Method Acting || Joe Keery

F O U R T Y

"Okay," I say softly.

I feel like this is what we need too. We need to know where we stand with each other. No more having everything hanging in the air, and open to interpretation.

Joe takes my face again, brushing my hair behind my ears. He licks his lips as he studies me.

"And just so we're clear," He says, "I want you to be my girlfriend,"

I grin as I kiss him again. I guess it's official.

"I love you," I say to him, not tiring of letting out the words I was so afraid to say for months.

"Is that a yes?" He asks me, smirking.

"Of course," I tell him.

"I love you too," He says, giving me another kiss before pulling us through the front door.

*****

We sit down inside the cafe after ordering our food. We decided to come back to cafe 98. It's our cafe now.

"I haven't been back here since I was here with you last," Joe announces.

A funny feeling settles in my stomach as he reminds me of everything we've been through. No matter how hard I try, I still feel so much guilt about how everything has happened this year.

Maybe that's what I should work on with my therapist. The guilt. Not just with Joe, I feel it for not being there for my friends, for interrupting work, for everything with my brother...

"Hey," Joe says, breaking me out of the thoughts in my head.

I look up at him, and he reaches out and takes my hand.

"We're good now. Don't worry about the past, what matters is what's happening now. We're where we should be, together," He tells me.

As I give him a small smile. I can still see the worry in his eyes.

"I'm happy, and I love you," He insists.

I squeeze his hand to reassure him that I'm okay.

"I love you too. I'm never going to get over hearing that, and saying that," I tell him.

Joe laces his fingers between mine, and looks deeply into my eyes.

"Looks like you guys are getting along well then," A familiar deep voice announces.

Joe and I look over to our right, to find Dacre standing at our table. Wearing blue jeans, and a grey T-shirt, he has one hand tucked into his pocket and the other gripping a take away coffee cup, as he stares at us with a smirk.

Joe licks his lips, and my mind briefly flashes to those lips on my skin last night. His voice breaks me out of it.

"Yeah, we sorted things out," Joe says happily.

Dacre gives a nod.

"Good. I'm happy for you. It was pretty excruciating to watch," Dacre tells us.

Joe and I smile at each other.

"So, you guys coming to my going away thing next weekend?" Dacre asks us.