NO SHAME

XXIII

As soon as we pulled up to the house, I knew it was a bad idea to agree to go to the party. Luke assured me that we could leave as soon as I said I wanted to, but I also knew that these were his friends and that I didn't want to be the reason he didn't get to hang out with them. Luke grabbed my hand once we were out of the car and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

    "Just say the word and we'll leave," Luke reminded me and I nodded.

    I let Luke lead me into the house where he was immediately greeted by a bunch of people in the house. I stood there awkwardly as Luke waved and said hi to all of his friends, his hand still firmly gripping mine.

    It wasn't like I had never been to a party before, I totally had, I just absolutely hated being at them. But I was there for Luke, and if he had said he wanted me there, then I would be there.

    "So it's true then, Luke? You really do have a girlfriend?" One of the guys loudly asked Luke.

    "Yep," Luke said and held up our conjoined hands. "This is Aspen."

    I smiled at them and moved to stand slightly closer to Luke.

    "Hey, isn't she the one from your Instagram story?" another guy asked.

    Luke remained quiet and opted for nodding his head instead.

    "I can't believe Luke Hemmings has an actual girlfriend. Never thought I'd see the day."

    Luke rolled his eyes at his friends, and didn't say anything as he and I left the room to go somewhere a little quieter.

    "How are you feeling?" he asked, bringing his hand up to tuck some hair behind my ear.

    "A little overwhelmed, but I'll be okay," I answered.

    "Are you sure?"

    "Yes."

    Luke gave me a small smile before giving me a quick kiss on my lips. I smiled back at him before letting him lead me farther into the house to try and find something to drink.

    I felt like a child as I clung to Luke while he wandered around the house. We had found something to drink and I opted for just a bottle of water, Luke following suit. Now Luke was on a mission to find Cal, Ash, and Mike.

    After looking around for a bit we finally spotted the bleach blonde hair that I had grown to know and love, and I heard Michael laugh loudly.

    "Mike!" Luke called as we approached.

    I let Luke drop my hand as he and Michael greeted each other with a hug. They pulled away and Michael brought me into a hug as well, ruffling my hair slightly. Once Michael let me go, Luke's hand instantly found mine again. It seemed like Luke was scared of letting go of me, as if he would lose me if he did.

    "Do you know where Cal and Ash are?" Luke asked.

    "I think they're with Andy in the other room," Michael answered. "I'm surprised you brought Aspen, there's some interesting people at this one."

    "That's why we've been glued together since we got here," Luke laughed.

    "You guys are always glued together, this is nothing new for us. Although, you might get some comments from the other guys."

    "Sounds like you guys have such amazing friends," I sarcastically pointed out.

    "We don't actually know most of the people here. The majority of them just came because they heard there was a party," Michael informed me.