Finding Home by Lauren K. McKellar Page B

state, I knew that this may not have been the smartest question. Alarm bells started going off in my brain.
    ‘No, she’s not coming. You heard us talking about it in Music…remember?’ His words were slow, like he was trying to figure something out.
    ‘Okay, cool. She doesn’t seem to like me much, so I thought I’d check. I smiled. I knew I didn’t sound very convincing, and Nick didn’t look like he bought it for one second.
    ‘Amy.’ Nick paused. ‘Don’t do that.’
    ‘Do what?’ I asked. Did he know?
    ‘If it’s what I think it is, just be a better person and don’t.’
    Nick walked away for real this time. Whatever . It didn’t matter. Luke had looked at me again. Everything was okay.
    ‘Drink up, Amy.’ Lily passed me a fresh glass. I took it from her and drank, this time taking in as much of the sickly sweet sugar as I could handle.
    ‘What did sexy Nick want?’
    ‘Sexy? You think he’s sexy?’ I asked.
    ‘Are you kidding? Have you seen his tattoo?!’ Lily exclaimed. ‘The guy’s a borderline god!’ For some reason, something inside me twinged when she said it. I didn’t like the idea of Lily checking out my Nick.
    Not that he was my Nick. Not really. I was not interested in him. Not one bit.
    ‘He just wanted to chat with me about Music,’ I said, changing the topic. For some reason I didn’t want to tell her that Nick had asked me out. It was private and none of her business. And I’d said no, so it was irrelevant.
    ‘So how’s things with Kyle?’ I asked. I gave the couch a quick check and was rewarded with empty space, plain old blue suede. No Luke! He must have moved when Lily had passed me the drink.
    I started glancing around, trying to locate him but only succeeded in finding the group of guys who’d tried to kiss me at Rachel’s party again. They’d noticed me, too, and were looking in my direction. I felt uncomfortable and shifted my weight from one foot to the other. Nick wouldn’t have said anything to them, would he?
    ‘Hey…’
    It was Luke. Luke had come over to talk to me! I gave a nervous laugh, unsure of what else to do. Everything seemed a bit funny. And slidey. Yes, that was it. The room was definitely swaying a little, from one side to the other.
    ‘Hey, Luke.’ Kyle sloped over. They did some weird handshake thing that made my head hurt as I tried to concentrate on the quick movements.
    ‘Kyle, wanna go grab another drink with me? Looks like Amy could use some water,’ Lily said.
    ‘I’m fiiiiiine,’ I replied, smiling. She was so sweet.
    ‘Yeah, she’s fine,’ Luke agreed, smiling down at me.
    ‘I think I know a little more about what Amy needs than you do.’
    ‘Well, how about I get her a glass of water right now?’ he said.
    ‘Can I come?’ I asked.
    ‘Are you sure?’ Lily’s face looked a little worried, lines of concern radiating from her brow. It’s okay, I think he maybe likes me , I wanted to say. Or, at least we’re friends. Friends who occasionally touch legs in Music. And who have been flirting like crazy for the last couple of weeks.
    ‘It’s fine, Lily,’ I slurred, giggling again. I felt a warm hand at my hip, helping me stay upright. Luke’s hand, I realised. The warmth of his touch spread right through me, until I was throbbing from head to toe. I wanted his hand to stay there forever.
    ‘Come on, Amy.’ Luke guided me toward the back of the house. I beamed up at him. God, he was good-looking. And he wanted to spend time at a party with me. Me! It was almost too hard to believe.
    He led me out of the house and into the backyard, and then took me through a side gate that led to the street outside.
    ‘Where are we going?’ I asked. I felt a little bit of sobriety return and clung onto it like a straw. I had to focus. I had to stay in control.
    ‘We’re going for a walk,’ he said. His hand was still on my waist, his arm wrapped around my body protectively. It felt delicious, enticing. This was what I