Paper Hearts

32

The taste of salt and sunscreen was all I could think about for the next several hours. As I moved about the house, doing chores upon my mother's request, I relived the moment over and over again, and each time, it felt even more perfect than the last.

I'd changed into dry clothes and was now setting the table for dinner; Mom predicted Daniel would be home within the next few minutes. In the other room, I could hear Luke talking with Rhonda, saying something about color schemes and whatnot. My mother had gone up to her bedroom to try on her wedding dress again, seemingly indecisive about the cut of the fabric, and I remained in the kitchen, moving silverware to each space between plates.

Then, out of nowhere, I felt someone's gaze on the back of my neck, and I turned slowly, my heart leaping into my throat as I caught Luke's gaze. He had his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet, and I glanced away, furious at the blush that warmed my cheeks.

"Need any help?" He asked me, and my voice came out a mere squeak.

"No, thanks."

He crossed over to me anyways, taking up the rest of the forks and setting them out quickly, then moving to the stack of napkins and distributing them evenly. Within seconds, he had completed the job, leaving me to just stare at my feet and hope he wouldn't make me anymore flustered than I already was.

It was funny, how we treated each other now. What used to be a fun relationship full of sarcasm and snide comments was now a relationship full of awkward interaction and nerves. I could see it in him, too, because he hadn't made a single remark, or joked about my inability to set a table correctly. We avoided each other's gazes, but every once and a while, I would catch his right as he was sneaking a glance at me, and a rush of adrenaline would fly through me, and I would be brought back to the beach-if only for a fleeting second-before it went away and I was back to looking all shy.

We weren't ourselves-the regular Victoria and Luke would already be arguing over something petty, or making jokes about each other. But, now, in this new, strange, undiscovered situation, I had no idea what to do.

So we just stood there, and I could literally feel the discomfort rising between us.

Until Luke broke the silence by saying,

"I don't want us to be this way forever, Hemmings."

I looked up at him so quickly I thought my neck might snap; it was as if he'd read my mind.

"Me, either," I told him, my voice breathy. "I-I don't know what's gotten into me; this is so-"

"Weird," he finished, and I nodded, pressing a hand to my temple.

"It really is."

"Look," he said, gently pressing on my shoulder so that I turned to face him completely. "Whatever happened, whatever might happen, we're always going to be us. Luke and Victoria. I'll still be the suave player, and you'll still be the incredibly-sarcastic control freak."

I couldn't help but laugh at that, and he smiled when I did.

"All jokes aside, though, we can't let this get to us. In fact, it's kind of a good thing. I mean, we were meant to be each other's fake dates for this wedding. Now, we don't have to play pretend. It works out. It all works out."

My heart thudded in my chest, and I nodded.

"Yeah. It does."

"So we're okay?"

I offered him an easy smile.

"Yeah, of course we are."

His hand slipped off of my shoulder.

"Good," he whispered, "because, despite your control-freak nature, you're a hell of a kisser."

I shook my head, masking my laughter, and his lips twitched with amusement.

"You're not bad yourself, Callaway."

"I try my hardest."

And, just like that, we were back to ourselves. The tension and anxiety was washed from my body as I laughed with him in the kitchen, moving to wipe down the countertops as he stood behind them, and I was reminded of Tanner's house party, the night I first began speaking with him, and how far we had come since then.

We had come a long way, that was for sure. He went from smooth and unreadable to kind and sensitive, and I went from controlling and cynical to fun-loving and spontaneous.

We had each taken traits from each other, unknowingly, and reinvented ourselves.

Finally, finally, we were the people we'd always wanted to be.