Chapter 13 #4
“Tell Maryanne to bring her dog. I will be there.” Reno bent down and tucked a graying hair behind her ear and watched as she melted. “Ja ne16, I have a handsome date to get to!”
She shot him a look before waving goodbye and Reno took the opportunity to dart away, knowing that she would have one million questions for him next week.
He probably shouldn’t have let it slip that he was going on a date, but Hattie was right about him—he was a bit of a gossip when they got together.
Reno liked the delight that grew on his neighbor’s faces when he told them of all the wild things he got up to on tour, knowing they would go back to their friends and exaggerate his stories even more.
He loved watching them laugh, entertaining them, especially since he guessed they didn’t do a lot when he wasn’t around to amuse.
The lamps on the street flicked on one by one as Reno walked, and it wasn’t until he was across from the pub that he paused, his hands cold in his front hoodie pocket and his feet planted to the sidewalk.
The building across from him was painted black with orange light spilling out from its old frosted windows and leaning against the wooden exterior was Luka.
He seemed remarkably small under the hanging sign, bathed in the warm street light and looking at his phone, obvious to Reno’s staring. He frowned at the screen, the blue tint from it painting his hair almost purple, and after a moment, the screen clicked off and he looked up directly at Reno.
They locked eyes and he felt pinned under Luka’s stare. The open shock then affection that wound over Luka’s features was enough to nearly knock him to his knees. It took an immense amount of willpower for Reno to move again and cross the street.
“Wow.” He stepped onto the curb and stood in front of Luka, his voice sounding as breathless as he felt. “I’ll never get used to this.”
Luka put his phone in his pocket, his eyebrow raised as he looked from Reno’s face to his shoes then back up. “What?”
Reno reached out and wound a finger around one of the pieces of hair that had come free from Luka’s beanie and now framed his face.
Luka froze, his eyes going slightly wide.
They looked gray under the lamplight, like the water on a foggy day.
His lashes were just light enough that, when Luka looked down and away from Reno, they shimmered.
The studs on Luka’s jacket felt nice under Reno’s fingers when he placed a hand against Luka’s bicep, and Luka’s thick brows pinched in the middle when he narrowed his eyes at Reno.
He asked, “Are you okay?” and Reno had to pull himself together.
“I was gathering my courage," Reno replied, unsure how to cope with just how strongly Luka’s mere presence affected him, “to tell you how handsome you are.”
When Luka blushed, it was beautiful. Pink traveled all the way from the sides of his nose down to his jaw when he looked away, his lip between his teeth.
Luka shifted his weight from one booted foot to the other, looking apprehensive as he wiped his palms against his torn, black jeans. “Should we go inside?”
“Yeah.” Reno tried not to think of all the other ways he’d made Luka turn that shade of pink in the past. He stepped away, taking his hands from Luka’s jacket to get the door for them both.
Inside, the barkeep, Conner, waved to them both. “Hey, Reno, nice to see you again. It’s been a while!”
Reno waved back. “Six months, I think? Maybe seven.”
“Way too long.” Conner looked around Reno to where Luka half hid behind him. “What do you want to drink? You can feel free to take the booth around back.”
Reno hooked his hand around Luka’s elbow and leaned over to whisper, “What do you want?”
“Whiskey.”
“Conner, this is Luka. He’ll have a whiskey—Wait, do you want anything with that or just neat?”
Luka blinked a few times. “I don’t know. Um.”
“Oh, American?” Conner asked and Luka nodded. He gave them both a smile before busying himself behind the bar. When he caught Reno and Luka still standing there Conner waved them away saying, “I’ll bring over something for you both in a bit, it’s slow tonight," and Reno tugged Luka to the booth.
They sank into the same side, pleasing Reno because he was finding it more challenging by the moment to keep his hands off of Luka.
He rested his hand on Luka’s thigh and swept his eyes over the interior of the pub, which was thankfully pretty quiet since it was a weeknight.
The booth they had taken was out of eye line from the door, and with the windows frosted to almost a pure white, Reno felt himself relax marginally.
Luka seemed tense beside him, but Reno figured he’d unwind as the night moved on.
“Here you go." Conner dropped off their drinks, some kind of lovely caramel-colored cocktail with a leafy garnish for Luka and his typical elderberry gin for Reno. He pulled his drink toward himself and asked Conner to bring Luka a menu.
“Taste okay?” Reno asked once Conner was out of earshot and Luka took a tentative sip of his drink.
“It’s sweet.” Luka huffed a little. “Maybe I should have been specific.”
“Want me to get you something else?”
“No," Luka flushed, looking uncomfortable. “It’s really okay. You don’t have to…”
When he didn’t finish, Reno leaned an elbow on the table and watched as Conner brought the menu over. He thanked him, then handed it to Luka. “Yes, I do.”
Luka looked over at him with a frown. “You don’t. I’m okay. Will you pick me something to eat, though? I think I’m tapped out on choices for the day.”
“Of course.” Reno’s chest warmed, knowing Luka would trust him with something even as simple as picking his food for him. “Do you want something British or something good?”
“You said it, not me.” Luka cracked a smile and Reno felt like he was winning.
“Yorkshire pudding then, yes?”
“Wait," Luka balked, “That sounds very British. Do they eat pudding for dinner here?”
Reno laughed, delighted, “No, but they love calling things strange names that they are not. It is a type of bread they like to put in gravy.”
“Sounds horrible.”
“It’s not much different than soufflé.”
Luka sighed. “Okay, so not too horrible.” He took another drink and winced. “I don’t trust the bartender here.”
“Get up, let me go order for you.” Reno tapped Luka’s hip to get him out of the booth so he could get to the bar.
“How was your tour?” Conner asked once Reno was there, his elbows resting on the dark oak.
Reno shrugged. “Good, busy. Happy to be home. You know I love playing all over but there's nothing like my own bed.”
“Got someone to share it with?” Conner peeked over Reno’s shoulder in the direction of the booth.
Reno hummed. “We’ll see. He’s had a long day. I don’t want to wear him out too badly.”
“Christ, man," Conner laughed, “You don’t hear yourself half the time, do you?” He finished a pour and brought it over to another neighbor of Reno’s that he didn’t know by name. When Conner came back he asked, “Someone you met on the road?”
“Yeah, actually. Been talking for a few months now.”
“You’re blushing, mate.”
“Shut up.” Reno flashed a smile at Conner. “He’d appreciate something less sweet, by the way. Not everyone is like me.”
“Ah, I just assumed if someone is in your company, they must love sugar.” Conner pointed at Reno, gesturing at his hair. “Want food?”
“Yeah," Reno was halfway through his order when Conner’s attention went over Reno’s shoulder, back to where Luka was sitting. He loosely pointed and Reno turned with a sinking feeling in his gut.
“I got this. Go rescue him," Conner said, and Reno rushed back to the table, nearly pushing Luka over when he dropped back into the booth.
“What are you doing here, Sage?”
“Can’t I say hello?” Sage pouted and Reno glared at her for a moment before she rolled her eyes. “Reno, won’t you introduce me to Luka?”
“How do you know my name?” Luka’s eyes were so big.
“This menace to society is Sage,” Reno said and reached across the table to grab his drink back from Sage before she could finish it.
“Oh, oh my god, Sage. Right.” Luka slumped against the back of the booth seat. “You’re their friend.”
“Yeah, obviously. Oh, wait.” Sage looked taken aback for a moment. “Oh, haha, wow. That probably was real freaky for you.”
Reno snapped, “You think? Girl, I do deal with stalkers.”
“I know, shit. I’m sorry.” She did look apologetic and Reno let his attitude drop slightly. “Reno, please don’t glare at me like that. I didn’t mean to scare your—”
“Mhm.” Reno watched as she crept his drink towards her again and drank from it. He let it happen and said, “You’re lucky Conner gives me free drinks.”
“Which is unfair," Sage replied, and Reno shook his head. “Well, I mean, I do benefit from getting to steal all your drinks.”
“I’m going to start drinking the darkest lagers on tap so that you stop.”
“No, you won’t,” Sage laughed. “Speaking of stalkers, though—hello, Luka.”
“Hi.” Luka did not sound as friendly as Reno had hoped he would. “I’m not a stalker. If anything, Reno is.”
“Oh, you’re fun.” Sage stirred Reno’s drink, her green eyes fixed on Luka. “You’re right, Reno here is a real creep. Did you know he—”
“Don’t.” Reno reached out for his drink again and managed to get it back. “Why are you here? I’m on a date.” Reno tilted his head with a menacing smile. “You know it’s rude to barge in on us like that.”
“You left your man alone; I had to swoop.”
“Vulture.”
“He’s hot.”
“Can you all not talk about me like I’m not here?” Luka said and Reno’s gut dropped until he turned and caught Luka looking like he was about to laugh. “I’m not into women, my apologies.”
Sage looked thrilled. “I like this one. He’s tough. Hey, so I have a question for you.”
Conner appeared at the table. “Do I need to boot her?” He set down a new drink in front of Luka and another for Reno; he must have noticed Sage drinking all of Reno’s.
“Not yet,” Reno said and Sage tried kicking him under the table and missed. “If she lands the next kick, though…”