Lucky In Love, page 1
Lucky
In
Love
By
Karina Gioertz
Copyright © 2012-by Karina Gioertz.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the consent of the author, except where permitted by law.
Lucky In Love is a work of fiction. All characters and subject matter are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to real persons, alive of dead, is entirely coincidental.
“So I’ll be on the road again
Searching for that open Door
Because the very thing you think I’m running from
Is the very thing I’m looking for.”
Table Of Contents
Lucky At Life
Car Pooling
Lunch With A Side Of Tara
Speed Dating
Gabe The Babe
The Rules Of Saturday Brunch
I Thought You Wanted Pancakes…
First Dates And Other Minor Disasters
All That Followed
Crotchless Panties? Why Bother?!
And In Front Of Grandma Pearl…
Couch Shopping
Lindsay Rose
Another Trip Around The Sun
It’s My Party…
Wisdom Of Experience
New Dawn
Noah’s Secrets
Boxes
The Night Before
Me And Lucky?
An Unexpected Offer
Change In Reverse
Chapter 1
Lucky At Life
I've always loved this house, with its rustic charms and warm personality. Even though it has been repainted many times over the years, the worn edges of the outer walls still seem to show through as the paint continues to chip in those very same spots. The interior walls aren’t much different. In fact, the kitchen and bathrooms were still covered in the same wall paper they had been plastered with sometime in the sixties. I told myself that they had been around so long that they had come back into style, but most people did not share that opinion. What I proudly proclaimed was vintage, others dismissed as old and used up. But I knew better. My favorite room in the house has always been the sitting room off of the kitchen. With its low ceilings and original windows, it possessed an element of mystery and magic that I long for even as an adult. In the corner, stands an old wood burning stove, yet another jewel left behind from its original structure. On the wall right beside the stove is a built- in little sitting nook. This is where I would curl up with a book as a child and get lost in the adventure it held within its pages.
This house was my Grandma Pearl's and when I was a little girl I must have spent every weekend here with her. Best part of my childhood.... at bedtime she would tell me the story of the night I was born. It was her birthday and she had spent all afternoon getting ready for her big party, which was supposed to be a surprise, but if you knew my Grandma Pearl, you'd know there was no surprising her...ever...well, except maybe once. When she showed up to be properly surprised, all she found was an empty room and a big stain on the carpet from where my mother's water had broken. So, she got to spend her birthday at the hospital. She always said I was the best birthday surprise she ever got. Then she would look me right in the eye and get very serious.
“You do realize what that means, don't you?” she'd say. “You were born Lucky. You always remember that, ok?”
Then she'd kiss me good night and I would fall asleep believing every word she'd said. Anyway, she was right...I am a lucky girl...a very, very, very lucky girl. You’ll understand why in just a moment.
These days this house is all I have left of Grandma Pearl, but that’s okay. Within these walls she’s still alive and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel her with me. And not just because I’ve kept her ashes in an urn on the mantle. This house contains her breath, her love and the lessons she’s taught me. I can’t imagine ever feeling lonely as long as I have this house to come home to. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have a few warm bodies around the house as well.
As luck would have it, I have three extra warm bodies surrounding me at all hours of the day. Three very handsome bodies at that.
It was early Friday morning, as I made my way down the hall away from my bedroom and down the stairs. Once at the bottom, I passed through the living room before arriving at the kitchen where all three of my favorite bodies were gathered. Gabe was just getting ready to go on his morning run and was leaving very little to the imagination as he stood there leaning against the counter in nothing more than his running shorts and his bare skin. Exploiting every delicious muscle as he twisted his upper body back and forth in an effort to stretch as best he could in our extremely small kitchen. His caramel colored skin was flawless much like the rest of his body. The only thing even remotely unkempt about his appearance was his hair, which he allowed to grow wildly, all the while claiming it was a strategically styled ‘fro. Regardless of the reason, the hair added just enough chaos to make an otherwise perfect male specimen flawed and real, in turn only making him more attractive.
Right beside him was Noah, who was busy searching the fridge for something suitable to drink. After a moment of maneuvering the leftovers and condiments, he was at last able to retrieve a bottle of water. Noah was taller than Gabe, leaner too. While Gabe was stocky and stored muscle in bulk, Noah was lean and trim with the perfect amount of muscle mass conveniently located around his belly button. Not that his belly button was visible that morning, since he was fully clothed. Best I could tell, he had only just returned from an overnight outing he had undertaken the evening before.
As I caught his eye, he flashed me his trademark smirk and gave me a mischievous wink, which I immediately dismissed. Noah had baby blues that could put a spell on you if you dared maintain eye contact with him for any considerable amount of time. I had seen it happen time and time again with one girl after the other and I had vowed many years ago that I would never fall victim to his dark magic.
Standing closest to me was Jason. At first glance, Jason was hard to read. His shaggy brown hair and black rimmed glasses were hard to miss, making it easy to focus on them rather than the beautiful face hiding in the background, but the moment he opened his mouth to talk or to smile, his good looks took center stage. Not only did he have a smile that could make your heart melt, he also had big brown eyes with eyelashes that would turn most girls green with envy. If Gabe was a jock and Noah the bad boy, Jason was just plain beautiful.
As I stood there taking in the view, the scent of scrambled eggs and cheese caught my attention.
“Morning, Boys. Jason, you made Breakfast? I love you!”
Without missing a beat he handed me a plate and kissed me on the cheek.
“Coffee's right behind you.” He pointed at the pot sitting on the counter between Gabe and Noah.
“Thank you!” I strolled over in between the two and reached for a mug from the cabinet. As I was pouring my coffee, I gave Noah a once over.
“Did you just get home?” I asked, fully aware of what the answer would be.
“U-huh,” he nodded and I could see the naughty glint in his eyes that was ever present.
“Whore,” I sneered. He remained unfazed as always.
“Maybe, but what matters is that I always come home to you,” he smiled broadly and reached out to give me a hug to which I remained unresponsive.
I wasn’t about to encourage this behavior. Instead, I responded as snidely as I could, “Of course you always come back to me. You're like this stray cat I fed once six years ago and now I can't get rid of you.”
“Ouch!” Noah reached for his heart as though it had just been speared by my very words.
Gabe grinned at me, acknowledging that I had won that round, as he passed by us and made his way towards the back door.
“Ok, well, I'm going for a run. I'll see you guys later. Oh, hey Lucky, are we still on for tonight?” He turned back to look at me.
So did Jason.
“I thought tonight was my night!?” he said, pointing his spatula at me in a most accusing matter.
Ok, stop! This is not what it looks like. I'm not some kind of slut shacked up with three men, nor have I founded my own cult resembling some sort of reverse mormonism...although I should look into that. No, we are all just roommates. We've lived together for years. Since college, actually. The wonderful guy who made breakfast, Jason, well, we were lab partners in college, he's pretty much the only reason I made it through the sciences...anyway, now we both teach at the same school.
Then, there’s half naked Gabe. He is my friend's little sister's boyfriend. He moved out here from Colorado so they could go to college together, only to find out that she changed her mind and decided to go to school in New York at the last minute. Nice girl that one...anyway, it was just supposed to be temporary when he moved in, he swore he would be up and out of here in no time. Well, that was four years ago and here we are. His girlfriend is still in New York pursuing her dreams and he is still here...waiting for her.
And who could forget, Noah? Good ol’ dirty Noah. I put myself through college bartending at a bar downtown and Noah was a fellow bartender. One night his flavor of the month kicked him out and left him homeless, so I took him in. Anyway, he has turned into the unwanted hair on your upper lip, you can wax it, bleach it, pluck it out, but it doesn't matter - it always co
Then of course, there’s me. No need to explain how I wound up here, it being my house and all, but I suppose I could explain why I opted for three male roommates in spite of the many misconceptions and the frequent inappropriate assumptions about our living arrangement. Well, the truth is, men scare me. I know, I know, you just had that ‘Wait, what?!’ moment. Allow me to elaborate. When it comes to dating, you could say that I am somewhat of a magnet for disasters. While I always have the best of intentions and in the beginning truly believe that I have found what can only be described as the epitome of the ‘nice guy’, as time goes on the nice guys turn out to be duds…sometimes worse; my last relationship for instance. I’ll spare you the boring details, but suffice it to say, that my judgment in men cannot be trusted. So, in an attempt to shield myself from future dating doom, I created this lovely wall of men to hide behind. Men who are entirely unavailable to me for different reasons, but whose company I genuinely enjoy. It’s perfect you see, because they not only keep me safe, they’re also quite nice to look at.
But back to our living arrangement ~
Last but not least, there's Grandma Pearl, resting comfortably on the mantle in her usual spot, completing our little five-some. And no, that's not creepy...it's sweet. Anyway, the five of us have become our own sort of family over the years. We’ve become accustomed to one another. Confide in one another…yes, I would even go so far as to say, that we honestly love one another.
Now that that’s all cleared up, where was I? Oh yes, the boys were fighting over me…I love that part.
“Actually, tonight is my night. I have a date.” With that, I grabbed my coffee cup and swiftly moved passed them and out of the kitchen.
“You have date? With who?” Naturally Noah wanted to know.
“It's with whom.” But there was no way I was going to tell him.
“Okay, English, just answer the question.” Noah was relentless.
Gabe jumping in didn’t help matters any. “Yeah. Do we know the guy?”
“Is it someone from work?” Now even Jason was hounding me.
“What is with you guys?! You act like I never go out with anyone other than you!”
“You don't.” Noah was such an ass.
“Yes, I do!” I was beginning to get pissed off. Partially because I was angry they were putting me on the spot about a situation I was already mildly embarrassed about, but mostly because they found it so unbelievable that another member of the opposite sex might want to spend the evening with me.
Without engaging with them anymore, I put down my mug, picked up my bag and walked towards the front door.
Gabe started to follow me. “Wait, where are you going?”
“You really aren't going to tell us?” Noah called while still standing in the kitchen.
I ignored them completely. Instead I reached for my car keys that were hanging on the key hooks by the door and grabbed ahold of the door knob. Then I turned back one last time and smiled.
“Bye, Boys. And remember-don't wait up.” Immediately after, I marched right out, leaving them all behind to wonder and contemplate just who my mysterious date could possibly be.
Seconds later, Jason tossed the spatula he had been holding this whole time onto the counter, before scurrying off into the living room. “Shit.” He muttered, while frantically pulling together papers and files that had been spread across the coffee table and shoving them into a messenger bag. Noah and Gabe followed him.
Noah was shaking his head sympathetically.
“I know. I can't believe she won't tell us. He must be ugly or nerdy...or married...or really old.”
Jason stopped what he was doing for a moment to look up at him. Exasperated he said, “No, not that. She's my ride!” Moments later he was running out the door after me.
Chapter 2
Car Pooling
“Thank you for waiting for me,” Jason said gratefully as we were driving to work.
Without taking my eyes off the road I replied, “I can't believe you thought I would leave without you. Are you sure your car will be done today?”
“It better be. I know it's an old car, but at this point they could have built me a new one and been done by now!...So, about this date...”
I had turned my head to look at him for just the slightest second while he had been talking about his car, but the moment he mentioned that dreaded D-word again, my head shot right back in alignment with the road.
We sat there in silence as he waited for me as I mulled it over, battled it out within me, lost and finally spilled the beans.
“Ok, if I tell you, you have to promise to keep it a secret! Gabe and Noah cannot find out!” My pitch may have been a tad high towards the end, and I was quite certain that my eyes had done the big bug eye thing they did whenever I became even the slightest bit anxious or agitated. However, if I looked like a mad woman, Jason gave no indication of it.
“Ok.”
“Say it!” I had blown it, the crazy was out at full blast.
“I promise I will keep it a secret. What is the big deal?” Jason had clearly begun to be amused by me.
I took a deep breath and then let it back out loudly.
“It's not so much a date...Tara is making me go to speed dating with her.”
“Oh.” He was careful not to make any eye contact.
“What?”
“I didn't say anything.” Jason innocently threw his hands up at me, as though he had no idea what I was talking about. This only fueled my paranoia.
“But I know you're thinking it!”
As our conversation had progressed I had spent less and less time looking at the road, until in the end, my eyes had become solely fixated on one thing. Jason. While I had been completely unaware of this, Jason suddenly realized it when he noticed he could reach out and shake hands with the pedestrians beside us. Seemed I had veered a little off course and had wound up on the side walk. Thankfully, I had also slowed down to about seven miles an hour, so no harm had been done. I waved apologetically at the power walkers we had nearly side-swiped and made my way back to the main road. After that, I was no longer concerned with getting distracted as I was certain I was too mortified to ever make eye contact with Jason again.
He on the other hand, had now taken up staring at me. Not that I could blame him, who wouldn’t be hard-pressed to take their eyes off of a maniac who was driving the car and essentially had everyone’s life in their hands. As I felt his eyes burning into the side of my face, I tried hard to maintain my focus on the road ahead.
“You have no idea what I'm thinking,” Jason said flatly.
“Oh please, you are thinking that it’s totally pathetic! Well, I will have you know that a lot of professional and successful people go to these things! It's not easy to meet someone you know? You don't know! When have you ever had a hard time getting a date?!” I was quickly returning to my previous state of embarrassed exasperation.
Jason grinned.
“Actually I was thinking about going too.”
I hadn’t seen that one coming.
“What?”
He finally broke the stare he had had locked on me for nearly five minutes now and settled back into his seat. But attempting to relax in a car that had nearly been the death trap he couldn’t escape, was easier said than done. Still he continued shifting around while welcoming the return of conversation.
“Yeah, I think it would be fun. I've been wanting to check one of those events out.”
“Why?” I asked suspiciously.
“For all the reasons you just said,” he said as casually as he could, but he couldn’t hide the smirk that crept up around the corners of his mouth, as he spoke. Finally, I understood.
“You are such a liar. You just want to go because Tara is going.”
He laughed and shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe.”
I shook my head at him and made little effort to hide my disgust.
“Fine you can come, but you know the Tara thing - it's never going to happen.”
“Why do you say that? You don't know.” Jason had an air of confidence about him that was enviable, and therefore annoying.
“Of course, I know. She told me.”
“She actually used those words, it's never going to happen?” He was back to staring at me.
