More Than a Moment

Sixteen

She woke up with a text from Luke asking her to breakfast. "Of course," she mumbled to herself, cursing the timing.

She met up with Luke, and he greeted her with a hug and flowers. "Are you kidding me?" Magnolia thought as her guilt crept up. "These are beautiful, thank you." She smiled, looking down at the vibrant bouquet.

"Just like you," Luke added bashfully. He held the door as Magnolia walked in, and they sat down at the corner table by the windows.

"I think my favorite thing about you is your love of breakfast," Luke laughed. 

Magnolia's waffle order had just come, and she barely let it hit the table before she started to cut into it. She squinted her eyes at Luke. "Funny."

He laughed, and she broke into a smile. It's not that things are boring with Luke, they're just easy. That's not a bad thing at all, it's actually quite refreshing, it's just that Magnolia has a recent record with guys who don't show their interest so openly. This is new. 

When their breakfast date ended, Magnolia could hardly believe it was only 9:30. She'd never felt so good so early in the morning. "This is incredible," she told Luke, astounded that the time on her phone was actually right. 

Luke relished in the childlike smile on her face, and when she looked up at him with her big cheeks and sparkling eyes, he knew there was no better time than now. 

He kissed her. 

Magnolia was certainly surprised, but she quickly got over it. This was nothing like the kiss she shared with Calum. This was slow and soft, and last night's was fast and burning. Luke's hand rested on Magnolia's jaw as Magnolia's arms reached up to wrap around his neck. She stood on her tippy toes to meet Luke.

Kissing him felt like putting a pen to paper: a soft glide, a creation, an expression-- all of Magnolia's favorite things wrapped into one. They were both authors sharing their stories. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but Magnolia is sure that whomever 'they' are has never kissed someone. 

They pulled apart, and Magnolia pulled her lips into her mouth, rocking on the balls of her feet and smiling. They were both blushing. Magnolia hadn't realized they'd been in the middle of the parking lot, but the whistles from a stranger reminded her. 

They both laughed, and Luke took Magnolia's hand as they walked wordlessly to their cars. "That was really nice," Magnolia said as Luke was shutting her door for her. 

"I'll see you soon, right?" Luke asked, gently reminding her of their date tomorrow night. 

"Yeah," she smiled, and he leaned in, through the open window, and kissed her cheek-- her red-hot cheek. 

She waved as she drove out and collapsed on Bree's bed when she got back home. 

"Luke kissed me," she muffled into the mattress.

"What?" Bree laughed, pushing Magnolia to roll her over.

"Luke. Kissed. Me." She over-announciated.

"No way!" Bree acknowledged with excitement. "How was he?" She nudged playfully.

"You mean in comparison to Calum or just in general?" Magnolia asked dryly. She wanted to bring up the fact that she and Calum had kissed as well. 

"Did I miss something?" Bree sat down and frowned.

"Calum and I kissed last night too. I told you, but you were sleeping." Magnolia played with a loose thread on the blanket beneath her.

"So you did come into my room last night..." Bree whispered as she confirmed what she had been questioning. "But why did you and Calum kiss? Why were you even with Calum? I'm so confused."

Magnolia sighed. "I've been going out with Calum kind of a lot too..." she mumbled, a little ashamed. 

"But I thought you liked Luke?"

"I do! I really do! But I like Calum too." Magnolia's brows laced with confusion and guilt and worry.

Bree took a deep breath, trying to think of some advice. "Do they know that you're going out with the other one too?"

"Calum knows. Luke doesn't." Magnolia's guilt multiplied. Saying it out loud makes it so much worse. 

"Aren't you a little worried about Luke's feelings if he ever found out?" Bree asked, concerned. Her voice was small because she didn't want to upset her friend, but seriously. This isn't like Magnolia. And it makes her a little mad because she sat through a month's worth of venting sessions after Magnolia had met the band about how much she likes Luke.

"Yes! I'm so worried! Which is why I don't want Luke to find out, and when it's time to tell him, I need to be the one to tell him." Magnolia's heart was racing, and she felt sick to her stomach. How did she let this happen?

"And Calum is just okay with this? Isn't Luke his best friend?" Bree just couldn't comprehend this situation. 

"I don't know how he feels about it. We don't talk about Luke. And to be quiet honest, I don't think Calum even really likes me, which is just the cherry on top." Magnolia lifted and let her hands drop dramatically on the bed.

"What do you mean? Didn't he kiss you?!" 

"Yeah, but I think that was just a heat of the moment thing. Maybe. I don't know. We just hang out. It's rarely planned, so I doubt he thinks of it as dates. And he's just kind of a flirty person, so I don't ever know if he's actually into me or if he's just being a flirt because that's who he is." Magnolia took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. 

Bree took a moment to process everything, and she came up empty-handed. "I don't know what to tell you."

Magnolia's face just fell a little. "I wouldn't know what to tell me either. What a mess, right?" She half laughed, half sighed.

Bree winced and nodded in agreement, which made Magnolia laugh.