gather her up in her arms and hug a heavy dose of reassurance right into
her. “It’s not a secret, remember?”
“I do, but I guess we should maybe talk about how we want to tell
people. The when and the if. If we had a plan, it might make things easier.”
“Definitely. Alright. At lunch? Or tonight?”
“Whenever it feels right.”
June gave Arabella a look that she hoped conveyed all of her joy, her
hope, the whole wild elation she felt at this—them—being real. She wanted
to reach that next step where it was more than just them who knew. She
wanted Arabella to meet her parents. She wanted a real dinner with
Arabella’s parents too, with Arabella’s sister there as well.
What June really was ready for was the whole world to know about them.
Not just because she was simply ready, but because she couldn’t contain all
the wonderful sensations inside her anymore. If the road got rocky when
people found out they were dating, and she was sure it really wouldn’t, but
if it did, she’d be more than ready to get out the patching equipment and
start smoothing over those holes and flattening bumps. She was ready to
work for it, to fight for it if she had to.
“So, what were you thinking for lunch?” Arabella asked shyly.
“I was thinking whatever you were thinking.”
“Oh good. We’ll spend the entire hour trying to figure out where to go
and come back here starved.”
June stood up and snatched out her phone. “Actually, there’s this little
place I’ve been dying to try.”
“Great. I’m in.”
“Just like that?”
“I’m not fussy. You know that.” Arabella paused, then with even more
shyness that was completely adorable, she added, “As long as I’m having
lunch with you, I could eat anything, even chocolate-covered bugs.”
“What about if they weren’t chocolate covered.”