Yeah, maybe. “Do you think I should today?”
After flipping one of the grilled cheese sandwiches, Hunter turns to me. “You could text him at the very least.”
With Charlotte’s words ringing in my ears and Hunter’s quiet support, I take my phone out of my pocket and pull up my texts with Luca.
Me
Hey, I’m sorry I haven’t responded. I feel like we have so much to talk about. I’d like to visit soon, if that’s okay. Maybe today?
I’m just sliding the phone back into my pocket when there’s a knock at the door. “Can you keep an eye on this, and I’ll go see who that is?” Hunter says, placing the spatula on the counter.
“Sure thing.”
I check the bottom of the one he didn’t flip, and it’s ready, so I turn it, then lean against the counter, waiting for Hunter to come back.
A few seconds later, he steps into the room. Only he isn’t alone, and I blink as I come face-to-face with Luca.
“Sorry,” Hunter says, his grin sheepish. “He kinda just… pushed past me.”
Luca scoffs, turning to Hunter. “I did not push past you.”
Hunter snorts a laugh. “Yes, you did. I asked if I could help you, and you said, ‘You can help me by letting me inside,’ and then you pushed past me into the house.”
Hunter punctuates each word with a pause and ends the sentence with a dramatic raise of his eyebrows.
Looking at his nails, Luca rolls his eyes. “You’re so dramatic.”
“How am I dramatic?”
“You just are. Always have been. Like that time you lost that rock-skipping contest and wouldn’t play with me anymore.”
Hunter lets out an incredulous laugh. “You cheated, Luca. Can’t believe you’re trying to rewrite history right now.”
Luca sticks his tongue out at Hunter, which makes me laugh. “Do you two frequently turn into fifteen-year-olds around each other?”
“Don’t know,” Luca says, shifting his attention back to me. “Hunter never wants to hang out with me anymore.”
Hunter throws his hands up in the air. “What do you even mean? You never wanna hang out with me anymore, either. Just like old times. Always up Austin’s ass.”
Everything goes still as the two of them look at each other. I tense, not sure if they’re actually fighting. Then Luca bursts into laughter. “Alright, you got me there.”
Hunter rolls his eyes, but he’s smiling. “Anyway, this menace wanted to talk to you.”
Luca redirects his attention to me. “Yeah, turns out Hunter isn’t the only person who doesn’t want to hang out with me anymore.”
I try to grin, but really I just feel bad because, yeah, that’s on me. “Check your phone.”
His brow furrows, but he pulls it out of his pocket and reads my message. “When did you send this?”
I laugh. “About half a second before you knocked on the door.”
His laughter joins mine. “Perfect timing, then. I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”
I grimace. “Full disclosure? I kind of was, but it’s not your fault. It’s mine. I can explain. If you want.”
Luca nods. “Definitely. I thought I’d done something wrong.”
I shake my head. “Not at all.”
