Thick and Thin [l. hemmings]

sixty-three

"Honestly, so fucking good. Oh my god. It's not like he was bad when we were married, but this was just- wow. I told him cheating must've been good practice."

"Kelsey!" She quietly shouts.

"What? Am I wrong?"

"I mean, no. But, how mad was he?"

"Not as mad as I thought he'd get, actually." I chuckle.

"I love that for you guys. Again, as much as I didn't want you to get back with him, I think it's meant to be."

I sigh, trying to take it in. I think Luke and I are meant to be. But I also don't want to think about that.

"You should definitely take it slow. You really have to talk through it all with Luke."

I nod, "I know. Fuck. Sometimes I wish we never reconnected. I don't know."

"Don't say that. We just talked about how he's literally your soulmate."

"Okay. Yeah. I might love him, why would I say that?" I question, mostly myself.

"You seem to have a lot to think about."

I sigh, "I know. I'm working on it. This isn't easy for me."

"I hate to do this, but I need to get home before my husband wakes up." She says, looking down at her phone.

"Of course! I left without seeing Luke, so, you know."

"God, he's probably panicking." Kiana laughs, holding the door of the cafe open for me.

I shrug, "It's fine."

-

"Oh, hey. I thought you were still in your room." Luke chuckles, a little startled by me walking through the door.

"Sorry, I was out with Kiana. I figured you were still asleep when I left." I quietly laugh, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch from him.

"Kiana? Shouldn't she be with her new husband?" Luke laughs, picking up his coffee from the coffee table to take a sip.

"She said he was so hungover that he was just going to sleep all morning." I giggle, shaking my head at the thought.

"I mean, he definitely did go a little crazy last night. I appreciate it though." He chuckles.

We sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments, as I reply to a text from Nina, and Luke continues to drink his coffee.

"Oh, uh, should we talk about last night? Or-"

"Yeah. Probably." I interrupt, taking a deep breath.

"I just- I hope I didn't pressure you into anything, I'm so sorry if I did."

"Oh my god, Luke. You didn't, I would've told you to stop. I'm- I'm okay with what happened."

"Okay. Yeah. I just wanted to check because, you know-"

"I had a panic attack?"

He sighs, looking down at his coffee, "Yeah."

"Hey, it's okay. You don't need to be awkward about. I'm open with the people I care about. It happens sometimes." I shrug, trying to reassure him that everything is okay, "It wasn't about you, don't worry."

"I just- where do we stand?"

That's when I sigh, pausing for a moment. "I have no idea, Luke. Friends. Listen, I'm not denying that there's something between us. I know there is. I can't right now. I'm so sorry."

Luke smiles, "That's fine, Kelsey. I'm not going to force anything on you. We just got divorced. I would love to try us out again. But if that's something you can't do right now, I understand."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." I tell him, really wanting him to understand I truly couldn't be more grateful for how he's been acting.

"Yeah. Of course." He chuckles.

"Well, anyway. I told Kiana we had sex, so I'm assuming she'll immediately tell Calum, so expect him to call you soon."

He groans, "Another thing he's not going to hear from me. He's going to beat me up one day."

I shrug, chuckling, "Sorry, you probably deserve to be beaten up by Calum."

He laughs, "I mean, probably."

We both turn our attention to whatever show was playing in the background while we were talking. Luke turns it up so we can hear it better.

Luke phone rings and he quickly answers, mouthing to me that it's Calum.

Luke groans, "I'm home, yes. Come on up."

I mentally prepare for what dumb thing Calum is going to say when he gets here. Kiana definitely told him. The two of us just looks to each other when Calum knocks at the door.

"You two little whores! I called it! I knew you would!" Calum exclaims, the second Luke opens the door.

"I have neighbours, Cal!" Luke quietly yells, grabbing Calum by the sleeve of his jacket and dragging him inside.

"Did they hear you two fucking?"

"Oh my god." I mutter.

"Dude, don't embarrass Kels like this." Luke mutters, rolling his eyes.

"Hold on," I mutter, approaching Calum. I grab his face, and giggle, "Why are you still drunk?"

"Listen. Yes, we drank all night. Yes, we woke up drunk. Yes, I might've had another shot when I woke up." Calum explains.

"Come sit, I'll give you some coffee." Luke chuckles.

I lead him towards the couch, laughing at Calum's giggles.

"Sorry, last night was just so much fun." Calum says.

Luke nods, handing Calum a cup of coffee, "I bet."

"Not as much fun as you guys had!" He laughs, before taking a sip of coffee.

Luke and I both sigh, looking at each other. We didn't say anything but we both knew Calum wasn't going to let this go.

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I LITERALLY COULDN'T BE HAPPIER FOR ASHTON DOING THIS SOLO ALBUM IM SO PROUD OF MY BOY ANYWAY I hope this was good