"You're actually upset right now? Look at everything the world has given you, Luke."
"And that's great, but I'd rather have you."
• the story before "count on me" by sircalyum • book 1
// smut included //
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
SUNDAY AFTERNOON. The previous morning, I had left Luke's apartment about an hour after having breakfast together. Throughout the morning, I had continued to find that I genuinely enjoyed spending time with him.
I knew I would see him at least one more time before we'd drift into forgetting each other, which I had decided I was content with.
His continuous efforts to try and get me to admit that I might like to see him again amused me, but I never knew whether he was actually being serious about wanting to see me. We had a good night, sure, but he'd be just fine without a nobody like me. I was sure of it.
Once I had gotten home, Madalyn wouldn't stop asking about my night. I simply told her I wouldn't tell her until I could tell Jenna at the same time. Both of the girls teamed up and made plans for the three of us to hang out on Sunday so that I would have to tell them about it. Jenna came over around one o'clock in the afternoon, and they wasted no time before sitting me down and asking to know everything.
"It's time, Josie. Cough it up." I laughed quietly at Madalyn's intensity and I found myself becoming nervous as I looked at my two best friends.
"Okay, look... what I tell you guys might sound insane, but you have to believe me, okay? I was actually planning on just keeping most of my night a secret, but things are a little more complicated than I thought they would be, so now I need some advice." Madalyn and Jenna both furrowed their eyebrows, looked at one another, and then looked back at me.
"You didn't catch something, did you?"
"Jesus, Jen—no!" I let out an exasperated sigh, and she began to laugh at my irritation.
"Well! You're making this a huge deal. What would you want to keep from us?" Jenna asked and I watched as Madalyn began to nod.
"You never keep things from us—you're a horrible liar, too. What happened Friday night, Jo?" I breathed in deeply before spilling.
"So—of course, I went to the bar. You guys saw me leave to get a drink. After a couple of minutes, I started talking to this really attractive guy. He looked so familiar, but I couldn't place him at first! But then he started flirting with me, and I was trying to play hard to get, and that's when he told me his name." I took a breath as I explained the beginning of everything. "His name was Luke."
"Okay? Luke... sounds painfully white and ordinary, so I still don't know what's so crazy—"
"Luke Hemmings." I brought my hands together and clasped them tightly before placing them on my lap. I looked at both of the girls as I stopped speaking and both of their faces remained blank as they stared at me. "I met Luke Hemmings on Friday night."
"You're fucking with us, right?" Madalyn asked, clearly taken aback by the information.
"No—I'm not. I spent Friday night... sleepingwith Luke Hemmings." I spoke as calmly as I could and tried to make sure I sounded as genuine as possible. Suddenly, Jenna burst into laughter—she carried on for at least a full minute.
