Best Friends Don't Kiss

“Oh, you’d be surprised,” I answer, lying down on the bed beside him. “If there were more days, Guy Lucie would’ve found more activities. Truthfully, that final schedule probably had to be narrowed down.”

“Holy shit.” Luke bursts into laughter and sets the laminated itinerary onto my old nightstand and adjusts his arm so it’s underneath my shoulders, tucking me close to his side. “This is going to be some week, huh?”

I grin up at him. “Yeah, well, between Guy’s holiday extravaganza, my sister’s wedding, my stupid reunion, and the whole—” I drop my voice to a whisper “—you pretending to be my boyfriend, I’m pretty sure this week will be one for the books.”

“You want to know my favorite part of the trip so far?”

“Tell me.”

“Seeing your childhood bedroom.”

I lean back to meet his eyes. “Really?”

“Oh yeah,” he responds and glances around the room. “It’s everything I hoped it’d be and more.”

“You’ve spent that much time thinking about my childhood bedroom?”

“I’ve always wondered what young Ava was like when she was up here painting.” His smile is soft and sugary sweet. “And now I know.”

I look around my room and see that most of it hasn’t changed. Not the canvases hanging above my desk or the easel that still sits by the window. It’s a true blast from the past.

“I think ten-year-old Luke would’ve been fascinated by ten-year-old Ava.”

“You don’t know that.” I roll my eyes. “I was a weird kid.”

“All kids are weird. And your weird is the good kind,” he responds and flashes a lazy, sleepy smile toward me. “That’s what makes you special, Ace. You’ve always marched to the beat of your own drum.” A yawn escapes his throat, and it’s not long before his eyes drift closed.

After a lengthy day of traveling, I should be just as tired as he is, but I’m not.

If anything, I feel wired. Like I just drank three freaking espressos.

I should also be questioning the whole sleeping arrangement thing.

But when I look up at Luke and note the soft, even breaths moving his chest up and down in steady rhythm, I decide that we can just share my bed. It’s queen-sized, so we won’t be cramped for space, and it would be kind of cruel to drag him all the way to Vermont and make him sleep on the freaking floor.

Makes total sense…right?December 22nd

LukeMy run around Ava’s small town clocked my slowest time I’ve had in over two years. But I’m pretty sure that has everything to do with the massive Italian-themed holiday dinner her dad cooked for us last night. Spaghetti, lasagna, Caesar salad, fresh bread, and enough dessert cannoli and cheesecake to feed everyone in Lakewood, it was a fucking feast.

The consequences of gorging myself on that many heavy carbs and desserts equated to an incredibly painful run this morning.

Thank fuck that’s over.

I undo the elastic strap that holds my phone against my arm and check the mileage and time. The mileage is good—six miles. But the time? Ha. Let’s not talk about it.

As I walk up the Lucies’ driveway, I scroll through a few notifications on my phone.

An email from my direct boss and one of the owners of Soar Aviation.From: Billy Shay

Subject: Permanent Leave PaperworkLuke,

Just confirmed with HR that everything has been filed.

I’m going to miss having you on our fleet, but I’m also incredibly excited for you. Let me know when it’s okay to make the big announcement to the rest of the team.

No doubt, you will be sorely missed.

Take Care,

BillyIt’s official. No longer a pilot for Soar Aviation, soon, I will be on NASA’s team.

The thought is so surreal, I’m not sure I’ve fully processed it yet.

Yeah. And you also haven’t fucking told anyone but Billy…

The inklings of guilt start to swirl around in my stomach, but I redirect my focus to a few text message notifications I missed yesterday.Thatcher Kelly: Luke, my man, I’m running a little behind schedule. Mind working that ATC magic of yours?Shit. I cringe when I realize I forget to tell him the dates for when I’d be heading to Vermont with Ava. Or that Barry would be flying in my place.

About thirty minutes after that initial text, he sent this.Thatcher Kelly: What. The. Fluff? Who is this bastard Barry? He sucks, Luke. He fluffing sucks. Bitched at me for being late and shit.And then, five minutes after that, he sent these two beauties.Thatcher Kelly: Trevor tells me you’re not coming back until AFTER the 1st of the year???? And that I’m going to have to deal with this bum Barry for the next few weeks??? Say it isn’t fluffing so…Thatcher Kelly: Just got confirmation that it IS so, and it’s because you’re in Vermont with Ava. I’ll be honest, Lucas, ole Thatcher ain’t happy about it, but he understands. ;)