I wanna kiss again,Luke almost said but didn’t.
Mikey shrugged and started to pull his arm away, and then the words fell out of Luke’s mouth as if they had a mind of their own.
“I want you to kiss me again,” he said.
“I can do that,” Mikey responded, and leaned in.
Luke almost pulled away but, as the scent of Mikey overwhelmed him, he once again found himself kissing him back, wrapping his arms around his neck and pulling him closer. Luke’s hands seemed to have a mind of their own, roaming all over Mikey’s body, admiring the way his muscles bunched under his skin, the way his shirt clung to him.
He definitely hasn’t gotten soft,he thought.
This makeout session was just as hot as the last one, but they took their time, each of them getting to know their bodies again, learning anew what brought the other pleasure.
At last, they pulled apart, each of them trying to get their breath and figure out what to do next, if anything.
“So, uh, you kissed me not once but twice,” Luke said.
Mikey actually looked a bit sheepish, and a blush Luke hadn’t seen in years started to creep up into his cheeks. “Yeah, I guess I did. Did you mind?”
Luke found the more vulnerable side of Mikey very appealing.
“Does it seem like I minded?” he asked coyly.
Mikey took the bait.
“It didn’t. But I sometimes don’t know what you’re thinking, Luke Carter. I don’t know if anyone has ever told you, but you’re not always very forthcoming with your feelings, which means I never quite know where I stand with you.”
In fact, many people–including some of the people who were closest to him in the whole world–had a tendency to say this to Luke, and he never really quite knew what to make of it. He tried to be open with some people, but he could never quite believe others weren’t going to try to hurt him.
“I do know, yes,” he said finally. “But I’m trying, okay. I’ve already told you more than I’d told anyone in…probably ever.”
Mikey laughed.
“Well, that’s quite the compliment, but given just how little you told me, it doesn’t say much about how forthcoming you are with other people.” At Luke’s hurt expression he softened his voice. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t very nice of me. I tend to use my sense of humor to deflect from things that make me uncomfortable.”
“And does talkin’ about my feelings make you uncomfortable?”
Mikey considered him for a moment. In fact, he didn’t say anything for so long Luke almost thought he wasn’t going to respond at all. Finally, though, he huffed out a sigh.
“You know what? They do, kind of. It’s not always easy to get to the truth of who you are, Luke, and when I do…I don’t always know what to do with what I see. I don’t know if I’m making any sense, but it’s how I feel.”
In fact, it made too much sense. The truth was, Lukealsodidn’t know what to do with his feelings when someone managed to get beyond the surface. He’d spent too many years hiding behind his detachment from the world–or, more precisely, he’d spent too many years hidingfromthe world–which meant he was also hiding from himself. Mikey, though,got right to the heart of the matter. He was still one of the few people with the ability to really see Luke for who he was.
And that was very, very scary.
However, he’d gone too far to pull back now. It was time to come out of hiding.
Bryce, and my therapist, would be really proud of me right now,he thought with a smile.
“What are you smiling about?” Mikey asked.
“I was just thinking that my therapist, and my friend Bryce, would be proud of me opening up to you. They’re always telling me I should be honest about my feelings. I never believed them, but they might have a point.”
“I’d like to meet some of your friends,” Mikey said. “I…I know it is not really fair of me to ask, but maybe you could introduce me to some of them sometime? I mean, I’ve met Katrina, but it was in a professional setting. I’d like to meet her outside of her work as a tour guide.”
“I’d like that,” Luke said, unable to keep a big grin from breaking out on his face.
“You know, Luke Carter, you’re very handsome when you smile,” Mikey said. “I mean, you’re handsome when you’re scowling, too, but I kind of like seeing this more vulnerable side to you. It shows you really are human, whatever other people might say.”
