“Why Luke Carter, are you jealous?”
He could tell from the sheepish look on Luke’s face he was.
“I don’t know. I was really in love with her, and I was really physically attracted to her. We just clicked, until we didn’t.”
“Huh,” Luke said. “I mean, I guess I am a little jealous, but I’m still figurin’ out this whole pansexual thing.”
“So am I,” Mikey laughed.
Finally, though, Luke shrugged and smiled. “But you know what? We don’t have to figure everything out right now, whether about our sexuality or what we’re doing…you know…with each other. We can just take it step by step…or half-step by half-step.”
He laughed a little at his own bad wordplay, and Mikey couldn’t help but laugh along with him. That was the thing about Luke. He’d always had a way of making Mikey feel like he was home, no matter what was going on and no matter how much Mikey managed to get into his head about things.
Just now, it was enough to be with Luke, to feel his body warm next to his, to feel his skin, to run his hand through his stubble.
He was so comfortable, in fact, before he knew it he was beginning to drift off to sleep.
“Hey,” Luke said softly, pulling him up out of sleep.
“Mm…?” he managed to mumble.
“Come on, sleepy head, we’re going to get you to bed,” Luke said and, before Mikey could say or do anything to object, Luke was lifting him up in his arms like he weighed nothing at all and was carrying him off to his bedroom.
Holy shit,Mikey thought.Is he really carrying me right now? Is this real life?
If he hadn't already been falling head over heels in love with Luke Carter, this most certainly would’ve done it.
To his surprise, Luke took him to his own bedroom rather than the guest.
“Luke,” he began, “are you sure you want me to sleep in your room?”
Mikey was afraid this was something Luke was just doing on the spur of the moment.
Luke, however, just laughed, the deep baritone rumble causing Mikey’s whole body to vibrate.
I’m so fucked,he thought.
“Did you really think I was going to make you sleep in the guest bedroom when the two of us just swapped fantastic blowjobs?” he asked. “I’m not a barbarian. You’re sleeping here, and that’s all there is to it.”
And with that he put Mikey in his bed. He did it gently, almost like Mikey was a china doll he was afraid of breaking. Mikey yawned and stretched. He was still hovering right on the cusp between being asleep and being awake, and he wanted tomake the most of this moment of tenderness. He wanted to take advantage of it in case things turned sour the next day.
Don’t be such a pessimist.
Luke crawled into bed beside him.
“Come ‘ere,” he said, and Mikey almost melted. There was just something so calm and commanding, yet unbearably tender, about the way Luke said those two words. How was he supposed to resist?
He scootched over and wrapped his arms around Luke, resting his head on his chest. Luke’s heartbeat sounded gently in his ear, calm and steady.
I love you,he almost whispered.
Instead of saying it, though, he just nestled closer, enjoying the feeling of Luke’s arm wrapped around him. And, just like that, he fell asleep.
During their worksessions the next day it became clear Luke meant what he said when it came to taking some of Mikey’s suggestions about what their show should look and sound like. The set list–including their songs–was starting to take shape, and though Luke took the helm, Mikey was a key part of the process. He’d would make a few comments here and there, and Luke would take them in stride.
Is this a side of Luke I’ve never allowed myself to see?He thought.Has he really changed that much?
At the moment, they were on opposite sides of Luke’s living room, each of them dressed simply in T-shirts and jeans. Luke was, of course, strumming his guitar, trying to find just the right notes to go along with the lyrics they’d been working on. Mikey, on the other hand, was staring out at the fields and woods around the cabin, while Duke sprawled across his legs.
