Learn to Fly (44 page)

The set was over
before Lenny realized it and they were almost finished with the
encore. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, contemplating the
inevitable.

“
You
okay?” Greg interrupted her thoughts.

“
What?
Yeah.” Lenny forced a smile and stood up.

She exited the
booth, making her way backstage as the band wrapped up their final
song. Luke was descending the stairs and he saw her immediately. He
scooped her up in a big hug, lifting her off her feet and making her
smile. He brought her back to the earth slowly, being sure to kiss
her deeply before letting go.

“
You
wanna get something to eat before going back to the hotel?”
Luke grabbed Lenny's hand and they started for the green room.

“
Sure,
what do you have in mind?” She asked, enjoying the warmth of
his hand against hers.

“
Let's
go on an adventure.” Luke raised his eyebrows at her as he
held the door open.

“
I
like that idea.” She agreed and then laughed at his excited
grin. No matter how much time they had left, she was going to enjoy
every second of it.

***

The thing with
touring overseas is that Luke felt more like he was on vacation than
on tour. They didn't have to sleep on the buses, they had fancy
suites in hotels every night. The travel was all by private plane so
they had more time to explore the cities and countryside. Plus, they
still got to play sold out arenas every night. Each band member had
a tendency to go a little wild and really enjoy themselves.

Luke loved Europe.
He'd split off from the guys and do his own thing, the whole time
wishing he had someone he could share it with. Now, he had Lenny, he
could share those things with her.

He had taken her to
a small pub that he had discovered many years ago on one of their
first trips overseas. They ate some of the local cuisine and talked
and laughed until way too late, finally making their way back to the
top floor of the hotel.

“
Stay
with me tonight.” He whispered in her ear after he had walked
her to her door. He couldn't stand the thought of her staying in her
room all alone. She was meant to be near him always. “I don't
mean in the same bed, just stay in our suite.” He clarified,
cupping her cheek in his hand and resting his forehead against hers.

He could see the
debate behind her sapphire eyes and he stepped back, letting his
hands trail down her arms and rest at her fingertips. “I'll be
a perfect gentleman, you can have my room and I'll take the couch.
It would be so much nicer waking up with you there instead of just
Sway...I need a buffer with that guy sometimes.”

She smiled shyly,
“You make it really hard to follow the rules.”

Luke grinned, “Then
it's a yes?” He raised one eyebrow at her.

She sighed in
pretend frustration. “Yes. But I have to get my things and I
want take a shower tonight before going to bed.”

She
retreated to her room and Luke waited in the hallway. He
was...giddy. He wasn't sure if he'd ever been giddy before, it was
all very new. Everything with Lenny was new. Even after they had
returned to his suite and explained to Sway that she'd be staying
with them, Sway didn't seem surprised. It's like she just
fit.
Into every part of his life.

When Lenny emerged
from the bathroom she was showered, and dressed in shorts with a
sponsor's logo and a t-shirt with a faded Double Blind Study band
script on it.

Luke eyed the shirt
thoughtfully as she took a seat next to him on the couch.

“
That’s
an old shirt,” he observed. Lenny didn’t respond so he
added. “I thought you said you didn’t know who we were.”
Referencing back to the day they met.

Lenny blushed, “I
lied. I’ve always been a fan.”

Luke smiled and
pulled her into his chest, resting his chin on top of her head. He
didn’t care how she had come into his life, just that she was
there now. He could sense something was bothering her, it had been
just below the surface all night. But he decided to wait for her to
bring it up. She was in his arms now, and that meant she was safe.

***

The sun began to
peek through the cloudy skyline of the London backdrop and Lenny
sipped her coffee from the couch. She had woken early, jet lag was
confusing, and ordered room service. Luke woke up when the food came
to the door and then headed to the shower right away. Lenny poured
herself a cup of coffee and slipped into a melancholy repose.

One more show in
London tonight. Two more weeks is all they had left. After last
night, the feel of a real date for them, Lenny was falling harder and
faster. It wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. She would
never feel like she’d gotten enough kisses. Or smiles. Or
embraces. She could and would try to soak up as much of Luke Casey
as possible in the next couple of weeks. But then what?

She blinked back the
sudden tears that threatened to overtake her. She couldn’t
imagine the days ahead without him. She sighed with frustration at
herself. She should have never let anyone become such a necessity in
her life. Nothing lasts forever. And while Luke Casey was her best
friend today, in a month she would just be some girl he used to know.
She should end it before the awkward conversation of the logistics
came up. That would be horrible. It was bad enough that she knew it
wasn’t going to last, it would be worse to have him have to
explain it to her like she was just another...groupie. She didn't
think her heart could take that kind of a conversation.

“
Good
coffee,” Sway startled Lenny out of her thoughts. She hadn’t
even noticed when he had joined her.

“
Yeah,
it's good.” Lenny agreed, having a brief thought about making
sure someone brought coffee to Carl.

“
What
were you thinking about? It looked deep.” Sway asked.

“
Just…stuff.”
Lenny couldn’t come up with anything she really wanted to
share. Too many thoughts, not enough words.

“
You
feeling okay?” Sway's eyebrows pushed together in concern.

“
Yeah.”
Lenny forced a smile in his direction but didn’t meet his
eyes. “Fine, why?”

“
Just
asking.” Sway wasn't buying it but he dropped it anyway.

“
How
come you're splitting the suite with Luke instead of it being Mike?”
Lenny changed the subject. Sway was never one to be insightful but
she didn't need him suspecting her of anything and then telling Luke
before she could tell him herself.

“
Because
Europe still turns Mike into a pussy and Harrison and Blake will be
better at watching him than Luke.” Sway twisted his face in
annoyance.

“
What
do you mean 'better than Luke?'” Lenny bristled.

“
'Cause
Luke's busy with you.” Sway picked around the fruit on the
food cart and glanced up to see Lenny's offended expression. “Not
that it's a bad thing. We all discussed it, it's the solution we
came up with.”

“
Why
does Mike have to be babysat? That's a little condescending, don't
you think?” Lenny said, knowing that that was what Carl had
hired her for in the first place but still feeling the need to defend
the drummer.

“
Look,”
Sway tried again, “Mike gets really emotional when we go
overseas. He knows it, we know it. He has a lot of triggers here.
London is where he met Ilsa.” Sway stopped talking and looked
up at Lenny. She nodded, silently confessing that she knew the
private details of their quarrel, guilt washing over her again. “He
needs us to watch out for him, it's what brothers do.” Sway
settled on a large pastry and came back over to the couch. He sat
down next to Lenny, his face serious and thoughtful. “And Luke
needs to be with you right now.”

Fresh tears started
to form in the back of Lenny's vision and she swallowed hard. “What
do you mean?” Her voice coming out raspy and thick.

“
You
guys are good for each other. And no one wants to get in the way of
that. It's that simple.”

“
How
is the sexiest girl in the world?” Luke interrupted Lenny's
stunned thoughts as he came into the room and bent low to kiss her on
the lips.

“
I’m
okay, kinda gassy.” Sway replied, making Lenny and Luke laugh.
“I think it was that salmon I ate last night. That was salmon,
right?” He pretended to be embarrassed. “Oh, you meant
Lenny. Never mind.”

“
I’m
good, how did you sleep?” Lenny looked into the most beautiful
blue eyes in the world and her heartbeat quickened. His hair was
still wet from his shower and he hadn’t put his shirt on yet.
She tried not to stare at the body that she was positive was cut from
pure granite by the hand of God.
Now
stop that!
She
scolded herself internally.
You
have got to get a handle on yourself.

“
Fantastic.”
Luke replied in a low voice as he leaned in for another kiss.

“
Hey!”
Sway jumped in. “I’m sitting
right
here
.”
He shook his head in mock disgust and got up for another cup of
coffee.

“
Sorry,
man.” Luke stared into Lenny’s eyes. “I just can’t
get enough of her.”

Uh-oh,
here comes the jelly legs.
Lenny could feel herself turning into mush, good thing she wasn’t
standing or walking, or holding something highly valuable.

“
You
guys need to just do it and get it over with. The sexual tension
around here is unbearable.”

Lenny’s eyes
widened at Sway’s words. “Wow, Sway! Inappropriate much?”
Sway rolled his eyes.

Luke slipped his
t-shirt over his head and pulled Lenny to her feet. He planted
another perfect kiss on her lips. He moved his arms around her waist
and started kissing her neck.

“
Go
get dressed, I want to take you around London today before the show.”
He murmured in her ear.

Lenny hoped she
could walk, she wasn’t so confident in her knees ability to not
buckle. She flashed him a smile and then hurried to change her
clothes. Two weeks left, she wasn't going to waste it.

***

As Lenny closed the
door to the bedroom to get dressed Luke helped himself to the fruit
on the table.

“
Lenny
was right, that was inappropriate,” Luke rebuked Sway quietly.

“
C’mon,
you guys are constantly macking on each other and talking all cute
and stuff. Just do it and get it over with. I don’t know what
you’re waiting for.” Sway grabbed an apple off the
platter and examined it. “I mean, I know Lenny’s special
and blah, blah, blah but it’s been…a while now. You’ve
never waited with any other girl before.” He took a bite. “I
don’t get it.”

“
It’s
not about that.” Luke said, his mouth curving up slightly on
the side. “I love her. I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

“
What’s
that supposed to mean?” Sway tried to ask around his mouthful,
losing chunks of apple in the process.

“
She’s
the only one I want to be with ever again. I never want to be
without her.”

“
You’re
talking code, dude. You’re gonna have to explain to me.”
Sway's eyes went wide in exasperation.

“
I
don’t want to have sex just because it seems like it’s
time. I’ve done that, it doesn’t mean anything. Not this
time. She’s the only one I ever want to be with in
that
way, for the rest of my life.” Luke poured the hot coffee into
an empty cup on the tray.