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The bass pumped loud enough to vibrate Luke’s feet as the boys stepped out of the car onto the Molinas’ driveway. The party wasn’t visible from here, but the music and noise indicated it was already in full swing in the backyard.
Reggie whooped to his right.
Three months on the road. They’d been gone from Los Feliz for 96 days on a US tour with Wallows. When they’d left, the air had been stiflingly hot with summer in full force, but now it was obvious that fall had finally hit LA. A cool breeze blew past the group that made Luke slightly regret his decision to wear a cutoff tonight.
Flynn’s birthday was always a happy occasion, but her 21st was obviously cause for more celebration than usual. Ray was out of town for the weekend at a baseball tournament for Carlos, but he’d volunteered the house up to the girls so that they didn’t throw a party in their tiny little shoebox apartment. He’d also secretly checked that Reggie and the boys would be back and would attend the party just to make sure everyone was safe.
They’d only been back a couple hours, Luke was so ready to see Flynn and Julie. Three months without their best friends (and in Reggie’s case, little sister) was way too long.
“Do you guys think Julie got the cake gluten free?” Alex wondered, like his dietary restrictions likely hadn’t been the very first thing that crossed her mind when ordering the food. He was the first to head down the cobblestone path toward the studio and backyard.
Luke snorted. “Course she did. She wouldn’t get something you can’t eat.” He clapped Alex reassuringly on the shoulder, and then the studio came into view.
They’d decked out the retaining wall and garage with puffy little decor balls and streamers in various shades of pink. A huge sign reading “Happy Birthday Flynn” hung over a photo wall they’d created on the side of the garage. Lots of the people milling about were ones he recognized from Los Feliz High, but there were lots Luke didn’t know, too. Probably college friends of the girls whom he hadn’t ever met.
Flynn was easy to spot at the bottom of the retaining wall surrounded by some friends wearing a “birthday girl” tiara and sash. The boys made a mad dash in her direction.
“Make way, make way, Sunset Curve here to wish their unofficial manager a happy 21st birthday!” The crowd dispersed at Reggie’s announcement, and then Luke was yanked into a group hug by a tiny force of nature whose birthday regalia immediately jabbed him in the neck.
Ouch.
He flinched, but squeezed Flynn’s shoulders tight anyway.
“Thank God you guys are back! Don’t go on another tour until we graduate, please, so that we can go with you next time.”
Luke laughed. “What, you miss us that bad?”
Obviously not, Patterson.
Flynn snorted. “No, but I don’t think Jules will survive another three months without you guys. She’s been a disaster ever since you left.”
Luke’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of her name. He tried to ignore the fact that he’d been looking for her since they arrived and, thus far, had come up empty.
Luckily, Alex seemed to notice it, too, before Luke had to ask. “Where is she, anyway? I don’t see her anywhere.”
Not good. Flynn’s expression pinched, air sucked in through her teeth like someone had poured peroxide on an open wound. “She’s in the kitchen, I think. Hiding. She went on a couple dates with Nick a few weeks ago and then he just stood her up at dinner one day out of nowhere. He just showed up tonight with Carrie. She insisted that she’s fine, but I’m pretty sure she’s just trying not to make it a thing because it’s my birthday. You know how she is.”
Luke did know.
Still, she’d gone out with Nick? His stomach twisted in what could have been gas but was probably raging jealousy he’d love to take out on the dartboard in the studio. But how in the fuck could Nick have just ditched her like that? Didn’t he realize that he’d never get a chance with anyone like Julie again? The talent she held in her littlest finger was one in a billion. That’s before you even consider her kindness, wit, adorable awkwardness, and heart shattering beauty. There was no one else like Julie. Nick didn’t have a clue what he’d missed out on.
Reggie’s hand clapping against his shoulder broke him out of his jealousy spiral. “You’d better go get her, then, Luke. She always reacts best to your big brother pep talks.”
Luke, Alex, and Flynn all cringed in sync. Whatever his relationship was with Julie, it definitely wasn’t siblings. Alex and Flynn had figured out ages ago that Luke was a little bit ( maybe a lot) in love with Julie. Reggie, whether by choice or through sheer obliviousness, hadn’t quite caught on.
Still, Julie did react to his pep talks the best, and he was dying for a minute alone with her. “Yeah, dude, for sure. I’ll go look for her.”
Flynn gave him a solid judgmental look as he bolted from the group and up toward the house.
As suspected, he did find Julie in the kitchen of the main house. The entirety of the party had been consolidated outside and in the studio, so Julie’s only company was the mountains of party supplies spread across the countertops. She was faced away from him, hunched over the sink off to the left as he spied her through the glass window of the back door.
She didn’t even notice that he opened the door and stepped inside.
Start off light. “I’ve been here for a whole three minutes and haven’t seen my best girl yet.”
Luke laughed as Julie jumped, startled, and turned toward him. Instantly, he could see that she’d been crying. That made him want to turn right around and go throw Nick against the side of the garage for even considering showing up to this party, but then she was wiping her eyes and rushing toward him as he totally forgot about it.
“Luke!” He opened his arms in time to catch her, her small frame colliding with his and warming him from head to toe. Her head hid itself in his neck as he squeezed her and lifted her off the ground.
Having Julie back against him after so long apart was like jumping in the pool for the first time in a season. He erupted in chills at the unadulterated delight that washed over him. What should he focus on first? The velvety soft feel of her exposed waist against his fingers? Her breath, puffing out hot and humid against his collarbone? Her arms around his shoulders, squeezing him as tight as she could like she’d missed him even half as much as he’d missed her? His brain tried to catalogue all of it at once before he realized that in catching her, his pinky finger had slid down underneath the top hem of her jeans and was settled against that little dimple on the left side of her spine.
And then that was all he could focus on.
Julie’s feet returned to the tile floor of the kitchen, but she made no move to slide away from him. She kept her arms secured tightly around his neck, only leaning away from the chest up to see his face. The rest of her stayed pressed firmly to Luke’s front.
He nearly whimpered.
Not the point right now. Julie’s been crying.
Even still, she was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. Her two toned jeans were sick as hell, paired with a cute little floral crop top that matched the light pink color on her lips. He always thought she was even more beautiful when she cried because her warm brown eyes turned sparkly and soft and he was pretty sure they could melt him in his spot, as lame as that was.
Focus, dude. Don’t get lost in her eyes like an idiot.
As much as he did not want to bring up the likes of Nick, it had to be done. He slid his hands off her back and to her hips instead. “What’s this bullshit about Nick standing you up? I’ll go throw them both out if you want me to.”
Julie snorted and rolled her eyes.
Okay, not the response he’d been anticipating.
“No, it’s fine. This is so stupid.” Her brows pinched together over her pretty, sparkly brown eyes as she finally pushed away from him in order to dump more chips in a bowl for the snack table outside. “I didn’t even really like him. I’m not sad that he stood me up. I’m just really fucking embarassed. Like, really? Carrie Wilson of all people? How creative of him.”
Luke had no idea what his face was doing, but Julie laughed at what he was sure was incredulous delight. Of all the possible reactions she could’ve had, this wouldn’t have crossed his mind.
Now what? A joke, maybe? Jokes seemed like a good way to go. “They probably just share the same brain cell. It was inevitable, really. You really dodged a bullet with that one.”
It worked. Julie giggled, and Luke’s entire being jolted like he’d been zapped with a cattle prod.
Please do that again.
Luke’s fingers brushed against Julie’s as he took the salsa jar she was struggling with out of her grip, popping the lid off before returning it with a grin. She dumped it into another bowl.
Then, she let out a disheartened groan. “God, I just know Carrie is going to corner me and try to make me feel bad that she’s here with Nick and I’m alone. That’s why I’ve been hiding out in here. She can’t harass me if she can’t find me.”
The words are out of Luke’s mouth before he even realizes the idea popped into his head. “So stick with me tonight. I scare the shit out of her, and she can’t even do that passive aggressive rumor bullshit if you’re with a dude.”
Ah, shit. Had he just proposed they fake date for the night? That’s pretty much what it sounded like to his own ears. Reggie was going to have a lot to say about it later.
Julie laughed. “Yeah, you do scare the shit out of her.”
That had kind of been an accident. There had been one day in Mrs. Harrison’s class in high school where Julie had tried to perform but couldn’t, understandably, after her mom died. Carrie made some snarky comment about it and Luke had blown up on her so extensively that it had landed him in the principal’s office for foul language, but she never seemed to mess with Julie after that when Luke was around. Five years later, and the rule still seemed to stick.
“You really don’t mind me hanging out with you all night? I’m sure you could impress a bunch of girls with all your new rockstar tour stories if you wanted.” Julie’s troubled sentiment reminded Luke of what he’d just suggested, and he snorted.
“Not interested, boss. Just here to see you and Flynn.” Mostly you , but he liked Flynn, too.
Julie’s smile brightened by several degrees. “Okay. Wanna help me carry these snacks back out? I sort of underestimated how many chips 60 drunk college students can eat.”
Luke dutifully grabbed the chip bowl plus another spare bag of chips and followed Julie outside. The snacks and drinks had been set up in the studio, so they dropped off their bowls and made themselves a couple drinks before they ventured out to find their friends.
They found them at the makeshift photo wall, Flynn and Alex posing with the giant mylar champagne bottle Julie had blown up a couple hours ago. She hugged Reggie first, planting a kiss on his cheek for good measure before Alex finished his photo and she embraced him, too.
And then once she’d greeted both the other boys, Luke’s brain turned to mush as she slid back to his side and wrapped both arms securely around his waist, one of her hands accidentally slipping under the wide arm hole of his shirt and settling against the edge of his abs. Julie was always affectionate, as were all the boys, but she definitely didn’t make a habit of hanging off him and touching his bare stomach.
Belatedly, Luke remembered he’d suggested they act like they were here together. He slung his arm up over her shoulders to tuck her firmly against him, shooting her a bright smile to ease her questioning gaze and let her know that this is okay.
As if he’d ever say no to her. She could use him however she wanted.
The others definitely noticed the heightened physical contact, but no one said anything aside from Reggie’s confused but highly suspicious gaze on Luke.
“So, you guys got like 60,000 new followers while you were gone. What are you planning next?” Julie’s question started a conversation among the group that Luke soon tuned out in favor of looking around at the party instead. Everyone had mostly divided up into their friend groups for the evening. Two had combined to compete in a game of rage cage around a card table, another hanging out directly in front of the amps plugged into the playlist that Flynn had definitely made for the night.
Luke said a silent prayer for their eardrums.
Finally, his gaze settled on Carrie and Nick hanging around several of his lax bros up at the top of the retaining wall. Nick was paying little to no attention to her, not that it mattered one bit. Her gaze was set sharply on Julie’s back, frustration and confusion etched into her features.
Luke smirked, pulling Julie in ever so slightly closer and twisting one of her soft curls around his finger. She must’ve washed it earlier today, because the minty, tea tree oil scent of her shampoo bombarded his system at the tiny movement. She gave him a sweet, soft smile in response.
It didn’t take long for Reggie to bring up the elephant in the room. “What happened with Nick, Jules? I didn’t think you still had a crush on him.”
The ugly green monster in Luke’s chest reared its head at the reminder that she’d once actually had feelings for the dude across the yard. As far as he knew, that had been a long time ago (like, high school, long time ago) but maybe something had changed if she’d actually dated him for a minute.
Julie’s hand lifted off his waist to give a nonchalant little wave and brush off the idea. Luke didn’t miss that it promptly returned to its spot under his shirt as she began to speak, sparking goosebumps all across his flesh. “Nah, I didn’t. It had just been forever since I’ve been on a date, and it’s Nick, so I didn’t really see any harm in spending a little time with him.” She rolled her eyes. “Obviously, I didn’t expect that the third time he asked me to dinner he would just not show up . I waited at Yuca’s for like an hour before he texted and said he wasn’t gonna make it. He never bothered to follow up.”
Luke couldn’t even hide his cringe. An hour was…a long time to wait at Yuca’s. Somehow, the idea of Julie sat at the little taco shack alone for so long made him hate Nick even more.
Flynn’s reaction was similar. “I might be a little bit to blame. I encouraged her to say yes the first time he asked her out.” Her eyes slid to Luke’s, as if daring him to complain about her part in the fiasco. “I just thought she deserved to have some fun with a guy for once.”
Low blow, Flynn.
Luke was forever walking the tightrope between wanting to worship the ground Julie walked on and being Reggie’s best friend. Sure, he was pretty much obsessed with her, but he was under no false pretenses that Reggie would approve of that relationship. He was a hella protective big brother, and what was he supposed to do if it didn’t work out? If he had to, Luke knew he’d pick his baby sister. Not that either of them would ever make him. Still, it would be awkward as hell, and Reggie would be stuck in the middle.
Luke also had absolutely no idea if Julie felt any type of way for him. Sure, they flirted a little. And there were times where her touch would linger just a moment on his arm or their eye contact would be prolonged longer than strictly necessary, but maybe that was just her vibe with him. He wasn’t willing to risk his lifestyle with his best friends in pursuit of something more with her unless he knew positively it was a two way street.
Flynn knew that. Didn’t she?
Another group swung by to take pictures in front of the backdrop, and the five of them shuffled awkwardly out of the way until they collided with a couple of girls Flynn introduced as friends from her vocal techniques course.
The new location meant they’d worked themselves into a little bit of a corner next to the open garage doors, and Julie had ended up tucked off right in the seam of the wall where she couldn’t partake in the conversation.
Luke saw the opportunity for what it was. Under the pretense of their little touchy relationship for the night, he smirked as he grabbed Julie’s hand and tugged her to him, tucking her back directly against his front and holding her there with one hand pressed firmly to her stomach. He could feel every inch of her pressed up against him, and he was pretty sure he could die happy right here in this spot.
Julie’s brown eyes were wide in surprise at their new position as she tipped her head back over her shoulder to meet his gaze, and her cheeks flushed the lightest shade of pink.
Luke’s heart pitter-pattered in his chest because shit she was cute. Ah, fuck, could she feel that? Probably.
Distract her! his brain screamed at him. But how?
He did the first thing he could think of. He leaned down, nuzzled his nose up in her hair to align his mouth with her ear. “You’re blushing. It’s cute,” he whispered, a victorious smirk taking over his features as the flirty comment obviously worked. She forced her gaze straight ahead, not dignifying his comment with a verbal response, but Luke felt it as she subtly leaned further back against his chest.
And that was…a lot. Because while their snuggly nature tonight had been mostly performative, no one else would be able to tell that she’d nuzzled in closer against him. That had been just for her. She was enjoying this.
His hand flexed lightly where it burned against the slip of skin exposed over her jeans.
Out of the corner of his eye, Luke saw Carrie storm off in a flurry of pink and glitter.
Their actions had obviously gained the attention of more than just her, though. Nick had spied them from his spot on the retaining wall, and Luke gave him credit for just looking straight up confused instead of jealous over the girl he’d idiotically given up. Closer to them, Flynn’s eyes darted between them furiously, trying to figure out what in the hell was going on.
Luke shrugged innocently like he didn’t get the hold up.
Luckily, Reggie had gotten distracted flirting with Lauren from the vocal techniques class and wasn’t paying them a lick of attention.
“So,” her voice drew him back into focus, her head leaned back against his shoulder and tilted up so their conversation was a little more private. “Reggie told me all about his little tour hookups. What about you? Did you meet anybody interesting?”
The way she posed the question was casual and breezy. But when he looked down to meet her eyes, hers darted away and focused intently on the freckle next to his nose.
Luke had to force himself not to outright grin with glee. Was it possible that she would be jealous if he had? He’d never know if she felt embarrassed by his response.
“Nah,” he replied, working to keep his voice as light and airy as hers had been. “Too busy writing all the time. Why? You know somebody interested in me?” He raised his eyebrows in question, going for a cocky expression that would keep her feeling comfortable so she’d probably tease him.
“Nope,” was the only response he got other than a sassy little eye roll, but then she tucked her head in closer against his collarbone as she turned to face the group again, hiding whatever other reaction had so that he couldn’t see it.
Okay, so this was definitely a little beyond their normal casual flirting.
Luke didn’t know what else to do besides press his cheek against her soft curls.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after that when Julie announced it was time for the cake (and immediately let Alex know she’d gotten it gluten free, as Luke had known she would), and she disappeared inside the house to light the candles.
Luke’s body felt cold and empty without hers against it.
A sharp smack to his bicep distracted his minor pouting and made him yelp in surprise.
“What in the hell are you two doing?” Flynn hissed, voice a little louder than Luke would have preferred considering the current company. However, a quick glance to the side informed him that Reggie was now outright making out with the girl he’d met and wasn’t paying them any attention whatsoever.
Alex was fully engaged in the conversation, though. He said nothing, but his eyebrows were raised in that silent brotherly-judgment way he’d perfected years ago. Waiting for Luke to explain.
Luke shrugged them off like he didn’t really understand what they were talking about. “Jules was worried Carrie was gonna start some bullshit. We figured if we acted a little flirty she’d leave her alone.” He did a little jazz hands move to his friends. “Surprise, it worked.”
Alex’s head fell back on his neck like this conversation was so exhausting he couldn’t hold it up anymore. “You’re such an idiot. Just ask her out already.”
Panic spread through Luke like wildfire. He slid his eyes over to Reggie to make sure he was still preoccupied with the vocal techniques girl.
Yep, his tongue was fully down her throat.
“It’s too complicated. What if we break up and then we are miserable?”
“Dude, you’re miserable now. You just need to do it. It’s sad to watch.” The comforting pat Alex gives his shoulder is so sympathetic Luke almost can’t stand it. He doesn’t want anyone’s pity.
He just wants Julie.
Julie, who had reappeared from inside the house, carefully stepped forward with a big pink cake complete with sparkler candles. Once she hit the bottom of the stone steps, she started to sing. “Happy birthday to you. ”
Everyone else noticed what time it was and started to sing along, Flynn’s attention shifting to the party at large and at her sweet best friend completing her slow approach so Flynn could blow out her candles.
“Happy birthday dear Flynn, happy birthday to you.”
There was a quiet pause as Flynn considered her wish, and then everyone cheered as the five candles were blown out.
Cake was served in the studio, where Julie had assembled all the plates and utensils. The night wound down quickly after that, round after round of people approaching Flynn to wish her one last happy birthday before they departed for the night.
Before Luke knew it, most of the party guests had left and Alex was leaned up against his side yawning in exhaustion after the long day they’d had. It was their obvious cue to head out.
Reggie said his goodbyes to Lauren after they’d exchanged numbers and agreed he’d text her about going out to dinner the following evening. Once that part was settled, he enveloped Julie and Flynn into a tight hug. “You guys are all good, right? You’re safe here for the night?”
Julie rolled her eyes. “Yes, Reg. We’re just going to do face masks and watch a movie. Tomorrow is the bar crawl. That’ll be the real fun.” She looked at Flynn, and they both waggled their eyebrows mischievously in a way that was going to make Luke anxious until they were all back at the Molina house in two days for Sunday dinner once Ray and Carlos were back in town.
“Happy birthday, Flynnie.” Alex was the next to cover his goodbyes, his limbs so heavy with sleep that Julie’s knees nearly buckled when he leaned too far into his hug with her.
Luke immediately grabbed Alex’s shoulders to tug him off, giving Julie a “what can you do?” shrug as he supported Alex against his side instead.
Julie bit her lip against a smile. God, she was beautiful. Luke was tempted to drop Alex to the floor just so he could run his finger along her bottom lip until her teeth released the flesh.
Bad, Luke. Don’t look at her mouth.
He wished he’d gotten to spend more time alone with her tonight. Three months apart was far too long for just a casual party interaction. He wanted to sit with her in the studio, interrogate her about all the classes she’d had and if she’d discovered anything fun in his absence. Talk with her about the song he’d written and get her input on the lyrics that had been driving him a little crazy. Tell her jokes and make goofy faces until she laughed and called him a dork. Take her down to the record store they’d fallen in love with years ago and pick out surprise vinyls for each other like they loved to do.
How can you spend so much time with someone and not feel like it had been anywhere close to long enough?
That would all have to be on the agenda for another day. He had a sleepy Alex to deal with and she had a hella protective older brother who would probably purple nurple him if he leaned in to kiss her on her soft cheek like he desperately wanted to do. Would she want him to?
After the way she’d leaned into him earlier, he thought that maybe she would.
In the end, all he managed to say to her was the lamest “see you later” he’d ever uttered in his life before he turned to heave Alex toward the car.
He didn’t see the way Julie’s smile dimmed as he left.
* * * * * *
Luke was on his own at the apartment Saturday night. Reggie had left in a flurry to go on a date with Lauren from the party (“Don’t wait up!” he’d joked with a wink on his way out the door), and Alex had gone over to his boyfriend Willie’s as soon as he’d gotten in from his skateboarding competition. So Luke settled into the couch with a box of Sour Patch Kids and an old blanket to catch up on the new Stranger Things season that had been released while they were on tour.
And then when his phone started vibrating at 10:30 pm and the screen lit up with a picture of him and Julie, who was definitely supposed to be out at the bars with Flynn, his brain automatically assumed the worst.
“Jules? Are you guys okay? What’s up?”
A slightly breathless laugh answered on the other end of the line, and Luke made himself chill a little.
She was fine.
“Yeah, sorry, all good. I didn’t mean to scare you. I kind of hate to ask, but could you come get me? I kind of got separated from Flynn and the group, and I’d ask Reggie but I don’t want to interrupt his date.”
Luke was off the couch in a flash, stuffing his feet into his black Vans and grabbing his keys off the kitchen counter. “Don’t worry about it, boss. Where you at?”
The silence on the other end of the line made Luke pause with one hand on his front door handle, wondering why she wasn’t immediately answering. His stomach rolled.
“I’m outside Rendezvous.”
He spat out a curse, jumping back into gear and moving double speed to lock the front door and run out to his car. “Jesus Christ, Jules, maybe start with that next time! What were you guys even doing there?”
“I don’t know! One of our friends from music comp insisted it had gotten safer and that we should check it out. Spoiler alert: it hasn’t.” Julie’s tone pitched slightly higher like she wanted to be defensive but knew herself that she was in a bad area of town and should have known better than to go there in the first place.
“I’m on my way. Just…stay on the phone with me, please? It would make me feel better to know you’re still alive when I get there.” Luke tossed his phone down to the passenger seat once his Bluetooth had connected to his car, using one arm to buckle his seatbelt as he switched the engine into gear.
“Yeah, of course. Thank you for coming,” the sound of her voice blended in with the hoots and hollers of another group passing her on the sidewalk, and Luke waited until the sound had retreated before speaking again.
“How are you feeling? How long were you out before you lost your friends?”
“I’m fine!” Julie rushed to reassure him. She definitely sounded okay; he knew the lilt her voice got when she was drunk, and it seemed to be missing now. She sounded maybe a little buzzed, but she was definitely well enough off not to be stumbling down the sidewalk whenever he found her. “We’d only been out for a little while. I was on my third drink when I realized I’d lost them.”
That stamped out some of the fear that had threatened to swallow Luke whole–he didn’t even want to think about her drunk on the sidewalk in a bad part of town, no one there to help her if something did happen. Still, the reminder that she’d gotten separated from her friends prompted a flare of annoyance in him. “How’d you get separated from them, anyway?” He swerved indignantly around a cab going a solid 10 miles under the speed limit.
She snorted on the other end of the line. “Flynn is basically blackout already. I went to the bar to get us a couple more drinks, and they were gone when I came back. I searched all over the club before I finally just tracked Flynn’s phone, and they were already at another bar like ten blocks away. I didn’t feel comfortable walking there on my own, so I’ll just call it a night. I’m sure Nadine will take care of Flynn.”
Luke wanted to argue that if they’d already lost track of one person, how safe could Flynn really be, but then again she was the birthday girl and the whole reason for going out in the first place. And he didn’t feel like fighting with Julie while he was just trying to get to her and make sure she stayed safe, so he kept his mouth shut.
“What were you doing when I called? Did I interrupt something important?”
The question was obviously poised just to keep him talking. He’d never care about her interrupting anything he was doing, and he knew that she knew that. He’d always want her to call him in these kinds of situations. “Nah, I was just catching up on Stranger Things.”
Her gasp of delight made him smile. “What episode are you on? I don’t want to accidentally spoil anything.”
It was an easy shift in the conversation. Talking about the show took up the rest of his drive, and Luke felt himself letting out a gust of air when the neon lights of the club came into view down the street. “Jules, I’m pulling up now. Wanna walk down to the stop sign and meet me there?”
“Yes! I’ll be right there!”
He pulled off to a loading zone and flipped his hazards on, Julie quickly coming into view in a pretty yellow dress with a smile that shouldn’t have been nearly as bright as it was for the dark night around her. As soon as she was close enough, he leaned across the car and yanked the handle on the passenger door, opening it up for her to jump in quickly.
“Hi.” She was a little bit breathless from her quick pace down the sidewalk, but she looked thrilled to be in the car and away from the boisterous line outside the club.
“Hi,” Luke laughed, waiting for her to buckle in and get settled before he pulled away from the curb. “You hungry? Want me to get you something?”
Her jaw dropped, like food was the best idea in the world.
Let’s be real, though. This was Julie. Food was the best idea in the world in her book.
“Can we get In-N-Out, please? I was so busy cleaning up the house before Dad comes back that I never ate any dinner tonight.”
He should’ve guessed. There were few things Julie loved more than animal style fries. “Let’s do it.” Taking a chance, and because he missed her skin, he smiled and reached out to pat her bare knee in a show of solidarity for her love of greasy fast food.
He absolutely did not expect, though, for both her arms to wrap securely around his bicep and hug it to her chest, her whole body leaning toward the center console of the car to rest her cheek against his bare shoulder. His hand had nowhere to go except to settle against the soft skin of her knee he’d originally meant to give a passing touch.
Shit, was she drunker than she looked?
Because if he was being honest, she looked pretty damn sober to him. Yeah, her smile was a little wider than usual and she was definitely excited about food, but she definitely didn’t seem inebriated or unaware of her own actions in any way.
Which begged the question…was she snuggling up to him just because she wanted to?
Luke’s mind was going a million miles an hour trying to figure out what was happening and what he should do about all while trying to seem super casual, like this was something they did all the time, because shit he really liked her and he didn’t want to scare her off, either, but–
“I missed you.” Her simple declaration tore him straight out of his thoughts, quiet and sure like she knew it was exactly what he needed to hear.
“I missed you, too.” His response was automatic, like this was something they said to each other all the time.
She squeezed against his arm in acknowledgment, and then the car fell into a comfortable silence.
The closest In-N-Out was only a couple minutes away, but Luke almost dreaded it when the signature crossed palm trees came into view and their time in the car had obviously come to a close. Julie didn’t notice, releasing her grip on his arm and happily tossing her door open as soon as Luke had parked and flipped the engine off. She bounced in place as she waited for him to get out of the car.
“Luke, let’s go, my stomach is gonna eat itself if you don’t feed me right the hell now.” He laughed even though his heart was pounding away in his chest as she reached over to grasp her hand in his and tug him toward the doors.
Was this supposed to feel like a date? This felt weirdly like a date.
Luke pulled the door open and let Julie walk in first, their entwined fingers tugging him along quickly behind her as her eyes made a beeline for the menu behind the counter. “Are you gonna get anything?” she asked, coming to a stop behind a trio of dudes in the line to order.
Luke considered the question briefly, knowing she’d share her fries if he wanted them and trying to decide if that would be enough to fill him up. Likely not. His rigorous workout earlier today had left him feeling hungrier than usual after a period of not being able to hit the gym as regularly as he usually preferred. “Yeah, I think so. Wanna split your fries with me, though?”
Julie nodded, like she’d had the same idea, and then the three guys in front of them moved out of the way and it was their turn to order. Luke knew Julie’s go-to order by heart, so he didn’t hesitate to list off both their orders together. He ordered a cheeseburger, a double double double, animal style fries, and a chocolate shake for them to split before he had to tug his hand from Julie’s in order to grab for his wallet and pay.
“Want me to Venmo you for it?” she asked immediately, brows pinched together in remorse like she hadn’t meant for him to buy it.
He laughed because his favorite thing in the world was doing stuff for Julie. He wouldn’t ever let her Venmo him for something as simple as a burger and fries. “Nah, I’m basically rolling in tour cash now. You’re a poor college student.” He let a cocky smirk slip over his face so she’d stop doing the cute little pouty lip that made him want to kiss her.
Stop looking at her lips, dude. You’re being weird.
“Just think of yourself as my groupie if it makes you feel better.”
The gross comment worked: Julie shoved his shoulder playfully before grabbing the chocolate shake off the counter and securing a booth at the front of the dining room.
They settled in together with their burgers, fries and chocolate shake in the center of the table between them as they ate. Julie always ate the fries with a fork, as one should, but Luke loved to mess with her and make her think he was a savage so he’d grab at goopy clumps of fry and toss them into his mouth and she’d yell and pretend like she didn’t know him.
Luke grinned as he chewed the most recent bite of fry. Her smile was his favorite.
“So what do you think the chances are that Reg actually makes it back to your apartment tonight? He and Lauren seemed…enthusiastic last night.” Julie shuddered, like the thought of her older brother with some girl was total nightmare fuel.
To be fair, picturing Reggie with a woman was terror-inducing to Luke, too, so he understood it. “Definitely not. He pretty much implied he’d be staying with her when he left earlier.”
Julie smiled. “What about Alex? Did you scare the shit out of him running out of your house to come pick me up from the big, scary club?”
Another headshake. “No, Willie was out of town for an overnight skateboarding event last night, so Alex went over there as soon as he got back in today. I’ll be surprised if we see him before he shows up at Sunday Dinner tomorrow.”
The prospect of the weekly Molina dinner reminded Julie of something, her eyes widening even as her hand shot out to grab Luke’s wrist when he leaned in for another disgusting handful of fries. “Stop that. You just reminded me, Carlos hit a growth spurt while you guys were gone. He might be taller than you now.”
Now that just seemed fake. Who gave Carlos permission to grow up?
It definitely wasn’t them.
“Sounds like we’ll have to kneecap him then. I’m very insecure around people who are taller than me.”
The joke had its intended effect: Julie let his wrist go to cover her face as an extremely ungraceful snort erupted from her nose, her eyes widening in shock at him the moment the sound came out.
Luke let out a full belly laugh, taking advantage of her momentary distress to grab for two more fries and pop them in his mouth. “You good, Jules? Do you need to be excused?”
Her face lit on fire. “Shut up, Luke Patterson! I could have died!”
Luke used a hand to cover the pinch in his side at how hard he laughed. These were his favorite moments with her, where one or both of them laughed so hard they couldn’t even speak. It was exactly why he felt closer to her than probably anybody else on the planet. She was his favorite.
Her head collapsed onto her folded arms over the table, hiding her completely from his view in a way that he immediately hated.
“Hey, come on, boss,” he prompted, reaching out with his un-cheesy hand to comfortingly rub against the back of her curls. “It was very cute. Don’t be embarrassed.” The coils of curls tingled against his palm as he soothingly petted her hair, careful not to disturb them at all because he knew she’d kill him for it.
His admission made her pick her head up from the table, looking at him curiously as he shifted to tuck a wayward strand behind her ear instead. He locked his eyes on his hand as it lingered on the side of her face, not quite wanting to give up this moment of contact but knowing that it was about to be super weird if he just held her face inside this In-N-Out at nearly midnight on Saturday.
“Really?” she hummed right as Luke forced himself to pull away from her, reaching for the shake on his way back to his own side of the table so he could take a sip and take a moment to himself before he answered. Her eyes bore holes straight into his soul, wide and eager and beautiful.
There were a couple things he could do with this. The obvious would be to brush it off and move on so he didn’t make anything weird. Except she’d already snuggled against his arm and held his hand tonight and now he was dying to know if that was just because she’d had alcohol or because he actually had picked up on a vibe last night that maybe he wasn’t totally alone in this crush he’d developed and would love to explore if only it weren’t going to totally wreck their friendship.
Finally, he decided to go for it. If it made things weird then he’d just be weirder until they both moved on. He could dial up the freak-o-meter if he needed to so it wouldn’t be awkward. Hell, he’d sing on top of this table if it made Julie laugh so hard she snorted again.
“‘Course, Jules. You’re always cute.”
It was the right thing to say. Her nose crinkled up like she thought it was cheesy, but her foot immediately nudged him under the table. He trapped it between both of his and held it there while he tried to figure out what the hell his next move was gonna be.
He didn’t have to, though, because she came up with it for them: “Can I come over to watch Stranger Things with you for a while? Flynn won’t be home for hours and our apartment makes me nervous alone.”
And that was…obviously a line, but he’d take it if it meant the night progressed positively from here. Julie Molina was a lot of things, but there was a lot of courage packed into that tiny, gorgeous frame of hers. She definitely wasn’t scared.
Which meant she just wanted to spend more time with him.
Which was…a lot.
“Y-yeah, sure,” is all he could find it in himself to say, but Julie just smiled and stabbed her plastic fork into another bite of their fries.
Okay, Luke, keep it together.
They finished their food and threw it away, and then Julie bounced ahead of him with his usual caliber of enthusiasm to get back to the car.
Meanwhile, Luke’s entire body had hummed to life and thrummed with anxious energy.
What were they doing? It was now the far side of midnight, and if he had been with anyone else, he’d be pretty positive they were headed back to his place to hook up. But this was Julie, which made it hella complicated. Surely she wasn’t looking for a casual hookup with him, right? She had to know that their relationship was too deep for that. So was she looking for a serious hookup? Was she even looking for a hookup at all? Did she really just want to watch a show she’d already seen with him while they waited for a text that Flynn had made it home?
The night had taken a weird turn and Luke was a solid mass of jitters by the time he climbed into the front seat.
“Do you have any new playlists to listen to? I think I’ve gone through your last one about a million times.” Julie’s fingers fiddled with the stereo inputs on the car, switching the source over to his phone and looking at him expectantly.
She was being totally normal, so he could do that, too, right?
“Yeah, just pull up my Spotify. It’ll be the one on top.”
His password was the date Sunset Curve had formed, because he was poetic like that, and Julie had known it for years. She grabbed his phone from his hand when he offered it up and pulled open the app to start the one titled with just an orange heart emoji. A mixtape of Luke’s all time favorites. She set his phone in the cupholder as soon as the opening notes started in the song.
The music made for a good, casual backdrop in the car. They didn’t need to talk when they could just sing along to the radio.
It was the music that gave Luke the courage to feel out more about what might be happening between him and Julie. Once he was out of the parking lot and routing them back toward his apartment, he chanced some more physical contact and reached his hand back out toward her left knee. If she seemed uncomfortable, he’d just drop it and never press the issue again.
But as soon as his hand settled on the soft, warm skin above her knee he couldn’t mistake the content hum Julie gave or that she subtly edged her knee closer in his direction.
She was into it.
Like, positively.
Not in a maybe-just-sort-of-flirty way that they usually interacted.
This was actual flirting, between two people who were definitely interested beyond the scope of the platonic friendship Luke swore they’d had 48 hours ago.
His hand lit on fire where it touched her skin. He hooked his fingers toward the inside of her knee so they rested more naturally against the lowest part of her thigh, still well beyond the hem of the yellow sundress she wore. His thumb offered one soft, gentle stroke across the skin there.
Julie’s next inhale was stuttered, goosebumps erupting across the skin he touched. Her ragged breathing sent a lightning bolt of electricity straight into his chest. And then when she gently scratched her nails against the sensitive skin on the inside of his forearm, it was Luke’s turn to squirm in his seat.
Okay, that was enough experimenting.
Julie was definitely into it.
He kept his hand solidly in place for the rest of the drive, only his thumb slipping in soothing circles against the inside of her knee keeping him grounded to the moment. He totally forgot to even sing along to the music she’d turned on, listening instead to her low humming and occasional sighs of contentment.
It wasn’t until they’d parked in front of his building and Julie had ejected her seatbelt from its lock that Luke finally got up the nerve to drag his hand from her thigh and turn in his seat to face her fully.
Sensing a question brewing on his lips, Julie paused in getting out of the car and turned to face him, too.
How did he even ask her something like this? Because, yeah, he’d been in love with Julie for literal years at this point, but he’d spent so long dancing around his feelings that he didn’t have a clue how to approach this conversation.
But his hand tingled from the loss of warmth where he’d had it stationed on her thigh, and she looked at him with such an open and earnest expression that the question tumbled out of his mouth like word vomit.
“What’s going on, Jules? Because I think if you’re going for a casual hookup here then that’s probably not going to end well and you’re my best friend –”
“Luke.” Her voice, quiet and sure, cut him off from whatever he was about to let out.
He stared at her face even while his heart stuttered as she took his hand and covered it gently with both of hers. Her molten chocolate eyes fixed him to his seat. She was gearing up for something.
“I missed you more these last three months than I ever thought it was possible to miss a person.”
He sucked in a breath, because that was not a sentence Julie took lightly. He knew how much she missed her mom every day of her life.
“I’m pretty sure you were never going to make a move because you’re worried about Reggie’s feelings or what’ll happen if we don’t work out or something, but I can’t keep tiptoeing around this anymore.” She paused and took a deep breath, her eyes searching for any sign that he was uncomfortable or anything else other than positively elated. He wasn’t. “So for the love of God, will you please get out of your head about it and just kiss me?”
And, yeah, that was enough for him.
“C’mere.” The request was barely more than a rumble in his chest as he tugged his hand from both of hers, using it to brace the back of her neck as he leaned in over the center console.
Their lips met first in a soft brush against one another, just the whisper of a kiss to get a feel for it. But then Julie’s warm breath washed over him in anticipation, his lips tingling from that lightest bit of contact, and Luke couldn’t take it anymore. He tilted his head down to slot their lips properly together and then they were kissing.
Julie seemed every bit as surprised as he was, but her fingers clutched at the neckline of his shirt as she nipped against his bottom lip and he groaned. It was slow but enthusiastic, and warmth zipped from his chest all the way down to his toes. Her mouth opened ever so slightly and his tongue darted out to touch her lip, and his stomach fell in a swoop as he swallowed down the sweetest little whine from her lips.
He needed to hear that about 8,000 more times.
Their lips disconnected with a distinct smack so he can trail his lips across the line of her jaw, exploring her skin and searching for a spot that she liked. He couldn’t stop his smirk when he brushed just below her ear and she gasped, fingers suddenly tugging against the back of his hair as she tilted away to give him more room to work.
He tended to the spot with his lips and teeth and tongue until he was pretty sure she was about to climb over the center console and into his lap. It wasn’t until a desperate hand clutched at his bare shoulder and she whined out a quiet “W-wait” that he dragged his mouth off her.
And, shit, it was a really good view.
Julie’s eyes were so glassy they sparkled, her lips kiss-swollen and cheeks pink in the dim light of the dashboard. She was a little bit of a wreck. Luke loved it immediately.
She didn’t look like she was upset or anything. Had he crossed a line?
“You okay, Jules? What’s wrong?”
The fingers against the back of his neck stroked against his skin soothingly, the touch so light Luke shivered in his seat. He didn’t even try to hide it.
Julie smiled, but it was a little nervous.
“I just…I wanted to make sure I wasn’t totally wrong on this. I know I acted super confident about all that but the truth is I almost shit my pants and you haven’t actually said anything yet and you’re my best friend and I just want to know I didn’t like massively fuck this up just now.” The words came out in a rush, but they were clear, and Luke knew without a doubt that whatever traces of alcohol had been in her system when he’d first picked her up were now long gone, an earnest and totally sincere Julie all that was left.
Shit, had he really not said anything?
He’d heard “kiss me” and then his mind was a blank. She was right, he hadn’t uttered a word about his feelings for her. Which was ironic, because that was all he thought about for about 67% of his days.
But now that it came time to put it into actual words and not just a mindless loop of juliejuliejuliejulie, what the fuck was he supposed to say?
It was her eyes, warm and soft and nervous and beautiful, that stilled the frantic beating of his heart. He knew those eyes. He loved those eyes.
So Luke leaned his forehead against hers, drawing in until their noses bumped affectionately. “Sorry, boss. I thought it was obvious. I’m pretty sure I’ve been in love with you as long as I’ve known you. You were right–I am pretty much scared shitless about what Reggie’s gonna say or that something is going to happen and I’ll lose my best friend, but I’m in if you are. I love you. And I wanna take you out on dates and write you disgustingly sweet songs and I definitely want to go upstairs right now and pretend to watch Stranger Things while we make out on my couch and then I will very respectfully offer you my bed for the night while I sleep in the living room so that you know I’m in this for good. And then in the morning I’ll wake you up with coffee and pancakes and we will figure out what the hell we’re going to tell Reggie because I want him to know that I’m totally in love with you and that I’m gonna spend forever making you happy.”
He had a lot more he could’ve added to his speech, too, but Julie had clutched his cheek and pulled him in for another kiss that was far more frantic than the last one, the center console between them digging uncomfortably into his abs while he leaned over it and worked to keep up with the hurried pace of her mouth. It wasn’t until her teeth bit gently onto his bottom lip, tugging and sucking lightly against the skin that he broke off with a pleading groan.
Julie giggled against his lips. “I love you, too.”
But now that he knew how good kissing her felt, that it sparked every nerve in his body and that anything could feel this good, he could barely let her get the words out. He pulled her back in and stole her breath until she had no choice but to disconnect with an uneven pant that made him smile victoriously against her cheek.
“But I don’t need you to spend forever making me happy–you just existing in my orbit is more than enough for that. Okay?” She pulled back enough to be able to look at him, so he could see exactly how much she meant her words and how much he meant to her.
This was it. They were going to be together. Likely forever, if he had anything to say about it.
Just the thought was enough to melt Luke into a lovesick blob of a man in Julie's collarbone.
But then…
“Aren’t you gonna take me upstairs so we can make out and pretend to watch Stranger Things?”
And, yeah, that sounded pretty good to him.
Julie giggled in glee as Luke tugged her the whole way up the stairs.