A friend, and a possible lover

Valerie

Jake's call came at the most perfect time.

I could still feel her heart racing again as I remembered how close Luke and I were back in the car. If not for Jake's call, I might have shamelessly moaned in his arms.

"Oh, Valerie," his groan after he called my name with his deep sultry was my undoing until I felt him nudging my thighs.

For some reason and sanity fled my head as I felt his hands tighten around my waist. That was the closest I've ever been with a man in my entire life.

"Can we stay like this for a while?" His response when I tried to pull away almost made me drop to my knees before him.

Why did he have to be so attractive?

"Valerie, are you okay?" I heard Lydia's soothing voice, and I raised my head at her.

"I am okay, perfectly fine," I answered, flashing her a smile, but she didn't look convinced.

"Well, even if you aren't, you would be now." She said with a bright smile, and I almost refuted her claim until I saw Luke walking in.

My cheeks instantly felt hot again as I recalled our embrace again.

"Val!" I blinked when I heard a familiar voice. That was when I knew who she was implying.

"Blake?" My gaze slowly dropped from Luke's body to my best friend, whom I had just realized was standing beside him.

For the first time ever, I could differentiate my feelings for the two men before me.

"I know you will be so glad that Blake is here, he brought lots of gifts as usual!" Lydia's excitement was echoed by the crew and within a few seconds, they were all buzzing around him like a bee.

It didn't take long before all the packages in his arms were wrestled away from him.

"How come you didn't reserve one for me?" I pouted as he walked closer to me.

Ever since I met Blake, he has been more supportive than anyone has ever been. He attends my runaways, my fitting shots, my commercials, he was almost at every corner with me in life.

He fitted into the image of an older brother more than anything else Lydia or any of the girls thought he was to me.

"Here- I bought you-

"Valerie, Luke!" Mr. Angelo called out abruptly, walking towards us in haste.

I chuckled inwardly when he almost misstepped, but Blake wasn't nice as I am, because he was snickering at the middle-aged man.

"Stop that," I almost couldn't stop myself from laughing as I cautioned him.

Before Mr. Angelo could get to us, Luke had also moved closer. I didn't know how he did it but he was standing next to me.

His tall frame beside me brought back flashes of our embrace, and I swallowed hungrily. Maybe being in his arms was a wrong move.

My heart was racing every second, and I felt like his smell was distinctly more than before. Why didn't I notice he smells this nice before?

"Valerie, have you explained everything to him?" Mr. Angelo asked the instant he got to our presence and I nodded.

"Yes, I have," I answered in a stiff voice.

Luke might be interested in modeling but at the moment, I knew he was doing this for me, and I can't help but feel slightly guilty for pushing him into the adversity of the fashion industry.

He is physically fit, but I am definitely sure that he isn't fit for the industry. His aura and character don't fit the industry at all.

To be in the fashion world, one must either be submissive, passive or must have mastered indifference.

Luke on the other hand didn't look like a submissive or a passive person.

"Then, we need to fill his information on the application form, can I borrow him for a while?" Mr. Angelo asked.

"Sure," I replied before I turned to face him. This was the first time our eyes met again after that awkward and hot embrace.

"I don't have any information to fill in," Luke answered, and I frowned until I remembered…

"Angelo, Luke has amnesia. He doesn't remember anything from his past. The only thing he could remember was his name and other personal things like" I added the last words in my mind.

Blake's gaze fell upon Luke upon hearing my words, and I almost doubted that he hadn't heard me say Luke had amnesia before.

"What about his last name? Educational qualification? And so on?" Mr. Angelo asked, and I rolled my eyes inwardly at his persistence.

Didn't he hear me say that he only remembered his name?

"Lowell- that's my last name,"

Lowell… his last name rolled on my tongue for a while, trying to figure out if I've ever heard anyone with the same last name before, but I couldn't place it.

Unsure of what else to do, I raised my head to look at him.

Surprisingly, his gaze was on me too.

"What about educational qualifications?" Mr. Angelo's buzzing voice interjected again and frowned.

"I just said he has amnesia!" I asserted strictly, and a deafening silence accompanied it. Everyone stood shock-stricken at me, and I quickly gave a short laugh.

I guess I must have raised my voice a little.

"I think you can handle that part, weren't we the ones that needed him? He can't remember anything for now," I added, trying to lighten the mood, but they all still seemed shocked.

"What's happening here? Why does Luke need to fill out an application form?" Blake asked in confusion as he looked between us.

"I will explain to you later," I cut him off as I faced Mr. Angelo again.

"He might not remember any information aside from his name, and last name, but I have seen him walk. Even though I'm not thrilled about him being a model, I have to agree with you that we really need him." I made sure to emphasize my last words so they can sink into his brain.

It wasn't as if Moria had a choice. Why are they going through a normal procedure?

Silence filled the fitting room as we all waited for Mr. Angelo's reply.

"I suppose you are right," his words came after a few seconds, and I heaved a relieved breath.

Honestly, I hadn't ever wished for a positive response like this for a while, and I was glad that they would give Luke a trial.

I turned to look at Luke with a bright smile on my face. His dark eyes looked uneasy and burdened with questions that I couldn't help but give a word of encouragement. "I know you will do great." I said to him as we held each other's gaze for what seemed like forever.

"Will you be here when I'm back?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Sure, I still have to be here for a video commercial shot. My flight is at 2 pm."

"Mr. Angelo, we are ready." a distant voice called at my manager, and he gestured for Luke to come with him.

"I will meet up with you," Luke muttered, and Mr. Angelo told him to hasten with it before walking back to his office.

"So he is a model now?" Blake laughed after Mr. Angelo left.

"And he is fit to be," Lydia interjected before I could reply. So I didn't bother you to say a word to him, instead I gently pulled Luke aside, away from Lydia and Blake.

"Do you want to say something to me?" I suddenly felt shy talking to him alone. It was as if I was still in his arms, and his hands were wrapped around me. The thought alone was steering an unbelievable sensual ache beneath my stomach.

"Who is Jake?" Luke asked again, as I was surprised for a moment. "Is he your lover?" I chuckled when I heard a jealous tone in his voice again.

He had asked this same question before, and I had evaded it because my brother is my weakness. I don't feel comfortable talking about him most of the time. Was he really that concerned?

"Jake is my younger brother, we are going to the Gala together. He called me to confirm that the other time." I could see the relief in his eyes and I laughed.

"You really thought he was my lover?"

"You are not too young to have one." came his reply as he shrugged and I nodded in confirmation.

"You are right, but I'm a 22-year-old lady with too many responsibilities to even envelop a relationship at the moment." Putting aside my difficult younger brother, my entire family depends on me one way or the other, I also can't fail my dad's expectations of me.

I have to push through all this while I earn a degree too.

"Valerie," I heard Luke called and I raised my head at him.

"Hm?"

"If I shoulder all your responsibilities, will you open your heart to me?"