Later, Luke sought him out and found Reid sitting on a bench in the courtyard between the hospital and the professional building next door. Reid didn't say anything as Luke sat down next to him. After a few moments of silence, Luke spoke. "Want to talk about it?"
"No, Mr. Snyder, I do not want to talk abou..."
Luke interrupted him by holding out a small white bag towards him. "Donut hole?"
Reid briefly met Luke's eyes before reaching into the bag. "Thanks."
"No problem," Luke said, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, the springtime sun warming his skin.
After a few minutes, Reid reached into the bag Luke was still holding a second time.
"You can have the rest," Luke said, his eyes still closed. "I'm full."
Reid nodded, even though Luke couldn't see it, took the bag from Luke's hand and gazed down to where their knees were almost touching. He rolled his eyes at himself and looked into the bag to find that three donut holes remained.
They sat in silence for a good number of minutes, Reid munching and Luke enjoying the sun. Reid was glad that Luke wasn't trying to engage him in small talk. Finally, Luke sat up and turned towards Reid, causing their legs to touch for real this time. Reid conciously told himself to breathe normally.
"Know what I do when I'm having a bad day?" Reid didn't answer but looked over at Luke. "I go to the farm."
"What farm?"
"My family's farm. It's not far from here...just out a ways on Route 67." Reid was silent again. "I needed to be here this morning for some foundation work, but I think I'm going to blow the rest of the day off...have lunch out at the farm. Want to join me? The place does wonders to brighten my mood."
"Are you saying my mood needs brightening?"
"Your mood *always* needs brightening, Dr. Oliver..." Luke joked, smiling. "But today you just seem...I don't know...like you could use a distraction."
Reid looked at Luke's smiling lips before swallowing silently and dropping his eyes to his hands in his own lap. Jesus. I can think of a distraction... "No...I.....uh.....I'm not really the outdoorsy type, and I really need to stick around here a few more hours," he lied, knowing that Bob had told him to go home and get some rest, shake things off. But the last thing Reid needed was to spend one-on-one time alone with Luke Snyder. Why's he being so nice? Reid added a quick, "Thanks though..."
"Okay. Maybe some other time." Reid looked back at Luke and his brown eyes. Friendly. Fucking sincere.
Luke pounded Reid's knee with his fist and stood up, a small offering of comfort. "I'll see you around. Hope your day gets better."
Reid nodded and watched Luke walk away. He tilted his head as his eyes focused in on Luke's pockets, and then he quickly looked around to make sure nobody had spotted him checking Luke out. He sighed and stood up. "Hey, Snyder..." Luke turned around, as Reid half-jogged to catch up to him. "Okay...yeah. Gimme a few mintues to tie up some things here?''
Luke smiled. "Yes, of course. Sure." His eyes ran over Reid, who was wearing scrubs. "Do you have some other clothes here? If not, we can stop by your apartment so you can change into jeans. What size shoe do you wear? I might have some boots that fit you. It gets kind of mucky out there, especially in the stalls."
"Stalls?"
"Yeah...the horse stalls. Wait until you see the horses! They're gorgeous."
Reid grimmaced and wondered what he was getting himself into. "I have boots, Mr. Snyder. I lived in Texas for six years."
"Are they work boots? They're probably city-boy pretty boots."
"They're boot boots. I don't do pretty." Luke raised his eye brows and smiled. Reid thought What the hell was that?
"I just mean...they're going to get dirty...maybe even covered in poop."
"Poop? What are you eight?" Reid asked.
"Animal excrement."
"You don't curse, do you?"
"Not generally."
"Crap then."
"Okay...animal crap." Luke smiled.
"We will have to stop by the apartment anyway because I don't have any jeans here. I'll wear my own boots."
"Okay, but I warned you: Poop."
"I'll step carefully."
"Yeah, good luck. I always think I'm stepping carefully, but it somehow seems to find me." Luke laughed.
****************************************
"I'll be just a few minutes. There's some Coke in the fridge if you want one."
"No, I'm good."
Luke watched Reid walk towards his bedroom, pulling his scrub top over his head before he rounded the corner. Reid had a long sleeved shirt on underneath, but the act still caused Luke to swallow hard, and Katie did not miss the look on Luke's face. She raised her eyebrows and smiled. Luke shook his head.
"You sure you don't want a soda or something?" Katie asked.
"No, thanks...what are you doing home?"
"Jacob's not feeling good. Daycare called me about an hour after I got to work."
"I'm sorry...is he okay?"
"Yes, just congested and cranky. He's sleeping now though. So, where are you and Reid headed?"
"The farm."
Katie laughed. "The farm? Reid? But he's allergic to the outdoors. I convinced him to go for a walk in the park one day with Jacob and me, and he complained the whole time. He doesn't like grass. Or bugs. And he doesn't like getting dirty. He's a little OCD..." Katie twirled her finger near the side of her head. "Coo-coo..."
Luke laughed. "Yeah, well...I think he needs a break, so...I don't know...we'll see..."
"Reid's a good guy, Luke."
Luke nodded. "I know. I see him."
Katie smiled knowingly. "Well, if you're going to be friends with him, get used to saying, 'what Reid really means is....'"
Luke laughed, totally getting what Katie was saying.
"What I mean about what?" Reid asked, entering the room, wearing a pair of blue denim jeans and a faded "Harvard Rowing" t-shirt and carrying a pair of worn Ropers.
"Nothing," Katie said. "So, Reid...you're going to the farm? How are you going to handle that much outside time?"
"Luke promised to feed me," he answered, as if that were explanation enough.
Luke smiled at the sound of his name coming out of the doctor's mouth. Reid mentally kicked himself. He'd just given up a stronghold. Damn It. He sat down on the couch and pulled on his boots. Luke's eyes were drawn to his forearms as he did so, and he realized he'd never seen the man in a short sleeved shirt. He only allowed his gaze to rest there for a moment, and his eyes met Katie's as he lifted them. She didn't miss a beat again and smiled brightly at him.
"You were on the rowing team?" Luke asked, eager to change a subject that was only being discussed in his head.
"For one season. Only because I wanted to screw the captain."
"Reid!" Katie protested.
"Relax..."
"How'd that work out?" Luke asked, curious and now having a whole new inappropriate conversation in his head.
"It didn't. He was straight. My gaydar was way the fuck off." Reid stood up. "So, we doing this or not?"
"Yeah...of course." Luke stood up and pulled his keys out of his pocket. He turned to Katie, "If Jacob was feeling better, I'd invite you too."
"Thanks, Luke...that's sweet. You guys go and have fun." She looked at her roommate. "Fun, Reid." She smiled and patted his shoulder.
Reid rolled his eyes but then leaned over and kissed her cheek. "See ya, Goldilocks."
"You give everyone nicknames," Luke noted, heading for the door.
"No, I don't."
"Yes, you do....Goldilocks, Richie Rich, Doogie, Hank, Bad Dad, Baby Hughes, Bob-Oh...don't deny it..." He turned to Katie. "Bye..."
"Whatever, Mr. Snyder. Are we going?"
Luke nodded and headed for the door. "I'm going to think up a nickname for you."
"Don't even try it."
"McNasty," Luke offered.
"I prefer McHottie."
Luke rolled his eyes. You have like the biggest ego ever."
"It's not ego; it's fact."
"Oh my God, you really are unbelievable..."
"Fight nice, boys," Katie said as they exited the apartment.
The door closed. Katie sighed. Those two just need to shut up and kiss already...
****************************************
"Who lives here?" Reid asked as they entered the kitchen from the back door.
"Right now? My grandmother, my dad, and Faith."
"Where are they?"
"Dad's in Chicago. Faith's at school, and my grandmother's in New York taking care of my aunt," Luke answered, opening the fridge and pulling out things to make sandwiches and placing them on the counter. "Mustard or mayo?"
"Yes," Reid answered.
"My aunt's a little...uh........insane?" Luke sighed. "It's always something with my family." He pulled out a pie and placed it on the counter next to the cold cuts. "You have to try this. It's blueberry. You'll pee yourself it's so good."
Reid pulled it toward him. "Dessert first?"
Luke laughed. "Sure...whatever. Help yourself. The plates are in that cabinet," he said, pointing. "Second one from the left."
Reid pulled down two plates and Luke handed him a pie cutter. "I'll make our sandwiches. What do you want on yours?" he asked, pointing to the items in front of him.
"Everything," Reid said, without even looking. He placed a large piece of pie on his plate and immediately dug in. He chewed and closed his eyes. "Oh my fuck..."
"I told you."
Reid took another bite. "Forget the sandwich; I'll just eat the rest of this pie. Damn."
Luke laughed. "My grandmother's a great cook...and she's relatively normal, which is saying a lot for my family."
"Don't disrespect your crazy family. At least you have one."
"You don't have a family?" Luke asked, hoping he wasn't overstepping.
"Nope." Reid blueberry off his fingers.
"Nobody?"
"I have an uncle, but he's a motherfucker."
Luke didn't know what to say.
"Sorry...but he is," Reid said.
"What do you do on the holidays?"
"Work," Reid said, walking his plate to the sink. "My neighbors in my condo in Dallas were an elderly couple, and Doris always warmed up a plate for me when I got home. Nice lady. Her husband was a medic in the Korean war, so I'd listen to his stories. Some of them were pretty good."
"Like M.A.S.H."
"That's my favorite TV show ever."
"Really? I like it too. They still do reruns on one of the cable channels."
"I know. I watch it."
Luke smiled. "I've always had a massive crush on Alan Alda. Weird, huh? He's an old man."
Reid laughed. "Not weird. He's funny. And brilliant...and yeah, I can see the attraction."
"So, who is your weird celebrity crush?"
Reid shook his head.
"C'mon...I admitted my geriatric crush...your turn."
"Alan Rickman."
"Professor Snape?"
"Yeah...but I prefer him as Sheriff Nottingham."
"See, but that's not weird...he's totally hot."
"Not conventionally..."
"Yeah, but that accent," Luke said, smiling. "And the sneer. He sneers really well. That's probably why you like him. I think you'd be a fan of the sneer, since you pull it off pretty well yourself." Luke laughed at Reid's expense, but Reid chose to take it as a compliment because what Luke just did was the opposite of a backhanded compliment.
"...and call off Christmas!" Luke quoted from the movie.
Reid laughed. "I'd fist bump you if I was given to that type of thing."
Luke laughed some more. "You have a nice smile, Dr. Oliver. You should wear it more often."
Reid's hand came up to his mouth, and he shrugged and looked away. He was discussing what he found attractive with Luke Snyder. And it was turning him on. Maybe next we can discuss what sex positions we like best.
Reid cleared his throat.
"Did you have enough to eat?" Luke asked.
"Yeah...it was good. Thanks."
"You want the rest of this? I'm stuffed," Luke said, pointing to small amount of pie left on his plate.
Reid didn't respond but pulled it to him and picked up the fork. "Your grandmother is a fucking goddess."
"You would love my other grandmother even more," Luke said, "You and she have a lot in common."
"Does she cook too?"
Luke laughed. "No...uh...........Lucinda Walsh is not the sweet bake-you-a-pie grandmotherly type. She's more like.......you."
Reid narrowed his eyes at Luke as he took the last bite of pie, but he didn't ask anymore questions. He wasn't sure what Luke meant, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"You ready to see the horses?" Luke asked.
"No."
****************************************
"You don't have to stand way over there."
"No, I'm good."
Luke walked over to Reid, standing just inside the barn door. He pulled him by the inside of his elbow. "Reid..."
He said my name. He said my name. He said my name.
Luke walked Reid over to a blonde horse. "This is Fiona." He let go of Reid's wrist, much to Reid's dismay. "Natalie named her after Princess Fiona." Reid took a couple of steps back from the mare. "As in Princess Fiona? From Shrek?" Luke said, wondering if Reid knew what the heck he was talking about. "Are you familiar with it?"
"It's a kid flick."
"You'd probably like," Luke quipped. "You have some Shrek-ish qualities."
"Gee thanks..."
"Get closer. She's gentle. She won't do anything to you."
Reid stepped closer to the horse, and she brought her nose up to his chest, causing him to yelp and jump back.
Luke laughed. "She wants you to pet her." He grabbed Reid's hand. "Here..." He brought Reid's hand up to the horse's nose. "From top to bottom, in the direction of the hair." Reid stroked the horses nose. "See? She likes that."
Reid continued to stroke the horse, looking into her one large eye with the giant eye lashes. He could see his own reflection in it. "Where are you going?" he asked nervously, as Luke walked toward a different stall.
"Relax. I'll be right over here. She likes you. Just keep doing what you're doing. You can pretty much touch her anywhere...just remember to go in the direction of the hair."
"Direction of the hair," Reid mumbled, as he moved his hand to her jaw. "Easy Fiona." The horse made a contented sound and blew air out through her nose. Reid grimmaced a bit. She smelled kind of weird. He then reached out and stroked from her shoulder down to the top of her leg, having to step closer to her to do so. "She's really strong, isn't she?" he asked, starting to become somewhat mesmerized by her awesomeness.
"Incredibly strong," Luke answered from a few stalls over. "And she's one of the smaller ones. When was the last time you rode?"
Reid laughed, looking at his relfection in her eye again. It almost gave the effect of one of those funhouse mirrors. "Uh...never."
"Seriously?" Luke stuck his head out from the stall. "You've never ridden a horse?"
"I grew up in a brownstone in Beacon Hill in Boston...the preferred modes of transportation were Jaguars and Range Rovers."
"And you like to make fun of my wealth..."
Reid ignored his comment.
"But you lived in Texas...home of the Cowboys...c'mon, really? You never rode a horse?"
"No, Mr. Snyder...I have really never ridden a horse. And I don't intend to today either. Everyone assumes Texas is all cowboys and tumbleweeds, but really, Dallas is a very cosmopolitan city. Most people I knew chose F150s and gas guzzling SUVs over horses. You might not believe this, but there was actually no hitching post in front of the hospital where I worked." Reid contined to pet Fiona, actually finding that he enjoyed it, except for the smell. Ewww, but his hand was kind of gritty now too. He rubbed it on his jeans.
Look walked toward Reid, carrying a saddle. "She likes you, but she's not the best one for you to ride. She tends to have a mind of her own when you're in the saddle. I think you should ride Charley. He's over here...c'mon."
Reid followed reluctantly. "I told you, I'm not riding..." but then he came up next to Luke who smelled warm and had beads of perspiration on his upper lip, and Reid lost all train of thought as he wondered if Luke and Noah had ever fucked in the barn.
"Well, I'm riding. So, you can join me, or you can head back to the house and make small talk with my teenage sister when she gets home from school while you wait for me." Luke smiled before looking over to the brown horse with a white nose in the stall in front of them. "This is Charley. Charley horse. Get it?"
"Brilliant." Reid rolled his eyes.
"Charley takes direction very well," Luke said, slinging the saddle onto the blanket on the horse's back. "And I'll be in front of you. He's a great follower."
Reid licked his lips. "I don't know about this, Mr. Snyder..."
"Relax. I'll show you what do do. You'll be fine."
"I see the potential for massive head injury."
Luke smiled as he continued to secure the saddle. When he was finished he walked over to the wall and pulled a helmet off of a hook. "Here, to protect your geniusness..." He put the helmet on Reid's head.
"That's not a word," Reid said as he secured the helmet.
Luke smiled at Reid's appearance. "I so wish I had a camera right now...Oh, wait...I do. My phone." He reached for his pocket.
"Don't you fucking dare."
"Kidding...c'mere and meet Charley. He's gentle like Fiona, but he's a lot stronger, and a much better listener."
Reid walked over and stroked Charley's nose as he had Fiona. Again, he heard a contended horse noise that was accompanied by a hot rush of nasal air. Yuck. Lovely. "Which one are you riding?" Reid asked.
Luke nodded his head a couple of stalls down. "Thor. He's already saddled up and ready to go."
Reid laughed. "Thor? Like the gay nurse on Nurse Jackie. Not that I watch that show..."
"Of course you don't," Luke smiled. "Thor's a great ride, but he's not as friendly as Charley and Fiona. He's a great work horse. Very strong. Wait until you see him. He's jet black. Beautiful. Okay, so come over here, and put your left foot in the stirrup."
Reid shook his head but approached the horse.
"Here," Luke said, "Put your left hand on the saddle horn." He took Reid's hand and raised it to where he wanted it on the saddle. "Okay...now, you're just going to put your left foot in the stirrup, and pull yourself up, and swing your right foot over the saddle, and you'll be on."
"Of all the fucking things..."
"C'mon; it's easy. I'm right here. The horse is cool with you. Relax." He put his hand on Reid's back. "You can do this. I know you can. You just have to get on and ride. You're going to love it. There's nothing like it."
Reid took a deep breath, raised his left boot to the stirrup and pulled himself up. He instantly found himself looking down at Luke, whose smile beamed up at him. "Great job, doctor...See? That wasn't so hard." He made sure that Reid's boot was secure in the stirrup and went around to the other side, grabbing Reid's boot and guiding it to the other stirrup. "Okay. So, you use your body to control the horse. If you lean forward, Charley will take that as an indication that you want him to move forward. You can also gently dig your heels into his side to make him go, but with him, you won't have to. He's a good boy and will just happily follow Thor. You really won't need to do much to control him."
"We're not going to go fast, are we?"
"No, we'll take it slow. We're just going to trail ride. So...the reins...when you want the horse to move, you just hold them slack." He brought the reins to Reid's hand. "Hold them with both hands." Reid did as he was instructed, feeling his heart beating wildly in his chest, and his breath coming out in puffs. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"You scared?"
Reid wanted to lie, but he didn't. "Yeah, sort of."
"Don't worry. I've got you, okay. Trust me?"
Reid nodded.
Luke smiled and rubbed Reid's calf through his jeans. "Okay...so, if you want to stop, you pull back on the reins. Not hard. Like I said, Charley's a good listener, and he's easily responsive. He's very laid back, so there's nothing you can do wrong on him, okay?"
Reid nodded again.
"If you want to go left, you tug left. If you want to go right, you tug right. We've trained the horses to stop on the words 'whoa' or 'easy.' You can use either one. When you want him to move, you go..." and Luke made a clicking sound at the back of his mouth. "That's about it; any questions?"
"Yeah...How long until I can get off this thing?"
Luke just smiled and unhitched Charley and walked him over to Thor's stall. "This is Thor. He's mine. He's not as social as some of the others. I had to work hard to gain his trust. He was a tough sell. And I had a hard time trusting him too because he's a little bit cranky." Luke laughed. He unhitched Thor and pulled himself up easily onto the tall horse's back. "But now that he knows he can trust me, we have a great relationship. He responds really well to me. And he's my favorite one to ride. He's more standoffish than the other horses. But he's a great ride. He's powerful, and he's very smart. He's a stallion because we stud him. Charley's been gelded for years, so that's why he's so laid back."
"Gelded?"
"Neutered."
Reid stroked Charley's neck. "Sorry, Charley..."
Reid looked at Luke in his jeans and boots sitting upon the shiny, muscular horse. His western-style shirt was pulled tight across his shoulders. He looked like a cowboy. A Stetson man. Straight out of a freaking Marboro ad. And if Reid thought he couldn't get the brat out of his mind before this day, well now he knew he was fucking doomed from here on out.
"What?" Luke asked, and Reid knew he'd been caught looking.
"Nothing," Reid said, shaking his head. "You just look...uh...at home on that thing."
"It's one of my favorite things to do. C'mon...follow me." Luke made that clicking sound in the back of his mouth again and started away from the barn, and just like he had promised, Charley followed easily, his hooves settling into a 1-2-3-4 rhythm, while his head bobbed up and down. They followed a trail through a wooded area and up over a couple of hills until they ended up in a meadow. Luke stopped and turned Thor around to face Reid and Charley. "You're doing great. Do you feel okay riding him?"
"Yeah. Great." Reid tried not to sound sarcastic because, really, it wasn't as unpleasant as he thought it would be. The air was just slightly cool and fresh, and there was the added benefit of having a great view of Luke's ass in a saddle.
"Stay here. Watch this," Luke said, with a smile on his face and a wink. A wink? Did he just wink? Luke dug his heels into Thor's side and pulled hard to the left of the reins, and Thor took off across the meadow with Luke on his back. They tore back and forth across the field, Luke standing slightly in the stirrups, up off the saddle, his forearms taute, holding the reins, controlling the massive animal. Reid was pretty sure it was the sexiest thing he had ever seen. I am so renting Brokeback Mountain this weekend.
After a few minutes, Luke slowed Thor down and trotted back over to Reid and Charley. "Pretty impressive there, Mr. Snyder," Reid said, trying to sound sincere. "But you should be wearing a helmet."
Luke shrugged. "Calculated risk..."
"A horse brought Superman down."
Luke nodded and cocked his head. "Awww, are you saying you care about me, Dr. Oliver?"
Reid ignored Luke's question and offered one of his own instead. "Are we still on your property?"
"Yes. We have 17, 542 acres."
"Holy shit. The Snyder Kingdom, huh?"
"A small part of it," Luke joked. "Want to see the pond?"
"Sure," Reid said, reluctantly. "Lead the way."
****************************************
One of the horses whinied a bit, and Reid looked back to where Charley and Thor were hitched to a tree.
"Don't worry," Luke said, "They're secure. They can't get away."
Reid turned back and looked down into the water at his and Luke's feet, as their legs dangled off the dock. Luke laid back on the dock and closed his eyes. "This is my favorite place on earth, right here," Luke said, sighing. "It great for swimming in the summertime."
"You swim in this bog?!"
"It's not a bog. In highschool we used to come down here at night and go skinnydipping." Luke laughed.
"You and Mr. Mayer?"
"Me and everyone...Noah, Casey, Allsion, Will, Gwen, Kevin...I miss those days...everything was so simple back then."
Reid wanted to make a comment about Baby Hughes and Nurse Stewart but he was too busy envisioning a naked Luke, swimming in the moonlight. Luke continued to lie with his eyes closed and was silent for awhile, the only sound, the water gently slapping up against the dock supports. Reid looked down at Luke. The wind played with Luke's hair, practically begging Reid to run a hand through it, and he briefly wondered if it would be too forward of him to push up Luke's shirt and kiss his stomach. Fuck.
After another few minutes of silence, Luke asked, "You want to talk about earlier?"
"Earlier?"
"Your patient."
"There's nothing to talk about. He died. End of story."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault."
"It's not yours either."
"How do you know?" Reid asked, looking back at Luke again as he finally opened his eyes.
Luke sat up. "Was it your fault?"
"No. The kid was 19-years-old and went ATV'ing without a helmet. Stupid. He shattered his skull. The damage was too severe."
Luke sighed. "I couldn't do what you do...and I don't just mean the brain surgery part...I mean, having to deliver that kind of news to people...I'd be a mess, crying right along with them."
"No, you wouldn't....because you can't," said Reid, rubbing a hand over his face. "They don't need someone to fall apart...they need someone to make them hear what they don't want to accept."
"But...does it ever make you feel like crying?"
"Every fucking time." Reid stood up and walked back to where he and Luke's boots lay on the dock. He sat down, unrolled his jeans, and pulled his socks on over his wet feet, as Luke sat down next to him.
"Dont' worry, Dr. Oliver. Your secret is safe with me. I won't tell anyone you have feelings."
"Good," Reid smiled. "I have a reputation to uphold."
****************************************
Luke laughed as he sprayed Reid's boots with the hose. "I told you..."
"Hey, watch the jeans," Reid said, scraping the heel of his boot against the concrete floor. "Gross..."
Luke turned off the hose. "I think I got it all....those are officially no longer city-boy boots."
Reid grinned tightly and followed Luke over to the stalls.
"Here," Luke said, handing Reid a saddle and a bridle. "We need to take these to the tack room." Reid took the items in his arms and followed Luke, who grabbed items out of Thor's stall too.
After putting the items away, they walked back to the front of the barn. On their way past Charley, Reid stopped and gave the horse one last stroke down his nose. Hot grumbly air hit his face. Ick. Reid laughed. Luke smiled at how the doctor's demeanor had changed dramatically in a couple of hours time.
"What?" Reid asked, when he caught Luke looking at him.
"Nothing," Luke hummed. "So, it wasn't so bad, was it?"
Reid relented. "No...not so bad...I think I might have even had a little bit of fun. Thanks for inviting me."
Luke smiled brightly, victorious. Reid rolled his eyes and followed Luke toward the barn door. Once outside, Luke slid the door closed, and then he did something that caught Reid totally by surprise, and Reid wasn't prone to surprises. He put his hands on the Reid's hips and pushed him gently up against the barn door before leaning forward and pressing a strong kiss against his lips. He pulled back and smiled shyly. "I've wanted to do that all day..."
Reid stepped forward, turned them around and put his hand behind Luke's neck, now pushing him up against the barn door. He kissed him firmly and then pulled back, the pads of his fingers still cradling Luke's neck. "I've wanted to do that since the day I met you."
Luke kicked off the door and pushed past Reid, grabbing his wrist as he did, and slipping his hand into Reid's. They walked back to the house in silence.
****************************************
Luke put the car in park in front of Reid's apartment. "So..."
"So..." Reid smiled. He reached over and put his hand on Luke's arm, stroking the inside of his wrist.
"Are things going to be weird between us now?" Luke asked.
"I hope not," Reid honestly answered.
"I'm glad you came out to the farm today."
"Me too."
Luke reluctantly moved his hand to the steering wheel, and immediately missed the warmth of Reid's fingers.
"I want to touch you," Reid said softly, bringing a hand up to run the back of his fingers over Luke's cheek. "Everywhere."
Luke licked his lips nervously and swallowed. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah?"
"We have a board meeting, remember?"
"Oh...yeah...in the morning...maybe we can catch lunch together afterwards?"
"That sounds good. See you tomorrow then."
" 'kay..." but Reid didn't make a move to get out of the car.
"Bye, Reid."
"Yeah...right...okay. Yeah, bye." He grabbed the door handle and stepped out the car. He then leaned down and poked his head back in. "I had a good time today."
"Me too."
"You're different than I thought you were. I've been seeing that the past few weeks, but today...I don't know...I'm sorry I misjudged you."
"Same here," Luke said smiling, his eyes lowering. "We weren't very nice to each other at first."
"Or even recently," Reid offered.
"Yeah." Luke smiled. "Reid?"
"Yes, Mr. Snyder?"
"I want to touch you everywhere too."
"Jesus..."
"Let's let that sit for awhile...or at least overnight...I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, bye, Luke...
"Bye, Dr. Oliver."
****************************************
"Hi, there! How was your day?" Katie asked, turning off the TV and throwing the remote on the table as Reid walked into the kitchen and straight for the fridge.
"Great. I'm starving. Did you eat yet?"
"Great? Did you say great???"
"Yes, Goldilocks, I had a great day, okay? I will even go out on a limb and say that I had fun. What's for dinner?"
"There's some leftover chicken enchiladas in the white ceramic bowl with the green lid."
"Enchiladas? I have the best roomie ever..."
"Put in the microwave at 60 percent power for five minutes...should be good...and then come over here and TALK to me!"
Reid started the microwave, opened a beer, and sat down next to Katie.
"So," Katie said, leaning into Reid. "A great day?"
"Yes."
"What did you do?"
"We went horseback riding."
"Get out? You? I don't believe it."
"Call Luke and ask him...AND he said that I was pretty good at it...naturally...ya know because I'm good at everything."
Kaite rolled her yes but kept on smiling. "And what else did you do?"
"We ate lunch...I devoured half a blueberry pie."
"Emma's an amazing cook."
"We went to that swamp and sat on the dock."
"The pond?"
"Whatever...yeah; the pond."
"You got along the whole day?"
"Yeah...we did. All afternoon." Reid smiled and regretted it as soon as he did.
"Oh my God!" Katie exclaimed. "You are a smitten kitten!"
"Katie..." Reid shook his head.
"Don't deny it. Look at you. You have little hearts in your eyes. That's so cute! Did you kiss? Oh my God...DID YOU?"
"Katie, I'm not going to..."
"Kiss and tell? Oh my God; you kissed! How was it?.............. Reid! How WAS IT?'