"Wow," Luke breathed out, scanning me head to toe.

He met my smokey brown eyes as I walked towards him in my parking lot. He motioned for me to spin around with one hand, the other in the pocket of his black pants. I compressed my massive smile growing on my face as I did just as he asked. My little black dress flowed with the breeze as I faced him again.

"You look lovely," he said, flashing me his signature smile.

"Thank you," I replied, goosebumps covering my body from the crisp evening air. "So do you." I took notice of the glitter stripe down the outside of his legs. His fashion taste was always unique, even from the little I could see from his work attire. "It's weird seeing you outside of your normal suit and tie, but I guess this is the same but more...you."

He chuckled, leading us to his car. It was black and sleek. Sophisticated; just like him. I eyed his car as he spoke.

"I don't think it's weird," Luke replied as he opened the passenger door for me. "I like it better." I sat down and swung my legs in, careful not to flash him. Which, I unfortunately learned the hard way.

He peeled his jacket off from his shoulders, revealing a thin white button up and three layered silver necklaces. He then shut my door and took a jog around the front of his car to the driver's side.

"I like your necklaces," I said, giving him a kind smile. He glanced over at me, adjusting the rearview mirror to face him. I watched intently as he unbuttoned his shirt to show even more of his chest.

He sighed, putting the mirror back in it's place. "Are you going to compliment me all night or are we going to go eat?" He playfully asked.

"The ball is in your court, Hemmings," I quickly responded, crossing my arms.

He laughed as he shifted his car into reverse and backed out of the spot. "Oh, sweetheart," my heart fluttered at him calling me the nickname. He then smoothly shifted the stickshift into drive. Luke looked over at me, a lazy smile on his face. "That's not your role. That's mine."

I raised an eyebrow, "My role?" I curiously asked. He glanced over at me.

"It's just an expression."

I let out a breathy laugh, looking down and smoothing out my dress. Being on a date was new, doing something besides working was new. And they were both with him. And I liked it.

-

"La Vie en rose" was being sensually sung by the woman on stage. The spotlight made her deep skin glisten even more that it naturally did. Her unique voice set the mood of the underground restaurant we were in. She gripped the microphone with passion, strutting the stage in a stunning red sequined gown. Black curls framed her face that was painted with deep red lip stick and gold glitter.

Whisky on the rocks was in his hand. A single white square napkin stuck to the bottom of the short glass. Luke didn't seem like the guy to drink whiskey neat, but after his second glass it seemed that he was. My glass of cabernet sat half full on our table, patiently awaiting lipstick stains to cover it.

We were all the way in the back, at a small round table that was covered by white silk. I was new to the sensation of it covering my bare thighs.

White lights sporadically flashed over Luke's face. It illuminated the structure of his curved nose and sharp jawline. His pupils would shrink and his iris's would turn a pastel blue, almost grey. When the light left him this time, he set down his glass while I picked mine up. I watched as he leaned back in his chair.

"Do you know any french?" Luke asked, his fingers tapping along to the live music.

"Un petit peu." I brought my thumb and pointer finger close together to show "a little bit". I felt his heavy stare on me as I sipped from my glass.

"Je ne parle pas français," He responded with perfect pronunciation. Usually, someone saying they don't know how to speak a language comes hand in hand with some butchered vowels.

I laughed at his irony. "Well, that's some you know. Where'd you learn it?"

He cleared his throat, "My dad. He lived in France while he was contracted on a work project. He didn't speak a lick of French, so he learned that phrase." He took another swig of his drink.

"What does he do?" I asked. It felt like we were playing twenty questions all night.

"He's in the oil industry, whatever that entails." He spoke louder so I could hear him better over the music. "I asked a lot of questions when I was a kid, but never got a real answer. So I stopped asking." He shrugged, "I'm not close with him anymore anyways."

"Me neither," I quickly responded, watching him down the last of his whiskey. "My parents divorced a few years ago. I'm not really sure of who they are now," I explained as lightheartedly as I could.

He could see right through my playful tone. He sat up right and leaned in closer to me. "Life without a support system really kicks your ass sometimes."

"Yeah," I breathed out. He hit the nail right on the head with that one. "Tell me about it. I didn't think I was going to make it to twenty." I fumbled with the hills on the silk covering my legs.

"Well look at you now, Ms. Browning," he smirked. "You're technically my boss." He tapped on his glass as our waitress passed, silently letting her know he'd like another.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep the work chat at work."

Our heads turned at the eruption of applause. People were out of their seats for the standing ovation. Roses flew into the air and onto the stage, their petals breaking off in the midst of it all.

"Maybe I'll be yours one day," Luke said, leaning closer to me and speaking over the sound the best he could.

I laughed, but it had been muted by the cheering. "Take my job and your ass is grass."

"And you're the lawnmower?"

I downed the rest of my red wine, holding it by the stem as I carefully placed it back down on the table. "You've been taught well."

He paused for a moment, studying my facial expression. A smile slowly made its way onto his face. "I won't take your job."

The rest of our time spent there was more like a game of a hundred questions. He learned about my brothers and the shenanigans they pulled when I was younger. I learned about the grand piano in his house, and how much he loved to play it. His favorite color was blue, mine red. Our favorite time of the day was at dawn, right when the sun peaked out from the skyline. I learned how much I liked silk and he liked whiskey.

We camped in that underground bar longer than either of us expected. By the time we chose to leave, it had began raining. I stood under the awning decorated with globe lights patiently waiting for Luke, who had stopped in the bathroom.

"So what-oh shit." I turned around to see Luke staring around at the falling rain. He slid his jacket from his shoulders, holding it in one arm as he dug around for his keys in his pocket.

"Are you ready to run?" He asked, looking at me then to his car across the street. I nodded as he slung his jacket over my shoulders.

"Are you sure? I don't want to mess up your-"

"Let's go, Mabel," he interrupted, looking both ways before we stepped off the curb. I pulled the jacket over my head to protect myself from the cold droplets.

He took a step off and I followed. My heels tapped along the pavement and splashed in miniature puddles. We both laughed as we ran, sounding like two schoolchildren. He placed his hand over the small of my back as he reached for the passenger door handle, quickly letting me in. He shut the door and did the same little jog around the front he did earlier.

He huffed as he finally got in his car. Luke turned to me, "I wasn't expecting the rain," he said.

"I can tell." I joked.

I studied him as he pushed back his hair, a single curl falling onto his forehead. He pulled at his white shirt to keep it from clinging to his torso. He didn't bother to blot the few rain drops on his forehead and cheeks.

The rain slowed as we approached my apartment. It was pushing midnight. Tonight seemed to be darker than most nights.

Luke parked in the space closest to my building. He took the keys of the ignition and we both climbed out. I wasn't expecting him to walk me back to my apartment, which was a kind gesture.

"How'd you like it?" Luke asked, peering down at me. His hands were in his pocket. We were both unbothered by the sprinkles of rain falling on us, as the night was being wrapped up with a red bow. "Madeline's, I mean," he added, referring to the beautiful scene we spent all night in.

"It was really nice," I replied. I listened to the perfect synchronization of my heels and his boots clacking on the stairs leading up to my door. We stopped in front of the newly painted white door, accented with a pumpkin at the bottom to fit the season.

"Thank you," I quietly told him. My back was to my door, and he stood directly in front of me.

His eyes were kind, as opposed to their regular dreamy state. I liked this new scene.

"You're welcome," he whispered back to me, preciously looking down at me.

He leaned down to my face, his thin beard brushing against my face as he lightly pressed a kiss against my cheek. He lingered for just a moment, long enough for my cheeks to burn scarlet.

My heart pumped harder, only had I felt this from Michael. It was nerve wracking to feel it from someone else. Different, of course, but I liked it. It didn't feel scary or unwanted.

I turned my back to him to hide my blush, unlocking my door as an excuse to not look at him. I opened it carefully and turned around. I tried my best to hide in the gap between the frame.

"Meet me at Picnic Cafe at 7:30 tomorrow morning." His voice was deep, yet calming.

I pondered about my morning activities, where I had to be, what I was doing. My mind flashed back to when Ania and I were at the same cafe, choking on our mimosas from seeing Luke pass.

I nodded slowly, "Okay."

He stood there for a moment, doing nothing but showing off a dorky smile. I could tell he was tired.

"Goodnight, Mabel."

"Goodnight, Luke."

And with that I shut my door silently, careful not to disturb Ania who I knew was awake in her room. I leaned against my door, letting out a breath it seemed like I was holding in all night. A smile took over my face and I was unable to hold in my emotions.

The best part was, I got to repeat this all in the morning.

-

A/N:

ALSJDKAKAKS luke makes me so Soft

i loved this lil date, it gave me "a star is born" vibes but without all the horrific sadness

plz vote and comment it only takes a sec <3333

I LOVE YOU GUYS THANK SO MUCH YOU FOR READING ILY

Procrashtonates edited this for me THANK U