Previous Chapters:
The sixth of five scenes: dpracket.livejournal.com/14667.html
After the parking garage (pt 2): dpracket.livejournal.com/15254.html
What are You Doing Here? (pt. 3) : dpracket.livejournal.com/20200.html
A Peek Behind the Wall (pt 4): dpracket.livejournal.com/20336.html
On the hook(pt 5): http://dpracket.livejournal.com/20581.html
Non-Date Night (pt6): dpracket.livejournal.com/20820.html
The Sentry (pt7): dpracket.livejournal.com/21032.html
Avoidance (pt8) dpracket.livejournal.com/21720.html
Opposites Attract (pt9) dpracket.livejournal.com/21929.html
Here (pt 10) dpracket.livejournal.com/22197.html
Current chapter: dpracket.livejournal.com/22326.html
Two days later, on his way up to get Luke, Holden saw Reid standing at the nurses station downstairs and approcahed him.
"Dr. Oliver..."
Reid looked up. "Hello, Mr. Snyder; can I help you with something?"
"No. I just wanted to you let you know that Luke is being discharged today."
"Yes. I heard. That's good news. I hope he feels better soon." Reid started to walk away.
"He's going to be staying at his mother's house," Holden continued and Reid turned back around. "I'd rather he stay out at the farm with me, but Lily's insisting that he stay with her so that she can keep an eye on him. He was given a 21-day supply of anitbiotics...and he's on bedrest for three days." Reid nodded, wondering why Luke's father was telliing him all of this. "You have Luke's cell number?"
"Yes," Reid admitted hestitantly, confused by the direction of the conversation.
"Okay, well here's my business card. Lily's address and phone number are on the back." Holden pulled a card out of his wallet, checked the back, and handed it to Reid.
Reid took the card. "Ok...thanks...?"
"Alright, then," Holden smiled. "I'm headed up to get Luke. Would you like to join me? Say hi?"
"No...uh...I have a patient waiting...good luck. I hope everything goes well with Luke's recovery."
"It will. Luke's strong. He's a fighter."
Reid nodded. He'd seen Luke's medical file. "I know."
Holden clapped Reid on the shoulder. "Okay...take care, Dr. Oliver."
"Bye, Mr. Snyder."
****************************************************************
"How do you feel?"
"With my hands."
Silence.
"Reid?"
"Is your fever gone?"
"Yes."
"Are you remembering to take all your meds?"
"Yes, doctor." Luke laughed.
"Are you in bed?"
"As ordered."
"What are you wearing?"
"Wouldn't you like to know..."
*****************************************************************************
Reid stood outside the door, cursing the butterflies in his stomach. He knocked hesitantly.
The door opened. "Dr. Oliver."
"Hello, Ms. Walsh."
Lily looked at the vase of flowers in Reid's hands before her eyes traveled to the big, yellow smiley face balloon that hung in the air above it.
"They're for Luke."
"I figured as much. Come in, please," Lily said, stepping aside and eyeing Reid suspiciously."
Reid stood awkwardly in the foyer, not knowing where to look.
"Excuse me, Dr. Oliver, but I have something on the stove." She started to walk away from him. "Up the stairs, second door on the left."
Reid nodded. "Thanks..."
Luke's bedroom door was open. Reid stepped inside. Luke laid in the bed, his eyes closed, a light blanket draped on top of him. Reid stood over Luke for a moment, just looking at him. He placed the vase on the nightstand. He then grabbed the chair from Luke's desk and pulled it over next to the bed. He sat down quietly.
Luke opened his eyes. "Hey..."
"Hey." Reid cupped Luke's chin. "Hi."
"Hi."
"How are you?"
"Bored."
Reid ran his thumb over Luke's stubbled chin. "One more day."
"Yeah...are those for me?" Luke asked, nodding toward the flowers.
"No, they're for your mother. Of course they're for you...the balloon looks like you, don't you think?"
Luke laughed. "If you say so..." He put his hand out palm up, and Reid placed his hand over his.
"I'm glad you're okay, Luke."
"Me too. You didn't have to come here though. I know you're busy."
"My days are a lot less busy without a certain guy with messy hair following me around and pestering with his ideas for the new wing."
"And pulling you into empty exam rooms?"
"Yes. That too. Though that hasn't happened in a few weeks now..."
Luke felt his cheeks redden. "Reid."
"Hmm?"
"Come here."
"I am here."
"Come closer," Luke said. Reid leaned toward Luke. "Closer..."
Reid leaned into Luke until their faces were a couple of inches apart. Luke took no time to close the rest of the distance. He grabbed both sides of Reid's face and pressed their lips together. Reid hummed into the kiss, and his hand found Luke's stomach under his shirt.
"Soup's ready," Lily announced as she walked into the room. "Oh, I'm sorry...."
Reid pulled back from Luke and looked at Lily, who tried her best not to meet his gaze.
Luke pulled his shirt down sheepishly as Lily placed the tray in front of him. "I didn't realize that the two of you..."
"Mom...please, don't. This is awkward enough."
"Of course, sweetie. We'll talk later."
******************************************************
Reid walked into the Lakeview at the end of a long, bad day. His shoulders ached, and his head was pounding. As he debated risking the elevator or just ascending the stairs like he normally did, he heard a commotion coming from the lobby area. He heard Henry's voice and turned to see what was going on.
"...and don't start talking about her; everyone's talking about her, okay? I know everyone has an opinon about the two of us together, and none of them are good. So, instead of growing a spine and telling all of you to go to hell, I threw her away! Because I listened to you. Because your opinion meant something to me. And because of that, I broke Barbara's heart. How could you hate her so much? Why do you hate her so much?"
"I don't!" Katie protested.
Against his better judgement, Reid approached Hank and the woman he called Bubbles.
"Hey, if you're not going to be honest with me..."
Reid looked back and forth between Henry and Katie. Both of them had tears in their eyes. "Hey, what's going on here? Everyone okay?" Stupid question.
They both ignored him.
"How could you do this?" Henry asked forcefully. "How could you betray me? You knew Vienna was lying to me. But you sided with her. You HELPED her!"
Katie brushed away her tears.
Henry continued. "You knew how devastated I was when we lost our child. You went through the same thing. But you set me up to go through that all over again? In what universe is that friendship?! Why don't you want me to be happy, Katie?"
"I want you to be happy; I just thought it was with Vienna," Katie pleaded.
"I did everything for you," Henry argued. "Everything for you. Even when you did not make that easy, okay? I was the best friend that I could possibly be." Henry sighed. "I was always half way in love with you. You know that. It's true; you know that's true...but then you met Brad, you fell in love...you fell in love with Brad. I said 'obviously, he's the right guy," and so I stepped aside. And the moment...the moment someone loves me on my own terms, you can't stand it, and you do everything you can to break us up!"
Reid put his hand on Henry's arm. "Henry...hey..."
"I'm not proud of it," Katie cried.
"Proud of it? You shouldn't be proud of it! You should be ashamed of it!"
"Well it wasn't just me," Katie rationalized. "Vienna..."
"Vienna had something to gain! You did it just because you didn't want Barbara in my life. And you destroyed the happiest relationship I've ever had. Because of selfishness, Katie. Selfishness! I lost Barbara because of you!"
"Well, I lost BRAD because of you! And Jacob lost his father! But I forgave you!"
Reid watched Henry blink away tears, a look of anguish on his face, his fists in balls at his side. "Then I guess you're a better person than I am." Henry said quietly, and walked away.
Katie tried to follow him, but Reid gently grabbed her arm. "Listen, Goldilocks...I think you better leave him alone for now."
"I'm sorry...Dr. Oliver? Reid, is it? This is none of your business, so take your hands off me."
Reid dropped his hand and sighed. "You're right; it is none of my business, I have no idea what happened, but Henry looks like he's about to hit something, and I don't want it to be you."
"You don't know anything about Henry. You've known him all of what, five minutes? He's my best friend. So, why don't you stay out of it?"
"Yeah, okay...go ahead back in there without giving him a chance to calm down, and see where that gets you." Reid started to walk away.
"I hurt him," Katie said to Reid's back.
Reid turned around. "I can see that. So, rather than hurting him some more, why don't you give him a chance to lick his wounds? Maybe once he's had a chance to calm down and think a little, the two of you can revisit this."
Katie nodded. "Okay...yeah. Maybe you're right."
"No maybe. I AM right."
Katie glanced at him sideways and furrowed her brow. "Will you check on him for me though; make sure he's okay?"
Reid sighed. "Sure." Why did he keep getting sucked into all this shit in Oakdale?
"Okay, thanks..." Katie studied Reid. "You okay?"
"Me? Yeah. Why?"
"No. Nothing. Nevermind. It's not my business. Goodbye, Dr. Oliver." Katie turned and left he building.
Reid decided to forego the tempermental hotel elevator and strode up seven flights of stairs to Henry's floor. He knocked on the door, breathing heavily. When Henry didn't answer the door, Reid knocked again. "C'mon, Hank...it's Reid...open up."
Still nothing.
Reid kicked the door with his foot. "Henry! C'mon, man...don't make me sweet talk the maid into giving me a key. I can do it, ya know."
Nothing.
"HANK!"
Henry opened the door with red eyes and a bottle of vodka in his hand. "I don't see sweet talk as part of your repertoire, there, Dr. Oliver."
"You'd be surprised what I can accomplish when I turn on the charm and bat my baby blues." He took the bottle from Henry's hand. He then pulled Henry over to the couch and pushed him down. "Sit." He put the bottle on the coffee table. "Talk."
Henry glared at him but then his expression softened. "What happened to you?"
"Me? What? Oh..." Reid reached up and touched the shiner under his right eye. "Jealous ex-boyfriend. But we're talking about you."
"Ex-boyfriend...Noah? Noah hit you?!"
"Again, we're talking about you. What happened? Blondie's worried about you."
"Blondie's a lying, backstabbing, b..."
"Whoa, whoa...okay..."
Henry pushed his back into the couch and made a growling sound. "I got married a couple days ago."
"Congratulations. Thanks for the invitation."
"Don't worry. You didn't miss anything. It was a farce."
"How so?"
"Vienna..." Henry puffed, his shoulders dropping. "Vienna faked her pregnancy. And yesterday, she faked a miscarriage."
"Ouch."
"You have no idea."
"You're right; I don't. I've never had a boyfriend fake a pregnancy," Reid joked. Henry scowled at Reid. "Okay...yeah...sorry...bad joke..."
"The thing is, Vienna and I...we did lose a baby once. His name was Sven."
"Sven?"
"Yes. Sven. She miscarried him, and it was devastating...and for her to deceive me into thinking that we lost another child...to put me through that again...I just don't understand how she could do that to me."
"Yeah, that's low."
"And I was so committed to being a good father, that I decided that I could love Vienna, have a life with her, and I pushed Barbara aside...Barbara who loved me more honestly than anyone else probably ever has." Henry reached for the bottle. Reid didn't stop him.
"It sounds like you have grounds for an annulment. It's good that you know, that it's all out in the open. Now you can make informed decisions. How did you find out?"
"Katie."
"Katie? From the lobby? So, why are you pissed at her?"
"Because she conspired with Vienna to create this sham of a pregnancy!"
"Why?"
"Because she hates Barbara."
"Why?"
"Because Barbara's...Barbara." Henry said with a sigh and took a swig off the bottle again. "People don't get her."
"I can relate to that."
"...and they definitely don't get us."
"So, fuck everyone." Henry turned to Reid. "Seriously, Hank...take it from me, life is a whole lot easier when you don't give a crap what anyone thinks about you. Put yourself first...because nobody else is going to do it for you."
"You're right."
"I know I'm right. I keep trying to tell everyone that, but..." Reid sighed.
"I have to go see her."
"Who?"
"Barbara," Henry said, standing up with the bottle and feeling his pockets for his keys.
"Hold on," Reid said, grabbing the bottle from Henry and returning it to the table. "You're in no condition to drive."
"That's why you're going to drive me. You're a good friend."
"No...friend? Where did you get that idea? No, Hank. I'm already more involved in this than I want to be...why can't you wait until morning?"
"Because when you realize that you want to spend the rest of your life with someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."
Reid sat back on the couch with a sigh and rubbed his eyes. Luke. He shook his head to rid it of ridiculous thoughts.
Henry weaved his way to the door and stood there, holding it open. He looked at Reid, who was sitting on the couch, staring at his hands in his lap. "Hello? Earth to Dr. Ohmygod, quit daydreaming. Let's go..."
**********************************************************
"Hey, buddy...you look great!" Casey said, as he hugged Luke tightly. "Don't do that shit to us anymore, okay?" he said as he thumped Luke on the chest.
"I'll try." Luke smiled.
"I already got our coffees," Casey said, gesturing over to an outside table. "Got a few different muffins too, so you can take your pick."
"Thanks," Luke said, sitting down.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah...I feel great." Luke sipped his coffee. "The infection's gone, but I'm on the antibiotics for another couple of weeks."
"Can you go back to work?"
"Yup; started back yesterday."
"Okay...hurry up and pick your muffin because I'm starving."
"I'll take this one," Luke said, grabbing a craberry one.
"Good. I wanted the chocolate chip," Casey laughed, taking a bite. "So, dude, who beat up your boyfriend?" he asked through a mouthful of food.
"Noah?! What? What happened to him?"
Casey gave Luke a blank stare. "Your other boyfriend."
"I don't have a boyfriend."
Casey cocked his head and gave Luke a "don't-pull-that-crap-with-me" stare. "You know who I'm talking about."
"Why? What happened to him?"
"He's walking around the hospital sporting a shiner this morning."
"What happened? Is he okay?"
"I don't know...I don't talk to the guy. He scares me. I guess he's okay, since he's at work."
Luke pulled out his phone to call Reid but then put it down. "I should go see him."
"Bro, he's fine. I thought you were pissed at him anyway."
"Yeah...we've moved past that, I think. For now anyway..." Luke laughed. "I'm not going to assume anything. He's hard to read."
Casey nodded. "Glad you're being smart about it. All I hear from the nurses is that he's a prick."
"He is." Luke laughed.
"And yet you like him?"
"That's not all he is," Luke said, looking down and smiling.
"Look at you. Smitten. Blech..." Casey joked.
Luke shrugged and laughed.
******************************************************
"Your jacket, doctor..." Luke said, as he walked into Reid's office without knocking and hung the jacket on the back of the chair in front of Reid's desk.
Reid looked up from his work, a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, and smiled.
Luke licked his bottom lip. "Dang, Reid. I've never seen you in glasses before. I like..."
Reid rolled his eyes. "They're just for reading."
"I'm serious," Luke said, walking around the desk and leaning with his butt against the front of it so that his leg was touching Reid's. "You're all professor-like or something...it's...mmmmmm," Luke hummed playfully.
"Snyder..."
Luke leaned forward and rubbed the back of his fingers down Reid's cheek. "What happened to your face?" he asked, now clearly seeing the shiner that Casey had told him about.
Reid sighed. "Nothing....it's nothing..."
"Did someone hit you?"
"Observant. You could get a job with the Oakdale PD."
"Don't be an ass, Reid. Who hit you?"
"Drop it, Luke."
"Reid...c'mon...tell me."
"Why don't you ask your boyfriend?"
"Noah?"
"Yeah, THAT one." Reid huffed.
"Noah? Noah hit you?! Why?"
"I fix brains; I don't read them. But I'll hazard a guess that it has something to do with you. I really would have liked to have seen it coming though, so I didn't walk right into it...literally. But someone forgot to mention that they had a conversation with Mr. Maryer in which I was discussed."
"Oh my God...Noah..."
Reid smirked and shook his head.
"Stupid." Luke said. "I said something stupid to him in the heat of the moment a couple of weeks ago...I can't believe he hit you."
"Yeah, well...believe it. All I did was walk into a follow up he had with Dr. Raye. I was curious how his eyesight was holding up. Apparently, his eyesight is great. Bull's eye." Reid held his fist up near the side of his own nose. "Why did you have to say anything to him?"
"I didn't mean to. He kissed me."
"He kissed you?!"
"Yes, and I pushed him away. But he insisted that we belonged together. And then we started arguing, and God; he was being such a jerk; it was the same old tired argument we've been having for months. I wanted to shut him up. I wanted to say something to hurt him."
"To make him jealous..." Reid offered.
"No...I don't know...maybe? I just wanted to get under his skin. It's not like it was a secret, right?"
"No, it wasn't a secret. It's not a secret. But let's get something clear here...don't use me to make your boyfriend jealous. And I would have liked a heads up."
"He's not my boyfriend!"
"You should have told me he knew."
"Maybe you're worried that your professional ethics might be called into question?" Luke asked, suddenly irritated with Reid and Noah alike.
"My professional ethics are just fine, Mr. Snyder."
"Yeah, okay...you don't see any conflict of interest here?" Luke asked pointedly, unsure of why he was pushing this, why he felt the need to push Reid's buttons.
"What the hell are you doing?" Reid asked.
"Fucking your patient's boyfriend?"
"Excuse me? Now he's your boyfriend again? Make up your mind."
"What about the first time you came here?"
"Luke, stop."
"What about then? He was my boyfriend then."
"Which was YOUR issue, not mine. He wasn't my patient at that time, if you recall. I was leaving town."
"Conveniently."
"Luke, c'mon...stop this." Reid stood up and put his hands on Luke's hips, squeezing gently.
"And the sad part is, I wasn't even doing it to try to get you to stay in town. Maybe it wouldn't have been as awful if my motivation was to make you stay to operate on Noah...but it had nothing to do with that. I just wanted you. I knew you for five minutes, and I wanted you."
"The feeling was mutual, Mr. Snyder."
"I'm not a cheater."
"I know you're not."
"How? How do you know? You don't even know me."
Reid stayed silent.
"How do you know I won't cheat on you, Reid? You know how easily I climbed into the back seat of my car with you. How can you ever trust me?"
"I think this is all premature, Luke."
Luke smirked. "Yeah...casual, right?"
"Right." Reid sighed. "No. Look...I like you, okay? I want to spend time with you. Let's just see where this goes. Why do we have to define things?"
"We don't." Luke looked down at his feet.
Reid reached out and tipped Luke's chin up so that he could see Luke's eyes. "Luke..."
"I've got it, Reid. I mean, yeah...we have nothing in common, right? You're a freaking neurosurgeon, and I'm just..."
"...this incredibly hot guy that's been making me crazy since the first second I laid eyes on him."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. And it scares the fucking shit out of me, okay?"
"I scare you?"
"Listen, Luke...I've been fucking my way through life for years now, and I've been cool with that. My track record with relationships is shit."
"I'm oh for one," Luke shrugged.
"Oh for two," Reid admitted.
"Just two?"
"Just two."
"What happened?"
Reid shook is head,
Luke nodded. "Right...let me guess? You don't want to talk about it."
Reid glared at Luke.
"How long ago?" Luke asked.
"Years."
"And nobody since then?"
"I've found men to spend time with."
"Like you're doing with me."
"Yes........no.....fuck, Luke....I don't know." Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. "Can we change the subject?"
Luke leaned forward and kissed Reid, letting his tongue slide into Reid's open mouth before pulling back and pushing Reid down into his chair.
"I'll see you around," Luke said, and he headed for the door. "I'm sorry Noah hit you. I don't know what the hell his problem is. He hasn't wanted to be with me in months, and now that someone else wants me, he's pissed about it? I don't get it, but whatever...I'm just sorry you got caught in the crossfire."
"I'll survive," Reid shrugged.
Luke nodded from the doorway. "Okay...I'll see ya, Doc..."
Reid narrowed his eyes. "Snyder?"
"Yes?" Luke responsed, pausing and looking back.
"I'm not too sure what just happened here. Are we okay?"
"We?" Luke asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
Reid sighed and looked down. When he looked back up, Luke was gone.
***********************************************************
They didn't see each other for over a week. They didn't call. They didn't text.
Reid figured he'd fucked things up, and he rationalized that it was for the best. He had no desire to be in a relationship, especially with a young twenty-something do gooder with medical problems. So then, why did he find himself thinking about Luke constantly? Why did he find himself wondering what Luke was doing, how he was feeling? He was the first thing he thought about when he opened his eyes in the morning, and it's Luke's image that he fell asleep to each night, usually mindlessly, frustratingly stroking himself. Luke's lips, his eyes, the tendons in his neck. Fuck. Snyder.
For his part, Luke refused to chase after the emotioanlly closed-off doctor. He'd done that for far too long with Noah. Still, Luke didn't buy Reid's line about things being casual between them. He'd seen the way Reid looked at him in the hospital, the way he'd touched him, the concern he showed. What he couldn't figure out is why Reid was fighting it. Something was going on behind those expressive blue eyes of his. His face gave nothing away, but his eyes, that was a different story. Sometimes Luke thought it was amusement dancing behind them. Other times Luke thought it was an unreachable sadness that Reid quietly protected. Either way, it made him want to know him more.
Luke fought with himself many times, just wanting to show up at the hospital to corner Reid in his office and go crazy on him like he'd done many times before because, God, he wanted him...every waking moment of every day...so much so that it was an ache, but he knew that being physically close to Reid would just complicate things more. So, he kept his distance, and he occupied himself with work and with the farm, trying to not think about the frustrating doctor.
*********************************************************************
"Thank you all for being here today," Bob said, sitting at a large table at the Lakeview. The waiters set about putting appetizers on the table and taking drink orders. "Invicta is seriously considering an acquisition of Memorial Hospital, which will infuse it with funds needed for the projects it is currently incorporating. This is Mona Cross, and she would like the opportunity to discuss her ideas with you and to hear your ideas for Memorial's future." Reid didn't want to be there, but the sudden arrival of food and Hank sitting next to him, writing funny comments on his napkin and sliding it over to Reid, made the meeting more bearable.
Reid ordered his second beer and tried to answer Mona's questions as politely and succinctly as possible. He got a bad vibe off the woman, but he wasn't sure what it was that he didn't like about her. He also tried not to roll his eyes every time Chris Hughes spoke, but it was hard. Henry kicked him under the table when he rolled his eyes, which made Reid smile.
About twenty minutes into the meeting, Luke walked up to the table, breathing rather hard. "Sorry, I'm late...there was a problem at Grimaldi that I had to take care of." He shook Mona's hand,nodded at Susan, and sat down across from Reid. The waiter immediately came over and took Luke's drink order. "And I'll have another beer, please...and..." Reid said, turning to Henry. "Martini?"
Henry nodded and finished what was in his glass. "Dirty."
"Of course," Reid smirked. He turned back to the waiter. "And another dirty martini for Hank."
Throughout the meeting, Reid tried not to look at Luke, but it was hard. He looked good. His hair was messier than usual, all twisty and begging to be tugged. He wore a dress shirt and tie, and the tie was crooked, which Reid found completely adorable. Adorable? Really? A light stubble covered his chin and upper lip, which was a rare thing for the always clean shaven Luke, and Reid had to close his eyes against the thought of that stubble brushing his skin.
As if reading his mind, Henry pushed his scrawled upon napkin in front of Reid. He had written: Luke looks hot this evening.
Reid looked at Henry who smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Reid tried to glare at him, but the beer was making him loose, and he smiled instead. Yeah, Luke looked hot.
Luke was a natural at b.s., at working people, at schmoozing...Reid figured it had something to do with his blinding smile...at the way he leaned into people and held their gaze...and Reid watched in amazement as Luke had Mona Cross eating out of the palm of his hand, talking about Memorial's place in the community and how it was the people from chief of staff, on down to orderliesy, that made Memorial such a success. Bob literally glowed.
Throughout the meeting, Reid's eyes met Luke's brown ones, and both men would quickly look away, not wanting to give away anything. However, near the end of the meeting, as Reid finished his third beer, he
let his eyes find Luke's and stayed there. Luke returned his gaze, and suddenly it was like everyone else at the table disappeared. Luke licked his bottom lip, and Reid's mouth literally watered. Reid's hand came up and covered his own smile. Luke smiled himself and turned away. Hank kicked Reid under the table again, leaned over, and whispered, "Down, loverboy."
As the meeting ended, Reid turned to Henry. "One for the road?"
"Naturally," Henry replied, holding up his glass and signaling the waiter.
"Haven't you both had enough?" Bob asked, raising his eyebrows and looking over toward Ms. Cross who was looking at Reid and Henry with a furrowed brow. He nodded to the waiter, indicating that he could bring the drinks, and he handed the waiter his credit card to settle the tab.
Reid turned to Mona. "Ms. Cross...I hope we're not offending you, but it's a Friday evening. I'm not on call until Sunday. Henry and I live here, so we're not driving, and all we have to do is find our way up the elevator, or in my case, the stairs..."
"You live here? In the hotel? Together?"
Henry guffawed. "NO! We do not live together. "
"Oh," Mona blushed. "I just assumed that the two of you were...I mean, the way you've been flirting all evening, whispering, passing notes...and Mr. Coleman, you just..."
Henry sat there with his mouth open. "Oh my god. Ms. Cross. I'm not gay."
Reid raised his eyebrows. "No, he just dresses the part."
"Listen, doctor, there is nothing wrong with the way I dress. I have my own unique style."
"That screams gay," Reid teased.
"Reid...you know I'm not gay. Ms. Cross, I happen to be married, though I'm soon to be single...and I have a beautiful girlfriend...well, sort of girlfriend...if she would speak to me..."
"He doth protest too much," Reid laughed as a beer was placed in front of him.
Luke laughed, amused, and looked between Henry and Reid.
"Well, I'm glad to see that people on the board seem to enjoy each other's company. It's refreshing to see colleagues enjoying each other on a social level."
Luke started coughing.
"You okay there, Snyder?"
Luke nodded and took a drink of water.
"This is a tight-knit community," Reid feigned sincerity. "Everyone is friends here..."
Henry scrawled "bullshit artist" across his napkin.
Bob cleared his throat. "I think this meeting is adjourned. Mona, Susan...may I see you to your cars?"
"I'll come with you," Chris offered.
Bob stood and gave Reid and Henry a fatherly we'll-discuss-this-later look.
They both stood up, along with Luke and shook Ms. Cross' hand and bid a good evening to the rest of them.
As soon as the others had left the restaurant, Reid and Henry dissolved into a fit of laughter. "I was so NOT flirting with you," Reid said between chuckles. "What the hell? You're strangely attractive in your own way, but you're definitely not my type."
"Why not?"
"You're way too gay." Reid laughed even harder. "Seriously, Hank..."
"Fuck you, Dr. Oliver." Henry faked anger while he tried to stop laughing.
"No, thank you...I just told you, you're not my type."
"So, what's your type?" Luke asked.
Reid stopped laughing. He'd almost forgotten Luke was there.
Henry cleared his throat. "I'll be back," he said, standing and walking toward the bar. Reid watched him walk away.
"What's your type, Dr. Oliver?" Luke repeated.
Reid sighed and looked at Luke with his twisty hair and scruffy chin and god... "Apparently blackmailing, brown-eyed trust fund brats with messy hair..."
Luke smirked. "Huh..."
Reid opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Instead, he licked his lips. Luke loved when he did that.
They stared at each other across the table until Henry returned, placing a shot glass in front of Reid. "Patron."
Reid nodded, without taking his eyes off Luke.
Luke stood.
Henry cleared his throat. "Ya know what...Luke, sit back down. I'm gonna go. You stay, and uh...yeah...I'm going." Henry threw back the shot and grabbed his coat off the back of the chair.
"No," Luke said. "It's okay, Henry. I've got to go, and...well...anyway..."
Henry looked down at Reid who was fingering the shot in front of him. He kicked the leg of Reid's chair, but Reid didn't make a move.
"See ya later, Henry," Luke said, checking his pockets for his wallet, phone, and keys.
Reid looked up. "Bye, Snyder."
Luke smiled slightly. "Yeah...bye, Reid..."
Luke walked out of the restaurant, and Reid's eyes followed him until he disappeared.
"What the hell are you doing?" Hank asked in an exasperated tone.
Reid drank down the shot in front of him and followed it with two gulps of beer, ignoring Henry.
"For a genius, you're pretty fucking stupid. He was waiting for you to tell him to stay."
"Maybe I didn't want him to stay," Reid said rubbing a hand across his forehead.
"You're full of shit."
Reid sighed.
"Did you hear me. I said that you're full of shit. You're in love with him!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Are you sure?"
"No."
"You're so fucked."
"Yeah, I know..."
"You need another shot," Henry offered and headed back up to the bar to open a tab.
****************************************************************************
Reid trudged to the door, a bottle of water in his hand. He glanced over at the clock...12:42 a.m. He and Henry had left the bar around 11:30. Had he fallen asleep?
He opened the door to find Luke on the other side.
Luke's eyes dropped to take in the sight of Reid in nothing but his dress pants, sans belt, button undone. He swallowed hard and stepped into the room. Reid pushed the door closed behind him.
Luke pulled his t-shirt over his head and let it drop to the floor. Reid suddenly found the room lacking in oxygen.
"Luke..."
Luke shook his head at Reid and put his finger to his own lips. He undid his belt, working the button on his jeans and kicking off his deck shoes. He glanced over to the TV and saw that ESPN was on.
"Luke..." Reid repeated as Luke's jeans and boxers fell to the floor and he stepped forward, tugging Reid's zipper down. He then walked past Reid, allowing his shoulder to casually bump Reid's on the way past him. He walked over to the bed, picked up the remote, and turned the TV off before sitting down on the bed and looking at the doctor. "What the hell are you waiting for? Get over here."
Reid drank down the bottle of water and let it fall to the floor. He walked over to Luke and stood in front of him. Luke pulled open his pants and brazenly licked from the top of Reid's boxers up to his belly button before letting his stubbled chin rake across Reid's stomach. Reid groaned and felt his knees buckle, his entire body suddenly buzzing from the alcohol and Luke's tongue. He crumpled down in front of Luke, his mouth catching Luke's on the way down and his hands threading into and tugging at Luke's hair, just as he'd fantasized when Luke walked into the Lakeview earlier that evening. Luke opened his mouth and eagerly sucked on Reid's tongue, which was cold from the water and tasted like tequila.
Luke scooted back on the bed and pulled Reid on top of him. "I want you." Reid moaned in reply and kissed Luke deeply before sucking hard on his neck and aggressively flipping Luke over onto his stomach. He kissed and licked his way from Luke's neck, down his back, until his tongue dipped into Luke's cleft. Luke said "No," and immediately pulled forward on the bed, away from Reid, but Reid grabbed his hips and dragged Luke back, his tongue pressing forward. Luke reached back and tried to push Reid's head away, but before long, his fingers were threaded into Reid's hair, tugging him forward, as he pushed himself back against Reid's mouth, the sensation overwhelming him and casuing him to moan into the mattress.
Reid worked his hand underneath Luke's torso and wrapped it around Luke's leaking cock. Luke rocked his hips and fucked himself into Reid's fist as Reid continued to plunder him with his tongue. Reid was straddling one of Luke's legs, and he worked his erection against Luke in time with Luke's thrusting, knowing that he was about to come in his pants like a horny teenager.
Luke fisted the sheets and rocked his hips faster. "Fuck, Reid...nnnngh...I'm gonna..." and before he could finish, he was coating Reid's hand and the mattress. As soon as Reid felt the warm wetness of Luke's release in his hand, he grabbed Luke's hip and let his own orgasm overtake him, trembling hard and moaning out his lover's name.
After coming back down to Earth, Reid got up, shucked his spunk-covered pants, and took a couple of bottles of water out of the mini-bar. He threw one to Luke and then went into the bathroom. He took a couple of aspirin to combat the alcohol that was clouding up his head and grabbed a towel off the towel bar. He went back to the bed, laid the towel over the wet spot on the mattress, and sunk down next to Luke, pulling a sheet and blanket up over both of them.
"Do you want me to go?" Luke asked.
"Does it seem like I want you to go?" Reid asked, pulling Luke against him.
Luke smiled against Reid's shoulder without answering.
"Reid..."
"Mmm?"
"That was..."
"Really fucking quick for both of us," Reid laughed softly and shaking his head at the thought of coming from just a few mintues of dry humping.
"Yeah, but that thing you did..."
"Rimming?"
Luke closed his eyes and blushed inwardly. "Yeah. I'd never done that...it was...it was incredible."
Reid smiled and tugged Luke closer.
"Will you let me do that to you sometime?"
"Absolutely," Reid slurred and felt his ass clench at the thought.
They laid in silence for a few mintues, their hands lazily stroking each other's skin. Reid had almost fallen asleep when Luke spoke. "What's your middle name?"
"I don't have one. What's yours?"
"Eduardo."
"Come again?"
"Eduardo."
"That's an exotic name for a farm boy," Reid teased.
"My birth name is Luciano Eduardo Grimaldi."
"I'm sorry...what's your first name?"
"Luciano."
"Say it again."
"Luciano," Luke drawled out slowly in an Italian accent.
"That's a sexy fucking name, Snyder. I am definitely going to call you that the next time I'm inside of you."
Luke moaned involuntarily. Reid smirked, pleased that he had that effect on Luke. Luciano. Holy hell.
They stayed silent for a few more minutes.
"Oh for two," Reid said quietly against the side of Luke's head.
"What?" Luke asked.
"You asked me about them in my office a couple of weeks ago."
"It's okay, Reid...you don't have to...I know you don't want to talk about it."
"It's OK. You asked, and so I'm telling you. The first guy was Devin. We were young. In college." Reid spoke slowly, the leftover effects of the alcohol making him sleepy. "He was a literature major of all things, into theater arts and music...the very opposite of me. He was extremely intelligent. He never met a stranger. He had long, messy blonde hair that he sometimes pulled back in a pony tail. He played the guitar and the piano. He hated wearing shoes. He had a tattoo of a cross on the inside of his forearm. We were together two and a half years. We never lived together but took turns sleeping at each other's apartments almost every night."
"Were you in love?"
"Completely."
Luke smiled, thinking of a young Reid in love. "So what happened?"
Reid shifted a bit away from Luke.
"Reid?"
"Yeah."
"Why did you break up?"
Reid stayed silent.
"It's okay," Luke said, sincerely. "You don't need to tell me. I understand."
Reid took a deep breath. "He died." There. He said it. It was out there. The other sad fucking piece of the Reid Oliver puzzle. And here came the gasp. And the horrified look. And the hand to his cheek.
"Oh my God, Reid..."
Reid detangled himself from Luke and sat up, pushing Luke's hands off of him.
"C'mon, Reid. Don't...please, don't pull away from me."
Reid sighed and laid back down into Luke's arms, which wrapped around him tightly. "Oh my God," Luke repeated.
"I hate people knowing this stuff about me, Luke..."
"I know you do. This is just between us. I won't tell a soul. But I don't pity you, Reid, okay? I know you're worried. This isn't pity, okay. I'ts empathy."
"That's the same thing."
"No, it's not. I admire you for rising above the extreme level of loss you had in your young life. God; how old were you?"
"Twenty."
"So, you had just lost your parents four years earlier, and now this...fuck...how? How did he die?"
"Motorcycle accident. I hated that thing. He was reckless on it. Stupid fuck. He was brain dead on arrival. His parents came to town and allowed the end of life support. It was the right thing to do. He was gone. But they wouldn't let me see him. I didn't even go to the funeral. " Reid looked over to see a tear sliding down Luke's cheek. "Luke, don't...it was a long time ago..." He leaned over and kissed the tear, tasting salt on his lips. "Luke..."
Luke slid his hand into Reid's. "How did you go on?"
"I don't know...I'd already been through it with my family, and I got really good at compartmentalizing things, focusing on things I needed to do, and putting the other stuff away, shutting it down. I'm still good at that," Reid shrugged.
"Self preservation," Luke observed.
"Yeah...so then, a few months later, I met Bryce. He was beautiful and funny. He made me laugh at a time when I didn't think I would ever laugh again. We just clicked right away. But in the end, it was too hard for him to compete with a dead guy. On the day he left he told me that three people in bed was one person too many. And he was right. I was still grieving, whether I would admit it or not. I was still in love with Devin. In love with a dead man; how fucked up is that? It was hard because Bryce and I could have been good together. He got me. He understood a lot without my having to say it."
Reid turned toward Luke, and Luke kissed his forehead. "And after him? Nobody?"
"Oh, there were lots of somebodys. But I got really good at shutting things down, as soon as they even hinted at getting serious. There were some consistent guys...fuck buddies, whatever, but it never went beyond that."
"And now there's me."
"Yeah, and since I'm even telling you all of this shit, I'm pretty worried you're number three. And I don't want this, Luke. I really, really don't. I've been alone for a long time, and I've been doing just fine. I don't want to fall in love with you."
Luke stroked Reid's cheek and kisssed his chin. "I'm sorry to tell ya, doc...I think you're three fourths of the way there already."
Reid closed his eyes. "I can't..."
"I can understand it...you've suffered great losses...but even if it's not me, Reid...you can't let your fear of loss keep you from being happy. You deserve to be happy."
"How do you know I'm not happy?"
"Are you happy?"
"How the hell should I know?"
Luke snuggled close to Reid's neck and kissed him there. "Are you still drunk?"
"No. It's worn off. My head's pounding though. Hank's a terrible influence."
Luke handed him his water bottle from the nightstand. "Here, you can finish this."
Reid removed the top and drank it down. "Thanks."
"Go to sleep," Luke offered. "You sure it's okay that I stay here?"
Reid kissed Luke deeply. "You're warm, and you smell good, and I want you here."
Reid closed his eyes, and before long he was snoring softly, his arm thrown lazily over Luke's waist.
Luke watched him sleep until his own eyes got heavy and sleep won out.
*******************************************************
Morning sunlight came in through the parted blinds, causing Luke to blink his eyes awake. It took him just a couple of seconds to remember where he was, and he rolled over to snuggle into Reid. However, when he rolled over, he found Reid's side of the bed empty. All of Luke's clothes were neatly folded, and there was a card key sitting on top of them. No note.
Reid was gone.
