Luke and Amy Ch. 08

Amy blinked her eyes open and stayed nestled into her brother's arm. "Good morning."

He chuckled, "Have a good nap?"

She nodded against his arm and softly said, "The best."

She smacked her lips together, trying to get nap taste out of her mouth. She lifted herself off of him, and then sat sideways in the seat. After pushing her glasses up on her nose, she took a swig of diet pop. Her hand was still locked with his.

"Sorry I didn't wake you sooner, but we are about a half hour away. You need to call Mom."

"Oh okay." Amy reached down to grab her phone from her purse. She opened up the recent contact list, pressed send, and then put the call on speaker.

"Hey Mom," the siblings said together as soon as the call connected.

"Hey guys," Kathryn replied.

"We are about a half hour away. I was sleeping, sorry I didn't call you sooner," Amy said.

"It's all right. Everyone is here now. We're just waiting on you guys. We've been cooking and baking like mad people for the last several hours. The caterer backed out at the last minute, but Grandma's food is much better anyway."

Luke's stomach rumbled at the thought of his grandmother's Italian cooking. "I'd much rather have that than..."

His sister finished his sentence with a playful monotone voice, "Chicken or fish? Chicken or fish?"

Their mother laughed hysterically. Luke and Amy joined in too.

"All right guys, I need to get back to this insanity. Dad's holding the phone up to my ear. I'm up to my elbows in dough for Italian wedding cookies."

"Get back to it, Mom. We'll be there to help in a bit," Amy said.

"Great. Love you guys."

"Love you too," the siblings replied in unison.

She pressed the red button on the phone screen, and then dropped her phone in her purse. She settled her head back against the headrest, glanced down at the ring on her finger, and then smiled at her brother.

He glanced over and saw her radiant smile. "What are you grinning about, Squirt?" Luke asked.

"I'm in love. I'm in love and that makes the world more beautiful." She squeezed his hand as she leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek.

Her lips sent a wave of warmth through his being. "As am I," he said with a warm smile.

Several more miles of scenery passed by as Luke and Amy chatted about what they would be in for when they arrived. Amy was excited to help with the meal preparations, though, she thought the under taking might be more than anyone bargained for. However, in the process, she would learn a few recipes that she had always wanted to know.

Luke exited the highway, and then after a few turns, the road turned from pavement to gravel. It kicked up around the tires. Amy zipped up her jacket, and then texted Kristy to let her know that they arrived safely. She quickly replied and said that she and Penny were still having a great time, cuddled up on the sofa and watching a movie.

About a mile from the house, Luke rolled to a stop and put the car in park. Without any words, he let go of his sister's hand, and then curled his fingers underneath her jaw. With a slight pull of his fingers, he brought her lips to his.

"I want to kiss you one last time before we get there," he muttered against her mouth, brushing his lips against hers.

Their mouth's met and lips melted together. Amy gently pushed her tongue into his waiting mouth. He accepted it and massaged it with his. She whimpered into his mouth as their tongues danced together to a gentle melody. Their tongues played, swirling and tangling together as she lured his into her mouth. Their lips lightly smacked together as the kiss grew with intensity.

She ran her hand through the scruff on his face that had now become soft. It lightly scratched against her palm. His hand had glided from her jaw to her neck. He turned his torso completely towards her so he could touch her hair with his other hand, cradling the back of her head.

The kiss broke off slowly, with several tender pecks. Amy nuzzled his nose with hers and they both smiled. Their breath was a bit heavier and their heartbeats had sped up slightly.

Her brother kissed the tip of her nose, and then turned forward again. He continued down the road until they reached their grandmother's house. Just before pulling into the drive, Amy reached over and quickly groped his manhood.

She giggled as she took her hand away, "I wanted to do that one last time too."

Luke grinned as he parked behind a row of cars. "I'm glad you did. It'll miss your touch."

He turned off the vehicle, and then they both undid their seat belts. Amy picked up her purse from the floorboard, and then they got out. Both of them stretched after climbing out of the car.

He went around to the trunk and fished out their suitcases. Amy grabbed the suit travel bag that held her dress and his suit for tomorrow. She draped it over her shoulder, holding onto the hangers. He carried both of the suitcases as they began walking.

Their steps led them up to the large farm house that was built in the early twentieth century. The huge wrap around porch framed the lower level of the three story building. The exterior had white clapboard siding and the numerous windows that faced all directions that were outlined in light blue. The third floor attic had a window that faced towards the road. The house sat at the front of a several hundred acres of land.

As they went up the steps in the center of the porch, they saw a handful of people at the dining room table through the large bay window. Aunt Debbie waved at the siblings and a moment later was at the door. She opened it for them a moment before they reached it.

"Amy!" Debbie cried out as she wrapped her arms around her. Her green eyes sparkled with happiness.

Amy returned the warm embrace. Luke took the travel bag from her so she could give a proper hug. He placed their luggage near the doorway, and then closed the heavy door. A moment later, it was his turn for a hug.

Debbie hugged him tightly as she said, "Luke, I didn't believe Kathryn when she told me you were coming."

Amy smiled, watching the interaction from a few steps away. She placed her purse on top of their suitcases.

"Well, I'm here," he stayed with a smile as she pulled away.

Cousin Matthew found the siblings in the foyer a moment later. He hugged Amy warmly and whispered in her ear, "Save me."

She giggled and whispered back, "I'll do my best."

Matthew went over and gave Luke a more manly type of hug, and then they exchanged pleasantries for a few moments.

Amy followed Debbie by the beautiful staircase with a hand carved banister on the way to the kitchen.

The entirety of the interior had beautiful cherry stained woodwork paneling and the wood floors were a shade lighter. Every wall had crown molding and footboards several inches high. The home smelled warm, the aroma was coated in Italian cooking and baked goods. Incessant chatter from the army of family members furiously cooking and laughing together also filled the air.

They stepped through the archway into the kitchen. The cabinets were the same old wood that flowed throughout the rest of the home, with recently installed black speckled gray granite counter tops. The older appliances were replaced with modern stainless steel during the renovation as well.

There was a mass of people crowding the kitchen doing various cooking jobs, Amy's aunts, uncles, cousins, and some Mitch's family members. They all smiled upon seeing her. She went around and gave hugs and cheek kisses to everyone. Luke did the same a few moments later.

More people were in the dining room, a few more in the living room, and Mitch's bachelor brother, Wayne, waved from the patio where he was smoking a cigarette.

Wendy ran up to Amy as she was making her way to the dining room to say hello to another group.

Wendy hugged her so tight that she could barely breathe as she squealed, "I'm getting married tomorrow!"

Amy tried to reply with more than one word, but the hard squeeze caused her to only be able to gasp, "Yes," with the last bit of air she had.

Wendy pulled away and she jumped in place. Her short blonde hair fluttered in the air and her bright green eyes sparkled. She was a very thin woman with modest breasts that bounced gently when she jumped. It seemed as though a smile had been plastered on her face for several days.

"Let me guess, you're excited?" Amy asked playfully.

"Excited? Excited? Really, Amy, isn't that obvious?"

Amy kept herself from shaking her head. Her cousin obviously hadn't picked up on the slight sarcasm in her voice. She smiled and gave her another hug, a much looser one as she said, "I know you're excited. You're radiating. You're going to be a stunning..."

Her words were cut off as Wendy quickly let her go and nearly trampled her as she rushed over to Luke.

Amy cocked her head back slightly, feeling a bit perturbed by what had just happened. She kept her face calm, but thought, "Well, that was rude."

Luke was crushed with the same style of hug Amy received. He patted her back and raised a brow at Amy. Wendy's thin frame felt odd against him. He much preferred his sister's more womanly curves and the lean meat on her body that didn't make him feel like he was hugging a skeleton.

Wendy's voice was shrill in his ear, "I'm so happy you're going to see me get married! You came back just for me didn't you?"

Amy rolled her eyes. Wendy was nice, but more than a bit self-absorbed.

Luke winced a bit from the echo that was thrumming in his ear drums. "Uh, yeah, sort of," he replied. He didn't even remember Amy mentioning the wedding in any of the phone calls he had received. She had told him, but it didn't set in.

Wendy pulled back and shook him by his shoulders. "Sort of? What does that mean? You didn't come home for me?"

"Well, I came home for everyone," he stressed the last word in attempt to convince her.

Amy made her and Luke glasses of water, squeezing through the people in the kitchen on the way.

"Everyone?" Wendy threw her head back and laughed. "Whatever. You came back for me. You just don't want to admit it."

Luke just shrugged and smiled. His mind wanted to tell her he came back for his parents and specifically to see his sister. He stepped away, and then went in the dining room to greet his parents and grandmother.

Matthew came up to Amy as she was getting water from the sink. He spoke softly with a conspiratorial air to his voice, "See why I asked you to save me?"

"Yeah, just a bit," Amy chuckled.

"She's been like this for weeks. I'm seriously about to go nuts. Actually, I think I'm already there. This house is an insane asylum right now. I'm so glad you and Luke are here."

Amy placed one of the glasses on the counter, and then looked over to her cousin and into his chocolate brown eyes. She ruffled his short brown hair. "You help us survive, we'll help you."

They shared a smile before Amy went to the dining room. There was a gorgeous built in china cabinet on the wall perpendicular to the bay window. She squeezed between it and her grandmother, Marie's chair. She dropped a kiss on her cheek while holding glasses in both hands, careful to keep them level.

The dining table was covered in cookie sheets that were ready to go in the oven, along with bowls of different types of batter. The polished wood was littered with sprinkles, chocolate pieces, and powdered sugar that didn't quite make it to its proper place.

Amy came over between her parents. She dropped a kiss on her mom's cheek, and then her father's. She handed Luke his glass of water, had a sip of hers, and then set it on the table.

"Okay, so what do I need to do?" she asked cheerfully.

"Get me more wine," Kathryn replied bluntly, holding up her glass that had powdered sugar plastered to it. "Get yourself a glass too."

Amy gave her a shocked expression. She had consumed alcohol less than a handful of times.

Phil held up his rocks glass. "You're going to need it, Amy. If you don't mind, get me another scotch and one for your brother too. Hell, something stronger than wine if you want for yourself."

Luke gave his dad the same look Amy just did, but then chuckled.

They both took the glasses from their parents, and then went back into the kitchen. The curly haired brunette, Felicity, one from their mother's sister-in-law's hoard, came running through with three empty cookie sheets in her hand that would soon be filled.

The siblings went over to the nook where the small kitchen table was. Wendy took a shot of something, and then bounced away before they arrived. Wayne was making himself a drink. He smiled to the pair as they approached.

"Having fun yet?" Wayne asked.

"Loads of it," Luke retorted with a chuckle.

Wayne smiled to them, and then topped off his bourbon with a splash of coke.

Luke filled is father's glass with scotch. He stood close to his sister and rubbed her arm purposely with his as he reached over for a glass for himself. She stared at the wine bottles on the table.

"Having some trouble?" Wayne asked her.

"Yeah, I don't know which one my mom was drinking."

Wayne picked up a bottle of cabernet, and then pulled the stopper out. Amy handed him the glass and he poured it.

He closed up the bottle and then asked, "And for you, young lady?"

Amy placed the glass on the table as she nibbled her lip. She glanced over the wines again, and then the variety of liquor bottles on the table. "I'm not sure. I don't really drink. I've only had beer twice and wine once," she confessed softly.

Luke took a sip of the scotch. The liquid coated him in warmth, down his throat and to his stomach.

Wayne smiled. "That's okay. Well, I don't think you want a girly-girl drink, do you?"

She shook her head and grinned. Her brown locks danced on her shoulders.

Her brother gently rubbed the small of her back. He took his hand away quickly. He had gotten used to touching her. Amy felt it though, even being so brief. She smiled inwardly.

Luke put his arm around her shoulders, a more natural brotherly act and said, "I can make you a drink, Squirt. That is, if you trust me." He took another sip.

She leaned her head back so he could see her playfully scrunch up her nose while she pretended to think about the answer. "Yeah, I guess I trust you."

Luke and Wayne both chuckled at her expression and response.

Luke patted her shoulder as he put down his beverage. He grabbed another rocks glass, and then kept himself from kissing her cheek before he stepped away to get some ice from the freezer.

Matthew came up to the table and scratched through his trimmed goatee while making a quick decision about what to drink. He chatted with his uncle about University of Iowa's past basketball season as he made himself a gin and tonic.

Amy saw his eyes trailing over her from the other side of the table while he was talking. She looked away, turning her head back to see her brother squeezing his way through the mass. She could feel her cousin's gaze lingering on her breasts. Consciously, she kept her torso towards him as she watched Luke doge a flailing hand of dried pasta that was attached to Debbie.

"Jeez, it's a madhouse in here," Luke commented when he returned.

"No shit, dude. Thanks to alcohol, we might make it through this," Matthew said.

"You got that right," Wayne added, raising his glass in the air.

Amy grinned, and then watched as Luke poured vodka on top of the orange juice that was already in the glass. He picked up two cocktail straws, put them in the drink, and then spun the liquid around.

She held out her hand and he placed the glass in it. "What's this called?"

"A screwdriver," he replied simply with a smile.

Amy brought the beverage up to her mouth. She smelled it before putting her lips around the straw. She took a quick sip, let it sink into her taste buds, and then a larger one. All of the men watched her face as she experienced liquor for the first time. Her expression never soured.

She smiled. "This is yummy. How did you know I would like this?"

Luke smiled back. "Brothers know things like that."

The siblings left the breakfast nook, with their parents' drinks in hand. They went the long way around back to the dining room, through the living room where Bonnie was sitting on the floor playing dolls with her older half-sister, Taylor.

They gave their parents' their nerve calming beverages before finding empty seats at the table. Amy sat between Uncle Cliff and her grandmother. Luke sat between his father and Cliff's youngest son, Michael.

The siblings shared quick glances across the table while they joined in the cookie preparation. Amy rolled balls of cookie dough in powdered sugar before placing them onto a cookie sheet. Luke put sprinkles on top of cream cheese cookies. His sister smiled, seeing him having fun with the different colors of sugar to choose from. Though, she wasn't sure if Wendy would approve of his color combinations.

After nearly an hour, the last batch of cookies was ready for the oven. Everyone at the table let out a collective cheer, followed by a gasp of relief.

Phil slumped back in his chair and his wife gulped down the rest of her wine. Amy took the last sip of her drink. Luke rubbed his hands together over the table, multicolored bits of sugar dropped onto the table.

Debbie came into the dining room and requested help folding tortellini, and then left before anyone replied.

"We shouldn't have cheered," Kathryn chuckled, shaking her head.

"No. We shouldn't have," Phil said with a sigh.

Amy rose up from the table. Her legs were a bit shaky from the vodka, but she had drank it slow enough that it didn't affect her otherwise. Luke smiled at her before she went back into the kitchen.

She worked her way through the cramped quarters and back to the kitchen table. The bottles of booze had been pushed to one side. A large bowl of the filling mixture of cheese and spinach, a heap of dough rounds, a bowl of egg wash, and a mostly empty bowl for the made tortellini, sat in the center of the table.

Amy sat across from Matthew who was in the midst of folding pasta. They smiled to each other a moment before Debbie brought a piece of wax paper for Amy to use. She put it down, and then Amy went to work.

She chatted with her cousin about is first year in college and her plans for next year. They avoided the topic of the wedding. Amy could tell he was sick of talking about it. They went through the motions of placing the mixture on the dough, brushing it with the egg wash, folding the pasta into a navel shape, and then dropping it in the bowl.

As they made the pasta and talked, she could see him sneaking glances at her body. Amy knew he was trying to not be obvious, but she was becoming an expert in noticing such things. She sat up straighter, presenting her breasts more, and smiled to herself. Her jacket was still on, but her breasts still drew plenty of attention beneath the hugging garment.

She could sense that he was embarrassed about looking at his cousin lustfully.

Her inner voice giggled, "If you only knew, Matthew. If you only knew." She suppressed a grin as she thought, "I wonder how he'd react if I teased him more."

The cousins continued the routine of pasta making and their light hearted chatter helped it be less monotonous.

After a few minutes, Amy unzipped her jacket. She didn't look at Matthew, remembering what her brother had told her earlier at the restaurant. Her sleeves here still pushed up from the attempt to avoid powdered sugar getting all over them earlier.

She smiled to herself as her breasts came into view. Her lavender camisole tank top was properly placed so that her cleavage wasn't pouring out as it was earlier. The snug fit, however, proudly displayed her ample bosom.