Chapter 7
Man, Luke really hates me, Mikey thought as he walked back to the gang. I mean, I guess I can see why, but jeez. This concert is going to be a nightmare.
He sighed. He was starting to regret agreeing to do the damn thing in the first place, but he’d meant what he said when he told Luke he really did care about NACA.
Seeing it in that shape had been shocking.
Tricia had told him the full purpose of the concert after his interview with Gina, but nothing could’ve prepared him for just how dilapidated it looked.
Seeing and hearing Luke’s dislike had been almost as distressing.
Whatever hope he’d had Luke might be willing to let bygones be bygones had flown right out the window the moment the two of them came back together. It was very clear Luke wanted as little to do with him as possible.
And yet.
As Mikey thought about how well Luke had aged–and as he thought about the way his jeans hugged his hips and the way his plain white T-shirt threatened to burst from the bulge of his biceps and the way his scruff accentuated his sharp jawline–the more he realized he had it bad.
It was going to take a lot of charm, but Mikey thought he might just manage to get past those walls Luke had thrown up and get back in touch with the sensitive young man he’d been all those years ago.
And, once that happened, he knew it would only be a matter of time before the two of them were on the road back to romantic happiness.
Mikey could get away from his fast-paced life and just embrace a quieter, softer existence with Luke.
If all went as planned, they could make up for lost time and then some.
It was a pleasant fantasy, and Mikey knew it was one worth fighting for.
As soon as he was back in his hotel room, though, he had to contend with Tricia and Damian, both of whom had definite thoughts about Luke and, well, everything else.
“He’s so handsome,” sighed Tricia, who was positively swooning. “You didn’t tell me he was so hot. He definitely looks like a country music star, even if he hasn’t put out an album since…”
“Since 2013,” Damian said in the lazy drawl he seemed to think was a mark of sophistication but which Mikey always saw as pretentious.
“The year before he got outed and then disappeared.” He snorted.
“Honestly, Mikey, I don’t know why you’re going through with the concert.
You should just cut your losses, say goodbye to this shithole of a state, and forget about it.
No one would hold it against you, you know. ”
Mikey, of course, had absolutely no intention of doing any of that.
He knew Damian wouldn’t understand. He had a rather…
fixed way of looking at things, particularly things he didn’t like.
And, as he’d made clear on any number of occasions, he simply didn’t like West Virginia, he didn’t like Luke Carter, and he definitely didn’t like Mikey having anything to do with either.
Mikey wasn’t in the mood for his negativity at the moment–nor, for that matter, for Tricia’s constant discussion of how hot Luke was–and so he basically threw them out of his hotel room.
“I’m meeting Luke,” he explained when they resisted him, “and I have to make sure I look good.”
They both looked skeptical, but did as he asked.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped out onto the balcony and gazed out on the spread of Moundsville below him.
The Ohio River glinted off in the distance and, as tended to happen when he was back in West Virginia–which didn’t happen nearly as often as Mikey would like–he found his heart starting to beat faster, a swelling feeling of joy, of being home, filling him up.
He stood there so long looking at the city he used to call home he totally lost track of time. Only once his watch started buzzing did he realize he was already ten minutes late for his lunch with Luke.
“Fuck!” he swore. This certainly wasn’t going to help put Luke in a better mood.
Why does everything have to be so damn complicated? He thought. Why can’t I just have one thing go right when it comes to Luke Carter? Ugh. So much for freshening up.
He didn’t even bother telling Tricia or Damian. He just…left the hotel. Since Bob’s Lunch wasn’t that far away he decided to just walk,, as he made his way there he found himself thinking of a day, a decade ago, when he’d had lunch with Luke in that same restaurant.
God we were so young, he thought. I wish we could go back.
As soon as he walked into Bob’s Lunch he was hit by a wave of nostalgia so strong it almost swept him off his feet.
Then he saw Luke sitting in a booth, glaring at him, and uncertainty hit him again. Was this a really bad idea, or a really good one?
Mikey put on the smile he thought might work to charm Luke and strutted across Bob’s Lunch.
He might have been one of the most famous people to have come out of Moundsville, but the thing about West Virginians was they weren’t going to just roll out the red carpet for anyone.
It was one of the things he’d always admired about them, even as Damian was endlessly critical of the fact they didn’t show their hometown hero the adulation he thought he deserved.
He’d given up explaining it to him, just like he’d given up explaining so many other unique things about the Mountain State.
“I’m really sorry I’m late,” Mikey said, putting all of his charm into his voice. “I guess I got a little distracted at all of the beauty here. It doesn’t change much, but there’s something comforting about it, don’t you think?’
Luke wasn’t buying it.
“I’m just glad you finally decided to show up,” Luke said, continuing to glower. “I was just gettin’ ready to get out of here. You might not think so, but my time’s valuable too, you know.”
Mikey opened his mouth to apologize, but then snapped it shut. If Luke was going to be an asshole, then he wasn’t going to go out of his way to be nice.
Fortunately, the waitress came by to take their orders. She was full-figured and buxom, unlike the rail-thin women Mikey often saw in California, and he didn’t bother to hide his admiration of her as she walked away.
Okay, let’s not get carried away, he reminded himself. Things are complicated enough with Luke sitting across from you.
With a shake of his head, he turned his attention back to Luke, who was glowering even more fiercely than he’d been a moment before.
“Could you, I don’t know, maybe keep it in your pants long enough for us to get through lunch?” he growled. “Or is that really too much to expect from a ‘pansexual?’”
Now it was Mikey’s turn to get angry. Luke was certainly within his rights to be annoyed with him for being late and for, well, everything else, but he’d be damned if he was just going to sit there and let him shit over his identity.
It never ceased to piss him off the extent to which people assumed being pan meant being a slut, if they were willing to admit pansexual was an identity at all.
To his surprise, though, Luke’s grumpy face actually softened a bit.
“I’m sorry I said that,” he said, swirling his Coke around in his glass. “It wasn’t very nice of me. I guess it wouldn’t hurt me to be a little kinder to you.”
“Gee, thanks,” Mikey said, rolling his eyes, and they shared a little laugh.
Strangely enough, it all felt…natural. Mikey felt like he was in high school and the two of them were sharing cheesesteaks and fries and milkshakes at this very diner, each of them drinking in the sight of the other as if they were the most beautiful things they’d ever seen.
Don’t get too used to the feeling, he reminded himself. And don’t pin your heart on Luke Carter of all people. He holds a grudge, and he’s not going to forgive you so easily, if at all.
“Just so you know,” he said. “The whole pansexual thing isn’t just an act. I’ve…I’ve had a few girlfriends over the years, and I’ve also dated a few guys, though always on the sly. Now, though…well, it’s nice, being able to live openly.”
Luke took a slow and deliberate sip of his Coke, and it occurred to Mikey Luke’s own coming out experience had been very different, and very scarring.
To his surprise, though, Luke didn’t mention it.
“I’m glad you’re finally comfortable with who you are,” he said. “I remember it was a bit of an issue for you when you were in high school.”
Mikey was so taken aback by this bit of grace on Luke’s part he couldn’t think of anything to say. Fortunately, he was saved from having to say anything by the arrival of their food–a hamburger and fries for Luke, and a salad for Mikey–and so he let the subject drop.
Finally, though, he knew he had to bring up the ostensible reason they were here.
“Do you wanna talk about what the concert should look like? It sure seems like Brenda expects the two of us to take the lead.”
“And does it bother you, Mr. Bigshot?” Luke said, an edge to his voice. “Do you think it’s beneath you to actually have to do the nuts and bolts of planning a concert?”
So much for the grace period, he thought.
It seemed their little moment of understanding was over, and Luke was back to taking each and every thing he said, no matter how seemingly innocuous, and turning it into an insult.
Just take a few deep breaths and keep calm.
That, however, proved to be much easier said than done.
“You know,” Luke said, taking a big bite of his hamburger, “I’m not even really sure why you bothered coming back at all. You said yourself you’d rather just give some money to the Center and call it a day. So, what gives? Why are you really here?”
Mikey didn’t know what to say. He supposed he could just be honest and tell Luke the truth, but he knew it was too early for such a thing. No, if he wanted to get on Luke’s good side he had to be more subtle.
So he lied.