Towards the end of July, Mia calls from Chicago. I’m still at Luke’s place.
"She has a house at the Cape," Luke says. "Someone from her work, they can’t go anymore. She wants to know if she comes out, will we go there with her."
"We?" I ask with a smile on my face.
"Yeah we," Luke says smiling back at me, his fingers playing with my hair.
"So she knows about us?" I ask, teasing him as I slip my fingers into the front pockets of his jeans and pull him towards me.
He blushes and it’s adorable. "Yeah she knows about us, is that okay?"
I remember back to the things she told me at their show. How she knew what Luke felt, how she said it was obvious to everyone but me. How she seemed happy about the idea of the two of us. I laugh, sliding my hands around his waist, under his t-shirt and pulling him into a hug. "Yeah it’s okay with me."
"So we’ll go?" he asks wrapping his arms around me, his lips pressing kisses to my neck.
"We’ll go," I answer breathlessly, already distracted by what he’s doing to me.
A week later, we pick Mia up from the airport and drive straight down that afternoon. Me, Luke, Jared, Steve, Pete, Ben and Mia. We all pile into Ben’s van and drive out there. The house is amazing, sitting right on the beach and with enough room for all of us. On our first night there, the guys are cooking food on the barbeque while Mia and I make salads and get drinks.
"So I guess you finally saw him then, hey Ash?" Mia says to me.
"Huh?" I say, looking up at her.
"You and Luke. You finally saw him too?" She says gesturing to me and then outside towards her brother.
As I look out at Luke sitting on the deck, I smile, watching him laugh with the other guys while strumming on his guitar. I don’t notice Mia come up to me until she puts her arm around my waist. "It’s really good you did Ash, really good," she says quietly.
"Yeah," I say still watching him. "I’m very happy, he makes me very happy." And I am. I haven’t been this happy in a really long time.
Mia squeezes my waist before going back to chopping tomatoes. "So I guess the song worked then?" She casually asks.
I turn to look at her and she laughs at the look that must be on my face.
"Yes, yes I know about the song Ash, who do you think gave him the brilliant idea," she says smiling as she continues to chop. "He’s been crazy about you forever you know, and he just didn’t know how to say it, how to let you know or do it in a way that, I don’t know, wouldn’t freak you out," she continues shrugging her shoulders, as though the whole thing is obvious. "So I told him to just tell you, the best way he knows how – music. It’s who he is, it’s what he knows."
I blush now, thinking back to that night. To how perfect it was, to how perfect it’s been since.
Mia laughs again. "And you know," she continues. "He’s really, really happy now too. The way he is with you, well I’ve definitely never seen him this happy before."
"Who’s happy?" Luke asks as he comes inside and wraps his arms around me from behind.
I sink into him, my whole body falling back against his. I’m more than just really happy, I think to myself, as Luke bends down to kiss the top of my shoulder. Much more.
Mia just laughs. "You two," she says throwing a dish cloth at both of us.
I feel Luke’s arms as they tighten around my waist. I hear Luke as he whispers in my ear, "How can I not be with you." My whole body shivers and I turn in his arms, standing on my toes to press a kiss to his lips. A sigh escapes me as his warm hands move across my back, under the tank top I’m wearing and over my bare skin. I feel his fingers as they trace a path up my spine. I wrap my arms around his waist, holding him against me. I just want to disappear with him, but we reluctantly pull apart as Jared comes in and tells us. "Right, food’s ready, so keep your clothes on you two and let's eat."
Mia is laughing at us again and I suddenly realise they’re actually still in the room. I feel myself start to blush and bury my face in Luke’s chest, embarrassed that we’re so oblivious to everyone else. He laughs softly and pulls me tighter against him, whispering in my ear that we can continue this later, making me blush even more.
After dinner, we all head down to the beach. Ben, Steve and Pete build a fire which we all sit around, drinking and talking. I notice for the first time how much attention Jared pays to Mia.
"I think someone has a bit of a crush," I say quietly to Luke.
"Mmm?" he asks, leaning forward to rest his chin on my shoulder. I’m sitting between his legs on the still warm sand, resting my back against him, my arms on his raised knees.
"Jared and your sister," I say, looking over at them.
"Oh yeah," he says softly, kissing me just behind my ear in a way that causes a breath to catch in my throat. "He’s had that for ages."