The Reed and Hughes kids have never known life without each other. They'd all been intertwined since before they were even born. Kennedy may be a bit more intertwined with Jack than the rest of the kids. There's a certain bond with your first crush...
That confidence in a second date turned into confidence in a third, fourth, fifth, and next thing I know Jack and I have gone on ten whole dates together. Some near my place, some near his. Tonight was near his and, as usual, I was sleeping over. The first night it happened, we pretended like I'd share a bed with Luke or take the couch. That didn't happen. It's not happening tonight either.
Jack stands up from the couch with a dramatic yawn. "I gotta go to bed."
"Wow, do I exhaust you that much?" I joke.
"Twenty-one whole years, Kennedy," he calls back to me. My eyes roll without any real effort. Their gaze ends up on my best friend across the couch with the most annoyed expression.
"Aren't you going to follow him?" He asks, his voice teasing.
I scoff. "Can't I spend time with you?"
"You spend enough time with me."
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Every ounce of fake shock I have is put into those words. It's not even close to believable.
"I am, yeah," he says.
"I thought you loved me." While I move over to his side of the couch, he pretends to think.
"I'd love you more if you got on with it and made it official with Jack," he says.
The heel of my palm thumps against his shoulder. "That's none of your business."
"It's double my business!" Okay, the boy makes a bit of a point there.
But it's going so well. Me and Jack are going so well in the way we are right now. What if we go another step further and everything messes up? The dynamic fucks up? We crash and burn? He wouldn't be the first one for that to happen with.
Luke sighs. "You're still scared about what Holland said?"
My glare is all he needs in response. I haven't talked to Holly since the summer. Since before the ten dates. I just don't know what to say to her. Luke and Jack have both had some suggestions. Ki has some suggestions that I would never even repeat to anyone which is a rare occurrence. I don't know.
"Go follow him, Prez. Get some rest."
I huff and stand up. "I'm going because I'm tired and you swear I kick you. Not because of anything else you said."
Luke's laugh follows me through the hall. Every step I take toward Jack's bedroom is more stressful. Does he think we should be official? Has he been waiting on me? No. No. He's probably in the same boat as me. Take it slow and it's better.
"Hey," he says the moment I close the door. He's sitting against the headboard, his shirt gone and his sweats at that low spot that shows off that he's got that v-line thing going for him. That low spot made me go a little crazy for him back at the lake house.
"Hi," I whisper. I don't know why.
Jack laughs, the beautiful noise bouncing off the walls of the room and my skull. "Why are you whispering? C'mere."
Carefully, I make my way to the left side of his bed. My side of his bed. There's a twisting feeling in my gut. He's probably had other girls consider this their side of the bed. They've probably been worried about whether they'll be official or just two people going on dates and hanging around each other.
"What's up?" He asks because of course he notices something's up.
I shake my head. My curls fall over my shoulders on one side and he immediately pushes them back out of the way. His hand brushes against my shoulder that's literally covered only by his shirt. One that I gave him for Christmas one year in a size too big because it's all they had. The graphic is faded to the point you're unable to read it.
"Kenny, honey," he says. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
That's the issue. Everything is okay. Everything's more than okay. Everything's great. I want it to be more than great. I want to be his completely. I want to tell him all I've ever truly needed was him. Every other guy I've ever dated has simply been to get me to him. It's stupid. It's crazy. It'll be too much and too crazy and he'll get freaked out.
No.
Jack doesn't think I'm crazy. He's never thought that. Not even when I was the little girl with crazy curls flying all over the place following him around trying to get him to break rules with me. Not even when I was the girl trying to do a backflip on a moving tube as if that's how physics can work. Not when I was laughing in the middle of an argument with insults being thrown at me on my own birthday.
"Can I say something heavy?" I ask.
"Always," he answers immediately. "Lay it on me."
"I— I want to be all yours. I want you to be all mine."
For a second, he doesn't answer. He simply looks confused and I start to panic. Then he breaks into a smile. "I can't remember the last time I wasn't all yours. Honestly, pretty sure I've been all yours since I was fourteen. At least knowingly."
"That's not what I meant," I say. "I meant I want to be your girlfriend. I want the title and the— I don't know. We're not just best friends. We share beds, and chairs, and are with each other all the time on dates and after. We're more now. And I think we should..."
"You want to be boyfriend-girlfriend?" He asks.
I laugh and lean forward 'til my forehead rests on his shoulder. "Yeah."
"Then let's do it. Make things official?" Jack turns his head to place a kiss on the first spot on my head he can. He talks slightly into my hair, "Luke's gonna be so hype. Been begging me to pop the question."
"He's so dramatic," I say.
"He learned it from you."
My head pops up, my hand smacking his chest lightly. He grabs it and presses a kiss to the back of my hand. I shake my head, saying, "You're an idiot."
"Then you're an idiot's girlfriend. Which might be more embarrassing for you."
At that moment, I swear I can feel me at every single age I've had any feelings for Jack get butterflies. I can feel their pride pumping through my veins at the fact that we finally made it.
* * * * *
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prezzyhoney: my best friend's brother is the one for me
lhughes_06: Leave me out of the launch prezzyhoney: you literally wanted this the most lhughes_06: Shut up dude
trevorzegras: Damn prezzyhoney: senior year trevor is heartbroken! trevorzegras: I DIDNT HAVE A THING FOR YOU jackhughes: you did
jackhughes: mine all mine yessir prezzyhoney; so good til the last part
_quinnhughes: Who did the asking prezzyhoney: it was a team effort (luke included) pattonr55d: Figures
kianaayodele: LETS GOOOOOO prezzyhoney: all for you jackhughes: she says from beside me in bed
