Chapter 25 #3
Luke regretted all the wasted years, and he thought about what it might’ve been like if the two of them had turned their high school romance into something more meaningful, something more lasting.
Sure, they might have ended up parting ways anyway, whether because of the stresses of their personal lives or for some other reason, but maybe they’d have found a way to make it all work, maybe they could’ve been trailblazers instead of only belatedly coming to terms with who they were, both as individuals and together.
Luke knew he shouldn’t dwell on it, but it wasn’t easy to put these thoughts away. As his therapist always told him, though, everyone was a work in progress. Learning not to stubbornly dwell so much on the past was something he was just going to have to keep working on.
I really am an idiot sometimes, he thought. And I swear my stubbornness is going to be the death of me one of these days.
“You look like you’re a million miles away,” Mikey said, voice a little muzzy with sleep. “Is everything okay?”
I don’t know what I’m going to do about this man, he thought, and rather than try to find something clever to say he just leaned forward and gave Mikey a deep kiss.
Mikey hesitated just a fraction of a second before he returned the favor, and soon the two of them were getting hot and heavy, clearly building up to another round of fucking.
Luke let the pleasure take him away.
When they were finished with their most recent round of sex, they curled up, enjoying the silence and the sense of easy intimacy they’d earned.
They both seemed to sense there were a lot of things they still had to talk about, but neither of them were willing to take that step just yet.
For now, it was just enough to be close to one another, enough to just enjoy the raw physicality of one another’s presence.
Finally, though, Luke’s stomach started growling, and he knew he was going to have to get out of bed or else it was going to start devouring itself.
“Would you like some breakfast?” he asked.
“I thought you’d never ask,” Mikey said, kissing his hand. “You really are the best boyfriend.”
His eyes flew wide as the words left his mouth, and Luke almost laughed at how panicked he looked just then. He could have given Mikey all kinds of grief over the fact he’d been the first to admit the two of them were dating but, instead, he leaned forward and kissed him again.
“I know I am,” he said. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”
And, before Mikey could respond, Luke threw on a pair of pajama pants and went off to the kitchen to make sure Mikey had the breakfast he deserved.
The shadow of the word “boyfriend” hung over the both of them throughout breakfast. They were both aware of what had been said but neither of them were willing (or able) to talk about it, to bring it out into the open.
Luke was totally fine with what had happened, but it was clear Mikey was still chewing it over.
“So,” he said at last, clearly tired of sitting there in an awkward silence with the question unanswered in the back of their minds. “Are we going to talk about the fact we’re kinda sorta boyfriends now?”
Now it was Luke’s turn to smile.
“Yeah, I guess we are. Are you ready for that?”
He hadn’t meant for the question to come out sounding so much like a plea. His heart missed a beat as Mikey opened his mouth, and it only started beating normally when he heard what he had to say.
“Yes, I’m ready to be your boyfriend,” he said and, to his own surprise, Luke actually believed him.
“I…I’m glad you feel that way,” he said at last. “Are you really sure you want all of this?” He gestured at himself, and rather than responding with a sarcastic remark of his own, Mikey just gave him a very level and very serious look.
“Believe me, Luke Carter. I would like nothing more.”
He got up and, before Luke could say or do anything, he gripped him in the tightest hug he’d ever had. He immediately hugged him back, the two of them finding a strength in one another they’d never found on their own. He breathed in the smell of Mikey’s hair and felt at peace.
Finally, though, he had to admit they had some work to do.
The whole reason they were here–or, at least, the ostensible reason they were here–was so they could put together a concert.
And, while they’d certainly managed to put some songs halfway together, they were still a very long way from a set list. He didn’t think Brenda was going to be very happy with the two of them if they managed to spend so much time together and didn’t do the thing they were supposed to be doing.
“So,” he said. “We should probably do some actual songwriting and concert planning, yeah?” He hated to break up what they were sharing, but someone had to do it.
Fortunately, Mikey just nodded.
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he said, and then swung right into concert-planning mode.
“Let’s say we do three of our own songs–including “A Guy to Build a Life With, obviously”–and then some combination of our greatest hits and covers, about like…
twenty one of those? If our own songs end up being like…
four minutes or so, it should put us in the right range for a typical concert, don’t you think? ”
Luke looked at Mikey admiringly.
Mikey blushed a little.
“What? I do know a few things about how concerts work, you know? If you hadn’t been so pissy at Bob’s Lunch, you’d know that already.”
“I guess I do need to give you some more credit when it comes to music,” Luke said. He shrugged apologetically. “Sorry. I’m just used to seeing you in a particular way, and it’s taking a while to get the idea of you out of my head.”
Mikey didn’t take offense at this, thankfully.
“I get it,” he said. “You’re probably right to be skeptical. For too long I’ve been coasting, resting on my laurels. You, though, you’ve inspired me to get back to some of the good stuff, the kind of music I want to make.”
“So,” Luke said, genuinely curious. “What kind of covers were you thinkin’ about doing?”
“Hmm…,” Mikey said. “Well, I was thinking about doing some stuff by Queen. You know, like in the old days?”
Luke did, indeed, know what Mikey was doing with his song choice, and so it wasn’t surprising when he named some of the other songs he was thinking about doing.
“You think I don’t know what you’re doing?” Luke asked. “You’re trying to recapture what we did when we were teens.”
“Guilty,” Mikey said, but he didn’t look guilty. If anything, he looked satisfied.
“Hey,” Mikey said, clearly sensing Luke’s skepticism, “why shouldn’t I do those numbers? They show off my voice, and they’re practically guaranteed to please a crowd. And besides, I think they’d be fun to do a duet on.”
He got a contemplative look in his eyes.
“Truly, this is the kind of music I’ve been wanting to return to for a while.
I mean, the boy band stuff was fun, and I tried to make it as personal as I could, but you know how the pop music business is.
It’s all about the product, not about the art.
I couldn’t even do what I wanted as a solo artist. I don’t know how to put it, except to say I’m really itching to make some music that really matters, to sing songs that really mean something, to me and to the audience. ”
Luke did, in fact, know what that was like. Country might sometimes be a bit more friendly to vocalists, but it had its fair share of notes you had to hit if you wanted to be a genuine success.
Before Luke could press him for more information about what kind of music he wanted to make, Mikey turned the question around on him.
“And just what numbers are you thinking about doing?”
That’s a good question.
“Well, since we’re doing the whole recapturing our youth thing,” Luke responded.
“I guess I’ll do a number or two from Don Williams, maybe a bit of Daryle Singletary.
Give the whole thing a nice blend. If our own songs are gonna be about history and heritage, it seems only right we’d do right by the country stars who came before us. ”
He barked a short laugh. “I don’t know how we’re gonna these things to match up, but I guess we’ll figure it out.”
“That’s just the thing,” Mikey said, eyes alight with excitement.
“We’re bringing together the best of both worlds, country and classic pop.
We’re doing some challenging songs, getting each other out of our comfort zones.
It’s almost like…well, like we’re reflecting our personal growth through our music. I think it’s pretty cool.”
Mikey was practically vibrating with excitement, and Luke’s heart melted all over again. This was Mikey’s superpower. He had the ability to just sweep a person up with his enthusiasm and his charm.
The two of them continued to build up the rest of their setlist, and as they did the concert as a whole began to come into focus.
As Mikey had said, it was going to be a bit eclectic, but somehow it made its own kind of sense.
The unique blend of classic pop and rock and country reflected so much of who the two of them were and who they were becoming. Somehow, it just made sense.
Just like the two of us, Luke dared to think.