One Night

Chapter Three- Dinner For Three

How is it through this anger, seeing Luke made me forget of his lie of impotence? He appeared in the restaurant out of his uniform and more handsome than I had ever seen him; not that I had many moments to compare this to. His dirty blonde strands of hair were slightly longer than I could remember with a swoop longer on the left side than the right. A few strands hung loosely over his eyes,  forcing him to run his fingers through them to keep them from blinding him. When he saw me, dressed in a tight blouse and dark denim jeans, that devilish smirk forced his dimple to come into view. 

Damn that smile. Damn this man...he was my weakness. 

"I'm glad you could make it." He spoke while leaning down to Lila who was dressed in a small white summer dress and a matching bow around her nearly naked head. Upon seeing whom I knew to be her father, her usually immobile lips opened to a smile and she began to coo at him. Although she had been unplanned and although I held a hatred for his dishonesty, I fell in love with this moment between them. 

"And you look...stunning." I smiled and thanked him before placing Lila in the chair beside us and ordered some water while he ordered bourbon. We then sat in silence for a moment. 

"Why did you lie?" The words left my lips before I could stop them-it seemed I had a habit of this. 

"Lie? About what?"

My gaze fell to Lila as my answer, before he then hung his head. 

"I was told it was a medical impossibility… that only a miracle would allow me to have a child…" his eyes suddenly lit up. "Does that mean she's mine?" He must have deducted this due to my anger. 

"She could be." I spoke as close to the truth while still keeping him at arm's length. 

He nodded before leaning down to Lila. "Well if you are mine, I am one lucky man." He spoke as his eyes also drifted to me, as if his words held a double meaning. Luckily, our food arrived and I wasn't expected to comment further; instead having used my food as an excuse to be silent. 

"But even if it was the case...I still should have worn something...but I'm not sorry for what it created...if she is mine." He spoke the words as if he already knew the truth. "She is precious and perfect-"

"And how did you find me?" I questioned. 

"Well that took about three months." My eyes shot up. Usually a guy loses interest after a text that just reads "k" and he actually looked for me for that long...I couldn't hide how it touched my heart.. among other things. "I didn't know your last name but I knew you were into literature; specifically Ruth Ware." I was impressed with his remembrance of details I had long forgotten. 

"I remembered how you said you were part of a book club with your college and I thought it must have a f*******: page...so I scoured them and found your school. But when it wouldn't list your graduation-"

"I didn't graduate." I said shamefully as I evaded his gaze. 

"Why not?" 

My eyes shifted to Lila who was now falling asleep to the melodic sounds drifting over her via the restaurant speaker. As I looked to her, I noticed how a few other culinary connoisseurs looked to me with aggravation in bringing a baby to such a lavish establishment. I ignored them but the judgement they cast towards me had remained in the back of my mind. 

"I still take a class but it might as well be a hobby…"

"Well you were too close to quit. Why don't you let me take Lila when you need to work on school?" My eyes shot up to him once more. I felt uneasy in this proposition as I was unsure who he was. He must have sensed this as he reaches his hand out to mine for reassurance. "I can stay at your apartment or you can come to my hotel and you can work there. I mean...if she is mine, I would like to spend time with her. And even if she isn't…" he paused before continuing. "I'd like to spend time with you."

My heart began to race like a jackhammer as I reached for my water. 

"Why don't you think-" before he could finish, a brute of a figure emerged at the side of our table. For a minute I ignored it before realizing it was Nate. 

"Are you f*****g kidding me?!" He spoke loudly, silencing all other conversations around us and forcing the looks of judgement to increase onto me. 

"Nate-"

"Who is this asshole?!" He questioned while leaning down to Luke in an attempt to intimidate him. However, nothing seemed to work as Luke stood with class-unaffected by his presence; aside from an annoyance. 

"Why don't we talk outside? I think we have disrupted their dinners enough." As Luke tried to handle things with class, Nate took him by his collar and forced him onto his back over the table and into our slightly devoured food. 

"Stay the hell away from my family One Tree Hill." He commented on the fact that Luke definitely held similarities to Chad Michael Murray from the once beloved show. 

"Please stop…" I pleaded with Nate as he released Luke, before pulling me from the restaurant and then yanking Lila from the table. She began to cry loudly at the mix of screaming and sudden jerk as I attempted to reassure her before Nate forced me to look at him as we now stood outside. 

"You ditch me for a different prick and then expect me to just accept it?! I gave up everything for you! What is this about, huh? I've waited for months for you to give it up to me….you had no problem before-" before I could keep my hand at my side, Nate was relieved of Lila from my own grasp just as Luke emerged from behind me and knocked Nate out cold. 

I couldn't lie. I was impressed and severely turned on. But my mind focused on getting Lila away from Nate. 

"Let me get you home." He spoke as he led us to a taxi waiting for us and slid us both inside before finally leaving the scene. 

"Can we go to your hotel?" I asked nervously. But without having to explain further, he knew very well the nature of my request and switched the address to the driver. 

Once we arrived, Luke paid the taxi driver and pulled Lila with, who was now content with her own thumbs, before leading me to a large room that overlooked a small lake. The curtains drawn and the bed unslept in, I took comfort in this place-unaware the comfort lied in being with Luke. 

"I'm just going to change really quick…" he spoke while locking the door behind him. I nodded and watched from my peripheral vision how he had undressed in the bathroom. If not for the mirror positioned perfectly upon his vanity, I would have missed the chance to see his body once more. Only it was different from the last time I had seen him. He was still in immaculate shape, but bore a few new scars; some that appeared new. 

"Who is that guy?" He asked as my eyes drew from his body and to my hands that were nervously fidgeting together. 

"My...ex…" I explained the best I could. 

"Oh…" he realized this had been his paternal rival. "He could be Lila's father?" My silence drew him out from the hotel; leaving him shirtless before me. I swallowed hard; desiring him while also finding myself intimidated by him. "I'm just trying to understand...you don't have to tell me."

"It's complicated." I spoke truthfully. 

"I can see that…" he commented with a smile. By now, Lila was falling asleep with an adorable double chin that formed from her choice of angle. We both took in the sight before he broke the silence that formed between us. 

"I didn't come here expecting Lila...but I did come wanting to get to know you. If I would have known that you were struggling with her-" I moved to him and surprised us both with the embrace that transpired between us. I felt him envelope me, his skin hot against whatever part of mine had been exposed and in contact with his own. 

"I never thought I would see you again…" he spoke with relief in knowing he had. "But I don't want to make things more complicated for you…" his words forced him to pull back from me. "But I'm here if you need me. I will be until you don't…" 

"I…" I found myself lost in his eyes and his kind words. His hands remained on my arms as we spoke, keeping us connected. "I don't think I'll ever not need you…" I found myself caught up in this moment as I leaned upwards on the tips of my toes before leaning in for a kiss.