Chapter 9 #2
They shot the shit for a while, none of them quite willing to broach the topic they knew they were going to have to talk about.
Given it was almost certainly the entire reason they’d had him come out in the first place, Luke found it kind of odd neither of them seemed willing to bring up Mikey.
So, finally, he did it, if only because the suspense of it was starting to get on his nerves.
“Okay, look,” he said. “I know you both want to ask about what happened between Mikey and me, so I’ll just tell you.
We went out to lunch to talk about the show, and it was a complete shit-show.
We have totally different ideas of what it should look like and how we should approach it.
I’m almost tempted to just call the whole thing off.
In fact, he said he was going to cancel it, but I don’t think he has the balls. ”
When he was finished neither Katrina or Bryce said anything at first. They just looked at him, and then they looked at each other, and then they looked back at him again.
“Well?” he demanded. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
“Are you really going to sit there and tell us you don’t want to go through with the concert?” Katrina asked. “Are you really going to sit there and tell us you don’t have the major hots for this guy?”
Luke didn’t even know where to start. He wanted to tell her fuck no, he had no romantic interest in Mikey at all, but he knew she’d be able to see through his lie in a heartbeat, because Katrina wasn’t an idiot, and she knew him better than almost anyone.
She also wasn’t the type to just let a lie slip through.
If she thought he wasn’t telling the truth, either to himself or to her, she would say so. With her whole chest.
So, he said nothing.
Unfortunately, they both got those smirks on their faces he knew all too well.
“I don’t know why I even bothered coming out here,” he said. “I should’ve just gone back to the cabin.”
They both snorted.
“You came out because you love us and know we’re always going to tell you the truth, whether you want to hear it or not,” Katrina said. “We’re your friends and not your groupies.”
He rolled his eyes, but he had to admit she had a point. He did appreciate the fact they were both always scrupulously honest with him, especially when he’d rather they just tell him what he wanted to hear.
“Okay, fine,” he said. “I might have some residual feelings for Mikey. But let’s not forget he blew me off first. I would gladly have tried to make things work with him when we were together.
Hell, I probably would’ve tried it even later, but he also didn’t say a damn word when I got outed.
So, yeah, maybe I do have feelings for him, but I’m not stupid enough to think they mean much or anything could ever happen between the two of us. ”
Luke’s words were saying one thing, but his heart was saying another.
Even as he sat there his mind seesawed between his desire to try to forge something new with Mikey and the equally strong desire to keep things professional, to stay focused on the concert rather than letting his heart run the show.
No. Damn it. I’m not going to let my heart get broken by Mikey Smiles again. I’m not going to let it happen.
Luke, however, knew Mikey Smiles was going to continue exerting his charm offensive even when he wasn’t even present.
In fact, as he sat there talking to his friends, he could feel his mind wandering, thinking about the way Mikey’s hair still had its old curl, still caught the sunlight like gold bars, about how his eyes still had a mischievous gleam tinged with just the faintest bit of sadness.
It made him want to kiss the sadness away.
And speaking of kissing, Mikey’s lips were as plump as they’d ever been, and he couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to press his own against them, and he most definitely couldn’t help but wonder whether Mikey was still as good of a kisser as he’d been when they were teenagers, or whether he might be even better, having learned a thing or two while they’d been apart.
“Earth to Luke,” Katrina was saying, “are you even paying a bit of attention to what I’ve been saying?”
Bryce had a grin on his face like the Cheshire Cat.
“He clearly hasn’t been paying attention, Kat, because he’s been too busy day-dreaming about his new, or old, boyfriend.”
Luke sighed. “Fine. I guess you’re right.
I guess there’s something more to what I’m thinking about than just resentment.
What difference does it make, though? I’m not going to get together with Mikey again, no matter what the two of you seem to think, and even if I was interested, who’s to say he would be? ”
By now Katrina was sitting up, a bright gleam in her eyes he knew all too well. She loved few things more than playing matchmaker with him, even though they both knew that wasn’t an easy thing to do, given his pickiness and the fact that everyone seemed to have an opinion about him and his life.
“Look,” she said, “I’m going to be honest with you, Luke, because you deserve it.
You’re always too hard on yourself. I think you think you’re not worthy of love because of all of the stuff that happened to you.
You’ve got to remember, though, none of it was your fault.
You were outed by people who had no right prying into your business.
And sure, Mikey broke your heart when you were teenagers, but he seems to have grown up a bit since then.
Maybe you should give him another chance.
If nothing else, you deserve to give yourself a bit of time to figure him out and see how he’s changed, if at all. ”
Luke waited for the other shoe to drop. Katrina had the tone in her voice that said she was planning something, and she wasn’t going to be happy until she’d pulled him into it.
“Okay,” he said, trying to stay patient, “just come out and tell me what it is you’ve got planned, because I can tell you’ve got something in mind.”
“Listen,” she said, leaning forward. “I think you both should come on one of the history tours I lead, and I can focus more on the music than I usually do. I think it’d be a great chance for the two of you to get to know one another better.
And you’re always saying how you want to start writing music again, how you want to write something truer to your roots here in the Valley than anything you wrote while you were in Nashville.
This could be your chance to get some inspiration.
“And besides, this could also be your chance to show Mikey how West Virginia has such a rich musical history it’d be a shame not to acknowledge it in your music and your concert.
I mean, think about it. It would be the perfect opportunity for the various parts of your life to come together into a perfect whole. ”
Bryce snorted through his nose at the unintended innuendo, but Katrina ignored him.
“Just think about it, Luke. It would be a great chance for the both of you.”
“And do you really want Mikey to come on the tour?” he asked. “He’s almost certainly going to have his entourage with him, and you know how annoying those can be.”
He tried not to think too much about what it had been like when he’d been one of the ones with an entourage.
Those had been the people who’d abandoned him first when things got crazy, though, so he generally tried not to dwell on that.
They’d only been trying to protect their best interests, even if it meant betraying the person they’d claimed as a friend when times were good.
Katrina frowned. “Well, I mean it wouldn’t be the worst thing, right?
I’m not doing this entirely out of the goodness of my heart.
Whether you want to admit it or not, Mikey Smiles is still a pretty big draw.
He’s got a new album in the works, his book just came out, and he’s going to bring some much-needed attention to my business.
If he does all of that while also falling back in love with my best friend, then it sure seems like a win-win for everyone! ”
Luke hated the way Katrina always managed to sound so excited about all of her schemes, to such an extent she swept everyone else up with her.
You could no more deny one of her proposals than you could resist a force like gravity.
You could fight it all you liked, you could call it all sorts of names, but the end result was the same: you ended up doing what she’d said you’d do in the first place.
“You are literally the worst.” he said. “I don’t know why we’re still friends or why I still put up with you.”
“Because,” she said, “you know I’m always going to look out for your best interests, even if you’re not going to.”
Luke sighed. So, it looked like he was going to lose yet another argument with her.
He turned, in what would no doubt prove to be a futile effort, to Bryce for help.
“What do you have to say about all of this?”
Bryce, who was currently taking a very meditative sip of his cosmo and making eyes with some twink across the bar, turned his attention back to Luke.
“Oh, are you finally talking to me?” he asked. “I was starting to wonder whether this whole conversation was going to go on without me. So what’s happening again?”
“Katrina wants to take me and Mikey on one of her tours of the Ohio Valley and its historical sites,” Luke said, as patiently as he could.
“She thinks it’ll be a good chance for the two of us to bond and it’ll remind Mikey of all the reasons why the history and heritage around here would make for good music.
I think it’ll be a waste of time, both because Mikey couldn’t care less about history and also because I don’t want to get myself into a situation I can’t easily get out of.
I mean, can you imagine the two of us having to spend an entire tour together? ”
If Luke hated Katrina trying to run his life and play matchmaker, he hated the look Bryce was giving him right now even more.
It said he knew Luke was full of shit and he knew Luke knew he was full of shit.
It was one of the disadvantages of having a best friend who actually took time to get to know you and seemed to actually give a shit not just what you thought but how you thought.
“Ugh, fine,” he said finally, throwing up his hands in disgust. “I don’t know why I deal with the two of you, and I don’t know why I ever thought I was going to be able to win an argument.
I should’ve known the two of you would find some way of getting me to agree to this idea, no matter whether I really want to do it or not. ”
Katrina couldn’t resist the opportunity to smirk yet again, and despite himself Luke actually found it endearing.
“Seriously. I don’t know why I put up with you both,” he said, and they just laughed.
The rest of the night passed pretty quickly, and before he knew it Luke was standing outside the bar, giving them both hugs.
Both Katrina and Bryce had a habit of getting a bit sloppy drunk, but that was fine with Luke.
He’d gotten used to taking care of them a long time ago, and it made him feel useful, like he was paying them back for all the times they’d taken care of his drunk ass when he'd let his sorrows get the better of him.
“Are you sure you’re going to be ready to lead a tour tomorrow?” he asked Katrina, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “Becuase I’m not sure you’re going to be in any fit state to do anything involving lots of brain work. At least not without a major hangover. We can always reschedule to another time…”
He let his voice taper off, trying to make it clear he’d be very okay with a raincheck, but Katrina wasn’t going to let him get away so easily.
She wagged a finger in his face, and though her words were more than a little slurred, her eyes were fierce and determined. She meant business, and there would be hell to pay if he didn’t do what she said.
“Luke Carter, you are going on my tour with Mikey Shmiles tomorrow, and that’s all there isssh to it. Do I make myself ... .clear?”
The last part came out even more slurred than the rest of it, but Luke thought he got the drift.
Just tell her yes so we can get them into their Ubers and get the hell out of here.
So that’s just what he did, even though he was pretty sure he wasn’t going to call Mikey Smiles and invite him on any historical tour.
Katrina seemed satisfied, and so did Bryce and so, after several more hugs, Luke made sure they got into their respective Ubers and they were on their way home, and then he finally made it to his truck.
Once he was inside, though, he faced the daunting prospect of driving all the way from Wheeling back to Fish Creek, which was going to take at least an hour, assuming he was following the speed limit.
There is something you could do to make the time go faster, he thought. If you’re willing to do it.
He shook his head, hardly believing he was even thinking about calling Mikey Smiles at this time of night but, once he’d thought about it, the idea refused to just go away.
Instead, it just kept pestering him in the back of his mind, reminding him how easy it would be to call Mikey and how nice it would be to hear his voice and how he might actually enjoy the chance to get to know the Ohio Valley better and, and, and…
And before he knew it his phone was in his hand, and he was dialing the number Brenda had put in his pocket.
I must be losing my mind, he thought but, strangely, he was…happy.
At least until Mikey picked up.