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She’s right. We look like besties enjoying a private party. It’s perfect. “Take it as a compliment and get ready for your phone to blow up with notifications once I post.”
Her hand lowers, along with the smile on her face. She chews on her tongue, and I know she’s about to ask a question.
“You think Lucas will see it?”
My heart skips a beat. Lucas is my next-door neighbor and best friend in life. Has been since his family moved in when I was eight years old. Lucas and I have always been connected at the hip, our bond not missing a beat, even when he went to a different college on the opposite side of the country. He graduated this weekend and is coming home today. Jasmine knows Lucas never misses one of my posts. She’s known the answer to the question before she asked. “Are you interested in Lucas?” I hear the disbelief in my tone.
Her chin lowers to her chest, her eyes avoiding me.
She is.
I feel a tightness in my chest, something that has appeared recently whenever Lucas and I’ve chatted, and he shares updates on the latest schemes by the girls on his campus. I’ve gone from being his wingwoman in high school to feeling pangs of jealousy. I know why, but I’m not ready to admit it out loud just yet.
“I know you two are super tight. And he’s finally coming back home. I don’t want…” She can’t get the words out.
“If Lucas and I were ever going to be a thing don’t you think it would have happened by now?” I say the words my friend expects to hear. I hold my truth tight, buried deep in my chest—Lucas and I have a long history and, if I’m correct, an even longer future ahead of us. But I’m not in a rush.
“So, you don’t think of him in that way? Never have?”
Heat races to my neck. It’s a question I was asked a lot back in high school when we shared nearly every free moment together. My friends finding me sitting on his lap or his arms around my shoulder was a common occurrence. But we were friends, close friends who shared everything—except what they questioned. I know I can outwait the question. Few of my friends have the patience or willpower I possess, and when Jasmine’s lips part two seconds later, I expect to be proven right.
“Have you guys ever kissed?” Jasmine doubles down with her interest, and my arms cross against my chest. There is no simple answer. There never is when it comes to Lucas.
“When we were in high school, once.” I scoff out an answer, hoping to kill this conversation. My breathing stutters at the memory of us behind a closed pantry door. A high school party game, seven minutes in heaven. Four hundred and twenty seconds that changed me forever.
“Whew.” Jasmine lifts her shoulders and then lowers them. A half-smile returns. “Good, because if you ever decide… No one on the planet would stand a chance.” She bats her eyelids at me, allowing me to speak now or forever hold my peace.
“Nope, it’s never been the right time. Go for it.” I hear the hollowness of my words. Have I thought about Lucas and me? Of course, especially during my college years when every guy I dated couldn’t hold a candle to the wonder of Lucas. But the albatross of the friendship anchor buried me at the bottom of the swamp these last few years. It’s going to take some time to wipe off the muck and swim to shore, but I know he’ll be there when I arrive.
“You’re going to see him this afternoon, right?”
I nod. Not only does Lucas live next door to me, but we have a ritual. Whenever he comes home from college—whether it’s spring break, Christmas, or even just for a long weekend—the first stop he makes after his parents is with me. We have a special place in the Osprey Mountains where we pitch a tent, share snacks, and catch up.
It’s our reunion ceremony, no matter how short or long the separation has been. He’s my best friend in the world, and our history is littered with a million special memories like this one.
“With so many of your friends returning from school, can you ask to see if he’d go out with me?” Jasmine is not a shy woman. She’s had boyfriends since sophomore year in high school. Why she doesn’t ask Lucas for herself tosses me for a loop.
“You know Lucas. You sure you don’t want to ask him yourself?”
“I could, but if it comes through you he won’t hesitate to say yes.”
I’ve had my coffee, yet I can’t follow her logic. She must read my face as she lifts a finger toward me.
“You acting as my ambassador? I’d be Adrienne approved. In his eyes, it’s like being vetted by the queen. He trusts you. If you say I’m a good match, he’ll be a fool not to start planning the wedding.”
Her words cut like a knife. I do not hold that much power over Lucas. How could I? “Let’s not rush out to pick out a white dress just yet, Miss I Want to Enjoy My Summer.” My heart races as I realize some of what she says is true. “First, how do you know Lucas didn’t find a girlfriend in school this semester?”
She unties her ponytail and lets her hair cascade down to her shoulders, and I wonder if Lucas still has a thing for long hair. “Because he would have called you the minute the girl left his dorm room.”
Touché.
“Okay, then as your ambassador, what are your intentions for my friend?” I singsong my question, hoping she doesn’t hear the defensive undertone. “Lucas is a special guy. Are you looking for some summer fling, boy toy?”
Her brows pinch before she replies, “I wouldn’t mind some summer fun, but with a guy like Lucas… Well, he’s the holy grail. The type of guy you give up everything else for.” She steps to me, removing her glasses, those hypnotic eyes reading me. “If Lucas dates me, I’m going to be all in. To the window, to the wall. I want it all.”
She recites her variation of a silly rap song lyric without the humor normally associated with its delivery. Message received. Jasmine doesn’t blink, her eyes freezing me in place, forcing me to do her bidding. If she looks at Lucas like this, I question whether he’ll be able to resist.
I mumble out a response like a robot. “Message received.”
