Falling fast

Chapter 3

Sharon’s pov

I was unable to move from where I was standing, and I couldn't help but wonder whether or not she was going to take him back into the kitchen so that I could open the front door and get Luke out, or whether or not she intended for me to get Luke out while they were kissing.

They finally pulled apart from the kiss, and Dad laughed. After wrapping his arms around her, he questioned her, "What was that for, Riley Bear?"

The response from the mother was that she "just wanted to kiss you, that's all." She signaled for me to move by pointing her finger firmly at the front door a couple of times while she was standing behind my dad and doing so behind his head. Luke firmly gripped my hand as we inched our way closer to the entrance while he silently counted the steps.

My father poked fun at my mother by asking, "And you didn't get enough of that this morning?" in an effort to get her to laugh.

“Eww!” I sputtered and jerked back in horror as I contemplated what exactly that meant. Luke put his hand over my mouth and pushed me gently, which caused me to walk a little bit quicker to the door.

I was startled when I heard more kissing sounds coming from behind me, and I shuddered. After taking the last few steps to reach the door, I opened it carefully while trying to maintain as much silence as possible. Luke was able to get through, and as he was saying goodbye to me, I blew him a kiss while he squeezed my hand.

The reason he had wanted to stay over was so that he could be the first person I saw when I woke up on my birthday. He was going to be back in a short while anyway to pick me up for school, but he had just really wanted to stay over. He had that endearing quality about him from the beginning. I let out a wistful sigh before closing the door, but I completely forgot to be as quiet as I ought to have been.

Hey, what are you up to right now?

The sound of my father's voice caused me to cough up a bit of blood. "Er, I was going to, um... get the paper for you?," you mumble. I made a feeble attempt.

He laughed as he held the folded newspaper in his hand and continued to laugh. He chirped, "I got it, sweetie, but thanks," as he came bounding over to me and pulled me into a hug that was so tight it broke my bones. "Happy birthday! Oh man, my baby girl is now an adult in the eyes of the law. He couldn't believe what he was seeing and kept staring at me in shock.

I laughed and nodded. "Yep, so can I get a tattoo?" I inquired with only a modicum of irony. If he said yes, I knew I had to get one today at the very latest.

He looked at me with a single brow raised. The only thing that he said was "No," and I couldn't help but smile at that. As he drew me toward the kitchen and the aroma of something scrumptious that was wafting through the house, he beamed at me with a grin of pure joy. "So, what do you think you'll get for your eighteenth birthday? Anything nice?"

When I thought about the locket that was currently around my neck, I couldn't help but smile. As I joked with him while wrapping my arm around his waist, "I guess I'll have to wait and see if the birthday fairy has been," he responded.

When my twin brother Alex and I were younger and too excited to go to sleep the night before our birthdays, my father would tell us that if we didn't go to sleep, the birthday fairy wouldn't come. He told us this when we were too excited to sleep the night before our birthdays. When we entered the kitchen, I couldn't help but laugh as I took in the sight of the many pink and blue balloons, the happy 18th banners, and the presents that were strewn across the dining table.

"Well, it looks like the birthday fairy stopped by!"

My dad had a grin on his face, and I excitedly chewed on my lower lip. Even though I had to go to school today, I knew it was going to be a good day because at lunchtime, I was going to get to hang out with Luke. Tonight the whole family was going out to eat together, and both of my grandmother's and grandfather's sets were going to join us.

I was successful in persuading my parents that Luke should accompany us on our trip because he was considered to be a member of my "extended family." The following day was going to be Friday, and that meant that Luke was going to take me out to a club for an all-ages night to celebrate my birthday.

However, Saturday night would be even better than that because on Saturday, Luke and I were going to go camping by the lake by ourselves. I let out a sigh of contentedness. My life was absolutely ideal, and I had no doubt that eighteen will be the year of my breakthrough.

I pulled my long brown hair back into a ponytail, as I do on a daily basis, and dressed in my typical casual attire of jeans and a plain fitted T-shirt. I did not bother applying any makeup, as is my customary practice. Since I wasn't exactly what you'd call a girly girl, things like that just weren't part of my typical approach to getting dressed. When I heard Luke calling out from the kitchen, I stopped skipping down the stairs and turned to face him. He was having a conversation with my father.

He told her, "Clay, it's only camping; we've been there before, and you weren't bothered by it."

I thought I heard a deep sigh. "Yes, but Alex and some other friends went at that time as well. All I'm trying to say is that you should make sure to look after her properly.

I'm not fond of the idea of the two of you spending the entire night together in silence, but I suppose I should get over the fact that she's an adult now. When Dad spoke, his voice was a little rough around the edges.

"To tell you the truth, there is absolutely nothing for you to be concerned about. "I promise to look after her always," Luke said in response. I was curious about the length of time that my father had spent interrogating him because he sounded extremely frustrated.

Since I hadn't heard him arrive, I had no way of knowing whether or not he had been interrogated while I was in the shower getting ready for school. For all I knew, he might have been. In spite of the fact that my father occasionally threatened Luke and made other inappropriate comments, Luke and my father got along swimmingly most of the time.

"Look, the thing is that you two are moving on so quickly, what with the whole thing about applying to the same colleges... Simply put, I don't want any errors to sabotage your futures in any way. Do you comprehend what it is that I am trying to say?

"Yes, of course," he replied. Luke responded casually, "Sharon and I are always extremely responsible in situations like that," as if having a conversation with my father about our s****l lives was nothing out of the ordinary. "I know that we're young, but you knew you were in love when you were our age, and by the time you were our age, you and Riley were already married," she said.

My father responded in a defensive manner by saying, "Riley and I are different; I'd known her my whole life."

"And I've known Sharon ever since we were both thirteen," the speaker continues.

I came to the conclusion that it was time to put an end to this discussion before my father became irritated or anything else of the sort. In all honesty, he liked Luke, but the thought of his little girl growing up was just too much for him to bear. It didn't seem to bother him that Alex went to parties or hooked up with girls all the time, but the idea of his daughter having a steady boyfriend was something else entirely.

As I rounded the bend in the hallway, I made a throat clearing motion, which immediately got their attention. I joked to them, waving my hand between them, "I'm ready to go whenever you're done with this little man-to-man chat," and I was ready to leave whenever they were.

Luke gave me a smirk as he looked at me, and my father gave me a sheepish grin, as though he'd been caught in the act. "I just finished explaining to Luke about the potential danger posed by bears on Saturday night. It's possible that you'd be better off not venturing out tonight just to play it safe. The suggestion came from Dad, who was quietly laughing.

I shrugged. I joked and went along with the conversation by saying, "We'll take anti-bear spray."

Luke let out a hearty laugh before rising to his feet from the step stool he had been perched on, advancing toward me, and placing his arm across my shoulders. While he was holding up a bouquet of daisies and whispering "happy birthday" to me, he also kissed the side of my head. This was the flower that he chose to give to me. When we first started dating, I made a joke about how they were my favorite and told him that it was because their name rhymed with mine. Because of this, he always bought them for me. Daisies became his thing after he realized that I did not consider them to be among my favorites, but since the impression had been made, he continued to favor them.

I gave him a grateful smile and pressed myself up against him, feeling butterflies in my stomach because he was there. I drew him in closer to me and pressed my lips against his as I grabbed the front of his grey hoodie and pulled it over my head. After hearing a loud and dramatic throat clearing coming from the direction of my father almost immediately, I took a few steps back and glared at him. It was clear that it was okay for him to make out with my mother on a regular basis, but I wasn't even permitted to kiss my boyfriend hello on my birthday. I find this to be extremely offensive.

"Thanks, Luke." As I reached my hand into the back pocket of his jeans while smiling at the flowers below me, I smiled up at him.

He looked at me with eyes that were gentle and kind, smiling as he brushed his knuckles across my cheek. His smile was infectious. He asked my father with a sly grin, "Are you ready to go before your dad starts hounding me again?" My father rolled his eyes but smiled despite himself. "You ready to go before your dad starts hounding me again?"

I nodded, chuckling. I took a few steps back and then turned to give my father a peck on the cheek. "I can't express how grateful I am for all of the presents, even though you didn't have to get me all of that." They had gone above and beyond this year, buying me a wonderful new laptop that would be ready for me to use when I started college in a couple of months, as well as a lovely new watch.

He made a dismissive motion with his hand. "You were celebrating your eighteenth. Your mother and I were under the impression that you were more interested in having a laptop than having a car of your own... He trailed off while looking at me hopefully, as if he suddenly had second thoughts about the choice that they had made. They had given my brother a car as a gift; it was just a basic vehicle for him to use as he got his feet under him; it was neither new nor particularly noteworthy; however, he adored it and dashed out of the house wearing nothing but a pair of boxers just so he could try it out. I wasn't even certain that he had arrived back yet.

I gave a friendly smile and a nod. "I adore the laptop; it's incredible, and it's miles ahead of a car in terms of utility."

The man smiled, which caused his shoulders to relax. I don't think your brother would agree with that.