this hour of the evening. Flakes swirl and dance in the air, falling onto the massive white blanket that rests on the ground.
All day, my mind has felt like a freaking ping-pong ball, bouncing back and forth between wanting to talk to Luke about last night but being afraid to ask him what he’s thinking and feeling.
In my heart, it doesn’t feel like we just had sex.
It feels like we made love.
Ever since we woke up this morning, I’ve wavered between bringing up the sparkly pink unicorn in the room and simply watching him for cues.
But Luke has appeared nothing but relaxed and laid-back.
And he’s been affectionate, so incredibly affectionate. Stealing kisses whenever he can. Helping me get ready for tonight’s big event by playfully teasing my body like he did a few days ago.
To me, he’s been the opposite of a man who is internally freaking out over having sex with his best friend. He’s just been Luke. My Luke. Handsome and funny and always finding moments to be sweet with me.
And it’s those very actions that reassure me, that make me think maybe he’s feeling the same way I do.
Maybe he doesn’t want to go back to just friends…
Maybe he wants me like I want him…
When Luke pulls our rental into the parking lot of Crystal Gardens, I’m pulled straight out of my thoughts, and my eyes catch sight of a giant sign that reads Lakewood High Fifteen-Year Reunion.
Gah.
Rapidly, nerves make themselves known inside my belly, the little bastards even having the audacity to spill into my veins and make my hands fidget and shake.
“Are you sure you want—” I start to ask, but Luke is quick to respond, not even letting me finish my thought.
“You’re not going to convince me to leave without actually attending this reunion,” he says and glances at me as he pulls into a parking spot and cuts the engine.
I narrow my eyes. “That wasn’t what I was going to do.”
A knowing smile appears on his lips. “You sure about that?”
“No,” I retort because he and I both know that’s exactly what I was going to try to do. I huff out a sigh and pull down the visor to check my makeup for the one-hundredth time. When I find nothing has changed since I checked five minutes ago, I shut the visor with a flip of my hand and huff out another sigh.
“Ace, it’s going to be okay.” Luke reaches over and tenderly places his hand on my forearm. “We’re going to go in there, and we’re going to have fun.”
“You promise?”
He nods. “Promise.”
I search his eyes for a long moment, and just as I start to open my mouth with a few more distracting questions, he shakes his head.
“You got this,” he says. “And I got you.” He winks and leans forward to press a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Now, let’s go in there and show all your old high school pals how awesome Ava Lucie is fifteen years later.”
I snort, but somehow, his words provide enough comfort for me to find the strength to open the passenger door and get out.
“Attagirl,” Luke cheers me on and follows my lead, hopping out of the driver’s side and meeting me at the back of the car. He wraps his arm around my shoulders and leads us toward the entrance.
As we walk across the snow-covered pavement, I spot several of my old classmates walking into the building and send up a silent prayer that tonight isn’t a miserable experience.
But just before we step inside, Luke pauses at the entrance and places his hand to the small of my back. “Ace, I have something very important to tell you.”
I lean back slightly to meet his eyes. “Yeah?”
“You look so insanely beautiful tonight,” he whispers. “I can’t believe I’m the lucky bastard who gets to have you on his arm.”
My heart is the balloon, and his words are helium, filling me up until I feel like I can fly. “Thank you for coming with me.”
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” he says and presses a kiss to my forehead. “And just so you know, I’m not here pretending to be anything. To me, this is real. You and me and what happened last night and the way things are between us now, it’s real.”
“It’s real to me, too,” I whisper back, and a smile consumes his mouth.
“Now that we have that settled, the sooner we get this goat rodeo out of