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Lucas gives him a grateful smile at the attempt to change the subject as the blush on Hannah’s cheeks causes a flush that is so sexy that I drop my hand under the table and squeeze her leg, causing a squeak to leave her luscious mouth.
“You missed me that much, huh?” she teases as I lean in, bringing my lips against the shell of her ear while simultaneously dragging my fingers higher and higher up her thigh.
“You have no fucking idea, baby,” I grunt, my tongue stealthy licking her ear before I give her a light kiss on the neck. “I was lovesick and you left me,” I admit.
Everyone at the table is making gagging sounds, bringing us back to reality.
“So,” Hannah says before clearing her throat and adjusting herself in her chair.
I know she wants me to take my hand away, and if we were anywhere else, I probably would have, but right now watching her talk to my friends, fitting into my life as if she was always meant to be there, as if she’s been the missing pieces of my puzzle, causes something primal to surge within me and so my need to touch her grows.
“Kate, how did you meet Drew?”
Kate gives Drew a look that says to tone down the reality of how much he hated her in high school, before falling for her when she moved back home. So, he smiles, giving my girl the abridged version, causing her eyes to light up at how they found each other again.
“I’m really sorry to hear about your mom.”
Kate looks back at Drew who gives a sad smile before leaning forward to kiss her shoulder twice before picking up the plates and heading into the kitchen. “Every day it gets easier. Not better, just easier.”
I can’t imagine how Kate felt watching her mom wither away in front of her. Her mother’s cancer and the amount of shit Kate had to go through made Kate’s high school personality make more sense. Hannah nods as if she understands, and I guess in a roundabout way she does. She lost the life she knew when she packed up and followed that son of a bitch, and then lost the life she believed she’d have when that asshole turned out to be just that… an asshole.
“Does anyone want to go outside for some drinks?” Max asks everyone, nodding, an odd expression crossing Addison’s face as we all head outside.
“You okay, squirt?” I ask, knowing something is up.
She nods, not saying a word as she sits on a patio chair, bringing her legs up to her chest. Odd. That girl is always talking, always inserting herself into everyone’s business, and yet right now… nothing. Once we’re all settled, Hannah looks over at Max and Mark.
“Can I ask you guys something I’ve always wanted to ask you?”
They both smile, leaning back in their chairs at the same time as if it was rehearsed.
“What was it like growing up identical?”
They tilt their heads at the same time and we all laugh. I never noticed how much they sync up when they’re together, but it’s hilarious to watch.
“It was fun,” Max starts, peering over at his brother and lapsing into a second of silence.
Everyone that has been around them longer than five minutes knows that they do this all the time. Their silent conversations used to bug the crap out of me, made me believe that I was missing out on some big secret when in reality it was just the way they communicated, and most of the time they don’t even realize they’re doing it.
“Sometimes,” Mark jumps in, Max nodding along. “When it came to girls, we always had the ones that always wanted to switch between us.”
“What do you mean, share?” Hannah questions and everyone bursts out laughing.
“Not exactly. Max would date someone and then after they broke up, she would want to date Mark to see if they were the same in every way,” Drew implies as Hannah makes a gagging sound.
“That seems a bit much.”
We all nod, remembering how hard it was for them to get through high school and some parts of college.
“Did you guys really look that similar? I mean, right now you guys don’t look that alike.”
She is not wrong. Over the years, they’ve changed aspects of themselves to separate from each other. For one, Max kept his hair short, his style edgier with his leather jackets and motorcycles. Mark, on the other hand, grew out his hair a bit and went with the more laid-back style with jeans and T-shirts.
“True, but back then, we looked almost too similar. Almost no one could tell us apart. Not even the teachers.”
Even though Hannah and I knew each other back then and she knew my friends, we went to different schools, so all of this is news to her.
“It wasn’t that hard,” Addison pipes up, all our eyes flicking to where she’s sitting. “I could tell them apart, no problem.”
