Page 3 of Under Rusted Stars

“So…” I repeat. Kate smiles at me, and I can’t help but smile, too. Her happiness is contagious. “God, I’m so glad you’re back.”

“Feels weird, but normal,” I tell her.

“Oh, our class reunion is Friday,” Kate says.

“Ha!” I laugh. “Fuck no.”

“Oh, come on,” Kate says, poking her bottom lip out and pouting dramatically.

“Girl, no,” I laugh again. “Absolutely not.”

“Please!” she begs.

“Whatever it is, say yes so I can get rid of her for a while,” Luke says, wrapping me in a hug from behind. I gasp and nearly choke on my food, but instantly tear up.

“Way to go, asshole,” Kate says, smacking his arm.

“I’m sorry,” I say tearfully. I fucking hate that I react that way sometimes. Luke pulls me up and gently pulls me into a hug.

“I’m going to fucking kill him, Liv,” he whispers. When I pull back and wipe my face, he smiles. “You look good, Liv. It’s amazing what it’ll do for you when you get rid of a leech of a human.”

“Don’t even think about it. You’re stuck with me, bitch,” Kate says to Luke. He laughs and kisses her. Seeing them so sweet together is like a knife to the chest, though.

“What is she begging you for?” Luke asks me.

“Class reunion,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Oh… No, you’re going to that,” Luke says with a grin.

“One word,” I say. “Prom.”

“I, for one, would love to see your titties again,” Kate says with a grin.

“They were pretty nice,” Luke shrugs.

“See?” Kate says. “Girl, that hasn’t been talked about in so long.”

“If anyone gives you shit, I’ll handle it. Okay?” Luke says. “Please?”

“Fine,” I say with a frown.

“Well, I’m going to go bother Daisy,” Kate says, kissing Luke before hugging me. “The diner closes at five tonight, so I’ll come get you, and we can go see your parents.”

“Bless you,” I say. “I’m just going to unpack. Maybe drive down to Oakridge and grab some groceries.”

“No, we have one of them fancy grocery stores now,” Kate says. “By that, I mean it’s a dollar store that sells meat and produce.”

“Close enough,” I laugh.

“Need help unloading?” Luke asks as Kate walks off.

“Nah,” I say. I hear the door chime and glance over, but do a double-take when I see him. I stare at him from across the diner, triggering Luke to look to see what I am staring at.

“Oh, hey, Bodhi,” Luke calls out. Bodhi turns, and his eyes flick between Luke and me.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I hiss at Luke.

“What? He’s a good guy,” Luke shrugs. With him is his best friend, Rhett McDonald. I am not surprised to see that Rhett is dressed in a police uniform, since his father is still the sheriff. He was always nice to me, but that’s because his Dad would have kicked his ass for being mean.