Chapter 26
Luca
I still can’t believe yesterday happened.
I’m officially Tilly’s boyfriend.
Boyfriend.
The words are connected.
No space between them.
Boyfriend.
Boy-no-space-friend.
The word feels too small for what it means — too simple for something that has been years in the making.
How can nine letters describe what is happening in my chest right now?
How can a word describe just how lucky I am?
The truth is, it can’t. It puts the situation in a box that is way too small for the actual thing.
Because love is not a condiment. You can’t put it in a jar and keep it there forever.
You have to explore it, put it through rea life experiences, and let it grow. And I get to do all that with my favorite person.
How surreal is that?
I keep replaying the moment in my head.
Every word thatwasn said yesterday is slowly being engraved on my being.
Every. Single. Word.
All the moments are being replayed over and over again.
Now that it’s the next day, the part I am dreading has arrived. Telling the others.
God help me.
I’m in the kitchen flipping through the fridge for juice when I hear the front door creak open and Matt’s voice booms through the house.
“Yo, guess what I saw today?”
Oh no. He’s already wired.
I try to sound casual. “What?”
He throws his bag onto the counter. “A literal kangaroo fight. Like— UFC level. Bro was squaring up. I thought one of them was about to pull out a folding chair.”
I choke out a laugh, nearly spilling the juice. “No way.”
“I swear! And you know what the best part was? This old guy was filming it like it was the World Cup.”
I laugh.
Matt squints at me suspiciously. “You good?”
I shrug, trying not to grin. “Yeah, why?”
“Hyoure acting… weir.”
“Maybe I just missed your dumb stories.” I start pouring the juice into my cup.
He snorts. “Yeah, right. How’d my bestie sleep?”
“Fine.”
“Fine?” he repeats, narrowing his eyes. “That’s not your fine voice. That’s your ‘ I did something stupid ’ voice.”
I smirk. “I might have an announcement… but I’ll tell you over lunch.”
He frowns. “That’s suspicious.”
I stir the pasta as it has personally offended me. “Just trust me, okay?”
“Okay, fine.” He shrugs. “How’d it go with Tilly, though?”
My heart jumps. “Eh, it was fine.” I feel bad for lying, but the situation is calling for it.
His jaw drops. “That’s all I get?”
“The pasta is burning,” I say too fast. “Can you go grab everyone?”
He blinks. “You’re acting weird.”
“Bye,” I said, shoving him toward the hallway.
When everyone finally crowds around the table, the kitchen feels warm, full of the smell of garlic and way too many overlapping conversations.
Yana is talking about her new nail color, Zara is scrolling through Pinterest, and Tilly is sitting next to me, bumping my leg under the table, trying not to smile too hard.
“I have an announcement,” I look at everyone.
That gets their attention.
Yana immediately gasps. “Wait. Is it bad?”
I keep my face neutral. “Depends on how you define bad.”
Zara freezes mid-bite. “Oh no. Did you get rejected? Is someone pregnant? Did someone die?”
Matt leans back like he’s watching a soap opera. “This better be good.”
Tilly and I exchange a quick look.
“Well,” I begin, “you all know Tilly, and I talked yesterday…”
Yana’s eyes widen. “Oh no. Don’t say it.”
“And we realized,” I continue, pretending to look solemn, “that the best thing we could do was to get together,” I finish, grinning.
“What!” Yana shrieks so loud the spoon falls out of Matt’s hand. “Wait, wait, wait. Are you dating? Like officially?”
Tilly laughs, “Yeah… officially.”
Yana counts on her fingers. “If you talked at one p.m. yesterday, that means you’ve been together for—TWENTY-SIX HOURS. And you didn’t tell me?”
“I was still processing!” Tilly laughs. “I needed to get used to the idea that I have a boyfriend .”
“Oh my God, I’m so happy for you!” Zara squeals, launching herself across the table to hug Tilly.
I lean back, laughing so hard my ribs hurt.
I take Tilly’s hand under the table, and when she smiles at me, everything feels right.