Happy Birthday

Luke was crazy to think that he wasn’t any good at telling stories. Just the sound of his voice caught Evie’s attention and she knew that she had a wide, goofy grin on her face the entire time he was telling her. When he talked about his travels and the people he’d met, she found herself falling even deeper into a trance where Luke was the only thing that existed. He had her full attention every time he spoke about the watch and the man that had given it to him and when he mention that he liked it because he was a Slytherin, she felt her attraction to him strengthen even more. This had to be crazy, how could she feel something like this for a person that she had only met once before?

She agreed reluctantly when he suggested that they go, but she knew he was right. It was getting late and she really did need to get home and feed her cat. Evie stood and followed Luke to the door as he held it open. She turned towards the woman and thanked her for the hot drinks and for letting them stay as they had – surely it was past time to close up. When she finally turned back around, she realized that she was right on the edge of the threshold and Luke’s words to be careful were just an echo in her mind. She took the step too quickly, her foot planting awkwardly on the slippery stones and within the next second, she felt herself falling backwards through the air. It only lasted a moment before she hit something hard and she knew it was Luke as they both went tumbling to the floor, landing in a heap in the doorway with Evie awkwardly pressed up against him. The sensation of him being so close to her sent a flicker of fire throughout her whole body and her breath caught in her throat as heat rushed to Evie’s cheeks, never having been so mortified in her entire life. The redhead looked over her shoulder at Luke. “Oh my god, I am so sorry. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?” her voice was full of concern and she looked him over, checking for any visible injuries but not finding any.

“I’m fine,” Evie told him when he asked about her. Of course she was fine, she’d landed literally on top of him. She barely felt the impact from the fall because of him. “Thank you for….catching me,” she said, trying to keep her voice as even as possible though it was proving harder than she could have ever imagined. With her body pressed so tightly up against his and his hands now resting on her waist, she could hardly process a single thought without it being filled with Luke’s presence.

She knew they needed to move before someone became suspicious about them and just as the thought crossed her mind, Luke began moving her, using his hands to shift her off from on top of him and onto the floor. In the midst of the movement, his fingers slipped under the hem of his jacket and brushed against her hip and she immediately locked eyes with him, catching the sudden worry on his face before he quickly muttered an apology and stood, his touch leaving her all together. Unable to even begin to form words in her brain, Evie took a deep breath that was intended to calm herself, although she wasn’t sure that it helped much, and then took the hand that Luke was offering to her in order to help her stand up.

When they were both vertical again, Evie turned back to the woman who had a look of concern on her face and assured her that they were both fine before heading out the door once again, only this time she made sure to heed Luke’s warning and watch her step. As they stepped out into the cold night air, she realized they had been in there a lot longer than she had thought. “What time is it anyway? I wonder if everyone is still at the bar.” Not that she wanted to go back, she was just curious, as per usual.

Evie shook her head quickly as he asked if she wanted to go back to the bar. “No, of course not.” Going back to the bar was the last thing she wanted to do, followed by returning home and ending her night with Luke. “I’m having a good time with you,” she admitted and spared him a quick smile before quickly looking ahead again, wanting to hide her rosy cheeks that hadn’t appeared because of the cold.

She was walking slightly closer to him than she had been when they were out before and every couple of steps, their sleeves would just barely brush against each others – unnoticeable unless someone was looking hard enough. If she was smart, she’d put some distance in between them but she couldn’t bring herself to move. She liked being able to feel him touching her, even if it was barely there. At least it was giving her something to hang onto.

Evie looked up at him when he asked if she would be at the store the next day, regret filling her eyes as she realized that she wouldn’t be and her hope of seeing him again washed down the drain before she was even able to get her hopes up. “Actually, I won’t be there. I have to make a book delivery to Rigby Street tomorrow. I’ll only be at the bookstore for a few moments to pick up the order.” She tried not to sound too disappointed but she was sure that it was evident in her voice. She wanted to see Luke again more than she wanted to do anything but she couldn’t miss her visit to Dorothea tomorrow. The old woman would surely have her head.

Evie was surprised to hear the sudden concern in his voice and she was instantly reminded of a few hours ago, back in the bar with the strange drunk man who was hitting on her. Luke had been protective of her there, leading her away from him without a second thought and not wanting her to return to the bar by herself and now he was worrying about her walking through Knockturn Alley alone. Evie knew she should be a bit offended, though she was sure that he wasn’t saying it to be insulting. But….the way that he was acting, his protectiveness over her only seemed to fuel her attraction for him. She found it incredibly…sexy. She’d never used the word to describe anybody before but there really was no other way to describe him. Everything he did just screamed the word and Evie couldn’t help but be excited by it all. Nobody except for her brother had ever been so concerned about her well-being before and yet, Luke had demonstrated that concern for her twice in one night.

“I’ve gone several times, Luke and I’ve been fine,” she told him and then smiled tightly at him, trying to hide the fact that she wasn’t necessarily telling the whole truth. While she had never been physically hurt, she’d heard plenty of snide remarks that resembled the one she’d heard at the bar from people that looked like they hadn’t showered in months. Nothing bad at ever happened though, didn’t that count for something?

She heard the icy tone of his voice as he asked about Nate and once again wondered what it was about. As much as she found the deliveries to be inconvenient, she enjoyed her visits with Dorothea. Nate wasn’t much of a people person anyways, which is why she had volunteered in the first place. “Of course I know who I’m delivering to. And…Nate stays behind and works the register because I don’t know how. So I have to go,” she explained and hoped that he couldn’t see past her weak attempts at fooling him. She knew it wouldn’t work, the man wasn’t daft and she was a terrible liar.