boxer ⋆ luke hemmings ✔️

40. I Love You.

Being in love felt really fucking good.

And not having to hide it anymore, well- that just seemed to put the icing right on the cake.

Because Sophie could feel her heart beating, the wind rushing through her hair as Calum drove the hummer down the freeway, some loud song playing on the radio as Luke's arm stayed draped lazily across her shoulders. Calum's girlfriend, Autumn, sat in the passenger's seat; singing along, laughing along, holding the older Hood's hand with a smile on her face and a loud passion in her voice.

It felt so good, that is almost didn't feel real.

But it was. And that was the best part.

A double date. That was what Autumn had suggested the very first time Calum told her about Sophie and Luke, and the couple had to admit; it was going great so far.

They hadn't done much, at least not yet. Autumn had met them all back at the house and after having a quick chat, they quickly found themselves on the road again; windows down, music blaring, on their way to the pier.

Sophie had been to the pier many times in her life, both with her entire family and her siblings alone. She'd absolutely loved it- up until she was fifteen and Chase had dragged her there to try a tray of fried Oreos. It seemed to be the only thing on his agenda at the time, and since she didn't want to disappoint him, she went along with it.

Needless to say, she really didn't like it, and she hadn't been to the place since. But not because the incident had scarred her in any way; no, she just didn't have much spare time herself to do so.

So, when Autumn had suggested going to the boardwalk and two other men seemed to be all for it, Sophie had felt nothing but excitement.

Only now, she wasn't with Chase, and she wasn't being dragged. She was with her boyfriend, and her older brother (who approved of them, much to her relief) and her older brother's girlfriend. If anything, having them all together like that was much better than a tray of any greasy fair food.

Calum parked the hummer and they all stepped out, Luke immediately going over to open Sophie's side of the car. She giggled lightly, feeling her feet hit the gravel before grinning up at him.

"Thank you," she said gratefully, standing up on her tiptoes to place a light kiss on his cheek. The boxer then dipped his head, his goofy grin trained on the floor as he shut the door after her; no matter how many times she kissed, hugged, or showed him any type of affection, Luke wasn't sure he'd get used to it any time soon.

Calum caught sight of the small exchange, feeling his lips turn upwards slightly at the sight. Now that everything had been explained and he'd been educated on what was really going on between the two, he found that he actually didn't mind. It was nice; seeing Luke happy, for a change.

The man had always been so cold, so calloused. And although Calum knew that there would always be a part of Luke that held that trait, he also knew that it would stay hidden. Around Sophie, at least.

They made their way towards the pier, fingers interlocked with their significant other. The stroll they had was leisurely, and at a good pace; there was absolutely no rush. Just a strong will to have a good time.

Sophie wasn't Mia. Both men knew that much. Sophie Hood wasn't Mia but that was what made Luke fall so hard for her in the first place, for the two young women were similar, yet so very different.

It wasn't a case of replacing what he'd lost. Yes, he'd always have that longing, empty space in his heart for the mother of his son, like a person would for their first love. But the space Luke had for Sophie now was bigger, and stronger, not so easy to fall apart. He'd been so stressed over not letting the past repeat itself that he failed to realise just how little the chance of it happening again would be, and he often found himself pausing to chase that fact alone.