Esteem

Chapter 3

ASHTON

"No fucking way."

I didn't even realize I had fallen asleep until I hear Michael's low swearing from the spot next to me on the hotel couch. We had put on some stupid movie, stupid enough for me to fall asleep during. I groan and turn my face away, trying to fall back asleep.

"Ashton, you have to see this," Michael is shaking my shoulder.

"No, I don't," I groan.

"I'm not kidding, dude." The seriousness of his tone captures my attention, and sit up. Michael holds his phone to my face. I rub my eyes, squinting. I don't have my glasses on. All I can see on the tiny screen are two blurry figures. I've taken enough pictures of and with Luke to know what he looks like, even blurry, and he is in this picture. The figure next to him slowly comes into focus, and I immediately recognize the brown-blonde hair.

"Is that-?" I gasp.

"Yes!" Michael cuts me off. "Oh my God!"

The picture is fully focused now, and I can see that Luke and Claire Kennedy are leaning up against a bar. Her hand is reaching out to touch his arm, her smile wide, and he is mid-laugh.

So many thoughts flood my mind at once; I can't focus on any of them. I can't wait to hear this story. Part of me is insanely jealous, but part of me should have been expecting it.

Of course she would go for Luke. Everyone goes for Luke.

As if on cue, the doorknob turns and Luke steps into the room. Instead of bombarding him with the thousand questions that we have, Michael and I find that we can only gape, open mouthed. Luke just looks back at us, knowing exactly what is on our minds, but seeming unable to find the words either.

"I don't even know," he raises his hands, shaking his head. He seems to be just as much in disbelief as we are.

"How did that even happen?" Michael asks, dumbfounded. It registers in my mind how funny this all should be, but I can't laugh. Michael is never speechless.

"She literally just came over and started talking to me," Luke says.

"About what?" Michael presses.

"Nothing, really. Everything. It was like... we were friends. She wanted to be my friend." Luke is blinking, almost in confusion. I can tell that he hasn't processed it all yet.

"How did you talk to her?" Michael marvels. "Like, dude. I'm better at talking to girls than you are, and I couldn't even talk to her."

"It was really easy, actually. She's easy to talk to," Luke shrugs.

"So do you like... like her?" Michael asks.

"Dude, no," Luke laughs. "Way out of my league. And it didn't feel like that, we were just hanging out. Besides, she has a boyfriend."

"Watch out Ashton, Luke's making a move on your woman," Michael jokes. I just roll my eyes.

"Really though," Luke says. "If anyone should be making a move on her, it's you," Luke says to me.

"Me?" I ask incredulously. "I couldn't even speak to her!"

"You could, though, eventually," he brushes my statement off. "She reminds me a lot of you, that's why I think I was so comfortable."

"Really?" I ask. I would not have thought that Claire Kennedy would be anything like me. She is beautiful, confident. She shines. I admit I have my moments, but I do not shine. Not like her. No one shines like her. "How?"

"She doesn't like parties. She talks like you, she laughs at her own jokes. What's that called, when someone makes jokes about themselves?"

"Self-deprecating," Michael interjects. We both stare at him. "What? I know big words!" He defends.