[ our L A S T summer ]

[lucky whitaker]

Lucky let out a deep, mournful sigh and blew on his too-hot coffee. He was beginning to get looks from the other patrons of the cafe. He had, after all, been letting out similar sighs for the past five minutes, occasionally accompanied with dramatic looks out the window to the street. He knew that Jordan hadn't stood him up, she was probably just busy with something. She had never stood him up, and he couldn't imagine it ever happening. It was simply so much more fun to make the people eating their croissants and sipping their tea to think that he was awaiting a long-lost lover, or a forgotten relative.

He took a sip of his coffee, having given it a considerable amount of time to cool, and made a discreet face. He poured some more sugar in, and added a dollop of cream before stirring. He always drank his coffee with too much sugar and too much cream. He sipped, and didn't make a face.

Jordan...He had spent the majority of his time at war juggling his thoughts between Cassandra, Danielle, and Jordan. She had been his best friend for as long as he could remember having a friend beside Cass, and the fact that he was falling for her disturbed him. How could he like her? She could never feel the same way about him, it was inconceivable. She was the one who reminded him to buy condoms, tutted disapprovingly when he was falling asleep at school from a late night, and had given him a series of cold looks when she first found out that he was sleeping with Corina. He needed to banish the though, and find someone suitable to marry. Someone who wasn't understanding, loving, supportive, and modest. Someone who wasn't Jordan.

[jordan lillies]

Jordan bit her lip, frantically looking for her favorite pair of New Balance sneakers that her parents bought her two Christmases ago. Hey, if the shoe didn't have holes in it and it was comfortable, well as far as Jordan was concerned it worked. Sure, she was running a bit late to meet Lucky, but he knew her too well to expect anything different. She always showed up... just usually a little bit late. Finally, finding it buried underneath her bed, a smile lite her face as she squeezed it on and ran down the hall to the kitchen.

On the counter sat a rather large blackberry n rasberry tart that she had made last night, piled next to all of the other sweets she had made for the previous three days in a row. There sat a forth of a pumpkin pie, three-forths of German chocolate cake, two batches of brownies, cookies overflowing the plate, a cherry pie, and an untouched pecan pie, (we're not going to even mention the food in the fridge for now). Yes, her family was starting to raise eyebrows at her excessive behavior and she had a good feeling about what they were thinking. They thought she was thinking about Lucky. Which was very much the truth in this scenario. Lucky, even the word brought up mixed feelings. These things were suppose to happen in those crappy highschool movies. In real life, you weren't suppose to fall for your best friend. She hated it. She didn't want to think about it at all, so... well she did other things that revolved around baking. Her excuse being that she wanted to have her dad catch up on all the good things he missed. It wasn't the truth and basically everyone knew it, but it would remain the lie that they all agreed upon.

Driving down to Molly's Cafe, Jordan took a deep breath. Lucky had been home for quite a while now, and he was probably going to be ticked it had taken them this long to actually see eachother. Yet, the reasoning behind the space was good, although he was practically family, wouldn't it be a bit intrusive to be there from the beginning? No, he needed some time with Cass and his parents, they would want to spend time with him alone.... that and the fact that Jordan knew that as soon as she saw him, they would probably be inseparable.

As soon as she pulled into the driveway, Jordan felt the anticipation get to her, and she immediately got out of the car, almost forgetting the tart as she did. With a small laugh she brought it out, and didn't even pay any mind to her crooked parking. She just wanted to see him more than anything. She focused on looking for him the minute she stepped into the door, not even hearing the ring of the entrance bell. Yet, it wasn't long til she spotted him: the hair, the long face, and the overly milked down coffee that it practically was a cheap latte. Walking over to the booth, Jordan couldn't help but smile a little nervously and finally said the words: "Hey, Luck."

[lucky whitaker]

Lucky looked up, expecting it to be someone from school who had recognized him. How sad was that? He had been unable to even recognize Jordan's voice when she spoke to him. Then again, she sounded a bit thick. He took a few moments to assess her. Her hair was a little more volumnious than normal, a little curlier. She was slightly on the thin side, but she looked fine. All-in-all, she was absolutely gorgeous. Just that way he had left her.

He stood up slowly, abandoning his now-cold drink and taking a tentative step forward. He wanted to say something charming, witty, typically Lucky, but he couldn't. His mouth seemed disconnected from his brain, making it impossible for him to compose anything coherent or witty.

Moving forward a little more, he opened his arms and wrapped Jordan up in them, pulling her close to him and burying his face in her hair. She still smelled the same, like rose water and brown sugar. In a voice slightly muffled by her curly hair, he was able to choke out "God, Jo. I've missed you too much." He was barely able to suppress tears in his eyes, and Lucky was not one to cry about just anything.

[jordan lillies]

The tart that Jordan had slaved over to perfection for hours the night before seemed to slip from her fingers and, fortunately, landed softly on the table as she felt Lucky's arms wrap around her. Even when they were young, Jordan always felt safe from anything in Lucky's arms. She had never told him that and she never planned on it, because it had always seemed to cheesy and cliche to work with their relationship. Placing her arms tightly around his neck, Jordan relished the security that she had missed for so long. Inwardly she couldn't help but realize how perfect it felt, but quickly she pushed the thought away. She was 'The Best Friend' any other title wouldn't fit.

A trace of cologne and a hint of his aftershave, familiarized itself with Jordan's nose producing memories of that long time ago. All the times when they had their tickle wars when one of them was sad, or even when they curled up together and talked the entire night before he left. All of the worries she had that they never would have their 'Jordan and Lucky' moments again seemed to fade in his presence. A vague prayer went through her head that she wouldn't wake up any time soon. While it seemed that she had dreamed of this for a long time, rehearsed it in her mind constantly, the reality seemed so much better. The feel of his arms, the way he smelled and looked, it all flooded her senses with his memory.

Yes, there were many times when she didn't think this day would come. The news of the war was vague, but the danger was definitely implied. Jo was always scared for his life, just as she was scared for her feelings for him. Hearing the emotion in his voice, made Jordan's eyes tear up. Inwardly she swore, she had promised herself that she wouldn't cry, but obviously this meeting wasn't going to go according to plan. The emotions were to fresh and oncoming that no matter how hard Jordan tried, she could not blink back the tears. Jordan pulled away slightly to see Lucky's face. She needed to reassure herself that it was actually him. Her fingers traced from the wisps of the hair aligning his face to his nose and cheeks, then lips and jaw line, her left hand reached the back of his right ear and found the small scar where she had burned him with a curling iron when they were seven. "Its really you." Jo stated her voice strained by emotion. "I was so afraid that it wasn't going to be you, that I wasn't ever going to see you again."

[lucky whitaker]

Lucky smiled, holding in a laugh. It was so like Jordan to say something like that, that she would be scared that it not be really him. Even though he had left the message on her voicemail, and he knew that Cass must have talked to her, and maybe even Amelia too, she would be scared that the guy waiting for her wasn't Lucky, her Lucky. And that was true, he was entirely hers. Of course, he was Cass's too, but he had always thought more that she was his, his to protect and adore and pamper. But he belonged to Jordan, hers to boss around cry with.

"Of course it's me, who else would it be? I couldn't not come back to you." Oops, had he said that? That was a bit mushy of him, and not at all part of his character. He had to be tough, and not at all let on that he was planning on trying to propose to her...oh wait. He wasn't supposed to be doing that either.

[jordan lillies]

Jordan knew it was silly to think that it wasn't him, but hell doubts had been plaguing her head for the past few days. What if they had sent home the wrong Lucky? What if his feelings for her had changed? A small pout appeared at the edges of her lips as she wiped her tears away, feeling a bit foolish. Hearing his words didn't do much to comfort her doubt but his presence did. Yet, the last part, well she didn't know how to react to it. It was definitely uncharacteristic of him, but within a heartbeat she could have given plenty of excuses on his behalf. The last thing Jordan would ever think to do was to admit that there was a chance between Lucky and her. To get her hopes up, and then have nothing, that was Jordan's worst fear with Lucky. Whether it be in war or love or anything of that nature. The only thing Jordan wanted of him as of right now was to be there for her no matter what. She was just glad that he was here, actually here right now.

Smacking him lightly on the arm, Jo gave a bright smile. "Don't you laugh at me, Mister Whitaker. All have you know, I've been worried sick about you for months." She exclaimed as her mouth formed a slight playful frown poking him in the ribs as she continued, "And you did little to help my sanity, you could have at least given me an occasional I-am-still-fucking-breathing email." With that she poked him again noticing that he had gone a bit skinny while overseas. "Didn't they feed you anything while you were over there?" Jordan asked with a soft sigh not even noticing that she was rambling continuously..

[lucky whitaker]

Lucky’s smile grew and grew with every word that Jordan spoke. She could still do it, just make him laugh by doing absolutely nothing at all. It wasn’t that she was funny, just that he enjoyed talking to her so much that hearing her speak made him want to smile and laugh and throw flowers in the air. Well, maybe not so much throw flowers in the air. And it was true, he should have emailed her. Or tried to call her, or sent a letter, or anything. He just couldn’t, because he was scared of what might come out of him if he tried to contact her. So he had simply not done anything, temporarily severed connections. Although it had hurt, he felt that it was for the best.

He looked down at his own torso and frowned. “I’m not that skinny. They just didn’t give us huge meals. Speaking of food…” His eyes drifted to the tart sitting on the table, looking delicious. “Is that for me? Really Jo, you shouldn’t have. But you did.” He picked up the tart and examined it, sending his friend a puzzled glance. “Since when did you start baking raspberry and blackberry tarts for me?”

[jordan lillies]

Jordan looked up to see Lucky giving his usual smile back at her. How dare he smile while she scolded him! Didn't he know how much she fretted about his safety? Yet, not matter how strong her arguments were to be mad at him, Jordan found that she couldn't. Not while he was smiling at her with his big charming grin. Not while she was finally content with the moment she was in. Not as the worry was evaporating as quickly as water in 105 degree heat. Nope, it had always been this way, Jordan could never get too mad at Jordan for the life of her, especially not now.


Looking back down at his torso with him, Jordan shook her head in disagreement. He was skinny, or at least skinnier that was for sure. "The tart?" She said with a momentary slip of the mind of she had done for him last night. Then quickly it all came back to her, and she shot a glance at the uneaten raspberry n' blackberry tart sitting on the table. She frowned at his question, and quickly dodged it with a mocking glare. "Lucky, since when did you start to question free food?" She said in a stern voice with a goofy grin that didn't match it very well, "You know that I've been cooking since well lord knows when. I just usually don't cook for you, but hell kid you just came back from a war. I figured the occasion was special enough."