My December Darling

12. Catalina

12

CATALINA

M y sister and I load up the dishwasher while Aiden and Luke hang out in the living room. At some point between helping my sister pack away the leftovers and scrubbing some burnt bits off the ceramic casserole dish, Aiden and Luke brought out the unopened Galactic Command Base LEGO set.

I sneak a few glances over my shoulder as they pull out the countless plastic bags full of pieces. The pile grows, along with the crease between Aiden’s brows as he picks up the thick builder’s manual. I’m tempted to grab it out of his hands, but I hold back solely because I don’t want to feed into my sister and Aiden’s attempt at keeping me here. It didn’t take me long to realize why they were trying to hype Luke up to me, and on more than one occasion I wanted to tell them it was pointless.

I can see with my own two eyes that Luke is exactly my type, and the LEGO set is the final nail in the coffin.

Aiden flips through the manual. “I was never into these things as a kid.”

“I heard you were too busy playing doctor with your sister’s stuffed animals to be bothered,” Luke replies.

My lips pinch together to muffle the sound of my laughter, and my sister doesn’t look any better off based on the way she presses her hand to her mouth.

Aiden and Luke keep taking jabs at each other while they organize all the plastic bags by number. They’ve been like this all night, making Gabriela and me laugh numerous times with the way they argue like brothers. It’s funny to watch, especially since I’ve never hung around Luke long enough to see him be more himself.

More… imperfect .

It’s obvious why my sister likes spending time with these two. At first, when she invited me over for dinner, I was skeptical as to why she wanted me to hang around the three of them, but now I understand that Gabriela is creating her own family with Aiden, and she would like me to be part of it, even if it means getting along with Luke.

Truth be told, it isn’t that much of a hardship. Luke has a way of making anyone feel comfortable in his presence, which was something I hadn’t cared to notice before because I was intent on focusing on the bad.

Easygoing? More like putting on a facade.

Polite? He must be faking niceties because our loved ones are getting married, not because he is actually a nice guy who wants to make people feel welcomed.

Friendly? No way he willingly wants to talk to me of all people. No one else bothers with me, so why would he try so hard?

The longer I think about how I’ve assumed the worst about Luke, the more ashamed I feel because it’s only taken a few genuine encounters to realize he really is the kind of guy who likes going out of his way to help others.

Some people really are undeniably good, and in a world like ours, we could use more of them.

“Cata!” Aiden calls from the living room.

“What?”

“Come over here.”

“In a sec.”

I’m about to start cleaning the sink, but my sister drags me along with her. “We can finish that later.”

“What is it?” I ask as Gabriela stops in front of Aiden and Luke, who are seated on the floor beside the coffee table covered with a bunch of plastic bags full of LEGO pieces.

“We need your help,” Aiden says.

“We?” Luke stares at him with an arched brow.

“ I need your help.” Aiden groans, and I bite back a laugh. He is a worse actor than my sister, and that’s saying something. If I wasn’t excited by the idea of helping build the LEGO set, I’d be annoyed at Aiden’s obvious matchmaking attempt.

My fingers tremble with excitement, but I clench my hands to stop me from reaching out to offer my assistance.

This is a trap.

Yet here I am, considering willingly falling into it anyway.

Aiden looks up at me. “Tell Luke about the time I built that IKEA bookshelf for Gaby.”

“Which time are we talking about? Because it took you three tries to get it right, and when she asked for another one, you hired someone off the internet to build it for her.”

“That’s exactly what I thought.” Luke plucks the instruction manual from Aiden’s hands. “You’re officially dismissed. I appreciate the offer to help though.”

Aiden doesn’t look the least bit affronted when he asks, “For real?”

“I can’t risk the structural integrity of the base.”

A small laugh slips out of me, and Luke’s head whips in my direction.

Aiden looks over at me too, his smile expanding. “You think this is funny?”

“Nope.” I take a step back and accidentally bump into my sister.

Aiden scoffs. “My pride is being obliterated here, Cata. Show some damn respect.”

“Aw.” Gabriela kneels beside her fiancé and rubs his chest. “There. There. I’ll buy you some MEGA BLOKS to practice with first.”

“Aren’t those for toddlers?” he asks.

“Fitting since you have the ego of one…” Luke throws the barb with a smile, earning another soft smile from me.

Aiden points an accusatory finger at me. “Stop encouraging him.”

Luke doesn’t bother shielding his bright grin like I do. “Don’t get mad at her for finding me funny.”

“I’m laughing at you. Not with you.”

Luke shrugs. “So long as you’re doing so, that’s all that matters to me.”

My cheeks betray me in that moment, making him smile wider.

Dammit . One week ago, I found ten different reasons to dislike his smile, but now, he has me all torn up inside as I try to navigate this new gray area of our…friendship? Situationship? Relationship? The third feels too serious while the first feels like a lie when a single graze of his fingers across my skin makes me flushed.

Bottom line is that I’m more confused than ever about whatever is going on between us, and I’m not sure how to best go about dealing with these newfound feelings.

“Are you going to stare at each other all night, or are we building this thing?” Aiden reaches for a plastic bag.

Before Luke has a chance to stop him from ripping it open, I steal it from his grasp. “Don’t open that.”

“Why not?”

I point at the number five. “It’s the wrong one.”

“Care to point me in the direction of the right one then?”

I take a seat on the carpet between him and Luke and search through the pile of bags until I find the correct one hidden at the bottom. When I hand it over to Aiden, he ignores me and drags my sister onto his lap instead.

I don’t realize I’m looking over at Luke, wondering what he thinks of their excessive PDA until our eyes connect. His brown irises look darker in this light, and the stubble on his cheek appears thicker than usual, framing his lips.

I’m not sure how long I stare at his mouth, but it must be long enough for him to unleash another smile.

“See something you like?” he says.

Please kill me quickly.

I toss him the bag of LEGOs like it might catch on fire at any moment.

“Want me to open it for you?” The way he says it, his eyes glimmering from excitement, makes me want to say yes. I would like nothing more than to join him in building the LEGO set, but then I hesitate.

Isn’t this what you always wanted?

I think back to all those visits to the mall, watching couples pick out sets together, then going back to my empty apartment to build one by myself. But when I imagined finding a partner who would want to have fun building LEGOs with me, I never thought Luke would be that person.

It’s one night.

Yet it feels like a lot more than I’m ready for, so I do what I do best and pretend to be uninterested, rather than express the way I really feel.

Maybe you’re more like your mom than you think.

Shit. The thought hits me hard, and I’m struggling with an overwhelming sense of sadness for the two of us and our issues with expressing ourselves.

I’m set in my decision to steer clear of the Galactic Command Base right up until Luke rubs the back of his neck, looking more nervous than I’ve ever seen him before. His cheeks, which are usually pale, turn pink as he asks, “Will you help us out?”

Oh God. Is he acting this way because of me ?

I was so focused on myself that I didn’t consider how he would feel by putting himself out there and asking me to help. Based on the wall behind us, it’s obvious he doesn’t need me, so that can only mean one thing.

He wants to spend more time with you.

It’s not a surprise, especially when he was clear about his interest the other day when we were in the car together, but the way I feel about him orchestrating all this just so he could hang out with me makes me feel…

Shit .

It—no, he—makes me feel good , especially since I’m no longer plagued with guilt about liking Luke. It seems silly to do so after my sister and Aiden clearly went out of their way to have us spend time together.

It’s not like this can go anywhere.

No, but you can still enjoy yourself while you’re in town , a small voice in the back of my head challenges the louder one.

It doesn’t take much for Luke to have me reconsidering my choice tonight. Maybe it’s something about the way his whole face turns a bright shade of pink as he avoids direct eye contact, or perhaps it’s the small but noticeable slump in his shoulders when I don’t speak up right away that has me questioning everything.

The thought of turning him down makes me feel worse about the whole situation, so I grab the manual and open it to the very first page. “I’ll help on one condition.”

“What?”

“You promise not to build any of it without me.” My nerves make my voice shake near the end, but I straighten my back and exude more confidence than I feel.

If I’m going to start this project with him, then I’m going to see it through from beginning to end, even if it means spending endless hours with Luke in the process. It’s not like it would be a chore or anything, seeing as I’m starting to enjoy his company instead of avoid it.

Luke holds out his hand, and I reach for it while pretending the tightness in my stomach is from the anticipation of building the LEGO set rather than his touch.

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”