Lara thumped her tail on the deck like she was agreeing with Lukas’s assessment of her treatment.
“You still never said why you’re here.”
“Very astute.” I took another sip of my beer. “Heard from Asher lately?”
Lukas shook his head and then shrugged. “He deals with me in emails only. His feelings are still pretty bruised, I think. I hoped that he’d have moved on, you know. I’m too old for him, and my feelings for him aren’t anything that will change into what he thinks he wants from me.” Lukas let out a sigh. “I think he just needs more time.”
“Well, he’s shut me out since the end of the scene. I’ve been demoted to receiving email responses too, and only if they have to do with work.”
“He’s young and he’s hurting. He’ll come around.”
I sipped at my beer, not really in agreement with what Lukas said. Yes, Asher was technically young. He was only twenty, and he was a little messed up. Anyone with eyes could see that. But if they missed the turmoil in him, then they weren’t paying close enough attention. They were only seeing what they wanted to see. What they’d decided was already there.
“You’re worried about him,” Lukas said.
“Aren’t you?”
He let out a wry laugh. “I’ve been worried about him for two years. Did I ever tell you how I met Asher?”
“I’ve heard the story, but not from you.”
Lukas was quiet for a minute. The wind had stopped and the gentle rustle of leaves died away like the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for him to tell the story.
“I got the call from Asher when Leo died. They’d watched movies and then gone to bed. And then next morning, Leo was gone. A number I didn’t recognize popped up on my phone and I almost didn’t answer, but I got this sick kind of feeling, you know. Like… like doom had found me and was coming at me at a hundred miles an hour. When I answered, there was this scared, sad, distraught kid on the other line.” Lukas took a shaky breath and a long pull on his beer. “Leo had told him that if he ever needed anything, and Leo couldn’t help, or he couldn’t reach Leo, to call me. But only if it was an emergency. He promised Asher that I’d help him.”
“Shit.”
“So this scared teenager calls me, tells me Leo won’t wake up, and babbles on about how they said something about the coroner and he didn’t know what was happening and he begged me to help.”
Lukas straightened up and walked over to a deck chair and dropped into it like his legs wouldn’t support him anymore. “I got to the apartment just in time for the coroner to arrive. Itfelt like they were waiting for me, you know, so he wouldn’t be alone.”
Lukas looked up at me, his eyes full of unshed tears. “I think he thought that if I showed up, everything would turn out okay. And it didn’t. He lost Leo. The only person he had. Just… gone. Even if I felt for him what he does for me, I’m almost twice his age. I’d never… not ever let anything happen between us. I can’t be the only person he has.”
“But you don’t feel that way for him.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I didn’t before, and now… there’s someone I’ve been seeing. He’s important to me.”
He took a breath and let it out slowly. “Asher is… well, he’s messy. He might always be messy, or it might be something he grows out of. He needs people who won’t give up on him.” Lukas looked up at me.
“I never said I was going to give up on him.” I’d thought about it, though. I didn’t chase after people. I didn’t like feeling as if I wasn’t taking no for an answer. Being somewhere I wasn’t welcome or wanted wasn’t enjoyable, and it was something I tried my best to avoid.
“Good.” Lukas tipped his beer back and drained the rest of it. “River is still tinkering with the footage from your shoot the other day.”
“You’re not editing it?” Lukas didn’t do all of the editing, but I’d just assumed he’d have taken the lead on this project. The soft laugh that puffed out of him surprised me.
“Watching the three of you was great, don’t get me wrong. You were incredible with each other. The chemistry was organic and real, but it was like watching someone rail my little brother. I have never been softer in my life.”
I barked out a laugh. “Well, make sure you don’t tell Asher that. He’ll never recover. Hell, I might not.”
“How do you think I feel?” Lukas chuckled, then wiped his hand down his face. He looked tired and worried.
“I like Asher. I won’t give up on him.” I didn’t have to tell him it was a promise. He understood completely.
“Don’t give up on Blue either.” Lukas shot me a knowing grin. “I’ve seen how you look at him.”
“Good to know my unrequited feelings are on display. Is there a neon sign above my head that blinks heart shapes when I see him?”
“Basically.” Lukas laughed.
