After Three Years, Together Again (Lukas York & Sophie CD)

Sophie Grimes & Lukas York…

Their story goes far back. Back to a time when Lukas was Gavin’s best friend and Soph? She was just Gav’s kid sister. But even back then, there was something about Lukas that Sophie fell in love with. Maybe it was because Sophie and Gavin’s parents didn’t want them around Lukas and his family. They were a ‘bad influence’, is the phrase that was beaten into their brains over and over again.

Sophie could never understand that. Lukas’ dad? Sure. But Lukas and his sister? No way. They were too kind, too giving but also, there was something about Lukas that Sophie was intrigued by. Even after all of this time, even after they dated briefly before he disappeared for three years, Sophie still couldn’t unlock the mystery that was Lukas York. Despite that? Despite his inner demons, his secrets and his habit of disappearing, she still loved him.

Ever since the moment she laid eyes on him, as cliche as it might be, she knew she loved him. Sophie thought he was perfect in every way, scars and all. Some might think that a girl like Sophie would want a guy like Lukas because she wanted to fix him, but it was far from it for Soph. She simply wanted to know him and those demons. She wasn’t afraid of them, she wanted to dance with them and feel them at her fingertips.

But every time she got close? Every time she felt those demons, for just a second? Lukas was gone with the snap of a finger. Now after three long years, Lukas is back and those feelings Soph had for him? The ones that she had tried to suppress over these last few years? They’ve engulfed her like a moth to the flame. While she played it cool with Lukas over Twitter, she was nervous as she waited at the Oddfellows bar just off the Vegas strip.

This was a low key spot compared to your usual Vegas bar and it had its own peculiar quirks to it as well, like having a ouija board theme. That’s why Sophie chose this place, to be honest, because she thought it would be something that Lukas would enjoy. She sat there at a table alone, in front of one of the ouija boards. She was wearing a little black dress, one that exposed her shoulders, along with this giant beanie. Sophie looked down at the ouija board with a furrowed brow, contemplating using it before she shook her head. ‘Maybe when Lukas gets here’, is what she thought to herself.

Her right leg moved up and down nervously as she looked around, waiting for Lukas to arrive. She shook her head as she pulled out her phone and texted him to hurry up. Lukas was late, as always. Needing to calm her nerves, Sophie grabbed the cocktail in front of herself that she had ordered earlier, and she downed in quickly. She couldn’t wait anymore and the suspense was killing her. All she could think about was Lukas. Would he really be here? Is it really him? Am I dreaming? All of these thoughts ran through her head as she sat there, checking her watch over and over again as she waited.

In the next couple of checks of her watch, a voice caught her attention, “Hello miss, is this seat taken?”

When she looked up, it was Lukas looking back at her with a cheeky grin. That elicited an excited squeal from her as they drew each other into a big hug. The little opening joke clearly eased the initial tension, just like he knew it would. He knew seeing her again after all this time would make him nervous. So much so that he already had a good buzz going from the beers at home earlier. It wasn’t planned but it sure has turned into a habit lately. Well, at least it helped to keep him relaxed tonight and it was probably the only way he could face her after disappearing on her yet again.

Like Sophie said earlier, 'no bad vibes' and after scanning the bar, he saw the wall with those exact words in neon lights. She had also posed there and tweeted the photo earlier. She looked amazing, as always. And now seeing her in person he could feel the nerves returning. In the neon glow, she looked ethereal in his eyes and he couldn’t help but stare quietly after they sat down. Memories of them together started playing in his head. Just the good memories. The good vibes. That’s what tonight’s about, just the two of them catching up again. Shit, was she still dating that guy? What was his name, Dexter something? Or was she seeing someone new? He didn’t even ask earlier. Well, did it matter? They broke up so long ago. Now they’re just friends, two old friends hanging out again. He missed her terribly though. Hey, hey, no, good vibes. Just good vibes. If she’s going to stop taking shots at him for disappearing on her, he can do his part to keep the night casual and fun too. Good, gooood vibes.

“You look great, Soph,” he blurted out.

That felt like crossing into dangerous territory but just friends or not, he meant it sincerely. It was good to see her doing well even if he was not part of her world anymore. Selfishly, it made him feel sorry for himself but he buried that quickly. Sophie blushed for a moment as she looked down.

“Thank you.”

The smile had lasted for only a few moments though and her face soon went blank. She grabbed her drink that was in front of her and took a big gulp of it before her eyes looked up and met Lukas. Those blue eyes of hers? They never lied. One look into them and you could gain a sense of how Sophie felt and despite being about to be there with Lukas after all of this time? She was hurt and she was angry. She adamantly shook her head as she placed her drink down and then reached over and shoved Lukas in the shoulder.

“No. You don’t get to come back and do your usual Lukas crap! I’ve put up with it too many times and I told myself that this time would be different.” Lukas was surprised at Sophie’s words and when he went to reply, she placed her hand over his lips, causing his eyes to widen in shock. “No, Lukas. You don’t get to talk, at least not yet.” Sophie paused as she moved her hand away. Lukas could see the pain in her eyes. “For the last three years and four months since you’ve left, I’ve struggled to find myself. I tried to move on from you. I tried with Dex, hell, I even tried and had a little fling with Julian Savell!”

Sophie made a gag sound for effect as she rolled her eyes. “And then work? Oh the joys of work. I streamed playing video games, I did interview jobs at all these different companies, I acted in trashy shows and movies… Anything to keep my mind off you.” She pointed her index finger at him before pushing it into his chest. “So I don’t want to hear, ‘you look good, Soph.’ No, I don’t want any compliments right now because guess what? I know I look good. People tell me all the time. People who WANT to be with me. But guess what? I push them all away. I don’t give anyone the time of day because I hoped that maybe, just maybe… You’d come back.”

She pushed her finger harder into his chest as her eyes stayed focused on his. “And now here you are and I should be jumping for joy. Lukas is back. Here he is! Let’s celebrate and be happy and be together. Maybe one day, I’ll even be Sophie York, wouldn’t that be nice?” She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “But even if that day came, how long would it take, Lu? How long would it take for me to wake up one morning and not find you there again? With me being stuck there, wondering when you would be back. A few hours? Days? Weeks? Months? Years? Maybe a decade!? Huh!?” Sophie’s eyes started to well up and she turned away from him, shaking her head as she tried not to break down in the small bar.

“Sophie, I…” he stuttered.

To say he was shocked at her outburst was an understatement, but he should’ve known better. From the light jabs she’d been giving him on Twitter, there was no way she was going to stop so easily. And he of course deserved it, he knew that too. He kept telling himself that he didn’t have a choice. He even told her the same thing. But that was exactly what it was. A choice. His choice. Disappearing wasn’t in his control but keeping her, Gavin and others out of his life during that time was a decision he made to make things just easier to cope with. Especially her. She was supposed to be happier without him. She was supposed to find someone better than him who would make her happy and give her all she could ever want. And by staying away, it was just easier not knowing anything at all. But deep down, he knew that’s all bullshit.

“Sophie, I’m so sorry.”

He walked over to face her, reaching for her hands to hold in his. Since he came back, he must have apologized like ten times already, as if there’s nothing else to say. But seeing her cry saddened him and knowing his stupidity was the reason damn near broke him. Leaning in close to her, he gently lifted her chin and wiped her tears with his thumb before holding both her hands again, his own eyes getting a little misty too.

“I’m just a coward, Soph. I know not knowing how to contact you was a lame excuse. I have your number memorized since you gave it to me, it’s forever seared in my brain. That’s how much you mean to me. But I was dumb. I was so so dumb. I thought giving you the distance would benefit us after we broke up. But it was just benefitting me. I mean, if you call making peace with loneliness a benefit. And I thought you were happy with Dex. I wanted you to be happy. Dex, Julian, anyone. Anyone that’s not me ‘cause I didn’t want to hurt you again.”

He scoffed lightly. “No… I should’ve fought for you. I shouldn’t have just given up just because things spiraled out of my control. I should’ve fought for you. I know that now. And earlier when I said I’m working on this whole disappearing without a word thing, I meant it. I know it’s hard to take my word for it and you have every right to disagree and walk away right now even. But let me have a chance to prove it. Even if it’s too late for us, let me still earn back your trust, Soph. I miss having you in my life. I miss my best friend.”

Still holding her hands, his eyes searched hers with a hopeful look. Sophie’s eyes filled with rage as she responded loudly, catching the attention of fell patrons in the bar. “YOU MISS YOUR BEST FRIEND!? THEN WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!?” She started to beat his chest with her forearms as tears streamed down her face as she kept screaming at him ‘what took you so long?’, over and over. Lukas took every blow, though they didn’t hurt very much, as he was a professional fighter and Sophie was not. She finally began to slow down as she collapsed into him, physically and emotionally exhausted as her tears soaked his shirt. Lukas held her there as she continued to cry. Through the tears, she formed one more sentence. “I can’t do this without you anymore. I won’t. Please don’t leave me again.”

He shook his head and gave her a small hopeful smile as he took her hands again. This time, he kissed her knuckles.

“Never again,” he promised.

He could get lost in those baby blues of hers and he wanted so much to hold her in his arms again and finally kiss her sweet lips. To finally feel the relief of forgiveness and redemption he was seeking for. He wanted so much to assure her too that he would never leave her again. He didn’t want to leave her in the past either — when did he ever?

“But…”

He averted his gaze for a second, ashamed of the realist in him. There’s a reason why something that repeated was called a pattern. He looked around the bar before leaning in to speak in a lower voice so no one around could hear him.

“What if it happens again? What I mean is, there’s something I haven’t told you yet… About why I needed the money and how this Liberty Pro job was gonna help with my problem,” he cleared his throat, “It’s still… I’m wrestling again partly because of my dad. He knows I used to make a lot wrestling so he wants me back in so I can help him out financially more. But knowing him, he might just pull me out to do something else for more money or he gets into trouble and there’s no one else he can depend on but me. That’s what’s been happening, Soph. That’s the surface of it but yeah. It could happen again. And no, I can’t make him stop. I can’t say no. I’ve tried. Believe me.”

He hung his head in shame and defeat, unsure of what else to say. This feeling of wanting to say ‘fuck it’ and escape to live his own life but at the same time knowing there’s no actual way out was a constant. It was something he lived with for practically his whole life. He took a deep sigh before looking up.

“I know I’m not making this any easier, but if we’re going to give us another chance, I wanna let you know the truth first. I know ghosting you is Lukas crap as you called it, and you’re right. It IS crap. But that’s what I’d been dealing with. Still am actually… If it happens again, wanna disappear with me?”

He gave a dry chuckle. Sophie hung onto every word as she listened to Lukas. When he finished that last line, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Disappear with you? From Gavin? Izzi? Corey? The two half-siblings I just found out about a couple of months ago? I can’t leave all of this.” She shook her head. “No more running, Lu. I don’t care if that bullshit you have to deal with from your dad happens again. We’ll deal with it together.” Sophie placed both of her hands on his cheeks as she peered up into his eyes with those blue eyes of hers. “You keep running to what you think your family is but he is not your family. We are, Lukas. We’re your family and we always have been.”

“I know,” he said with a sigh. She was right but this tie between him and his father, despite one he’d always dreamed of cutting one day, was a connection he couldn’t seem to shake off. The old man knew exactly what to say, what buttons to push, to make him do as he said. And many times, they weren’t entirely legal. Suffice to say, he was dangerous. Yet there was Lukas, always ready to clean his messes when he fucked up. Every. Single. Time.

“Yeah, no more running. If he wants me to wrestle again, something I actually love, then I’m gonna stay,” he turned to her, from determined to worried again, “I’m so glad you wanna be by my side dealing with this together. But are you sure? Like really sure? It’s a lot, you know. Like whatever I just said, that’s not even the half of it. I just wanna be sure that you’re sure.”

Sophie’s hands moved away from Lukas face and then went into her pockets for a moment as she kept her eyes on his as she nodded. “I am sure. You have no idea how sure I am.” Sophie’s hands slipped back out of her pocket and she grabbed Lukas left hand before she stood up on her tippy-toes and softly kissed him on the lips. Despite the tension in the air earlier, it was clear that this is the moment that the two of them had been waiting for all night. While Sophie wanted this kiss, she also wanted to distract Lukas. She pulled away from the kiss with a sigh before pulling her hands away from Lukas’ left hand. The kiss gave Sophie the chance to place a ring, right on Lukas’ ring finger. She stepped back slightly and bit her lip, waiting for him to take notice. He barely realized it, initially wondering why she pulled away so fast. Seeing the ring now though, he became even more confused.

“Soph, did you just… What’s this ring?” he laughed, unsure what just happened. Sophie grabbed his hand again, running her thumb over the ring that she placed on his finger. “If you’re serious about this? Serious about not leaving me again? Then marry me. I don’t care about waiting or having you ask because it’s always been you, Lukas. It has ALWAYS been you. But I need you to commit to me if this is what you want. I need you for once in your life to choose me and to keep choosing me, forever.” Sophie leaned in and kissed Lukas softly before she wrapped her arms around him tightly. “I know it’s a lot to ask and out of nowhere but it’s all I’ve ever wanted… to be yours forever.”

Tonight sure was full of surprises and this was definitely the biggest one. After everything he had said, he was mostly convinced she would change her mind. But this, this was far from that. She just took an even bigger leap of faith than the one he was asking for, completely turning it around so that it would be HIM instead having to decide whether he wanted in or out. For years, he always had one foot out the door just in case another “family emergency” came around. So to make this choice, marrying Sophie, would mean that he had to do something he had never done before. And yet, looking back at the hopeful face of the girl of his dreams, making this choice turned out to be the simplest thing ever.

“I would give you a ring too but apparently I didn’t get the memo for tonight’s plan,” he chuckled, “No worries, let’s find a shop that’s still open… and then next stop, a church! Because I choose you, Sophie Grimes. I love you, today, tomorrow, forever. I choose you and I wanna marry you. Right now. What do you say?”

With them still embracing each other, he gave her a quick kiss. Sophie leaned back and nodded as happy tears streamed down her cheeks. “I say YES! Let’s go!!!” She leaned in and kissed Lukas back patiently for a moment as the few people in the bar started to clap and cheer. Sophie and Lukas looked around, just noticing all of the attention. Sophie laughed lightly and shook her head. “Let’s get the heck out of here.” She then grabbed Lukas hand and squeezed it as she was ready to go.

With a grin, he led her outside through the door and made her do a little twirl before drawing her into his arms like they were dancing on the street. He gave a kiss to the back of her head while she laughed. He wasn’t much of a dancer and that was all he knew, but the moment just felt right. They were just happy. After some more goofing around, they finally fell in step side by side with hands clasped together. Quite a few promises were made tonight but none were more significant than the impromptu marriage vows they were about to make to each other later on this unforgettable night.