Page 28 of Love Me

“Is it true?”

“That Hannah and I are together?”

“Holy hell, finally!”

Hannah throws her hands in the air. “Why does everyone keep saying that?”

I lean my mouth to her ear, rubbing my thumb against her skin softly, and whisper just for her to hear, “Because it’s the truth.”

“Took me long enough, but I got her locked down,” I tell Ivy.

“Who knows?”

“You two, Carter, and Owen,” I reply confidently. “Been together a bit now, just over keeping it a secret.”

“Holy shit. How did I miss this? Well, don’t I feel special to know before Sawyer. Is it still a secret? I can’t keep anything from him, he’ll know something is up right away. He reads me like a damn book.”

“Nah, Iv, it’s not a secret. Wouldn’t ask you to keep anything from the shithead. But I’ll tell Dallas. He’s been a little preoccupied.”

“Ya think? Preoccupied would be an understatement,” she says with concern in her eyes.

Hannah and I accept our food from Luna and say goodbye to Ivy before packing back up in my truck and heading to the drive-in, a place where Hannah and I have been going since we were teenagers. They’re notorious for showing classic thriller and horror movies and that’s where we fell in love with the genre. It’s been our thing for years, and I knew it would be the perfect place for our first real date.

“Do you want to get stabbed? Quit eating my nonpareils! Mother above, bear, I swear. You’ve eaten half the box!”

“Are you kidding me right now, Hannah? You picked out all of the red and green Skittles from my bag, ate more than half of my popcorn—that you said you didn’t want, by the way—andI’m scared to pick up my box of Hot Tamales ’cause you’re not as sneaky as you think you are. And I can’t have some of your precious nonpareils?”

“They’re only sold here, and you know I save them to bring home!”

“You’re being a baby. Quit yapping and watch the movie. This is my favorite part.”

“You hate this part, you big liar!”

“Shh! No talking at movies!” I push her farther away from me in the bed of my truck to annoy her. Her feet come fast and hard as she retaliates by kicking me in the thigh and ribs. Thank God she took her shoes off and is only wearing socks or that would have hurt like a sonofabitch. I grab her ankle and yank her closer so I can pin her legs under mine to keep her still when her quick little hand comes out of nowhere and slaps me in the chest.

“That’s it.”

Popcorn flies as I sit upright and yank Hannah into my lap, grabbing her wrists and wrapping her arms like a straitjacket, holding her back to my chest, my legs wrapped around hers, holding her still. The little monster keeps trying to fight me, even though I’m at least triple her size, her battle cries loud enough for everyone parked nearby to hear.

“Quit.” I jerk her closer, trying my hardest not to hurt her but not letting go as she wrestles me in the back of my truck. Her head falls back onto my shoulder, and I should have expected what she was about to do but goddamn she’s fucking quick. Her wet tongue licks up the side of my face as she struggles to breathe through her laughs. I release her arms and legs pushing her back so that she flops off of me, using the back of my sweatshirt to wipe her saliva from my face.

“For fuck’s sake, Hannah! Gross!”

“Gotcha to let me go. It always works.”

“You’re pure evil. Payback is always a bitch, watch your back, beauty. I’m comin’ for ya.”

She throws a handful of popcorn in my face, and the two of us drown out the noise of the movie with our fit of laughter. It’s always been like this between us. Easy, fun. I never wished my best friend was a guy because I’ve had my three brothers and that comes with enough competition and masculine pressure to keep up with them. With Hannah, I just get to be me. No judgment. No pressure to be anything or do things a certain way. I’ve never had to think. She just lets me be me.

After the double feature, Hannah and I pack up the bed of my truck and clean up our mess before driving back to her parents’ house.

“Hey, only ten minutes after curfew. Not too bad. Should only be questioned by the parental units for an hour.”

“Stay strong. Text me if you need anything.” Opening up the middle console of my truck, I pull out the box of nonpareils and toss them in her lap.

“Holy shit! When did you get these?”

“When you went to the bathroom—before you started bitching that I ate half of the ones you bought, by the way. Wanted you to have extra until we made it back up here to get more.

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