Alex's PoV
Julie and Luke were fast asleep, it was past midnight and we were just winding down after having many more drinks. The best thing about this massive house was there were so many levels that we could make noise on without disturbing others who were sleeping. We were currently listening to music while sharing stories over a few drinks. I was in quiet contemplation, thinking over Julie's reactions earlier today.
"Alex, Alex, yo anyone home?" asked Bobby bringing me back to earth.
"Oh sorry, I was just thinking, what's up?" I asked.
"Reggie and I were talking about Julie and were asking you what you thought about how she is going since you guys got her away from her father?" asked Bobby.
"Oh right, um, yeah, I think she is doing better. I know that Julie and Luke are often going for runs or walks in the morning and I think that is when she's had a nightmare so at least Julie is doing that with Luke. I assume they probably talk also? Honestly the better person to ask would be Luke since Reggie and I have mostly stepped back. Julie knows we are there for her if she needs us but since we realized that those two have finally started dating we decided to give them more space" I replied while twirling the ice around in my empty cup.
"Yeah that's mostly what Reggie said, I'm just concerned is all. I probably shouldn't have hugged her but we used to hug all the time when she was younger. I could feel immediately that she went stiff and began breathing fast despite her hugging back. It's progress for sure but still, I wonder if she should talk to someone like a professional?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah maybe, I would leave it for a few more months, remember it's hardly been a month since she left, I would just give her time to heal and talk to Luke and see how the cards fall first. I'll definitely ask her in the new year but for now I think it's safe to say that any progress is better than risking interrupting it. I don't want her to feel like she's a broken toy that needs to be fixed if we suggest something like that too soon. If Luke feels like something should change, I'm sure he would ask for advice" Reggie said as he refilled everyone's drinks.
After a few more, we decided to call it a night around three in the morning. We showed Bobby where he would be sleeping, we decided to give him the basement where we currently were partying. That way he would have space to shower and there was a kitchen down here also to make a coffee before seeing us in the morning. I made my way up to Luke and Julie's room and noticed the door was ajar, I glanced in and saw them happily asleep in each other's arms. I knew I shouldn't peek in on them when they were sleeping but It confirmed what Reggie and I had said before, she was getting there and Luke would tell us if he thought anything should change. I stumbled off to my room and fell asleep shortly after pulling off my pants and t-shirt.
I woke up around nine in the morning and could faintly smell brownies in the air. I quickly showered and brushed my teeth before making my way downstairs to investigate. Half way down the stairs I caught Reggie sitting on the stairs just out of sight of the kitchen watching Julie and Luke. I sat down next to him to see what he was watching and he just shared a smile with me.
They were busy baking a million things at the same time but what stopped me in my tracks and probably Reggie also was their laughter. They were singing quietly to music but they were doing silly voices and trying to make the other person laugh or silly dance moves. Luke's hands were entirely covered in flour and had decided after a wicked grin at Julie to start chasing her around the kitchen to wipe flour on her cheeks. He succeeded and they fell to the floor in a fit of giggles till a timer went off and Julie promptly pulled out the brownies while Luke put in the chocolate chip cookies afterwards. "They were throwing flour at each other when I came down," Reggie whispered.
"They are so cute, let's just go crash the kitchen downstairs and have breakfast with Bobby?" I asked softly.
Reggie nodded his head and we quietly sneaked past without them seeing us and made our way to the basement.
Bobby was passed out and snoring so Reggie and I started quietly working on breakfast. Reggie brewed a pot of coffee while I started pulling out eggs, ham, bacon, English muffins, cheese and mushrooms. Reggie started slicing the mushrooms and ham while I started the oven up to cook the bacon and began toasting the English muffins. We had done this so many times even as kids at sleepovers that we worked silently without having to ask questions. Bobby eventually stumbled out to see what we were doing and joined in by pulling down some mugs and pouring our coffees.
After we were all sitting down eating and drinking coffee, Bobby finally popped the question.
"Where are the other two, how come you're down here?"
"Julie and Luke were so busy having food fights, dancing and giggling that we decided their moment was too precious to interrupt so we figured we would come down here" Reggie said.
"Aww that's super cute! Yeah I wouldn't interrupt that either" Bobby replied.
We spent the rest of the morning downstairs playing Mario Kart till eventually Luke and Julie came downstairs holding hands and Luke holding a platter of brownies, chocolate chip cookies, rum balls, cream puffs with chocolate icing, and afghan biscuits in his other hand.
"Do I want to know what the kitchen looks like?" I asked as Luke handed me the platter.
"We already cleaned it! We were just about to go take a soak in the spa but figured we would share some baking that we did, enjoy!" said Julie with a smile as she began to pull Luke upstairs.
"There's more? How much did you guys make" I asked but never got an answer.
I placed the platter down on the coffee table and went to get us plates and serving tongs. There was so much food there I was afraid to see what was left over. It wasn't till I got to the kitchen that Julie's words sank in of why she would be so happy to soak in the spa with Luke and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. We might have to find them a second home soon or build a small space in the backyard. Although it was wonderful to see them so happy, especially Julie, she deserved to be a teenager for once. I lost myself for a moment wondering what it would be like to do that with a guy. I snapped out of my daydream and returned to Bobby and Reggie. We dug in, everything tasted amazing and we definitely didn't need lunch after all of that sugar.
