“Sort of.” He doesn’t elaborate, and my heart drops a little. He seems nervous, like he has something to say to me but is afraid to. I don’t ask any more questions, fearing what the answers might be.
We walk in silence for a few minutes, with Luke scolding Aggie occasionally for attempting to eat the seagull poop. “Dogs can be so gross sometimes,” he mutters after her third try.
I can’t help but laugh at that. Of course the man who keeps his condo spotless at all times would be disturbed by this. It’s a good thing dachshunds don’t shed much; I can’t imagine the stress he’d have if Aggie shed like a golden retriever.
The silence becomes less deafening as we walk, and I can feel Luke begin to loosen up next to me, which makes me relax, too. Maybe whatever is bothering him has nothing to do with me. Maybe he’s stressed about another collab. Or maybe he and Jess had a fight. She did tell me that he can be a bit obtuse about the admin side of Fanboy at times. Maybe?—
“So have you done any other collabs lately?” Luke asks suddenly. His knuckles are white on the leash, and his voice has gotten a little tight.
“Ah…not yet. I mean…I’ve had a few boys message me. I don’t know. I just don’t know who’s good or not, or how to tell if they’re cool or not.”
“You can always text me if you’re not sure about someone. I’ll give you the lowdown if it’s someone I know.” He sounds sincere, but his voice is still strained, and I can’t quite figure out if he’s upset by my response.
I clear my throat, trying to dislodge the knot that’s formed there. “I, uh, I didn’t want to bother you.”
He stops and turns to face me, causing Aggie to stagger a bit as she hits the end of her leash. “You can always text me, Ry. About anything. It’s never a bother.”
“Oh.” I’m definitely confused now. “It just seemed like, lately, maybe you were too busy, since we weren’t texting as much.”
Luke drops his head and sighs. “That’s all on me, yeah. I’ve actually been wanting to ask you something, and I wasn’t really sure if it was a good idea because I know you’re just getting started, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to say yes or something. So I just kind of…avoided it altogether.”
My pulse is pounding between my ears now, and I’m starting to sweat. I can’t make myself form words, so I nod, hoping that will encourage him to continue.
“It’s just…I felt like we really, um…connected, I guess.” He twists the leash in one hand and scrubs the other overhis baseball cap awkwardly. “At our first shoot, I mean. And the second one, too, actually. Dante said we had really good chemistry. And Jess said our videos have been doing really well, so I thought maybe…maybe we could do another collab again soon? If you want to. If you don’t, that’s totally cool; I know you want to get out there and have other experiences and stuff. You probably don’t want to just be stuck with me.”
I’ve been grinning ear to ear since I heard the words “another collab,” and it’s taking everything in me not to throw my arms around him and jump up and down for joy. “Trust me, Luke…I would be happy to collab with you any time you want.”
His dark eyes snap up to mine, and there’s a relief in them I didn’t expect. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” I assure him with a laugh.
He grins back at me, and I love the way his eyes crinkle at the corners and his whole face lights up when he’s this happy. “Cool, okay, great then,” he stutters. Aggie is getting impatient, and we start walking again. “I was thinking maybe if you have time, we could get out of town for this one. Maybe rent a cabin in the mountains or something.”
Warmth blooms in my chest at the thought of going overnight somewhere with Luke. Would we stay in the same room? Or would he book a bigger place? Twenty-four whole hours with Luke plus the chance to see more of California sounds pretty perfect, I think. “I love that idea, when would you want to go?”
“I can have Jess schedule something, she has both our calendars.”
As we make our way back toward the pier, I hold out my hand for the leash. “One thing about me is that I’ll always get in the water every chance I get. Let me take her in.”
Aggie is a little hesitant at first, unsure about the tide, but before long, we’re splashing in the waves and Luke is snapping photos.
“You three are the cutest little family I’ve ever seen!” a woman remarks as she passes, and Luke smiles shyly but doesn’t correct her. I know it doesn’t mean anything, but I like the sound of it all the same.
We splash along the shoreline back toward the pier, and I purchase a couple of bottles of water while Luke finds us a spot in the sand with a great view of the Ferris wheel. Luke cracks open his bottle of water and shares with Aggie while we each pull out our phones to search for suitable rental properties. It still amazes me that one state can have both beach views and mountain views in less than a day’s drive. Back home, we’ve got a few rocky hills that make for some okay hiking, but nothing like the mountain ranges here. Who knows, maybe I’ll learn to snowboard this winter.
“Oh, look at this one,” Luke breaks into my thoughts, bumping my shoulder with his and turning his phone screen toward me. A beautiful A-frame cabin in the woods with huge windows and a gorgeous deck overlooking a creek pops up, and I whistle under my breath as I reach over and scroll through the photos. The place has a lived-in, eclectic vibe with lots of patterned rugs, plants on nearly every table and windowsill, and a potbelly stove in the center of the living room.
“That looks amazing,” I agree. “And that’s near here?”
“About an hour away. We can easily make a day of it.”
I frown at that. “Don’t we have to book it for the night?”
“Oh, that’s like, a thing here,” Luke explains, showing me his phone screen again and pointing at the search bar. “There are lots of rental properties available to book by the hour for film and photo shoots. Some don’t allow adult content, but this one looks like they’re cool with it. I’ll book us for a few hours.”
He’s busy checking the available dates and hopefully doesn’t notice my disappointment. “Sounds perfect,” I say instead. “Oh, wait, I’m going home sometime the week of Thanksgiving, though, so I can’t do it then. I still need to book a flight, but I’ll let you know the dates.”
A funny look crosses Luke’s face for a moment, and he shakes his head. “Right, I forget other people actually make family plans for holidays.”
