Chapter 4

Savannah sat at her desk finishing up the proposal for the new park downtown. All the heavy work was done, so she was aimlessly putting together promo packets, giving herself some time to think. A lot had changed in the past few weeks--the biggest thing being that she was seeing someone. Any spare time she had she spent with Luke. Another change was that she hadn't seen that much of Jane lately, but that was due to the fact that Jane had been really sick. And the last change, which was probably the most significant of all, was that she was going to be in her crummy apartment a bit longer than she wanted. Thinking about the last change also brought a bad taste to her mouth. The brother that she had once loved and admired had scammed her. He took all of her cash, and drained her savings account. She was somewhat lucky in that she was able to close her credit cards before he charged anything to them. Savannah had yet to tell her parents about it. She knew their reactions wouldn't help the situation in any way. She told Luke and he was very comforting. He even tried to give her some of his tip money, but she politely refused. She thought for a moment to recall her conversation with Jane when she told her.
"So, you mean he drained your bank account? What a prick!!!"
"Well, Jane, it's not like I do that bad financially. He really had no money, he wouldn't do this unless he really needed it."
"Really needed it? Girl, I was drunk. But I wasn't so drunk to not notice that he took me to his penthouse at the Four Seasons. And when he brought me home the next morning, we were in a Mercedes."
Savannah cringed as she tried to erase the thought altogether from her memory. She hated her brother. She hoped that she never saw him again for fear of his safety. Glancing at the time on her computer she realized she was late for dinner with Luke. She picked up the phone to call him and let him know.
"Hey babe. Sorry, I lost track of time. I will just have to go straight to the restaurant and meet you there."
"Why don't we just stay in tonight. I will order a pizza or something."
"OK, your place or mine?"
"Yours. Call me when you get there."
"OK, bye."

She should have known better than to fall for the "stay in and order pizza" bit. Upon entering her apartment Savannah saw dozens of flickering candles, some beautiful roses, and could smell the pleasantly overwhelming fragrance of garlic. As she walked towards the kitchen, Luke rounded the table and sat two plates of one of her favorite meals down on the table. Spaghetti.
"What happened to ordering pizza?"
"You like spaghetti more than pizza, right?"
"You had this planned the whole time didn't you?" Luke smirked, then turned and walked towards Savannah. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her as close
to him as possible and planted a gentle kiss on her mouth.


"Are you surprised?"
"Yes, very. Thank you." As they continued to hold each other, Savannah could feel all the stress release from her body. There was something about Luke that made all the bad things in her life disappear. He couldn't have entered her life at a better time.
"Well, shall we?" Luke turned towards the table, pulled out Savannah's chair, and motioned for her to sit down. He took his seat beside her and they both began
to eat.

After dinner Luke cleaned up the kitchen, and Savannah went upstairs to change out of her work clothes. After getting dressed, she threw herself down on the bed. She must have been tired because she almost instantly fell asleep. She woke up to Luke laying beside her, smiling. She wiped the drool from her mouth and glared
at him, "What."
"You're just adorable when you sleep. Drool and all!"
"Oh shut up," Savannah said with a playful push. Luke grabbed her arm, pushed it up over her head and pinned it to the bed. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.

This wasn't the normal kiss Savannah expected from Luke. He was always so gentle and sweet, never pushing any boundaries. There was passion behind this kiss, and Savannah liked it. She lifted her hand to his head and twisted her fingers in his hair. He grabbed her forcefully by the waist and pushed her body underneath his. He reached his hand up to her chest, and then abruptly pushed himself away from her.
"I'm sorry."
"Why? Whats wrong?"
"I-I really like you Savannah. I just don't want to fuck up this thing we have going. You mean a lot to me. I just don't want to push you away."
Savannah rolled over on top of him and kissed him passionately. "So don't." Savannah sat up and lifted her shirt up over her head. Luke sat up and pulled her face to his and began to kiss her again. And then, the phone rang.
"Don't answer it." Annoyed Savannah picked up the phone and checked the caller ID.
"I have to. It's Jane, she's been weird lately."
"Hello?"
"I need you to high-tail your ass over here right now."
"Jane, I am kind of in the middle of something. Can it wait till tomorrow?"
"NO, NOW! It's important. Please?"
"OK. I will be there in a few." Savannah hung up the phone with a sigh and looked down at Luke.
"Somethings wrong. I gotta go."
"Isn't there anyone else she can call?" Savannah was already across the room, putting on jeans and a t-shirt.
"Jane doesn't really have any family, and I am the closest friend she's got. It won't take long." She walked back over to the bed and sat down beside him.
"Stay. I want you here when I get back." He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"OK, I will see you in a little bit." Savannah smiled as he pulled her down to give her a kiss.

Savannah knocked on Jane's door, still not knowing what to expect. Jane opened the door and fear ran down Savannah's spine. She could tell that Jane had been crying. Jane never cried. They had been friends for a couple years and she had never, ever seen Jane even look sad, or afraid--both emotions she was showing now. Savannah hurried inside, closing the door behind her, and wrapped her arms around Jane.

"What's wrong?" Jane fell apart, and began to cry audibly. Savannah guided her over to the couch and they both sat down. After a few minutes Jane seemed to
somewhat pull herself together and started in on her story.
"You know how I have been really sick lately. Well, I went to the doctor today hoping they could give me a prescription to clear it all up. They ran a few tests and found something I wasn't expecting." She began to sob again."And it certainly isn't fucking curable!" Savannah's mind was racing. Her friend was dying of cancer, or a brain tumor, or some strange disease that no one has even heard of yet. Her thoughts were cut short by Jane's growing sobs.
"Savannah, I'm pregnant!"
Savannah said the only thing that popped into her head at the moment.
"Who is the father?" Jane looked up at her with sadness overwhelming in her eyes.
"Your fuck-ass brother!"