The Farrington family group chat, which I’d been added to somewhere around week three of being in Willowbrook, was exploding.
Blake:So we’re all just going to pretend like last night wasn’t HUGE?
Xander:What do you want us to say? “Congrats on finally being honest”?
Blake:YES. Exactly that.
Reece:I’m just happy for them both
Billie:Same. They’re good together
Gage:Dex deserves this
Trace:They both do
Delaney:Can we plan a couples’ thing? Like a double date but with all of us?
Blake:Absolutely not. That’s too much pressure. Let them breathe.
Xander:Says the woman who JUST suggested we all make a big deal about it
Blake:Making a big deal and smothering them are different things
I scrolled through, smiling despite myself. This family.Myfamily. They were ridiculous and loving and entirely too invested in everyone’s business.
Another message popped up, this one just to me.
Dex:Good morning. Sleep okay?
Leigh:Better than expected. You?
Dex:Not really. Kept thinking about you
Leigh:We literally just saw each other
Dex:I know. Still thought about you.
My chest did that stupid flutter thing it had been doing constantly lately.
Leigh:So what now?
Dex:Now we do what we said. Live in the moment. Enjoy this.
Dex:Speaking of which... let me take you on a real date. Tonight. In town. Public. The whole thing.
Leigh:Like a normal couple?
Dex:Exactly like a normal couple
Leigh:That sounds terrifying
Dex:That sounds perfect. Pick you up at 6?
I stared at my phone. A real date. In Willowbrook. Where everyone knew everyone and apparently everyone already knew about us anyway.
No more hiding. No more sneaking around. Just us, being together, like we had every right to be.
Leigh:6 is perfect
