Luke grinned at me. “You think I forgot already?” He asked. “Party tip number one, if you’re not going to drink at a party, grab a drink anyways and carry the cup around for the night. That way people aren’t offering you a drink every two seconds.”
“Good advice!” I said as he handed me a cup.
We found two spots on the log and sat around the fire. It was a crisp night. There was definitely a little chill in the air but the fire warmed my face. Everyone talked for an hour or so. They were all really friendly and I was happy to see Bianca wasn’t anywhere to be found.
“Hey let’s play truth or dare.”Someone called out. Before I knew it, everyone was kissing everyone. Lots of people were sloppy drunk. I was starting to get uncomfortable and Luke knew it.
“You want to get out of here?” Luke asked, placing his hand on my leg. Before I could reply I was interrupted.
“I dare you to do a backflip off the bridge.” A kid I didn’t recognize said. I looked over at him and noticed he was talking to the ice cream guy aka Mikey.
Mikey stood up and pulled his shirt off almost falling over. “A dare is a dare.” He slurred. Luke stood up and stood in front of him.
“That’s not a good idea buddy; you’ve been drinking a lot.”
Mikey laughed in Luke’s face. “Hey guys. I’m Luke and I don’t show up to shit. I ditched my best friend years ago but now I have an out of towner girlfriend who’s ass I need to kiss. Always a big hero Luke, huh.” Mikey snorted.
“I’m not going to take any of that to heart Mikey. You’re drunk and I’m not going to let you jump off the bridge.”
“Fine bro. You’re right.” Mikey slurred again pulling Luke into a hug. Instead of hugging him he took off towards the bridge pulling off more articles of clothing with every step.
“Shit.” I heard Luke muttered as he ran after Mikey. I quickly followed behind and everyone else seemed to follow me.
Mikey was attempting to stand up on the rail when Luke ran at him from the side and tackled him to the ground. “Fuck!” Mikey screamed. “My fucking ankle.”
Luke stood up and Mikey stayed on the ground gripping his ankle.“Thanks a lot dude.” Luke looked over at me clearly embarrassed.
“Follow me.” He said to me.
He walked towards Mikey and hoisted him onto his back. Mikey opened his mouth clearly ready to protest. “Shut your damn mouth before I throw you over the damn rail.” Luke said, clearly angry.
We walked all the way back to Luke’s house. Even with Mikey napping on his back I still fell behind. Luke looked back to check on me every few minutes and smirked at me every time he did.
By the time we got to the drop downstairs that led us to Luke’s room, he pulled Mikey off his back and whispered “hop.” Mikey hopped on one foot the best he could up the steps and I followed behind, hoping not to be squished.
Luke sat him down on the bed. As he sat with his head buried in his hands, Luke ripped his shoes off and tossed them to the side. He lifted his clearly swollen ankle up and put a pillow under it. He rotated it in a circle and Mikey winced.
“Be right back.” Luke said to me scurrying down the stairs. He came back with a bag of frozen peas and an ankle wrap. He wrapped the peas around Mikey’s ankle and pushed him backwards.
“Go the fuck to bed and thank me later.” Luke said grabbing my hand and walking back down the stairs.
We sat on the front steps of his house surrounded by darkness. “Happy we went to that party?” Luke asked with a chuckle.
“Yes.” I replied. “You really are a hero and I mean that in a good way.” I told him.
He snorted. “I don’t know about that. I just care a lot about people.”
“I love that about you,” I replied, kissing his cheek.
“I mean I would have helped anybody, but Mikey is also special. He was my best friend growing up but when things started going south with my uncle I REALLY became a loner. I just cut everyone off because I had responsibilities and it wasn’t fair to him.” I nodded.
“I get that. Hopefully he’s okay.”
Luke laughed again. “He’ll be hurting in the morning especially without any pain relief. He has enough alcohol in him for now though.”
“You really are perfect, Luke Mellows.” Luke didn’t say anything. He just blushed and kissed me.
..
Before I knew it, it was the end of July. Things were different with Luke since we visited his grandma Cindy. I had only known him for a short while but I knew what we had was completely real. It was strange and amazing all at the same time. I knew Luke loved me without him even saying the words. I thought I loved Luke too but how did I even really know what love was? Luke knew, I knew. Somehow that day when we were in the courtyard with his grandma and locked eyes it was like his soul sent a message to mine. He hadn’t said the words out loud but there was a passion between us in the days that followed that hadn’t existed before. I told myself it would be impossible to fall for someone so quickly, but Luke said my heart ablaze and there was no hiding how I felt either.
“I have a surprise for you,” Luke said with a giant grin. He led me into his house. We walked by his Uncle Roger passed out on the couch. It was still sad to me that
