I left him standing there with his mouth hanging open while I headed toward the elevator. I stopped by the security guards and said, “He’s staying here until I bring down his stuff. If he causes you any problems, call the police.”
He gave me a shark-like smile. “You got it, Mr. D’Angelo.”
When I got into my apartment, I grabbed a garbage bag from the kitchen cabinet and went through my place looking for anything that might have belonged to Luke. It turned out there wasn’t all that much. Some clothes, a pair of running shoes, toiletries, an electric razor, and a Rolex watch that he never wore but always bragged about. I double-checked to make sure I hadn’t missed anything and then went back down to the lobby.
When Luke saw me carrying a garbage bag, his face turned red. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
I held the bag out to him. “You wanted it now. It’s all I had. If you’d have waited, I would’ve been nice and gotten a box from my office.”
He grabbed the bag from my hand. “Fuck you, Tony.”
I shook my head. “Never again, Luke. Go find yourself a new sugar daddy or whatever it is you’re looking for.”
I didn’t even watch him leave the building. “Sorry about that,” I said as I passed by the security desk.
“No worries, Mr. D’Angelo. You take care of yourself.”
Back in my apartment, I threw myself on the sofa and stared out at the city skyline as dusk faded to night. My day hadn’t gone at all like I’d planned. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to go out again. Maybe I’d pull up a movie and get some takeout instead.
My encounter with Luke only emphasized what Michael had said to me earlier. I needed to be more discerning about the people I attached myself to. I hadn’t had any luck with either men or women. Looking back, I could see that I had rushed into serious relationships before I really knew the person. I groaned in disgust at myself. How had I become the middle-aged cliché?
I pulled up the food delivery app on my phone and ordered from my favorite Italian place. If I was going to be pathetic, I might as well have good food while I was doing it. I was scrolling through one of my many streaming services when my phone vibrated with a call. To my surprise, Greg was calling.
I swiped to answer. “Hey, Greg. What’s up?”
“Hey, Tony. I had a question.”
“Okay,” I replied. “Hit me.”
“Someone I connected with at City Lights emailed me a pair of tickets to an Off-Broadway show. She said the musical director was looking for a substitute pianist and that I should talk to him after the show. I was wondering if you’d like to go with me. It would be nice not to go alone.”
I worked very hard to keep the surprise out of my voice when I answered. “That sounds great. When’s the show?”
I heard his sigh of relief before he replied, “Tuesday at seven.”
“Let me just check to make sure I’ve got nothing going on Tuesday before I say yes.” I pulled up my schedule on my phone. My last meeting was at four. “Yep, I’m good. You want to meet for dinner before the show?”
“That sounds good. Maybe you should pick the place since the theater is on 39th Street. You know the neighborhood better than I do.”
I ran through the restaurants I knew in my head. “How about I text you the menus for a couple of places I know and you can tell me what appeals to you?”
“That works,” he replied. After a long pause, he added, “Thanks, Tony. It’s nice to have a friend to do things with.”
“Anytime. I enjoyed the time we spent together today. It’s nice to have somebody besides my brothers to talk to.”
He chuckled. “I’m glad I rate up there with your brothers.”
“Some days higher,” I muttered.
That got a laugh out of him. “I won’t tell them you said that.” There was a brief silence. Then he said, “Goodnight, Tony. I’ll see you Tuesday.”
“I’ll be there,” I replied.
After he ended the call, I squeezed my eyes shut and repeated to myself, “This is not a date. This is not a date. This is not a date.” Maybe if I said it often enough, it would sink in.
CHAPTER TEN
GREG
