Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Luka said goodbye to Monty first, excited to get on the plane. Monty saw it. “You’re ready, huh?”
“Yeah. Benson is…he’s so amazing.”
“I agree,” Monty said with a laugh. They walked along the hallway full of dressing rooms, and Luka kept peering behind him.
“Is everything going to be okay?”
He didn’t just mean with the play. Monty sensed that and said, “Go and have no stress. Benson is going to take care of you, and if you want this part, it’s yours, you know that.”
“What do you mean, if?”
“Just what I said. Don’t read into things. Go, now, and get on that plane. And tell Benson Happy Christmas.”
Luka left the theater and stood on the sidewalk, staring up at his name on the marquee, knowing that his own personal dream had come true in so many ways.
No, he didn’t want to spend his life on the stage, but that name up there was a sign to him he’d pulled himself out of poverty.
He’d done it, and it had been hard. He’d clawed his way the entire time, and he was tired.
He walked along, deciding to walk awhile before he got a cab. There was time. The plane wasn’t taking off for hours.
Depending on a guy wasn’t what he’d wanted. He wasn’t some guy who wanted a sugar daddy. That had been nagging him for a long time, but seeing that name on the marquee, it proved he didn’t need Benson. He didn’t need Benson’s wealth. He’d soon have his own if he wanted it.
The exhaustion, however, was real. From the time he was a kid, he’d worried about money, and he was on the cusp of never needing to do that again. He could write, and…just be a human being.
The people all rushing by him, he could tell by looking which of those had known the hard things he’d known. The wrinkles on their faces, all worry lines, the shoulders up around their ears as tension over the holidays took them.
Poverty trauma was real. He wished more than anything that no child ever had to know it. That a new pair of pants for the child would not cause a mother to go without dinner for a week.
For a child that didn’t have to pay the bills, it shouldn’t be stress, but with a parent that went without so much, it was impossible to hide. To see other kids have things he couldn’t possibly afford; to know he’d never have a car, or a house of his own…
A tear escaped his eye, and he swiped at it. Those years had left scars that would always make him fearful of the future. For others, the future didn’t immediately make their hearts pound in their chest and they didn’t think of what all could cause them to lose everything again.
It’s all he’d thought of before he’d met Benson. He’d analyzed himself over and over again, worried that was why he truly liked Benson. It wasn’t. He didn’t think about money anymore when he woke. He thought of that smile, that voice, those hands, his lips…
No, he was in love, and he happened to be in love with a rich guy. He felt lucky in that, but knew, the longer they were together, the more he loved Benson and didn’t care about the money.
His name was in lights. He could be rich on his own within a year. He didn’t need Benson. Luka wanted him.
At his apartment, he was packed. Well, he was over-packed. He stared at the six bags, giggling a little that he had enough clothes to have that many bags. “Yeah, I’m better than I was.”
He checked the fridge again to assure he wasn’t coming back to mold growing on something and then checked his phone. No call or text from Benson. That nagging worry was trying to stress him out, but he refused to let it.
Benson came, of course. In fact, he came fifteen minutes early and didn’t even say hello when Luka opened the door. He pulled Luka into his arms and held him tightly, burying his lips into Luka’s hair while he kissed his head.
“Benson, you okay?”
“I am now.”
“Miss me?”
They’d been busy making sure they could have their holiday with no worries. Luka held him back and looked into tired eyes. “I missed you terribly.” When Benson saw the luggage behind Luka, however, he laughed. “I see you’re ready.”
“Sorry. I…I can’t…decide, you know!”
“It’s fine. It’s more than fine. I brought a lot myself. But I have something I need to tell you.”
Ready for bad news, Luka steeled himself for it. “What?”
“The B it is for fun.”
“Same thing,” Luka laughed. “But…okay. Fine.”
They went to the door just as the attendant opened it, and Luka walked blindly, allowing Benson to lead him, though that was scary as hell being led downstairs.
“I wouldn’t let you fall,” Benson whispered, sensing Luka’s apprehension.
“I know, but you try it! Trust is trust, blind is blind, and they shouldn’t go together.”
“I agree, but just this once, I promise.”
Luka was led to a car, and Benson helped him into it, then he sat beside him, holding his hand. “I know this is tedious, and I hope you don’t get carsick.”
“I’ve never been before, but then again, I’ve never been blindfolded in a car.”
“If you feel queasy, let me know.”
Luka didn’t flinch, just laid his head on Benson’s shoulder. “I kind of like this. I didn’t know I liked surprises this much.”
“Good. I’ve been very worried about all this. It’s fun to plan, but sometimes, the actual carrying out of the plan doesn’t hit like it’s supposed to.”
“I’m a good sport, sometimes.”
“Well, be one today, and I promise you won’t regret it.”
He couldn’t tell a thing about where they were by sound or smell, not riding in a limo.
He couldn’t tell landmarks by the road they traveled.
Everything seemed to be paved. They turned a few times, rounded curves, and he thought they went uphill a few times, but at those moments, Benson started kissing him and he lost all rational thought.
When the car finally stopped, Benson was kissing his cheek and whispered, “We’re at the first stop.”
“First stop? How many are there?”
Benson giggled a little. “Three. The last stop is where we’re staying for our holiday.”
“Okay…you’re so weird.”
He was led again, only not very far. Benson stopped him, and then said, “Okay, I am not trying to control everything, and you have your own opinions and choices, I swear. But this is a choice, and there is another, but…”
Luka slid the blindfold off, knowing Benson would stammer for another ten minutes if he didn’t.
What he saw when the blindfold was gone and after blinking a bunch of times from the sudden bright light was a cabin in front of a mountain backdrop, the snow glistening around it like it was put there just for the holiday.
The cabin wasn’t huge, but two stories, and there was an enormous window on the dormer for the attic, making Luka remember their conversation weeks before, when he said he wanted a writing room where he could see everything.
“I…Benson…”
“Baby, this is one of two that a realtor is showing me here in Colorado. You always wanted to come here, and now…if you would want to, we can live here.”
Luka turned to him, tears welling in his eyes. “What?”
“We’ll still be in New York part-time for at least a year, but we’ll spend time here too, or anywhere you want. What I’m saying, Luka, is…run away with me. At least part-time.”
Luka turned back to the cabin, the big door with the carvings of evergreen trees and deer, the log furniture on the porch, a bench and chairs.
The world around them was so quiet, there was only the dripping sound of the snow melting off the roof. “Benson…this is…”
“There’s another. And if you don’t like either, we can look—”
Luka spun to face him and slapped a hand over his mouth. “Shut up. This is…it’s so…”
He was choking on the sobs that were stuffed in his throat. Benson smiled and moved Luka’s hand. “You like it.”