A Love Like This (Book 1) (20 page)

Mike yells after him,
 
“
Clearly this one
’
s special so I
’
ll let you have her.
”

Tucker shakes his head as he quickens his pace to catch up with Leila.
 
Mike sits on the bench and texts Amy.
 
He looks up from his phone sees Tucker kissing Leila and feels a twinge of guilt.

_______

“
Did you make nice with your best friend,
”
 
I ask Tucker once he catches up with me in the quad.

He picks me up and kisses me gently.
 
He puts me down and hugs me for a long time.

“
Is everything ok?
”
 
I ask.
 
There
’
s something different about the way he
’
s looking at me and I
’
m not sure what to make of it.

“
Everything
’
s great,
”
 
he says bringing the palm of my hand up to his lips and kissing it softly.
 

I touch his face.
 
“
Are you sure you
’
re ok?
”
 
 
He nods yes.

I link my hand in his and pull him towards the dorm.

When we
 
enter the room
 
Pookie
 
is laying flat on his back on my bed wrapped in a purple
 
snuggie.
 
 
Nickie
 
is laying on her side next to him in sweats and an oversized t-shirt.
 
Sarah has showered, changed into her favorite hello kitty night gown and is buried under a mound of blankets with only her feet showing.

“
So I take it you guys aren
’
t ready to go out.
”
 

“
Uh uh,
”
 
Pookie
 
says.
 
I think there might have been something stronger than marijuana in that shit Topper gave us.
 

“
Well Duh, he looked like he was one step away from stealing TV
’
s for crack,
”
 
I say.

Topper graduated from high school with Riley, Mike and I.
 
 
“
He
’
s on meth. I wouldn
’
t suggest you smoke anything he gives you,
”
 
Tucker says.
 

“
Great, now he tells us,
”
 
Sarah says from her cavern.

Nickie
 
cracks open one eye and looks up at Tucker.
 
 
“
Oh God
 
Pookie
 
told me what happened.
 
I
’
m so sorry. I
’
ll pay for the dry cleaning.
”
 
She says and hides her face under a pillow.
 

Tucker smiles.
 
 
“
I
’
m glad you
’
re ok.
”

“
You guys should eat something it
’
ll help with the hangovers,
”
 
I say.
 

I walk over and pull the blanket away from Sarah
’
s face.
 
She says,
 
“
No,
”
 
and snatches it back up.

Pookie
 
pee
ks out from his
 
snuggie,
 
“
We ordered a pizza so why don
’
t you two love birds go out and we
’
ll meet up with you later.
”
 

“
Alright let me change clothes.
”

“
I
’
ll help,
”
 
Tucker says and starts to follow me.
 

Pookie
 
extends one finger from under the
 
snuggie,
 
“
No you stay she
’
s got it covered.
”
 

Tucker winks at me and says,
 
“
Just trying to be helpful.
”

I change into tan leopard print
 
jeggings, a thin long sleeved fitted white shirt that clings to my waist and stops right in the middle of my butt.
 
I put on silver hoop earrings, charcoal gray leather booties
 
and a cropped gray mohair sweater vest.
 
Back in the
room Sarah,
 
Pookie
 
and
 
Nickie
 
are sitting up in bed eating pizza.
 
Tucker is thumbing through drawings on my drafting table.
 
 
“
You look amazing,
”
 
he says.
 

“
Pookie
 
picked it out.
 
I hope it
’
s not too much.
”
 

Pookie
 
chimes in with a mouth full of pizza,
 
“
There
’
s no such thing as too much.
 
He stands up, dusts his hands off and hands me a red Coach satchel.
 
 
“
Sarah told me about your little situation this morning.
 
I took the liberty of packing a few things you might need.
”

“
Honestly Sarah,
”
 
you told my uncle?

“
Yes, I told him damn it.
 
You need to get laid,
”
 
she says pointing at me with a slice of pizza.

Tucker smiles and wraps his arms around me.
 
He buries his head in the crook of my neck.
 
 
“
Oh God, she told you to didn
’
t she?
”

“
I have no idea what you
’
re talking about,
”
 
he lies.

“
As soon as we pull ourselves together we
’
ll meet up with you guys.
 
I
’
m thinking we should explore the Castro tonight.
”
 
 
The Castro District is a predominantly gay area of San Francisco.
 
 
I
 
love
Pookie
 
more than anything and I will never even consider dating someone who
 
disapproves of him.
 
I search
 
Tucker
’
s face for signs of homophobia but he is staring at my ass with the same horny expression he always has.
 
 
“
Ok just call when you
’
re up and out,
”
 
I say as we leave the room.

Chapter 9

 
 
 
 
 
Tucker drives a Chevy Charger
.
 
It
’
s big and rugged the complete opposite of Mike
’
s car.
 
He probably can
’
t afford a flashy car on a student teacher
’
s salary.
 
He doesn
’
t strike me as the flashy type anyway.
 

“
I want to show you something before we go to The Cave.
”

“
What is it?
”

“
It
’
s a surprise,
”
 
he says merging onto interstate 80.

We cross the Bay Bridge and maneuver through the crowded streets of San Francisco.
 
Tucker reaches across the seat and holds my hand as we ride in silence for most of the drive.

“
Alright, I can
’
t take it anymore.
 
Where are we going,
”
 
I say looking up and down the tree lined streets.
 
Tucker just smiles.

He parks in front of a meter and I check my makeup while he puts in change.
 
He opens the door and takes my ha
nd.
 
We walk three blocks past
stores and office buildings.
 
I have to walk quickly to keep up with him because his legs are twice as long as mine.
 
We stop in front of a brown brick building that I recognize right away.

“
It
’
s the gift shop
 
Frank Lloyd Wright
 
designed,” I say.
 
Frank Lloyd Wright is one of the most influential architects of all times.
 
 
The brick arched door way of the building is so distinct.
 
It was designed to attract attention and draw customers in and that’s exactly
what it does.
 
It is impossible to pass this amazing structure without gazing in awe at its unique design.

“I have wanted to see a Frank Lloyd Wright building for as long as I can remember.
 
How did you know?”

“I saw your reproduction of the
 
Guggenheim Museum
 
in your sketch book and I thought you might want to see its predecessor.”
 
The Guggenheim Museum in New York is also a Frank Lloyd Wright building.
 
It was build after the gift shop but has similar architectural features.

I walk over and touch the building.
 
“It’s so beautiful.
 
Thank you,” I say feeling a lump in my throat.

“Next time we’ll go see the Guggenheim,” he says walking behind me and enclosing me in his arms.

I lean back and rest my head against his chest. “It’s a date,” I say knowing it will be years before I can afford a ticket to New York.

We look around the gift shop for a few minutes and Tucker buys me an overpriced book about Frank Lloyd Wright
’
s work. From the gift shop we head over the Golden Gate Bridge and into Marin County.

“
Who are we meeting here,
”
 
I ask as we pull into the drive way of The Cave.

“
We
’
re meeting Sarah
’
s brother Riley.
”
 

The Cave is a trendy restaurant and bar with an outdoor grill and live DJ.
 
He finds a parking spot gets out and walks over to open my door.
 
I step out of the car and Tucker
 
places both hands around my waist and lifts me until we
’
re eye to eye.
 
I drape my arms around his neck as he nuzzles against me.
 

“
You smell like fruit,
”
 
He says kissing my neck.