Lucas woke up to the gentle light of the morning sun streaming through his curtains. He was feeling more rested than he had in a long time, and his eyes adjusted to the light, his first thought was of Amy.
The conversation with Amy had left him with a warm feeling, and he found himself looking forward to their next chat.
He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and unlocked it, eager to see if she had sent him the pictures she promised. A grin spread across his face as he saw her name at the top of his notifications.
Opening the message, he was greeted by a series of pictures and videos. The first few were of Amy at the tennis court, dressed in a white tennis skirt and a fitted top, her hair tied back in a ponytail. She looked radiant, her smile wide as she held her tennis racket with confidence. There was a picture of her mid-swing, eyes focused on the ball, showcasing her athletic prowess. Another picture showed her laughing with her partner, her joy infectious even through the screen.
The next set of photos was from the spa. In one, Amy was sitting in a plush robe, her hair wrapped in a towel, her face glowing from a recent facial. There was a short video of her receiving a manicure and in the video she was showing him the various arrays of colors and the one she had chosen.
Another video showed her in the salon getting her hair done, and she was telling him how she had been there with Miley the last time and that the seat she was seated on was where Miley had sat then.
Lucas couldn't help but smile wider as he watched the pictures and videos, feeling a warmth spread through his chest.
He quickly typed a response: [Looks like you had an amazing time. Seeing the result, I guess a little spa time isn't so bad.]
Amy, who was lying in bed watching a romcom, picked up her phone as soon as it buzzed. Seeing Lucas's name, she felt a flutter in her chest and a smile spread across her face. Without hesitation, she called him.
"Good morning, Doc Luca!" she greeted cheerfully when the call connected. "How was your night?"
"I slept well," Lucas replied, a hint of amusement in his voice. "And just so you know, I dreamt of you."
Amy's surprised laughter rang through the phone. "Oh really? What did you dream about?" She asked, curious.
"Well, we were playing basketball," Lucas said, chuckling at the memory. "And I kept winning until you started crying profusely and pleading with me to have mercy on you."
Amy laughed even harder. "That's never going to happen! Good thing you woke up from that dream and returned to reality."
Their laughter filled their ears, creating a comfortable, warm atmosphere between them.
"What were you doing before I texted?" Lucas asked once their laughter subsided.
"I was watching a movie. A romcom," Amy replied. "What about you? What kind of movies do you like?"
"I like interesting movies, it doesn't matter the genre as long as the movie is interesting, I'm in," Lucas said.
"Sounds fair. I don't do horror no matter how interesting, and I'm not a fan of violence and gore," Amy said and Lucas chuckled.
"Why not? Don't tell me such movies scare you and give you nightmares?" He teased.
"I'm not ashamed to admit it," she said and Lucas chuckled.
"What else are you scared of?" Lucas asked with interest.
"Are you asking so you can tease me or because you just want to know?" She asked suspiciously.
"Both. But don't you think it's better I know? I mean now, I won't get a horror movie ticket if I decide to take you to see a movie," Lucas said and Amy grinned.
"Is that your way of saying you want to go see a movie with me?" Amy asked in a teasing tone and Lucas chuckled.
If it were before they began to talk, he would have withdrawn, or assumed she was hitting on him and being too direct, but he had come to understand that Amy loved to joke around with stuff.
When he returned home, he found Tyler in the kitchen, making coffee. "Morning," Lucas greeted him.
"Morning," Tyler replied with a smile as he looked Lucas over.
In the last couple of weeks since Lucas moved in with him, he had come to understand that Lucas only ran in the morning when he needed to clear his head, and something told him this morning's run had to do with Amy.
"How was your run?" Tyler asked with interest.
"Good," Lucas said, grabbing a mug and pouring himself some coffee. "Cleared my head a bit."
"That's good," Tyler said, amused at how obvious Lucas's feelings for Amy were, even if Lucas himself wasn't ready to admit it.
He had seen the way Lucas lit up when he talked about her, the way he checked his phone eagerly whenever it buzzed. It was clear to Tyler that Amy meant more to Lucas than just a friend even if he didn't know it yet.
"Any calls or messages from Amy today?" He asked with a grin.
Deciding not to let Tyler get under his skin, Lucas gave him a nod. "Yeah. Why? Do you have a message for her?" He asked and Tyler chuckled.
"I figured. I'd like to ask her what she did to put you in a mood," Tyler said and Lucas scowled.
"My mood has nothing to do with her. Stop talking her into my head," Lucas glared at him and Tyler nodded, taking a sip of his coffee.
He hoped that Lucas would eventually realize his true feelings and act on them. Life was too short to hold back, especially when it came to matters of the heart.
"So, what's the plan for today?" Tyler asked easily, changing the subject.
Lucas shrugged. "I'm heading out. I have a date," he said, and Tyler raised a brow.
"A date?" He asked in disbelief, and Lucas smiled.
"Yeah. I'm hanging out with one of the ladies in my class. We will study together at the library, and I will probably catch a movie at her place after that," Lucas said, liking the fact that he had succeeded in shutting Tyler's mouth for the first time.
"The girl you said has been making passes at you?" Tyler asked and Lucas nodded.
"Precisely. I'm going to get ready," Lucas said with a smug smile and headed for his room.
The moment he walked into his room, the smile slid off his face and he picked up his phone. He was relieved to see a text from Sam.
She suggested they meet up at her place instead of the library, since she lived alone and she had most of the books related to their program at her home.
Lucas felt a flicker of relief, hoping that spending time with someone else would help clear his mind.
Responding to her text, he asked her to text him her address details and then pushing thoughts of Amy aside, he tried to focus on his morning routine.
He showered, dressed, and made himself a light breakfast, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Amy.
He replayed their conversation in his mind, the sound of her laughter, the way she smiled in the pictures she sent. The thought of her meeting someone else gnawed at him, and he hated how much it bothered him.
Just as he finished having breakfast, his phone buzzed and he picked it up expecting a text from Sam but surprisingly it was a text from Amy who he had expected to be asleep.
[By the way, I lied about meeting someone at the spa. The idea was borrowed from a scene in the romcom. I wanted to see your reaction. I'm going to bed now.]
Lucas' jaw dropped as he read the text and while he was yet to recover Sam's text came in, making him scowl at Amy's text.
How could she even joke about something like that?