Free My Lucky Days: A Novel by S.D. Hendrickson Page A

to wear this pair until I came back. Thought I might give them to you as a present. Something to hold while you fall asleep. Something that smells like me.”
    “Gross.”
    “Nothing says sexy like sweaty balls and sweaty boxers.”
    I couldn’t stop laughing. “Stop!”
    “Wait. Isn’t that a song? The sweaty balls song. Maybe it should be a song.”
    “No!” I clamped a hand over my mouth, trying to keep quiet. It was a little after one-thirty in the morning, and I was sure Skylar and Peyton could hear me through the walls. Our voices eventually faded back down to just the sound of our breathing.
    “You never said how the show went tonight,” I whispered.
    “Good. It’s a small place, but you never know who might be in the audience. That’s why I needed to take the slot when it opened up.”
    “Was it just you or did the band play?”
    “Just me this time.”
    I smiled. “I still haven’t seen just you.”
    “You can in a few days. I’m doing one in Tulsa when I get back. It’s at a small bar downtown.”
    “Okay. I’ll tell Peyton and Skylar. They are dying to officially meet you.”
    “Okay.” I heard him yawn.
    As I stared out into the darkness, I felt happy. He was a mess. But I liked that mess. “I’ve never dated a guy like you,” I whispered.
    “Is that a good or bad thing?”
    “Good.”
    He let out a deep breath. “I want to kiss you right now. Pretty damn bad. I’m sorry that I can’t.”
    “You can kiss me when you get back.”
    “Okay,” he whispered. “I’ll keep a tab of all the times I want to kiss you. You better be ready. ’Cause two weeks is a long time.”
    My heart beat faster and my lips tingled from the memory. “Okay.”
    We didn’t talk as I listened to him breathe. I never knew breathing could be so intriguing. The sound was calming, and I closed my eyes.
    He yawned again. “I probably should go. I’m practicing with the guys early in the morning. We are going to do some stuff in the studio while I’m here. And you’ve got class.”
    “Yeah. Okay.” But I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
    “Night, Katie.”
    I had been staring at the ceiling for a good twenty minutes when I heard the ding of my phone. Opening the message, I felt the warm spark inside as I read his words.
     
    L UCKY:
    Watching you as the moonlight shines,
    I keep asking myself,
    Could this girl really be mine?
    So I pull you in close, kissing you softly.
    And then your hands are in my hair.
    My lips are on your skin.
    I want to feel your body.
    I want to touch you again.

 
    T he next few days were not much different than before. The air outside grew colder and the brown leaves blew away in the wind, turning the trees into barren sticks. The sky remained a solid gray and the nights got darker as the world headed deeper into November.
    But the minutes felt sweeter. They smelled sweeter and tasted sweeter.
    I felt the change on the inside. The way my absent thoughts went to Lucky as I wondered what he was doing while I was sitting in class. But it was more than just thoughts. It was the gradual build of anticipation all day, knowing at some point I would hear from him.
    Lucky and I talked every night. Sometimes later than others. And sometimes for hours if he called early enough. The guy could make me laugh—like, doubled-over, hurt-my-sides kind of laughter.
    But I think life was just easier two in the morning. Fewer inhibitions. Fewer filters.
    Life got real at two in the morning.
    I heard more stories of his childhood. The meanings behind some of his songs. He even talked for an hour one night just about his niece and nephew.
    I saw through the jokes. I saw the real Lucky. I knew he cared very deeply for his family. When he loved, he loved hard. It didn’t take much to understand why he still had one foot here and one foot in Nashville.
    Lucky didn’t know how to leave. And that was something I understood.
     

     
    “Turn a little to the left.” Skylar pulled the fabric tighter,