Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“You’re so drunk.” Reno’s heart would explode with affection at this rate.
He knew that distantly, maybe, he should be concerned.
But Luka sounded like he had so much fun and made some nice friends, and had gotten back safely, so clearly Luka could take care of himself.
But Reno still had to poke fun at him. “You’re adorable, your face is so red. ”
“I know, I know.” Luka feebly pushed at him. They were in Reno’s bed, Luka fresh from a shower and changed into one of Reno’s softest shirts. “Your face gets red too, y’know?”
“Yes, you do that to me.” Reno loved how Luka smiled so easily when he was like this, how open his expressions turned. “Who’d you hang out with?”
“Mm, lesbians. Don’t you worry. I made all the men go away. Rosé’s my favorite. She’s trans like me, but the other way around," Luka giggled while making a spiraling motion with his fingers. “She’s really pretty.”
“Prettier than me?” Reno teased, and Luka gave him a disbelieving look.
“Different from you. I like you more. Wait, are you jealous?”
“Not in the slightest," Reno half-lied. “I’d love to go with you next time, though. Can I please?”
“Mhm. Wanted you there the whole time. You can wear the wig and pretty dress, and I’ll make good on my promise.”
“You mean the ‘fucking me in a dress’ one?”
“Oh, you caught me,” Luka snorted, then turned to face Reno. “You do take good care of your hearing.”
“Of course, and I better not catch you at any of my shows without hearing protection again.”
“How’d you know?”
Reno tucked Luka’s damp hair behind his ear. “I felt you up so hard that night, you didn’t have anything in your pockets but your phone and wallet.”
Luka’s eyes closed, and he sighed. “Your memory is insane. I can hardly remember what I was wearing that night and you remember if I had earplugs in my pockets or not.”
Reno kept running his hand through Luka’s hair, “I bet you remember what I was wearing perfectly fine.”
Luka agreed with a sleepy hum, and Reno knew Luka was drifting off for the night.
He continued running his fingers through Luka’s hair, hoping, praying to whatever angel might be watching over him, that he’d get to keep Luka like this forever.
Once his arm grew tired, he fumbled around for the lamp switch, then settled down in bed, thankful Luka was safe, home, and in his arms.
It felt like Reno blinked and days had flashed by.
They had risked going out sightseeing another two times with Reno in his wig, spent a significant amount of time inside eating food and making a mess of every surface in the flat, slept too much, and, when Reno was busy with work things, Luka went out on his own or with his new friends.
There was only one more day before Reno had to go back to recording and writing full-time, and two more days before Luka was set to fly home. So, Reno texted everyone to see what they were doing and asked Luka if he was ready to meet the band.
Luka took a moment to answer, chewing on his lower lip and furrowing his brows before he agreed.
He made Reno promise, however, that if he got overwhelmed, Reno would give him an out.
The group chat erupted with everyone saying they would absolutely come; they needed to meet Luka officially, finally.
They agreed on a nearby restaurant that they frequented, knowing the staff would be discreet and have a private table in the back. By the time they showed up in the restaurant's lobby, everyone but Jaewon had arrived.
Luka pressed against Reno awkwardly, tucking himself into Reno’s side in a rare show of meekness while he looked everywhere but at the band.
One by one, they each stuck out a hand for Luka, who bravely took them and introduced himself, and Reno watched, fascinated at the way Luka had to tilt his chin up to look at his friends.
He forgot sometimes that his bandmates were all so much taller than him, and in retrospect, Luka.
“Oh, he finally joins us.” Sebastian walked up to Jaewon and hugged him before pulling him to the host’s stand to let them know they had all arrived. “No Max tonight?”
Jaewon glared at him and Reno snickered. Jaewon snapped, “You know.”
“She doesn’t wanna hang out with T-yan?”
“Who’s Max?” Luka leaned over to ask Reno as they walked to a back room, situated behind two double doors.
Reno replied, “Max is Jaewon’s girlfriend.”
“Why wouldn’t she want to hang out with him, then?”
“Oh no," Reno pulled a chair out for Luka to sit. He looked so charming with his hair pulled into a neat braid over his shoulder. “She won’t hang out with T-yan.”
“Shove off, Reno,” Jaewon threatened him, amusing Reno. “I’m working up to it.”
Reno slipped into the chair next to Luka and waited until the waitress had dropped off menus and water for them all. Arnaud ordered two bottles of wine for the table and mumbled something about the selection under his breath in French.
“I’m lost,” Luka admitted, and Arnaud took pity on him.
“T-yan here won’t tell his new girlfriend he’s in a band.
” Arnaud leaned back into his chair, flipping his gaze between Luka and Jaewon from where he sat at the head of the table.
He’d dyed his hair back to black with only a small section of the former blond framing his face. “He’s doing a Hannah Montana.”
“Uh—”
“Best of both worlds?” Arnaud’s eyes went wide and he seemed dangerously close to bursting into song before Reno held a hand up to stop him.
Jaewon threatened Arnaud with a fork. “Don’t, or I stick this in your hand.”
“At least let the wine get here before you flirt with me.” Arnaud shuffled back into his seat and crossed his arms, and when Reno glanced at Luka, he seemed completely out of his depth.
Luka closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at Reno, giving him an adorably helpless expression before Luka flipped open the menu and browsed through it.
“Hear me out; I have a plan," Jaewon said, setting the fork down and pointing his long finger at Arnaud instead. “I’m taking her to dinner next week, on a real date.”
“Oh yeah?” Sebastian thanked the waitress for the wine, then said they needed a few more minutes to decide.
When she was gone again and out of the private room, he asked, “You gonna tell her she has to be your new partner because your old one dipped out on you and Maxine is a perfect match to fill in?”
“That's the Lizzie McGuire movie," Arnaud interrupted. “You’re getting your Disney Channel movies mixed up.”
“You’re the one who made us watch them.” Sebastian poured himself a glass, then offered it to Luka, who agreed, looking at least happy to be seated between Sebastian and Reno and not between whatever was going on with Jaewon and Arnaud. “I’d rather go back to watching the Barbie movies.”
Reno leaned over to tell Luka, “It gets really boring on the road.”
Luka shook his head. “How does she not know who you are?”
“She doesn’t listen to metal, or really get on the internet, or pay attention to much outside of school and the neighborhood," Jaewon said, a bit sheepishly. “I should have told her when I first bumped into her in my building, but I got all tongue-tied.”
Sebastian raised his glass. “She is stunning.”
“And smart," Arnaud said, nodding. “Much too smart for you.”
Luka turned his head to whisper in Reno’s ear and it sent chills down Reno’s spine.
“Will you order for me? I don’t know what any of this is other than the plantains.”
“I will get you a plate of plantains then,” Reno joked, and Luka scowled at him. “Of course I’ll order for you. Pass me the white wine?”
“Hey!" Jaewon waved at them. “I’m explaining my master plan.”
Luka turned his focus back to Jaewon. “Sorry. How rude of me. Do go ahead,” he said, making Arnaud snort.
Luka poured Reno a glass of wine while Jaewon launched into a speech.
“So first," Jaewon started, flinging his long, straight hair away from his face and over the back of the chair. “I will take her to dinner. I will wear a suit and bring a rose, and I will ask her to be my girlfriend.”
“You haven’t even asked her to be your girlfriend?” Sebastian raised an eyebrow.
“Cállate1.” Jaewon flipped Sebastian off, earning himself a laugh from everyone.
“I can’t ask a girl to be my girl if she doesn’t know who I am.
I’ll wine and dine her, and after I ask her to be my girlfriend, I’m going to stop her and tell her that before she can actually answer me, she needs to see something. ”
“Let me guess, you’ll show her one of our music videos?” Reno had his arms crossed over his chest, taking in the ridiculousness of the situation. When he peeked at Luka, he looked similarly entertained.
“No, I'll show her my Instagram.” Jaewon’s eyes flicked up as the waitress returned to take their orders.
She went around the table, then politely excused herself as quickly as she could.
It was one of the reasons they liked coming here—the service was quiet and discreet, and they never minded opening up the back room for them—and the food was good enough for Sebastian not to complain.
“Anyone can pull up a YouTube video, but only I can log into my Instagram.”
“That's fair," Reno relented. “When is this?”
“Next week.”
“Good. This has gone on long enough. Get it out of the way before we have to leave again.” Reno pointed an accusing finger at his friend, who had the audacity to roll his eyes.
Reno ignored the scoff and the response of: “We don’t leave for months…” from Jaewon before Arnaud turned his attention to Luka.
“Tell us." Arnaud leaned on his elbows, his hands crossed under his chin. “How’s London?”
“Oh, um.” Luka flinched slightly when everyone looked at him. “I really like it here, actually. There’s a lot more to do than back home. I like that the weather is a little cooler.”
“Ha, for now,” Arnaud said. “Soon this place will be muggier than Sebastian’s ass-crack.”