Free Falling (2 page)

She smiled and walked back towards the door again. “I made
you a coffee too, Luke.” She waved her hand at the tray dismissively.

When she closed the door Luke and I looked at each other and
burst out laughing. He pushed me down into the bed and pulled the covers over
our heads, pressing his almost naked body against mine as he grinned at me in
the semidarkness. “Your mom is so cool,” he said, kissing my cheek.

I nodded in agreement. I definitely had the best mom going,
she was easy to talk to, supportive and never judged me for anything. She
completely understood my decision to sleep with Luke a year ago and took me to
go and get on the pill when I was ready to take the next step. She’d made
everything easier for me, and I loved her for it. Luke wasn’t allowed to stay
over, but I usually snuck him in for special occasions like valentine’s day or
birthdays.

I was definitely lucky when it came to my parents, my dad
was awesome too, but so overprotective that it was annoying sometimes. But I
guess I could understand that, I was his little girl after all, and it mostly
worked out in my favour too considering I was a total daddy’s girl and got
spoilt rotten most of the time. 

“You’d better get dressed and leave before my dad catches
you in here though,” I suggested, giggling as he flinched. My dad didn’t have a
particular problem with Luke, he would probably treat any boyfriend I had the
same; he liked to test him and tease him to make sure he wasn’t going to run
away and hurt me. You’d think that after a year and seven months that he’d
finally give up and accept that Luke wasn’t going anywhere though.

“Yeah, good idea.”

He kissed me one more time and then pushed himself out of
the bed looking a little reluctant to leave. I smiled and watched as he pulled
his jeans on, looking around for his T-shirt that he’d taken off of me and
thrown somewhere in a fit of passion. I spotted it on the sideboard on the other
side of the room and giggled as I nodded to it. He grinned and slipped it on,
before reaching for my hand and pulling me out of the bed so I could get
dressed too.

While I threw on some pyjamas, I could feel his eyes on me.
“You know, I think you look even hotter at eighteen than you did at seventeen,”
he mused as I pushed my arms into my robe.

I laughed and slapped his chest as he went to wrap his arms
around me again. “Come on, let’s get you out of here,” I suggested, taking his
hand and heading towards my bedroom door. Easing the door open, I stuck my head
out, looking everywhere to make sure the coast was clear. Lucky for me my
bedroom was right at the top of the stairs and the front door was at the
bottom. He just had to get down thirteen steps, cross the short entranceway,
and then we were home free.

When I saw no one, I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of
the room, both of us almost sprinting down the stairs. Just as I got to the
bottom step, I saw a blond head appear in the doorway of the kitchen. I held my
breath, skidding to a halt and Luke slammed into me from behind because I’d
stopped so suddenly. His arm snaked around my waist quickly to stop me from
falling on my butt as we both looked up with wide eyes.

Oh no, please be Alex and not Dad!

Of course, I wasn’t that lucky, it was my dad - but he
hadn’t noticed me because he was studying the newspaper as he was walking
through the door. My mom walked up behind him, smiling, when suddenly her eyes
widened as she must have seen Luke standing behind me. I silently begged her
for help with my eyes. Almost immediately she grabbed my dad’s hand, giving it
a little tug. He turned around to face her, turning his back on us as she
wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. I gulped, a little grossed
out. I should have been used to it by now though, they were always kissing like
loved up teenagers when they thought they were alone. Unfortunately, parent
kissing didn’t get easier to witness no matter how many times you were
subjected to it.

I was stuck on the spot, wondering if she was going to take
him back into the kitchen so I could get the front door open and get Luke out,
or if she meant for me to get him out now while they were kissing.

They broke the kiss and Dad laughed. “What was that for,
Riley Bear?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her.

“Just wanted to kiss you, that’s all,” Mom replied. She
pointed her finger forcefully at the front door a couple of times behind my
dad’s head, signalling for me to move. Luke squeezed my hand and we both crept
forward towards the door, counting the steps.

“And you didn’t get enough of that this morning?” my dad
teased, causing my mom giggle.

“Eww!” I hissed, cringing at the thought of what that meant.
Luke’s hand clapped over my mouth, pushing me gently, making me walk faster to
the door.

More sounds of kissing started from behind me again, and I
shuddered. When I made the final step to the door, I opened it slowly, being as
quiet as possible. Luke slipped through and I blew him a kiss as he squeezed my
hand as a goodbye. He’d be back in a little while anyway to pick me up for
school, but he had just really wanted to stay over so he could be the first
person I saw when I woke up on my birthday. He’d always been adorable like
that. I sighed dreamily and closed the door, forgetting to be as quiet as I
should have been.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

I gulped at the sound of my dad’s voice. “Er, I was going
to, um… get the paper for you?” I offered weakly.

He laughed and held the up newspaper in his hand. “I got it,
sweetie, but thanks,” he chirped as he came bounding over and pulled me into a
bone crushing hug. “Happy birthday! Oh man, my little girl a legal adult.” He
shook his head, looking at me in awe.

I laughed and nodded. “Yep, so can I get a tattoo?” I asked,
only half joking. If he said yes I was definitely getting one today.

He raised one eyebrow at me. “No,” was all he said, and I
couldn’t help but smile. He grinned happily at me as he tugged me towards the
kitchen and the smell of deliciousness that wafted through the house. “So,
think you’ll get anything nice for your eighteenth?”

I grinned, thinking about the locket that was hanging around
my neck. “I guess I’ll have to wait and see if the birthday fairy has been,” I
joked, squeezing my arm around his waist. That was something he used to tell me
and my twin brother, Alex, when we were younger and were too excited to go to
sleep the night before our birthday, that if we didn’t go to sleep then the
birthday fairy wouldn’t come. When we stepped into the kitchen I laughed as I
took in the array of pink and blue balloons, the happy 18th banners, and the
presents scattered over the dining table. “Well the birthday fairy’s been in
here!”

My dad grinned, and I chewed on my lip excitedly. Today was
going to be a great day, sure I was going to school, but I’d get to hang out
with Luke at lunchtime. Tonight we were all going out for family dinner; both
sets of my grandparents were coming too. I’d managed to convince my parents
that Luke needed to come with us because he was part of my ‘extended family’.
Then tomorrow was Friday, which meant that Luke was taking me to an all ages
night at a club to celebrate my birthday. Saturday night would be even better
though, because on Saturday Luke and I were going camping near the lake, just
the two of us. I sighed contentedly. My life was just perfect, and eighteen was
definitely going to be my year.

Chapter 2

I dressed in my usual casual attire of jeans and a plain
fitted T-shirt, scraping my long brown hair back into a ponytail, the same as
every other day. As usual, I didn’t bother with any make-up. I wasn’t exactly a
girlie girl so things like that didn’t happen in my normal dressing routine. I
skipped back down the stairs and stopped when I heard Luke’s voice in the
kitchen. He was talking to my dad.

“Clay, it’s only camping, we’ve been before and you didn’t
mind,” he stated.

I heard a heavy sigh. “Yeah, but Alex went then too, and other
friends. All I’m saying is that you’d better take care of her. I don’t like the
idea of you two being alone together all night, but I guess I need to accept
that she’s an adult now.” Dad’s voice was a little gruff as he spoke.

“Honestly, you don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll
always take care of her,” Luke answered. He sounded extremely exasperated so I
wondered how long my dad had been grilling him for. I hadn’t heard him arrive
so for all I knew he could have been subjected to the inquisition the whole
time I was showering and dressing for school. Luke certainly put up with a lot
from my dad, but other than the occasional threats and stuff they got on
great. 

“Look, it’s just that you two are moving on so fast, what
with the whole applying for the same colleges thing… I just don’t want any
mistakes to mess up your futures. You understand what I’m saying?”

“Yeah, of course. Maisie and I are always really responsible
like that,” Luke replied easily, as if talking to my dad about our sex life wasn’t
anything out of the ordinary. “I know we’re young but you knew you were in love
at our age, you and Riley were already married by the time you were our age.”

“Riley and I are different, I’d known her my whole life,” my
dad countered defensively.

“And I’ve known Maisie since we were thirteen.”

I decided it was time to put an end to this conversation
before my dad started getting annoyed or anything. He honestly did like Luke,
but he just hated the thought of his little girl growing up. He never seemed to
mind Alex going to parties or hooking up with girls all the time, but a serious
boyfriend for his little girl was something entirely different.

I cleared my throat as I walked around the corner, gaining
their attention immediately. “I’m ready to go whenever you’re done with this
little man-to-man chat,” I joked, waving my hand between the two of them.

Luke smirked at me and my dad grinned sheepishly, like he’d
been caught in the act. “I was just telling Luke about the potential bear
threat for Saturday night. Maybe you should just stay home to be on the safe
side?” Dad suggested, laughing quietly.

I shrugged. “We’ll take anti bear spray,” I joked, playing
along.

Luke laughed and stood up from the stool he was perched on,
coming over and draping his arm across my shoulders. “Happy birthday,” he
whispered, kissing the side of my head as he held up a bunch of daisies. That
was his flower of choice for me. He always bought them because when we first
started dating I’d joked and told him they were my favourite because they
rhymed with my name. He’d since learned that they weren’t my favourites, but it
kind of stuck, so daisies were his thing now.

I smiled gratefully and pressed against him, my stomach
fluttering because of his presence. Gripping the front of his grey hoodie, I
pulled him closer to me and pressed my lips against his. Almost instantly a
loud, dramatic throat clearing came from my dad’s direction, so I pulled back
and shot him a glare. Clearly it was alright for him to make out with my mom
all the time, but I wasn’t even allowed to kiss my boyfriend hello on my
birthday.

“Thanks, Luke.” I smiled down at the flowers as I slipped my
hand into the back pocket of his jeans.

He smiled and brushed his knuckles across my cheek, his eyes
soft and tender as he looked at me. “You ready to go before your dad starts
hounding me again?” he joked, grinning slyly at my dad who rolled his eyes but
smiled despite himself.

I nodded, chuckling. I stepped away from him and kissed my
dad’s cheek. “Thanks so much for all my presents, you didn’t need to buy me all
of that.” They’d gone above and beyond this year, buying me a wicked new laptop
ready for when I went to college in a couple of months, and a beautiful new
watch.

He waved his hand dismissively. “It was your eighteenth.
Your mom and I thought you’d rather the laptop than a car of your own…” He
trailed off looking at me hopefully, as if he suddenly doubted their decision.
They’d bought my brother a car, just a starter car of his own, nothing new or
special, but he’d loved it and ran out of the house wearing nothing but a pair
of boxers just so he could test drive it. I wasn’t even sure he was back yet. 

I smiled and nodded. “I love the laptop, it’s incredible,
and it’s way better than a car.”

His shoulders loosened as he smiled. “Not sure your brother
would agree.”

“Yeah but Alex just hates driving around in Mom’s cherry red
Rover.” I held up my flowers to him. “Can you ask Mom to put them in a vase for
me?”

“We’d better get going, Maisie,” Luke said from behind me,
tugging on the end of my ponytail playfully. I smiled and took the hand he was
offering, letting him pull me out of the kitchen. I couldn’t stop the excited
grin that spread across my face. Today I was eighteen, a legal adult; I was the
baby of my group of friends so this day had seemed to take forever to get here.

“Have a good day at school. Don’t forget we’re going for
dinner tonight. Your grandparents will be here at six!” my dad called as we walked
out of the door.

As we pulled into the parking lot, the car was immediately
swamped with people, the same as it was every morning. Luke’s friends and teammates
all converged around us, wanting his attention about some sport that was on
last night that I just wasn’t interested in. I put on my polite fake smile and
stepped out of the car. I couldn’t stand Luke’s friends, they were complete and
utter jerks, and I genuinely had no idea why Luke hung around with them at all.

“Luuuuuuuuke!” Ricky jeered, playfully punching him in the
ribs. I tried my hardest not to groan as I looked longingly at the front door
of the school. I didn’t want to stand here today and listen to them drone on
about football, parties, girls and more girls. I just wanted to get inside and
talk to people who actually liked me, instead of people who tolerated me
because I was dating the quarterback.