Chapter 15 #2
“Wow,” Mikey said, clearly struck by the cabin. “This is…much bigger and fancier than I’d imagined.”
While it was true Luke had spared no expense on his cabin, it wasn’t what he would call fancy.
Sure, it was a bit over 1500 square feet, and sure, it had all of the modern amenities, and sure, it looked like something out of an Ethan Allen catalog, but it was a lot humbler than some of the places owned by other country music stars.
If anything, the barn where the horses were stabled was fancier than the house; if he’d learned from his mother, it was you never stinted when it came to taking care of your animals.
“It’s not that fancy,” he said aloud, but he couldn’t keep the pride out of his voice.
Mikey turned to him with a wry smile.
“Oh, I don’t know, Luke. This place is pretty fancy for a simple guy like you, but somehow it suits you. I like it.” He nodded to the horses, whose heads were sticking out over the barn door. “And besides, I don’t think anyone who has horses like that can claim to not be fancy.”
Luke’s face flushed with pride and…something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“I wouldn’t mind having a place like this of my own one day,” Mikey was saying, and all of a sudden Luke saw what a future with Mikey might be like: the two of them, making a go of it out here in the country, going into town whenever they needed to go somewhere or Mikey had a concert.
Luke wasn’t sure he ever wanted to return to the world of touring, but he thought it might be nice, someday, to dip his toes back into the world he’d left behind.
It was exciting to think about, even if nothing came of it.
Mikey, with his sixth sense, turned around and smiled. Like always, it made him lose all good sense and want to go running off with him right then and there.
“What are you thinking about?” Mikey asked.
Luke was caught flat-footed and couldn’t think of anything convincing to say, so he just sort of floundered and muttered a few things, though not exactly any words.
“You know you really didn’t answer my question, right?” Mikey asked. “I mean, it’s okay if you’d rather not tell me what you’re thinking about. Maybe it’s something I’d rather not know?”
Once again a smirk.
“Can we just get inside the cabin?” Luke said, brushing past him more rudely than necessary. Mikey, however, took it with the good grace and sense of humor with which he seemed to take everything.
“You never change,” he said.
“I don’t see why I should,” Luke said at once.
“I know you don’t. It’s why I find you so irresistible.”
He couldn’t mistake the flirtation, and Luke’s face was on fire.
Rather than acknowledge the flirtation or, heaven forbid, flirt back, he rushed to put the key in the lock and open the door.
All at once Duke came barreling out but, rather than going to Luke as he normally did, he went straight to Mikey before either of them could even get in the door.
For his part, Mikey’s eyes widened just a bit, and then he laughed and threw his arms around Duke, who rewarded him with more love and affection than Luke had ever seen him give a stranger.
Even Bryce had taken some getting used to, so the fact Duke was throwing himself at Mikey was… concerning.
If the dog loves him, who am I to complain? He thought.
“I’m kinda surprised he’s acting like this,” he said, unable to help himself. “He usually doesn’t like strangers very much.”
“You know what they say about dogs, though,” Mikey said without missing a beat. “They tend to pick up on whatever their owners are feeling. So, if he likes me so much, then you must too, right?”
Oh wow, so he wasn’t even trying to hide his flirtation any more.
“You, sir, are trouble,” Luke said, deciding it was okay to flirt back, at least a little. “Nothing but trouble. Trouble with a capital ‘T.’”
Okay, now it was getting a little weird, and he should rein it in.
Why are you being so resistant to Mikey flirting with you? Isn’t it what you wanted?
That was the question, wasn’t it? What, exactly, did Luke want? And what was he going to do when he got it?
“I know,” Mikey said, coming closer now, so close the heat of his body seemed to sweep over Luke, “but something tells me Luke Carter of all people likes a little bit of trouble.”
For some reason, the way Mikey said it reminded Luke sharply of everything standing between them–not just their own shared past, but Luke’s, with all of its struggles and conflict and heartbreak–and the mood quickly dissipated.
And so, just when it seemed like the two of them were going to kiss he turned away, but not before he saw a look of hurt and confusion pass across Mikey’s face.
Fuck, Luke thought, his body a nest of built-up tension.
As soon as he was back inside the cabin, however, strain in his shoulders and everywhere else started to relax a little. When it came down to it, it was the one place in the world where he could truly be himself.
Except, of course, he couldn’t, because Mikey was here, and he was a variable he didn’t know what to do with.
I shouldn’t have agreed to have him here, he thought. This was a mistake.
Still, now Mikey was here the least he could do was be a good host, and so he made sure to take Mikey’s things to the guest room. He didn’t say much, though. He didn’t want to engage in any more flirting until he’d worked through his feelings.
Thank you, therapy, he thought wryly.
Through all of this, Mikey didn’t say much either. Whatever little magic they’d managed to capture with both the music and Duke had completely evaporated, replaced with a distinct sense of unease.
Luke gave Mikey a little tour of the cabin, making sure he knew where everything was, and when it was all done, he turned around and looked him up and down.
“Well,” he said. “I think that’s about it. Is there anything else you need to know?”
Mikey looked like he had about a hundred different questions, but he just shook his head.
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Good. I think I need to work on those lyrics a bit. They didn’t quite get to where I wanted them to be.
I’m gonna go hole up for a while and try to get them to cooperate.
I don’t know how long it’s going to take, so go ahead and help yourself to whatever’s in the cupboard.
There’s plenty of stuff for cooking, too, so don’t be a stranger. Mi casa is su casa.”
And, before he could show just how mortified he was by his use of that particular phrase, he fled to his room, shut the door, and tried to forget the entire day had ever happened.
As he put the back of his head against the door and tried to get his heart to stop racing so fast, he couldn’t help thinking, what am I going to do now?