Chapter 5
Harper
We get through security faster than anticipated. I’d thought that with a flight later in the day, it would be more crowded, but it seems most people prefer to fly out in the morning.
Our flight takes off at 8:16 p.m., and by the time we land it will be around one a.m. our time and six a.m. in Iceland. With a flight that’s just over five hours, it’s not going to be a great night of sleep.
“I’m going to go to the bathroom.” Luke says as he gets up.
“Sounds good.”
Our flight doesn’t board for another hour, so all there is to do is wait.
As Luke leaves, I hear a chime, and when I look over, his phone is sitting on top of his carry-on, a text from Wes lighting up the screen.
I don’t mean to be nosey, but my name pops out at me, along with a winky face emoji.
Don’t forget to tell Harper how you feel??
For a minute, I’m just confused. How you feel? Luke’salways told me how he feels.
But then it hits me.
Could he?
No.
He can’t.
Could he?
I move closer to his phone, this time trying to read it. The screen goes black, and I tap it again to make the message appear. I read it over again, sure that I’ve missed something.
Don’t forget to tell Harper how you feel??
Nope. No mistaking what that says.
This time I’m really stepping over the line. I try to unlock the phone, but he has a passcode on it, and apparently that’s the one thing about Luke that I don’t know.
After two failed attempts at guessing the code, I put the phone down, cursing to myself.
He likes me?
I mean, people in our lives have always joked about it. Friends, family, our moms most often. But we always dismissed it.Lukedismissed it. Laughed at the concept because he thought it was as silly as I did. Or at least I thought he did.
I try to think back to the last time someone made a comment about us being a couple. It doesn’t happen as often now that we’ve made things clear to all our friends, but I vaguely remember a time Wes saying something. He’d made a joke to Luke about me being his girl. Luke had given him a playful shove but... but I can’t remember if he ever said anything. It happened so long ago, back when I first met Wes, and I had dismissed it.
Over the years, Luke and I have been annoyed by people assuming we’re a couple. We got so frustrated that people can’t let a guy and a girl be friends. People have always assumed there was more—that we were hiding our relationship or just pretending to not have feelings. Luke’s even talked to the guys I’ve dated, explained to them that we’re just childhood friends. Other than Dustin, they’ve always taken Luke for his word.
Luke isn’t that good of a liar to hide his feelings all these years. Did something change, or is he a better actor than I gave him credit for?
The thought makes me question every interaction we’ve had, looking at everything in a new light. I remember when I went to prom senior year and didn’t have a date, my mom told me to ask Luke, but that felt too strange. A part of me wanted to since we were both single at the time. I could picture going to prom with him. It would have been perfect, I knew it would. But it was just a fantasy. I imagined if I had asked Luke, he would have laughed about how silly prom was, since he was already in college. And the thought of him turning me down left an ache in my chest so heavy, it was easier to avoid it altogether. So even though there was curiosity, I opted to go to prom single.
When I saw Luke the following week, he told me how beautiful I looked in the photos his mom showed him. The comment made me blush, and instead of just saying thank you, I pretended I didn’t hear him and moved on with whatever we had been talking about.
That’s the most I’ve ever allowed myself to consider the possibility of Luke and me being a couple. I stuffed the feelingsfar down. Not falling for Luke became a matter of survival. With every sweet gesture, I’d remind myself, it’s just Luke. Luke is off limits.
Luke is too perfect. He’s sweet, charming, and puts everyone else’s needs before his own. He’d make a great boyfriend ... for anyone but me. And as perfect as Luke is, we still bicker like siblings.
