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Luke gets home after a long work week including a successful case and puts his bag on the kitchen counter.
Lisa sneaks up on him and hugs him gently from behind. "What are your plans for the weekend, handsome?" she asks playfully.
Luke turns in her arms and looks down to her "I don’t know yet, but today we could watch Rossi’s wedding video, since you were invited and unfortunately couldn’t make it because of the unplanned extra shift."
"Sounds good. Let me fix us some snacks." With that and a peck to his lips she then busied herself in the kitchen with a chips bowel and some popcorn while Luke prepared the video in the living room.
Together they watched trough the colorful summarization of that joyful evening with all of Luke’s colleagues and family and friends from Rossi and Krystall. Lisa pointed out how elegant the wedding dress looked and Luke especially remembered how delicious the wedding cake was.
"That was such a magical evening. I am so happy for Krystall and David." Luke summed-up when the last scenes slowly faded away.
"Yes, I believe you." Lisa said in a quit way.
After a moment she tried to get his attention while he took the disk out of the player. "Luke?"
He turned around after carefully storing the disk back in its packaging. "Yes?"
When he looked at her, he noticed her smile had been replaced by a sad unreadable face like you would see on a stone statue. Her body was stiff and all the joy had faded away.
"Is everything ok?" He asked slightly worried.
Lisa slowly shook her head. "No. No, its not..."
That made Luke raise his eyebrow as he tried to get closer to her to check what the sudden issue was but she pulled abrupt away.
"But it all makes sense now... I guess." There was a defeated tone in her voice.
"What do you mean? What is the problem? Have I said something to offend you?" He asked but had no idea what he could have done wrong to change her mood that drastically. Just a moment ago they were sitting close to each other, watching the video and laughed together about the funny scenes.
"Luke, you can’t be that blind." Lisa challenged him with a bit of anger in her voice.
"Blind? Lisa, what are you talking about?" He started to get annoyed with her being so cryptic.
"The way she held on to you, the way she looked at you. And the way you looked back.. the exact same way." She took a deep breath. "Just make it quick and painless now. There is no way to deny it anymore."
Luke stood up and walked slowly away from her, but then turned around and looked at her again, confusion and slight anger in his eyes. "If you are not telling me what you mean, I won’t guess, I don’t play games."
"Do you? You seem to play a fine little game here. You dare to make me the enemy here? You are the one in love with someone else. Not me." She started to yell at him while tears filled her angry dark brown eyes.
"Love someone else?" Luke repeated in shock starring back at her.
"Don’t play dumb, don’t you mock me!" She warned him while she suddenly got up from the couch. "I will pack a few things and get the rest later on the weekend." With that she made her way in to the sleeping room to pack some cloth and a washing bag.
Luke stood like nailed to the carpet in the middle of the room with wide open eyes. After what felt like an eternity it dawned on him. With who did he dance with nearly all evening? Who did he compliment on her creative cocktail mixing skills? Who was sitting by his side when they played songs both of them wouldn’t want to dance to? Who was looking at him grateful when he brought another drink and held out the chair when she wanted to sit down? And who was standing beside him when the cake was cut?
Without noticing he just showed his (ex?)girlfriend solid evidence that he and her were madly in love with each other and he acted like it was the most natural thing to do. Because it felt so right to be with her, to spend time with her, to touch her and laugh with her so effortless. So much more right then with Lisa. The revelation hit him like a freight train.
He swallowed hard when he realized how cruel that must have been on Lisa and how hurt she must feel now. Finally getting the control of his feet back he went to the sleeping room but Lisa walked already in his way.
"All done. I am out of here now." She said brief and tried to push past him but he made no way.
"I am so Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you." He whispered genuinely towards her.
"Well, but you did. And this is it. We are over. You can go to her and dance with her or do whatever you want to do with her." Lisa said in a cold and slightly mocking way. "I just wish you would have made up your mind before I gave up my place." With that she pushed by him forcefully and left the apartment.
Luke was just starring in to nothingness hating himself right now so bad because he hurt Lisa so much, because he couldn’t admit to himself earlier, that his heart was longing for another woman for so long.
Roxy walked slowly over to him and turned her head to the side looking like she was asking what he messed up this time.
~~~
"What the fudge happened, Luke?" asked a breathless Penelope after hammering on his door at 1 am in the morning.
"Why are you here, Penelope?" A rattled Luke asked still shaken up by the events of the evening holding a half empty beer in his hand.
"Lisa messaged me something about all would be ok now and I should go and see you. What is she talking about?"
"Oh no..." Luke had totally forgotten that Lisa and Penelope had become good friends after there accidental meet on their first date and frequently texted over WhatsApp especially about Luke.
He needed to sit down. That was a discussion he didn’t want to have without having digested the sudden break up yet.
"Where is Lisa? Did you two have a fight?" Penelope walked up to him and put her hand supportive on his shoulder she could feel that something huge was bothering her friend.
"You could say that... do you remember Rossi gave each of us a video from his wedding?" Luke tried to carefully start the subject well knowing he would have to give Penelope some explanation.
"Of course, I watched it right the next day, such great memories and so funny scenes. But what has that to do with anything. Lisa wasn’t there. She was not in the video." Penelope was very confused by the sudden change of subject.
"But she was invited." Luke explained "I thought, she would like to see what she sadly missed because she was really looking forward to go."
Penelope caught up with that connection "Ok, that makes sense. And?" She pushed for him to continue with the explanation.
Luke took a deep breath because he hesitated to continue but finally said "Well, we watched the video today."
That didn’t help Penelope to make heads or tails out of it. "And now she wants to marry you?" was her assumption.
"No! She broke up with me." clarified Luke but left Penelope even more puzzled.
With eyes as big as saucers she asked "Why the hell would she do that suddenly?"
"Because of who danced with whom in the video." Luke tried to stay vague, he just hoped Penelope would give up on her investigation, but knew better.
"I can’t follow. Let me think, Rossi, of course, danced with Krystall, Matt with Kristy, I think Tara danced even with Emely once. How could Lisa get upset about that?" tried Penelope to call back her memories.
"And who danced with me?" asked Luke looking very tense.
"With you? Me, of course..." suddenly it hit her. "ME!?!. She broke up with you because I danced with you?"
"Yeah." sighted Luke exhausted from the whole evening. This is clearly not how he pictured this weekend to progress.
"But we are just friends. We can dance with each other, why does she break up with you because of that?" She couldn’t understand Lisa’s reaction on that. "I guess, I should talk to her and explain that she has nothing to worry. I mean you are clearly not into me and me...” She hesitated to continue bought went on. “Well I am not interested. Of course, I mean we are friends right?" Her look had something pleading and he responded just shaking his head slowly.
"It is not that simple, Penelope." He looked deep in her eyes and continued "At least I hope it isn’t that simple." He couldn’t keep looking at her. It was too much for him to have already disappointed Lisa tonight. Now he was afraid he might be the one getting disillusioned.
"What are you saying Luke?” Penelope asked after what felt like an eternity. “That you don’t see me just as a friend?"
He lifted his head and smiled kindly at her and answered in all honesty "What if I was?"
Now Penelope was the one who needed to sit down. "But you hate me. I always treated you so mean. Why would you even give me a second look?"
"I guess I thought you would never give me a chance. That I had to be with a girl like Lisa, but that doesn’t make me happy. Being away from her, at work makes me happy, because you are there. You are the shining light in all the grim and every day is full off so much joy because of you. No, I do not hate you. I never did. I never could.” His words poured out of his exhausted body and with very syllable he felt more at peace finally admitting the truth to himself and to her too.
“But Lisa is my friend.” Penelope said still shocked. “You don’t steal the boyfriend from a friend.”
“You wouldn’t steal what you don’t want to have, Penelope” Luke stated stoic. Looking at her, searching in her eyes for a confirmation that she might not see him as friend anymore either.
Now Penelope sighted heavy “Well, I guess it really isn’t that simple.” With that she starred in his eyes and lost herself in them, not knowing what else to say, too afraid for what could be and what might not. This was the moment that would change everything and it scared every living fiber out of her body.