Falling fast

Chapter 6

-Sharon

She flashed a grin. "That would be fantastic. Thanks again."

I hurriedly made my way to class after leaving the office, where I had just finished quickly folding the papers and stuffing them into my bag.

The next couple of days went by very quickly, and Luke, to his good fortune, was not discovered staying over that night. My parents were the only ones whose presence we truly needed to fear, as his were absent from the house such a large percentage of the time.

It turned out that he got along much better with the person who cleaned his house than he did with his own parents. Because the Hannigans ran their own pharmaceutical company, which they both served as CEO of, they spent a lot of time away from home.

Luke never let on that he struggled with loneliness, despite the fact that this was the case. It was his preference to spend as much time as possible at my home and in the company of my family. I had the impression that he would make a permanent move into my home if he were given the opportunity to do so.

Saturday arrived, which was a relief, but in my opinion it arrived much too soon. I was full of excitement as I finished packing up my camping gear. Just a little while after lunch, Luke arrived here to pick me up.

Because he owned every piece of camping equipment imaginable, there was no danger that we would be forced to spend the night in deplorable conditions. He owned a six-person tent that was divided into different sections that served as bedrooms.

There was also a small sitting area in the middle of the tent, and the tent's exterior was outfitted with a canopy that provided shade for anyone who wished to use it. Luke enjoyed going camping. It seems that it was something that he did with his dad when he was a young boy; of course, this was back before Mr. Hannigan became too busy to spend time with his son.

"Hey there, sweetie, are you completely ready to go?" As I descended the stairs with my backpack on my back, he questioned my whereabouts.

I gave him a nod and a smile while I sized him up. Today, he was wearing jeans that fit loosely and a plain white T-shirt that fit him well. He looked very dashing.

Even though today was going to be a good day, tonight was going to be even better because I was going to get to relax around a camp fire and eat s'mores that Luke had prepared to perfection. "Yeah, did you get everything you needed? We're going to make a pit stop at the grocery store, right?

I inquired while mentally running through the list of things I was supposed to bring. Luke told me that the only things I needed to bring were the clothes I was wearing and a smile that suggested I was interested in him.

"Yeah, we're going to make a pit stop along the way. "Come on then, let's get going before your brother or dad start to lecture me about looking after you again," he suggested while quietly laughing to himself. "Come on, let's get going before your brother or dad start to lecture me about looking after you again."

My father emerged from the lounge with a frown on his face, as if he had been waiting for this moment. "You guys all done? Could I get a moment of your time, Luke?

While subtly exerting pressure on his hand, I murmured, "It's too late for a stealthy exit."

Before following my dad into the kitchen, he laughed and planted a kiss on the top of my head. I felt such compassion for Luke; he must have had a lot of love for me to put up with the overprotective behavior of the male members of my family and to never complain about it.

I sagged into the seat next to my mother on the couch. "Why don't you try to rein in your father a little bit? Shouldn't he know Luke well enough by now that he doesn't have to have that conversation with him every time we go out for the night? While I was leaning my head against her shoulder, I asked her.

She touched the side of my head with her finger. "You are aware of your father's personality. Overprotective. It's part of his personality, and Alex has it too, so I'm afraid you and Luke are doomed," she replied while laughing to herself. "Drives me crazy sometimes too, but it's part of his personality, and Alex has it too."

I sighed and nodded. "Lucky Luke is so awesome that he doesn't care," said one of his friends.

It made my mother laugh. She concurred and said, "Yeah, Luke's awesome." "And despite the fact that your father makes a show out of making fun of him and other things, he likes him too," she said.

They came in together giggling a few minutes later, indicating that whatever conversation had taken place between them had obviously been successful. "Are we all set to go at this time?" I inquired while making a begging face at Luke. It would take us two hours to drive up to the location where he wanted to camp near the lake, and we would need to make a pit stop along the way to get some food. After that, it would take him a little while to set up the tent. I really wanted to get going already. I didn't want to be doing that too late because I was eager to get the fun started as soon as possible.

My father nodded as he grabbed hold of my hand and helped me to stand up. "That's right, you can't go off on your own; you have to stick with Luke." And if you do happen to come across a bear, just make sure you outrun your quarterback and you'll be fine. As he continued, he leaned in close to me in a conspiratorial manner and said, "Perhaps trip him so that he gets mauled instead of you."

I couldn't help but laugh and give him a hug, all the while hoping that he wouldn't come up with anything else that we could be lectured about. "I will do. Please give my regards to Alex. I stepped back and flashed Luke a friendly smile before subtly diverting my eyes to the exit so that he would not linger for a moment longer than was absolutely necessary.

He gave me a friendly smile before picking up my bag like a gentleman. His soft and gentle demeanor was completely at odds with the tough and macho exterior he presented. When he was with his friends, he changed into a different person; he was still adorable to me, but he became loud and was sometimes quite rude. It was a blessing that he didn't drink all that frequently because he had the potential to be extremely annoying when he was inebriated.

My parents accompanied us as we made our way to Luke's Jeep, where they gave us safety instructions that included avoiding danger in the water and the woods, and informing them of our well-being by letting them know when we returned home.

I heaved a sigh of relief as we were finally pulling out of the drive, and then I took a seat in the vehicle. I couldn't contain my enthusiasm as I raced over to Luke. It was going to be heaven to be in his company for the next twenty-eight hours without having to deal with any interruptions.

The camping trip was amazing, just like it was every time I went away with Luke. It was the same for both of us. He went above and beyond, transforming what might have been an uninteresting camping trip into an experience that was both romantic and unforgettable.

We had lain down in the open air, eating s'mores while chatting and laughing with one another. When the moon had reached its full phase, its reflection could be seen in the water next to where we had set up camp. It was so quiet that it felt almost like being in paradise. Later, he had snuck up next to me in the darkness of the night and whispered how much he loved me and how he planned for us to buy a summer place on the lake so that we could visit it on the weekends.

He also mentioned how he wanted us to buy a boat so that we could go fishing together. He had painted a vivid picture of how we would swim off of the jetty and how we would get a boat so that he could teach our children how to fish the same way that his father had taught him to fish when he was young.

The entire journey had been a mystical and unforgettable experience from start to finish. It was the most memorable occasion of my entire life, and I knew that I would never forget it.

Sadly, it seemed like time flew by, and before I knew it, it was Monday, and we were back to living in the real world. When I got out of Luke's car, I discovered that I would not be able to get away from his friends this time.

As I sat there on the hood of his car, I kept sneaking glances at my watch and wondering how long they could actually talk about a football game without getting bored. When the conversation turned to Ricky and the two girls he had slept with on Saturday night, I was unable to maintain my composure any longer and had to excuse myself.

I pushed myself off of the car and looked at Luke with a fake smile, pretending that I hadn't just sat there listing all of my favorite music in my head in an effort to block out the ramblings of the idiots that he called 'friends.'

I did this in an attempt to block out the noise that was being made by the people that he called his friends. I gave him a curious look and shrugged while saying, "I need to go meet this Jerry guy." He looked intrigued.