“How are things with Audrey?”
Tate looked up from the salad he was devouring to see Lucas looking at him, chewing on whatever he had just put in his mouth. They had decided to go to lunch at Maggiano’s after practice, and Tate was glad they did. With him dating Audrey, he hadn’t been out with his friends that much. Not that Lucas minded, but he knew that Erik and Phillip did. They gave him shit about it all the time. They just didn’t understand that Audrey was his world now.
Tate nodded, swallowing his food before he said, “Things are good.”
“Good, I’m glad. You guys seemed really happy at dinner the other night.”
Tate nodded again, remembering the dinner they had with Fallon, Lucas, and Aiden. He had been nervous, but once he got there, it was as if nothing had changed, except that he was glued to Audrey’s side and wouldn’t let her out of his sight.
“We are. We’re good. Great even.” Lucas nodded before going back to his lunch. “Fallon is coming tonight, right?”
Lucas laughed. “Of course she is. You’re bringing Audrey, right?”
“Yeah,” Tate said. “I wanted to make sure someone she knew would be there too.”
“Yeah, we’ll both be there.”
Tate nodded before going back to his salad. He wanted to ask Lucas something but felt stupid about it. It wasn’t that he thought Lucas would make fun of him, but that he should know the answer without asking. Tate stared at the top of Lucas’s hat-covered head, trying to decide what to do. When Lucas looked up and narrowed his eyes, Tate laughed.
“What the hell are you staring at?”
“That ugly ass hat,” Tate teased.
“Hey, shut up,” Lucas retorted as Tate laughed. He could tell he was annoyed. Oh well, he would be okay, his hat was ugly. Who wore a hat with a duck on it?
“I wanted to ask you something,” he said.
“Okay,” Lucas said, nodding.
“When did you know you loved Fallon?” Tate asked.
Lucas smiled. “I think I knew that first night. She walked in with a short-ass skirt on. I mean her ass was practically hanging out.” He closed his eyes and shook his head, a contented smile on his lips. “She also had a low-cut blouse, and I almost didn’t try hitting on her because she had no boobs, but then she looked at me and I couldn’t breathe. Her wide eyes were to die for, and when she talked, man, I was a goner. We spent the night together and I asked her not to leave, to tour the world with me. She did, and it was the best summer of my life. She made my life worth living when I didn’t want to live at all. I have been totally devoted to her since then.”
Tate smiled, nodding. “That is how I feel about Audrey. I think I love her.”
Lucas smiled. “Have you told her?”
“Well, on and off, but I haven’t declared it yet. I want it to be special.”
“Tell her during sex, girls dig that.”
Tate let out a booming laugh. “They do not!”
“No, really, Fallon goes nuts for it. Audrey’s her sister, so I am pretty sure it will work.”
“You are an idiot, dude.” Tate held his gut as he laughed. “No, I’m going to wait for the right moment. Maybe Christmas morning?”
“That’s cheesy, dude.”
“Hey, it is not.”
“Yes it is. What are you going to do, put it in a present?”
Actually, he was thinking of that. “Shut up.”
Lucas laughed, shaking his head. “All joking aside, even though I think it is cheesy, Audrey will eat it up. She is a complete romantic. So doing the whole under-the-mistletoe-I-love-you shit would work with her. Fallon, on the other hand, dude, I had to fight for that chick because of our past. You’re lucky. You guys have a clean slate; no hurt, no regret, just you two. I know for a fact that Audrey is completely in love with you.”
Tate eyed him, his lips tugging at a smile at the thought of Audrey loving him. “How do you know?”