Page 40 of Hypothetical Heart
“Since the beginning of our lives, the only thing Luke and I ever had in common was that we were controlled under thewill of these three women.” He motions between Eloise, Genevieve, and I, which makes us all laugh. “It was something that united us, knowing we shared three of the best friends we could ask for, but as the years went on, the girls grew closer, and so did we.”
Luke places a hand over his heart, like he shares the sentiment.
“We may lead two different lives, but they are forever intertwined, and I am grateful every day I get to grow alongside you while being tortured into doing whatever Eloise and Gen want us to.” There are tears in all of our eyes now, ones that originally arose from laughter but are now pure emotion. “Happy eighteenth birthday, Luke. We love you.”
We all clap, some of us whoop and Jameson smacks his hands lightly on the table as Logan takes his seat.
“That was great,” I whisper.
“So, I heard Logan has become quite the reader recently,” Genevieve says for the entire table to hear.
“Hmm, where’d you hear that?” Logan asks, a smile growing across his face.
“I was in your room the other day and came across a book, and you won’t believe what it’s called.” I cover my face with my hands, already knowing where this is going.
“What?” Luke, Eloise, and Jameson all ask.
“Billionaire Baby Daddy,” she answers, and all of them burst out laughing. And I can’t say I blame them, honestly. It does seem like a ridiculous name when you aren’t a fan of the genre.
“You’re reading that, bro?” Luke looks toward Logan.
“Yeah, what about it?” Logan jokingly puffs out his chest, not even affected by the jokes. “Reading is nothing to be ashamed of, especially when you could learn a thing or two about the things girls really want.” He gives Luke a pointed look that says,yeah, I’m talking to you.
“Hey, no one’s judging,” Genevieve says, glancing between the two of us. “A romance book club between the two of you is just a bit unexpected.”
“You guys should all join. I’ll send out the link for the next book we read,” Logan replies.
I’m still embarrassed, even though I shouldn’t be. Logan notices and puts his hand on my knee underneath the table, squeezing it in the most reassuring way.
This is just one of the things I’ve come to adore about Logan. He’s completely unashamed and couldn’t care less about other people’s opinions. Even though I am the exact opposite type of person, he has never made me feel as if the things I enjoy are embarrassing or unimportant.
He embraces every part of the people he cares about, and makes them feel like the things they are most embarrassed of are the coolest things about them. It’s the exact thing a girl like me needs.
I grab his hand from off my knee, interlocking our fingers and squeezing it in my hand, and I know he knows I’m silently thanking him.
The rest of dinner goes smoothly, we order desserts and sing to Luke in the most obnoxious fashion, and then we leave the restaurant.
The moment we step out of the revolving door, we’re met with the torrential downpour of the Connecticut clouds, soaking us all head to toe in only a matter of seconds.
We look around, our mouths dropping open in shock at first but quickly turning to smiles when we realize there’s no going back.
“Fuck it!” Eloise says. There’s music playing from a nearby food truck, so we, of course, run across the street toward it.
Dancing in the rain to the music of an 80’s themed food truck feels the same as stomping in the massive rain puddles in the Callaghan driveway when we were kids. Except, instead of raincoats, the feeling of years passing falls from our shoulders as we run around like idiots.
I’m not sure how long we’re out there, squealing with laughter as it echoes through the streets, mixing with the sound of rain collecting in the drains of the city, but however long it is, it’s enough to make us wish we could never stop.
At first, we’re all dancing together, singing in each other’s faces and wrapping our arms around one another’s shoulders. Then Genevieve, Eloise, and I hook our arms by the elbow, skipping up and down the street, trying not to fall over from how hard we’re laughing.
And finally, it becomes one big circle of the six of us, spinning each other around as the looks of our pure joy cover each of our faces in a different way. Different smiles, different eye crinkles, some of us laughing, others taking in the moment.
It's happiness completely personified, all the way up to the moment we find a corner store, where we give apologetic looks to the workers as our clothes drip on the floor all the way to the towel section.
We buy children’s towels, the ones that have the hoods and are all different animals. They barely fall past our butts, but still, we walk back to our cars.
I get in Logan’s car, Genevieve and Jameson get in hers and Luke and Eloise get in Luke’s.
“That was so fun,” I sigh, turning on my heated seat as I pull my towel over my head.
