"You're my every thought. I couldn't get you out of my head if I tried... don't you get that?"
"But can I count on you to never let me forget?"
• sequel to "have it all" by sircalyum • book 2
// smut included //
chapter sixty-five: what's on your mind over there?
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One week had officially passed since Luke left the country; both of us had braved a full seven days of limited communication and it, thankfully, had proved less excruciating than previously expected. Phone calls were fewer and shorter, but we both did our best to make up for it in messages left while the other was unavailable.
Within the past week, Jenna had officially been deemed pregnant by her doctor. It took her only one day to figure out how to tell Danny and, when she broke the news, he was elated. Jenna had worried about him not wanting to go through with having the baby, but the thought never even crossed his mind. He was all in—instantly. Jenna had worried that he would be upset and overwhelmed, but the only thing that had seemed to upset him was the thought of Jenna having to spend a single second worrying or being swallowed up by her anxieties. He just wished he could have been there for her every second.
The second I was allowed, I told Luke everything, and he was understandably shocked but happy all the same. Howie was the last to know, and we're all unbelievably proud of Madalyn for keeping such a secret, but Howie's less proud. He's always hated to be the last to know anything, but even he was quick to congratulate them.
To both congratulate the happy couple—and distract my sad thoughts about my boyfriend being what felt like lightyears away—I was hosting a celebratory dinner. The original crew, with the addition of Kate, was in attendance. The only person who was missing was Emma—she'd been sick all week, and, though we told her it would be okay if she came, she was far too concerned about getting Jenna sick. We had FaceTimed with her before eating.
Madalyn had cooked dinner which meant it had been lovely and I had baked my infamous snickerdoodles. It was now after dinner, and, in one hand, everyone was nursing a drink—Jenna's being the non-alcoholic sort—and in the other, everyone had a cookie.
"Hey, Jo... can I talk to you for a sec?" Howie spoke to me from the other side of the living room and I furrowed my brows. Danny had just finished telling Kate the story of how Jenna told him the news; we had all heard it probably twenty times, but no one was ever going to tell him we were tired of it. In all honesty, I wasn't tired of it and wasn't sure I ever would be. I loved seeing Danny so happy.
"Sure," I told Howie before getting up from my spot on the couch. We walked into the kitchen while everyone kept talking and I couldn't help but feel a ball of anxiety grow as we separated from the group. "Are you okay?" I asked him in a quiet voice once we were far enough away from curious ears.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he promised with a gentle laugh. "Uh... there's just something I wanted to bring up."
"Can you stop being cryptic and tell me before my heart explodes?" I begged which caused him to chuckle. I could tell that whatever he was about to say was weighing on his conscience like he didn't want to be the one to have to say it.
