Best Friends Don't Kiss

by Max Monroe

  “Don’t rain on this romantic parade, you grumpy bastard.”

  “But,” Wes adds, a smirk cresting his lips, “this is pretty fucking fantastic. If I were in Luke’s shoes and my Winnie was in Vermont, I’d be all motherfucking in. Let’s go get your girl, man.”

  Yeah. Let’s go get her.

  Ava

  An hour ago, my baby sister said I do to the man of her dreams.

  The ceremony was a simple but gorgeous affair. The church was decorated with white lilies and Christmas trees covered in simple twinkle lights. And she looked downright stunning, standing on the altar in a silk wedding gown embellished with lace.

  I’ve never seen Kate so happy. The smile on her face as she and Zach looked toward the crowd, after they shared their first kiss as husband and wife, was breathtaking.

  And I’m so happy for her. But also, I need a hot minute to gather myself before I can put on a brave face and enjoy the reception. My emotional state isn’t exactly pro-wedding festivities, if you know what I’m saying.

  So, when my dad mentioned he had to run back to the house because he forgot to bring cash to tip the caterers, I volunteered to go with him.

  The instant he pulls his truck to a stop in the driveway, I hop out and head inside the house. And while he fiddles around in his office, trying to find the envelope of money my mother put god knows where, I don’t waste any time finding solace in my quiet bedroom.

  Surely, the nice thing to do would be to help him, but freaking A, I just need…a minute.

  I walk into my bedroom and plop down on my desk chair.

  This day, while beautiful and amazing and exciting, has served as a stark reminder of the fact that Luke isn’t here with me. All day, I’ve tried so hard not to think about it and just focus on my sister Kate, but my mind was determined, letting the painful thoughts seep in whenever it could.

  God, I just want to get back to New York. Back to Luke.

  Even though I know he’s going to be headed to Houston soon, I just want to see him. To talk to him. To tell him everything I’m thinking and feeling. I honestly don’t know what will happen between us, but I know I miss him. Badly.

  Tears prick my eyes, and I do my best to get them under control before they ruin my makeup.

  Ugh. This sucks. So hard.

  I reach down to adjust my stiletto, but when I spot what looks like an envelope under my bed, I tilt my head to the side in curiosity. And then, I stand up, kneel down beside my bed, and snag the mystery item in my hands.

  The name Ava is written on the front, and I furrow my brow as I take off the red bow and open it.

  Inside sit three sheets of paper. All letters.

  When I begin to read the first one, I lift my hand to my mouth as emotion overcomes me.

  Ace,

  This proves that I’m not the only one who believes in you.

  I hope, one day soon, you’ll see your art the way I see it—incredible.

  This signifies the opportunity for you to finally follow your dreams.

  The start of you really showing the world your awe-inspiring talent.

  Merry Christmas, sweetheart.

  All my love,

  Luke

  When I look at the other two sheets of paper, I understand what he’s talking about. Letters from the curators of two very prestigious galleries—one in LA and one in New York—waxing poetic about the paintings of mine Luke showed them and enthusiastically requesting that I host an exhibition.

  They want my art in their galleries.

  Unchecked, tears stream down my cheeks. My heart twists and turns inside my chest, and I’m torn between feeling downright elated and completely heartbroken.

  Luke did all of this. For me.

  “Avie?” My dad’s voice fills my ears, and I look up to find him standing just outside my bedroom. “What’s wrong?” he asks, and a sobbing breath escapes my lungs.

  “I think I ruined everything.”

  “What?” he questions and steps into my bedroom to sit down beside me and pull me into a hug. “What do you think you ruined?” he asks, and I bury my face into his chest.

  “Everything,” I whisper, my voice shaky.

  “Is this about Luke?”

  I nod.

  “Is this maybe why he’s not here now? At your sister’s wedding?”

  I nod again.

  “Well, why don’t you give me an idea of what we’re dealing with here, and maybe I can provide a little insight…”

  I inhale a deep breath and lean back to meet his eyes. “It’s a long story, Dad,” I eventually answer, and he shrugs me off.

  “We’ve got a little time before we need to be back at the reception hall.”

  When I don’t respond, he nudges me with his elbow. “Trust me, no one will even notice if it takes us a little longer to get there.”

  The gentleness in his eyes is my undoing.

  I tell him everything. The fact that Luke was just pretending to be my boyfriend because I was starting to feel pressured by Mom and Callie and everyone else about being the only single Lucie sister left.

  I tell him how, eventually, all of that pretending didn’t feel so much like pretending.

  That it felt real.

  Because it was real.

  I tell him how I think I’ve been in love with Luke for a very long time.

  I tell him about Luke’s acceptance to NASA and how he didn’t tell me until two days ago.

  I tell him how horribly I reacted to that news.

  And then I show him the Christmas gift from Luke I just found under my bed.

  By the time I’m done, I don’t feel better, but I do feel like a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

  “Well, that’s some story,” my dad says, a soft, sympathetic smile on his lips. “And this is some gift. Thoughtful, caring, loving, kind of like the other gift he gave to all my girls.”

  I nod. “Besides you, he’s the best man I’ve ever known.”

  My dad wraps his arm around my shoulders. “You know, I can imagine it feels pretty awful right now, but I have a feeling things are going to work out, Avie.”

  “I don’t know about that, Dad,” I retort, but he shakes his head.

  “Listen, Avie,” he continues. “I have a lot of years of life under my belt. With your mother, I’ve experienced falling in love. And with my friends and family over the years, I’ve watched other people fall in love. I’ve witnessed relationships bloom, and I’ve seen them fall apart. I’ve seen people get married, and I’ve seen them get divorced. So, I think we can both agree that I have a little experience in the whole love department, right?”

  I shrug. “I guess that’s fair.”

  “And you know what all of that experience has taught me?”

  “What?”

  “It’s taught me that the way I saw Luke look at you, every day that he was here with us, is the look of a man who isn’t just in love but whose entire world stands right before him.”

  My lip quivers, and I stare down at my lap, fidgeting with my fingers as I think about his words. “You really think so?”

  “I know so, Avie,” he says and reaches out to gently lift up my chin so my eyes meet his. “When a man looks at a woman the way Luke looks at you, one fight isn’t going to stop him from loving her.”

  Goodness, I hope he’s right.

  Luke

  This might be the craziest fucking thing I’ve ever done.

  On a whim, we switched the Las Vegas flight plan and headed to Burlington.

  But when Trevor and I started figuring out the timing of it all, we both realized we’d be cutting it real fucking close if we flew to Burlington and then made the ninety-minute drive to Lakewood.

  Fortunately, Lakewood, while a small community, has a little airport almost no one ever uses. And after I worked my magic with ATC, I managed to get in touch with that tiny airport and get approval for a landing.

  We’re certainly going to have some explaining to do wit
h Billy as to why one of his massive private jets ended up in Lakewood, but minor details.

  By the time we got off the plane, the crazy group that’s along for the ride managed to have two fucking limos sitting outside of the airport, ready and waiting for us.

  And that’s how we got here, pulling up to the venue for Kate and Zach’s wedding reception. The beat of dance music pounds from the inside, and I don’t waste any time hopping out of the limo and heading toward the reception doors.

  “Go fluffing get her, man!” Thatch shouts toward me, and I swear to God, the rest of the group breaks out into hoots and hollers and applause.

  I have no idea if they follow me inside or if they stay outside and keep drinking champagne in the limos.

  I don’t even know if anyone sees me rush through the doors like a maniac.

  All I know is that I need to find Ava.

  The instant I step into the venue, I spot the bride and groom on the dance floor, dancing around with friends and family, but I don’t see Ava.

  I keep scanning the room.

  I spot her mom and her aunts by the cake.

  I see her sister Emily and her husband Landon talking with another couple.

  Where in the hell is she?

  My heart pounds in my chest, and it breaks out into a damn near sprint when I finally find her, standing just off the dance floor with her dad.

  I don’t waste any time, veering between half-empty tables and attendees and quickly closing the distance between us.

  And when I’m standing directly in front of her, that’s when shocked blue eyes meet mine.

  “Luke?” she questions and blinks several times, like what she’s seeing isn’t real. “W-what are you doing here?”

  I have no idea if her dad notices me.

  Hell, I have no idea if anyone else notices me.

  All I can see is her.

  “Ava, you are the only woman, the only anyone, that I’d go to my knees for,” I say and reach out to grasp her hand in mine. “I know I fucked up and I should’ve told you the truth about NASA right from the start, but see, the thing is, when I realized that I would be leaving New York to go to Houston, that I would be leaving you, it made me feel like I was losing my family all over again.”

  Tears prick her eyes, but her petite hand stays in mine, so I take that as a good sign and keep going.

  “I know that nothing is ideal right now. I know I’m going to be moving to Houston soon. I know that your life is in New York. But fuck, Ava, even if I don’t have a choice, I still choose you. I’ll always choose you.”

  “What are you saying, Luke?” she asks, her blue eyes searching mine.

  “I’m saying that I’m in love with you. I’m saying that I’ve loved you for a very long time. Hell, I’ve probably loved you ever since that very first day, when I had to help you hide the evidence of your hot-plate crime. I’m saying that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are it for me, Ava.”

  My heart pounds like a fucking jackhammer inside my chest, and a low, humming ring consumes my ears as I wait in anticipation for her response.

  Fuck. I just laid it all on the line, and it’s up to her to decide what she wants.

  If she wants me.

  Seconds feel like fucking hours.

  But then, she opens her pretty pink lips and rocks my fucking world.

  “I love you too, Luke. So much,” she whispers, nodding with each word. “And if you’re in Houston, then my home is no longer in New York. It’s in Texas.”

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” I ask, staring deep into her emotional blue eyes.

  “I’m saying that I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too. And if we start out that life in Houston, then that’s okay with me.”

  “But what about your career? What about the Met?” I ask, my heart torn between insane happiness and the fear that I’m making her give up something that’s incredibly important to her. That’s the last thing I want to do.

  “I saw your gift. Under my bed,” she answers, and the smile that follows her words is enough to make my fucking heart burst. “It’s time I stop hiding behind other people’s art and do what I’ve set out to do all along. It’s time I follow my real passion. It’s time I finally get brave and put my art out into the world. And I know if there’s anyone I want by my side while I push past that fear, it’s you, Luke. It’s you.”

  “You’ll follow me all the way to Houston?” I ask, and a single tear slips down her cheek.

  “I’ll follow you,” she says. “Deep sea, baby. All the way to Texas.”

  Before I can stop myself, I lift Ava into my arms and press my lips to hers and kiss her deeply, passionately, and show her just how much I love her. Need her. Want her.

  But the kiss is interrupted by the familiar cheers of Ava’s family—her crazy aunts and her mom and dad and sisters—and the loudest cheers of all come from Thatcher fucking Kelly.

  “Fluff yeah!” His loud voice booms into my ears.

  “I hope your sister Kate doesn’t mind, but I brought a few friends to her reception,” I whisper against Ava’s mouth, and she giggles.

  “I think she’s had enough wine tonight to not even notice,” she responds with a little smirk, leaning back to stare deep into my eyes.

  Right on cue, the slightly slurred bride shouts, “DJ, play something awesome and romantical!”

  Ava giggles again. “See what I mean?”

  It’s my turn to laugh, and while the music switches to the song “I Got You Babe” and Sonny & Cher blare from the reception hall speakers, I pull Ava close to my chest, wrap her legs around my waist, and whisper the lyrics of the song into her ear as I move us around the dance floor.

  Eventually, everyone starts to join us. First, her sister Kate and her new husband Zach. Then, Ava’s parents, my uninvited billionaire friends and their wives, Trevor, and the rest of the wedding party.

  And with some of our closest friends and family surrounding us, I savor this moment. Imprint it on my mind.

  This is the day that I finally got Ava Lucie, the girl of my fucking dreams.

  Nothing will ever top this.

  Not getting into NASA.

  Not heading into space for the first time.

  Nothing.

  Three years later…

  Bittersweet June

  Luke

  My phone vibrates in the cupholder, and once I come to a stop at a red light, I pick it up to check the screen.

  Ava: Where are you?

  Me: On my way home.

  Ava: Geez Louise. It feels like it’s taking you FOREVER.

  Me: Impatient, much?

  Ava: Uh, YEAH. Tonight is our last night together before you’re gone for SIX WHOLE MONTHS. I need you home for all of the very bad and dirty things I have planned.

  Looks like bad girl Ava will be making an appearance tonight.

  Yes, please.

  When the light turns green, I fire off one last response.

  Me: Don’t worry, Ace. I’m on my way.

  About ten minutes later, I pull into the driveway of the house Ava all but demanded we buy two years ago. This home, a two-story white brick house with black trim and shutters, was her dream home. And it goes without saying, I’m always on team “make all of my wife’s dreams come true.”

  Honestly, it’s hard to believe we’ve been in Houston for three years now and have been living inside this house for two of them.

  Between finishing NASA’s Astronaut Candidate training program, Ava opening two galleries—one here in Houston and the other in Austin—that solely sell her art, getting married, and buying a house, it’s been an adventure, to say the least.

  Tomorrow marks the beginning of another huge milestone. I will take my first trip into space to visit the International Space Station to complete some important engineering work. I’m excited. Thrilled, even. But I can’t say that being away from Ava for six months doesn’t hurt. Because, fuck, it definitely hurts.


  At least, though, we have tonight to soak up a little more time together before I leave.

  And, trust me, I plan to do a whole lot of soaking when it comes to my beautiful wife.

  I cut the engine to the car and rub my fingers over the now worn-out metal of the key chain Ava bought for me several Christmases ago.

  To the Moon and Mars and back.

  I smile down at the little astronaut engraved into the metal before hopping out of my truck and heading into the house.

  In through the side door off the garage, I make my way into the kitchen, but before I can figure out where Ava is hiding inside our house, my phone pings with a text message.

  Thatcher Kelly: I can’t believe tomorrow is the fluffing day. My man Luke is gonna be strapped to a motherfluffing rocket and shot off into space. Safe travels, buddy. Don’t forget to call me when you arrive safely.

  Even though I’ve been in Houston for the past three years, I’ve still somehow managed to keep in touch with Thatch. I’m finding he’s kind of like a parasite. Once you’re friends with him, he latches the fuck on and never lets go.

  Hell, about a year ago, when he and Cassie took a trip to Austin with their boys, they just showed up at our front door without warning. Before we knew it, their boys were running around our house like lunatics, while Thatch made himself at home on our sofa and Cass was in our kitchen, popping open a bottle of wine.

  You truly never know what you’re going to get with those two.

  But I’m pretty sure that’s what makes them so damn entertaining.

  Me: Thanks, man. I appreciate it. And my safe arrival won’t be until December, so it’s going to be a while.

  Thatcher Kelly: I’m not talking about your arrival home, dude. I mean, your arrival in space. Fluffing FaceTime me when you get there.

  That’s not exactly how it works. The only person I’m going to be able to stay in fairly constant contact with is Ava. Everyone else is going to have to wait until I get back home.