!" I said instantly when all of a sudden, I had the ability to think again. And when I did, I realized that was a terrible option, leaving town. 

His eyes were still busy as were his hands as he moved about my room, not phased by my words or tone it seemed.  He just asked me, "Why?" Not bothering to listen or look up at me. He grabbed everything he figured I would need.  He threw my hair brush on the bed, my chargers, more clothes.... And when he actually started to pack and shove it in the suit case, I knew he wouldn't listen until I get his attention.

Panicked myself, I moved off my bed and stood beside him from where he was leaning over and packing over my bed. "Luke," I said, needing him to look at me.  He wouldn't, didn't answer.  "Luke!" I said louder and grabbed his arm, stopping him from packing.  I managed to push him back from what he was doing and made him face me as we stood there.

He groaned, eyes digging in mine and begging for me to tell him then; after all, he needed to get back to packing, the stubborn bastard.  "Why?  I'm listening, Albany.  Why can't we go?  Because honestly, that is the only option I can think of that would ensure you to be the most safe," he said in a fast voice.

He was having a hard time accepting that I could very well die.  But he's not one for denial.  He was smart and even now, he was thinking everything through.  He had a plan and it was the best one, the smartest one if I wanted to live and that was to leave town for now.  Luke however failed to consider a few others things.

"It will put Francis in danger!" I said, grabbing his other hand as he tried to continue to pack, shoving him back to face me more.  When I said that though, that it was too risky for his brother's sake, he froze before me.  Both my hands resting on his arm and hand, I could feel goosebumps start to form along his skin and saw he paled even more.  Yeah, he sure didn't consider it.  He realized my reasoning as I began to explain my thoughts.  "Everything we could do to ensure my safety would put Francis in danger and I refuse to have that.  If we leave town to hide, they will suspect we were tipped off about it by someone.  And If we track them down, they will know someone gave us their names or location.  That 'someone' would clearly be Francis."

Our only options were to stay and just be prepared.  All Luke wanted to do was take me away from here and from how desperate his eyes appeared, he would take me to the edge of the world and further if it meant I was safe.  He couldn't though and though it was a huge risk, we needed to stay. He needed to see that. 

He slowly shook his head and in a quiet voice, he said, "No.... No, Albany.  We need to get you out of here.  Even if for a few days while we try to go after them."

I scoffed and moved closer to him, staring up into his eyes and making them meet mine.  Did he not hear what I just said?   "Luke, we both knew this was going to happen.  It caught us off guard because we didn't expect it now but regardless, we knew.  And this whole time, your plan was to run?"

He shook his head.  "No, not to run.  To leave to protect you.  Then, we have people go in after them."

"Don't you see the problem with--"

Luke broke his gaze off from mine as I spoke, looking down as he nodded after sighing.  I knew he wanted to keep me safe.  But he wasn't selfish to where he would put his brother in danger over it.  "I do. I see the problems and your right;  I can't believe I never considered what Francis's position would be if we left."  He paused, looking away before looking back to me.  Lips parted like he was going to say something more, nothing came out. I knew he was accepting it, that we couldn't just leave. 

"We need to stay.  Okay?"

His eyes found mine again and he pursed his lips.  Looking down to the floor, Luke took another deep breath, nodded, and broke away from me as he led me to sit beside him on the edge of the bed.  Looking down to me, he continued speaking after a moment of just thinking.  Even when he was scared, when he was clearly human, he still knew to be ready and to think. 

It was hard for him to say what he did.  But he faced the facts. "We don't have many options," he said slowly, looking into my heart through my eyes and I could feel his pain.  Swallowing, he ran a hand through his hair as he continued.  "We are going to need to cover our tracks well with preparedness."

"What do you mean?"

"We need to make it look as if we are vulnerable.  Otherwise, that would be another clue that Francis is a traitor."

I sighed.  That didn't leave us much of a choice.  We were going to basically be sitting ducks.  "What can we do then?" I asked, scared now.  It was as if I surely would die now. What a great way to go.

However, he saved me with his next words.  I could feel in his words the relief I needed of a solid plan where I would be safe.  "You wont leave my sight, you wont leave this house.  It's suspicious, not leaving but that's too big of a risk.  We will stay inside.  I will have cameras set up, watching the property and waiting.  I'll be ready... and we will wait for them to come to us."

My mind was spinning and though it was a very serious event, he was speaking of several things at once.  "What do you mean you will be ready?"

"I'm going to start keeping at least one or two weapons in the house again.  Clare isn't dumb enough to try anything with them.  I will put a hand gun in your dresser drawer and there will be one downstairs in the kitchen drawer because it depends on where I will be in the house when they come.  Besides that, I'm going to have a gun on me at all times."

I nodded, swallowing.  The whole situation he was describing, what was going to happen, sounded serious and dangerous.  And it was; this was my life.  But knowing Luke would be around me at all times, he would have a gun on him and access to them around him, cameras will be set up.... I felt safe and actually calmed down quite a bit.  His next words helped even more.

"At night, I will sleep on your floor and your door will be locked.  I'll put bars over the window.  Only I'll make the blinds block the bars by putting them in front of the bars so they wouldn't see it.  This house has an alarm too.  So we will be completely safe.  After all, we will know when they set foot on the property.  That's the main factor."

I tried thinking of anything else that I was unsure of, really unsure of, with this new situation we were facing.  It was a lot to process first of all.  I mean, he came up with all of this so fast... I guess that was part of his training.  Either way, it was a lot to try to contain in such a stubborn head of mine.

"So what happens when they actually come?"

"I will see them on the camera.  I'm certain of it because it will alert me of anything.  Not to mention, I can have a couple officers watch the footage live from the station too with different monitors.  That way we will have a couple set of eyes on the cameras.  When spotted, I will go after them."

"You alone?"

He chuckled and it was a relief to hear it.  It was nice though, I noticed, because he didn't seem as worried anymore.  In fact, looking over him from where he sat next to me, his body had relaxed and because he knew what he was doing, what he was talking about, he would be ready.  His next words confirmed it all. "Albany, I'm a trained cop.  If it is as Francis said, this will be some inexperienced druggie or two.  I can handle it."

I smirked.  "Bad-ass Luke," I nodded in approval.  "I like your confidence.  But you wont be on the clock, right?"

"Yeah but I'm sure I can get clearance or to have the right to shoot.  After all, they would be trespassing and if they advance and if I have to, I will be allowed to shoot them.  That is not a worry of mine."

He seemed to be sure of himself.  And though I could tease him about it, I loved it at that moment. 

***

I felt much better now that we had a plan, to the point where I actually felt like my normal self.  Of course, Luke and I were still ready for anything.  But I felt strangely safe.  To where I wasn't scared at all.  Seemed a little unreal because I figured I should be ready to shit my pants every hour or so with anticipation.  That wasn't the case.

By the next morning, Luke had about a dozen cameras that were pointed at and around our property, every inch in sight from the house.  The cameras were set up on the laptop up in my room as well as a laptop downstairs.  We didn't constantly watch it of course; we would be alerted if anyone was on the property, be informed, then we would use the screens to determine where Luke needed to go to take them down.  Plus, Luke had some of his buddies watching it from the station too if it alerted at all times, he made sure.  Beside the cameras though, all the blinds were to be remained shut.  Not to mention, having Luke literally right besides me helped the most.  The only issue was not leaving the house for me.  I mean, I was missing school.  Lord knows I can't live without the amazing educational effort they drill into us kids.

"I'm so bored!" I moaned, staring up at the ceiling.  Laying on the couch all day was suffocating.  Especially when there was nothing to do.  Jack kept my attention but I played with him all morning it seemed.  He was currently chewing on a bone that I got from Francis for Christmas.  So in other words, he was the only one having a good time right now.  I was ready to die of boredom.  I could tell Luke felt the same way, sitting on the other side at my feet.  And it was only the first day of this! And it was only 11:00 in the morning!

"I know," he sighed.  Glancing over to him, his eyes rested on the ground and it was clear neither of us could focus on the TV any longer.  Reading my mind, he raised the remote up and  shut the TV off, looking down to me from where I was laying.  "What do you want to do?"

I thought it over.  The last thing we needed was time to think.  Because then, that awkwardness would come back and with being stuck in the house with him, that would not be fun at all.  Of course, I was never good at coming up with ideas for things to do. "I don't know!" I groaned, burying my head in the pillow when I turned over on my stomach.  "Bake a cake," I mumbled into the pillow.  I said it sarcastically of course.  But something popped in Luke's brain that didn't in mine. 

I heard Luke chuckle. "Well, we can do that I think."

I turned back over on my back to look up to him, my eyebrows dipping.  I really didn't mean it but once I thought about it and realized how fun it could actually be, I could be up for it.  After all, I loved food.  Not to mention, I never actually baked anything before.  I always figured it would be fun. 

"Really?" I asked, a smile forming on my face.  Staring into his beautiful green eyes, I saw his growing fondness at the thought. Remember guys: bored out of our damn minds and it was day one of this long wait in the house.  I took off school, he took off work.  We should be productive with our time.

"Sure. Have you ever baked one before?"

"No.  Have you?"

"Oh yeah.  I'm the master of baking cakes," he said, smirking and giving me a teasing look.  "My grandmother and I use to do it all the time when I was little.  I'm still sure I can do it and it will taste great."

"Wow," I scoffed, sitting up and crossing my legs before me as I took in his smug expression.  "You seem pretty cocky.  So my hopes are pretty high now.  You better not screw it up."

He scoffed this time.  "Trust me, if I mess up, it will be your fault for some reason."

I could feel my lips tilt up more.  "Well lets go, big shot bad-ass.  Put your apron on and lets bake!"

***

By the time we got out all the ingredients, everything we needed, and put on our aprons (yes, we were both wearing one; it was amusing) it was time to actually start this interesting process.  I didn't know how it would pan out but I was excited to see.

Luke had a smile on his face the whole time.  Whether it was a cocky smirk or a smile at just being happy, I couldn't tell.  I liked it though and I couldn't help but looking away every time his eyes met mine and smirking myself as we stood next to each other at the counter. 

"Chef Luke, what do we do first?"

He scoffed.  "I don't think chef is the appropriate title," he said in a matter of fact voice.  Yep.  Cocky this time.

"Okay.  So, Ass-wipe Luke, what do we do first to make this magnificent cake?!"

Luke broke, laughing and looking down at me from where we were standing side by side, facing everything he pulled out of the fridge and cupboards.  Of course, he didn't look at the ingredients first.  Oh no, he just knew what we needed.  Time to see how right he was. 

He took the box of mix, turned it over and read what we needed. "Alright, two and a half cups of flour," he read. 

 "Okay.  So, we just fill this measuring cup up with flour.  Self explanatory," I nodded.  "Even us idiots should manage it," I said, grabbing the bag of flour in front of Luke and sliding it in front of me along with the cup.  Of course, when I lifted the bag to pour it in, it just couldn't patiently file into the cup.  Nope.  Over flow.

"Whoa," Luke mumbled, grabbing the bag before it all could all spill out.  Of course, enough got on the floor to make a mess.  Setting it down on the cupboard, he turned to me and looked at me with a humorous expression, crossing his arms.  "What the hell was that?" he chuckled. "'Even us idiots should manage it'" he mocked.

I shrugged and defended myself (though it was kind of embarrassing I couldn't handle pouring flour).  "Hey, points for effort here.  God!"

He scoffed.  "Pour it in the bowl," he said, gesturing to the huge bowl in front of us.  "And I'll finish up with the flour."

"Aye-Aye, Mr. Perfect," I mumbled.

After he did that, in much more civilized fashion you could say, he read the next ingredients.  "Two to three eggs...." He frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking up at him.

Setting the box down, he sighed, and found my eyes.  "I don't know if we have any."

I groaned, even though nothing could bring me down.  This was a lot of fun - and I loved how Luke looked in his apron.  No eggs though would suck.  Looking around at all the ingredients Luke pulled out, I saw no eggs.  Luke seeing there was none in sight, he moved towards the fridge to look.  "Read the next step," he said as he opened the fridge.  Glancing back to the already messy counter in front of me, I grabbed the box and read aloud.

"Okay, next is two thirds of a cup of... shortening or margarine?  What the hell is that?" I mumbled, looking around at everything and not being able to identify any of them as whatever it was I said.

"We have one egg," Luke said in anger, turning back to look at me.  Finding his eyes, he asked me, "Do you think that will do?"

I shrugged.  "I don't know.  Probably," I said and watched as he shut the fridge behind him and came back to my side.  He cracked the single egg on the corner of the bowl and it spilled out neatly into the bowl, darkening the color of the flour in the bowl.  But it was back to the next issue soon: the next ingredient I read... whatever it was.

"Hey, what is this stuff?" I asked, leaning over towards him more as I pointed to the ingredients on the box.  Pressed into his side to show him, it was distracting.  But hey, don't think it took the fun out of anything.  I actually had to bit my lip from smiling as I waited for an answer. It felt so good to be so close to him.

"Um... oh, margarine.  That's a substitute for butter.  And we don't have it so we are going to just use butter."

I nodded, grabbed the stick of butter he gestured to as well as the cup again.  I paused though and glanced up at an observing Luke.  "Do you want to do it this time?  Considering I poured a quarter of the flour already all over the kitchen.  And all over me," I mumbled, looking down at myself and seeing the apron and my jeans covered in the powdery substance. I blushed slightly but tried to hide it as best as I could.

He gave me a warm smile and a second existed there, among the many seconds that didn't interfere, that gave me chills with how he was looking at me.  There was a twinkle in his eye and those smiling lips were loving.  I could have sworn he even leaned down a little closer as he spoke but I was getting ahead of myself.  "It's butter," he said in a quiet voice.  His voice slowly got louder though, and more teasing, and that moment was gone.  "I know the flour put up one hell of a fight but I have a feeling Albany... I think you can take the butter down."

I grinned and elbowed him for teasing me again as I measured and put the butter in.  I could feel his eyes on me the entire time (which was a long time with how much time that took).  I tried not smiling because I knew he was staring at me deliberately, trying to get to me, and finally, I looked up at him when I was done.  "What?" I demanded, laughing.  

"Nothing," he smiled, shaking his head, eyes still deliberately teasing.  "I like teasing you.  You're cute when your carefree like this."  I saw his face falter, just slightly, and I was almost positive he regretted his words for obvious reasons.  I brushed it off for now but I knew later on, I wouldn't stop replaying those words over in my head.  

"Well, I don't appreciate me being the center of your amusement," I crossed my arms and smirked.

He raised an eyebrow.  "Isn't that just too bad," he said and grabbed the box, reading the next thing on it.  I was happy his eyes were occupied.  Because my cheeks needed the freedom to heat and flush after that.  It was surprising to me how well we were getting along considering we kissed no more than over a week ago and now, there was someone coming to kill me.  Yet, I was loving this.  I was having a great time because it was fun, it was with Luke, and it was as if no drama really existed between us in a way.   

"Alright, three and a half teaspoons of baking powder..." he scrunched his nose and I realized we must have run into another obstacle. 

"What, we don't have it?" I asked, watching him.

Sighing, he looked down at me at his side and shook his head.  "No, we don't."

I frowned as I grabbed the box from his hand to read over the rest of the ingredients.  "Well, what else don't we have? Do we have salt?  Vanilla?  Milk?  Sugar?" I looked up at him and waited.  "You know, even if we don't have any, I'm still relying on a perfect cake like you said."

He defended himself instantly, hiding his smile.  Bending his knees slightly so he was at my height, he moved closer to me and was but an inch from my face with teasing eyes again.  I tried not to react like a stupid teenage girl but it was hard.  He was right there and I could inhale his scent.  I know he didn't realize how much he was getting to me; he was only trying to tease me.  "Well, little miss temper, I never said it would be a perfect cake."

"You were cocky enough to make me assume--"

"No," he shook his head, giving me a full grin, teeth and all and it was nearly all I could handle.  Smiling at him, I listened to his words, all the while trying to explain myself.  "It's your fault if you assumed anything.  I didn't say it would be perfect.  It will be close, but not--"

I slapped his arm jokingly and he moved away, standing back up what was another foot of distance between us and our height.  "I'm holding you to that," I said.  "It better be good.  Now, do we have everything else I read off?" I asked, getting back on track.

"Reread it again," he said.

"Salt, vanilla, sugar, milk?"

He thought it over and a moment later, he looked around at everything else he pulled out.  "Um... well, we have milk.  And salt."

"No vanilla and sugar, on top of the baking powder?"

He pursed his lips and looked up in the cupboards where it would be but as he thought, there wasn't.  Shaking his head, he leaned against the counter and sighed.  "Nope.  But I mean, it can't be that bad with out it, right?"

"Of course it wont be," I said.  "Like you said, this will be close to perfect.  Right cocky copper?"

He bit his lip and smirked down to me.  "Right."

By the time we got everything we needed - sorry, everything we managed to get in the bowl, it was time to mix it together.  I watched as Luke took out the electric beater from the cupboard to mix it all together.  It was a part I was looking forward to because I never used one before.  I could feel my face light up and tried to hide it as best as I could. 

Luke plugged it in the wall and gestured for me to grab it.  Stepping forward more towards the counter, I took hold of the ironing-shaped tool and placed the two silver mixing instruments in the batter.  Smiling, I pressed the button and it started mixing it together... for like a second.  I didn't have a good grip on it and as the machine filled the air with an annoying ring, it splattered us in a flash. 

"Oh!" I gasped as I felt the batter fling all over me, it was so fast.  I instantly let it go and all that really did was make it worse before it shut off.  It spit even more batter out of the bowl and all over the kitchen.  With wide eyes in surprise at what happened, I looked up at Luke and he was looking down at himself.  He had batter over him too, little yellow spots everywhere but especially on his face.  The same went for me, I'm sure. I could feel it over my face, the cool points of batter on my cheeks and nose, neck and in my hair a little.

A silence fell in the kitchen between us as we took ourselves in.  Luke's eyes found mine and looked me over as I did as well.  I realized then that I was a terrible baker.  I should have gotten the hint when I couldn't even manage to pour fucking flour in a cup.  Now, I made an even bigger mess, one I'd have to pick up. 

Licking my lips, I sighed.  Glancing back up towards him, his eyes met mine again.  He didn't look mad but he didn't look exactly happy - who would be?   He finally spoke.  "Well..."  he stepped closer to me and when he stood right before me, he reached out and swiped his finger over my cheek before he stuck it in his mouth, tasting the batter he wiped off my face with his finger.  Nearly died, by the way, but whatever.  He didn't look distracted over the action so I shouldn't make a big deal of it in my head.

"How does it taste?" I asked.

His eyebrows lowered and his face scrunched in disgust.  "Oh damn."

I laughed and mocked him with a gasp.  "What, it's not perfect?"

"It's not done yet.  It needs to bake."  Looking back between us and seeing the mess, what a terrible job I did, we both just started cracking up laughing really hard.  It was a disaster and that couldn't be any more clear.   We were having fun though and in my mind, that's all that counted.

***

As it baked, we spent that time trying to clean up but we called it quits five minutes in.  We decided to leave the mess until after the entire cake was done. So, we sat in our mess, literally, and waited (we didn't want to sit at the table; it was the only clean spot left in the kitchen).  Luke's back was pressed against the bottom cupboard below the sink, his legs stretched out before him on the messy floor. I sat adjacent to him, my arms wrapped around my knees against my chest as my back pressed against a bottom cupboard too. 

It was turning out to be a great day.  Because not only did we have fun baking, but as we waited, our conversations along the kitchen floor were entertaining and kept me interested.

"Okay, if a heard of lions attacked this town, I highly doubt you would volunteer to hunt them down."

I scoffed, shaking my head.  "That's not what I meant.  I would volunteer to hunt them down if my job only consisted of that: hunting them down as in finding them.  You would have the job of getting them back home, not me."

He rolled his eyes and smiled.  "You are so weird," he shook his head, laughing.

"Is that a good thing?"

He nodded with no hesitation, biting his lip as he tilted his head back and rested it against the wood of the cupboard.  "Yes.  You keep me entertained."

I gaped at him. "Is that all?"

His eyes turned slightly darker and his smile dimmed slightly and though I was daring to flirt, I regretted those last words.  He answered, nonetheless.  "No.  You're fun because you're weird.  And it's really cool because there is nobody else like you that I know.  One in a million," he said in a smaller voice, adverting his eyes. 

Looking him over, I couldn't help but admire him.  Even with his splattered body, supporting an apron, I couldn't have asked for a better man....

A better man?  No, I needed to remind myself and I couldn't think like that.  I mean, he wasn't my man.  He was just my friend and that's what I meant; my thoughts just went off in a different direction.  That was the sad part.  He was such a great person and I think we would have been great together.  I can tell I make him happier than he was when he was with Clare.  Of course, friends could do that and I had a feeling he considered us just that.  I'm not blind and I know he still has some feelings for me.  But he only sees me as a friend now for the most part and with more time, that's becoming more so - just friends and no more.  And that was fine I guess.  As long as he was happy, I was fine with anything.

"What do you want to do for a living?" he asked, snapping me out of my thoughts and changing the subject.

Hiding my smirk, I said, "Oh, definitely prostitution.  I mean, what's better than that?"

He cracked up laughing instantly and I smirked at his reaction.  "Clearly nothing.  Money and sex, that takes care of it all," he said, shaking his head at my humor, which I was happy to see was his humor in a way.  It just took a bit for him to come around to it I think.  I'm glad he did because unlike before, he was much more free and happier, more true to himself.

After a minute though, I gave him my serious answer after serious thought.  Because really, this was the first time I really thought about it as strange as that sounds.  I never considered a future, never wanted one before from where I was in life, and even now, even as I am actually getting my life on track, I'm just trying to keep everything from blowing up in my face.  Like trying not to die and trying to get everything I can against Clare.

"I... I don't know.  I never really thought about it before."

His eyebrows rose and sorrow filled his features.  The jade in his intense eyes held sympathy, something I hated but understood, and his voice was filled with it too.  "Never thought about it before...?" He asked as if not believing it.

I shook my head.  "I really had no need to.  I mean, I didn't have a future to look forward to, you know?  And now that you are trying to give me a life, it still didn't cross my mind because of everything else we are dealing with I guess."

He pursed his lips and was silent for a minute before he spoke.  "I know you went through a lot.  So much and it makes you so incredibly strong.  And though you are facing some serious shit right now, I don't want that to consume you. The last thing you need is to dwell over whether you will die or not.  That's why I want us to have fun while we are stuck in this house. Because you know something, Albany?  Nobody will touch you if I have a say in anything.  Nobody.  Let me worry over everything else.   I just want you to start thinking about your future and... live.  Because I know you can go on and do great things with your life.  So just think about it, okay?"

His words were beautiful and kind and loving.  I could feel that sick feeling swell in me but it lasted for only a second.  I bit the side of my cheek after he was done and nodded.  It never crossed my mind, a future.  The thought seemed nearly childish.  Past that though, it seemed like a bright point I wanted to look forward to.

Nodding, I knew I needed to start thinking about what I could do.  It's not like I'm really talented with anything specific.  Of course, I don't have much experience in anything besides dirty jokes and being a victim.  It  was something I would have to work at, just to even accept.  Looking to Luke though, I saw his hope for me and I knew I wanted to make him proud. 

Just then though, a noise rang though the air coming from right beside me and I realized it was the oven, snapping me into reality.  Luke got to his feet and I stared up at him from the floor as he took the few steps it took to the stove.  He opened it and the heat rushed out, I could feel slightly from where I was close to it. 

When he took it out and set it on the stove, I stood myself to see how it turned out.  Side by side, we stood, looking down at our work.  I didn't know what it was suppose to look like but I will tell you, it didn't smell too bad.  It didn't smell great though either.  The brown field of warm cooked batter... yum.  I only had cake once before I think so I was looking forward to this. Of course, the taste determined it.

"Now what?" I asked.

"We need to let it cool."

I groaned.  "This is such a long process," I said, sliding back down until my ass was comfortable on the floor.

He chuckled.  "You suggested it.  It needs to cool then I'm guessing we put the frosting on it.  I'm surprised we even have any."

"How much longer do you think until we can actually eat the damn thing."

He shrugged.  "I don't know.  But lesson number one: a baker needs to be patient."

I sighed.  "Oh, I see.  You're so good and cocky, you have the balls to tell me a lesson.  Yeah, you better hope this cake turns out for your sake."

He crossed his arms.  "Are you threatening me?"

"You bet." I said.  All I have to say was that it better be the best damn cake I ever taste.  With his attitude, the mess we made, and the time it's taking... It better be good.  More seriously though, I wouldn't care.  I was having fun just fooling around with Luke and that's all I could ask for especially during a time like this.

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Hey, just got back today from camping and I'm excited to post!  I was going crazy without being able to write so I was happy to write today.  Anyway, I know that the baking scene went on for a while but I felt that the story needed it.  I mean, there is so much going on and so much drama, they both needed a break and so did the readers.  Plus, it was fun to write :) What do you think of their plan to keep her safe?  What's going to happen next do you think?  Hope you enjoyed it!