“I’m sorry,” he whispered and quickly turned to leave before he changed his mind about what he was about to do. Luke found his clothes out on the floor in the main room and pulled them on, grabbing his wallet and keys. He needed to get back to his hotel room, grab his bag, and check out. He’d worry about a shower once he got back home. He was only about thirty minutes from his place and then, he’d need to make some hard and fast decisions. He just needed to clear his mind and remember that Chris and Winter weren’t his—they didn’t even live in the Bay Area any more and when they went back to Los Angeles, he’d be all alone again with only the memories of their night together and that would have to be enough for him.
Luke took one last look back into the room where both Chris and Winter slept knowing it might be the last time he’d see either of them. Walking away now was going to hurt like shit but if he spent the rest of the week with them, it would destroy him to let them go.
Luke got back to his house as the sun was coming up and he took a quick shower and decided to make himself some breakfast before he called back home. His mother always made a big meal for Christmas Day and his brothers and sisters all went to their parent's house with all their kids and God, he didn’t want to deal with all that chaos this Christmas. The thought of having to answer their questions about why he wasn’t with someone yet and when he planned on starting a family because he wasn’t getting any younger, were always a lot but this year, he just didn’t have it in him. He’d stop by his parents in a few days to take them the gift he had gotten them. He decided to splurge a little this year and send them on a little cruise around Italy. His father was always talking about going back to his home country, having been born in Sicily, and taking his mother to see where her family was from. This year, when he was wracking his brain to figure out what to do for his parents he came up with the idea and he just hoped they liked it because if not, he’d be going on the cruise alone.
Luke put his plate of scrambled eggs and toast on the kitchen table and grabbed his cell phone. He had three missed calls and a bunch of texts from Chris that he didn’t want to deal with. Luke called his mother and when she answered the phone, kids screaming and chaos seeming to reign down around her, he smiled to himself. His mother loved that shit and she especially loved Christmas morning.
“Hey Ma,” he said.
“Luke,” she shouted into the phone. “Is that you? Can you all please stop screaming for just a minute?” she asked. The noise level went down a couple of decimals but was still out of control. “That’s better,” his mother breathed.
“Merry Christmas, Ma,” he said.
“You didn’t have to call to wish me a Merry Christmas, Luke. I’ll see you in a few hours for dinner, right?” she asked. He could hear from her tone that she was more telling him to be there than asking.
“No, sorry,” he said. “I’m not feeling well today. I woke up with a wicked migraine and a head cold. I think it would be best for me to steer clear of you and dad. I’d hate to get you or the kids sick,” he lied.
“Oh Luke,” she said. “I can make you some soup and bring it over.”
“No Ma,” he insisted. “I’m fine. I picked up some soup yesterday on my way home from work when I started feeling lousy,” he said.
“But, it’s not my soup,” she countered.
“No, but if you came over here, you’d chance catching this bug and miss all the kids opening presents. I know you love that shit, Ma,” he said.
“Language, Luke,” she chided. “I just hate that you’ll be all alone on Christmas,” she said. He hated that he was spending Christmas alone too. He was hoping to spend it with Chris and Winter but that wasn’t going to happen now—not since he chose to walk away from them.
“I’ll be over in a few days when I’m feeling better,” he promised. “I can’t wait to give you and Pop the gift I got you.”
“You didn’t have to get us anything, Luke. I hope you didn’t go to any trouble,” she insisted.
“No trouble at all, Ma,” he promised. “I’ll see you guys soon. Tell everyone I said Merry Christmas.”
“All right, Luke,” his mother reluctantly agreed. “Love you.”
“Love you too, Ma,” he said and ended the call. He tossed his phone onto the kitchen table, not wanting to see how many times Chris had tried to get in touch while he was talking to his mother. He already felt guilty enough about walking out on him and Winter; ghosting them made him feel like shit.
He decided to go down to his shop and get some work done, not wanting to sit around his place moping all day. He grabbed his phone and shoved it into his jeans and grabbed his keys. Yeah, some work would make him forget about treating Winter and Chris like an ass. It was just what he would need to help put last night and every wonderful minute of being with them both out of his mind—if that was even possible.
Chris
When Chris woke up to find Luke missing from their bed, he panicked. He knew that Luke had snuck off at some point. Hell, he was expecting him to try to push both Winter and him away. He could see the look of panic in Luke’s beautiful brown eyes every time either he or Winter told him how much they wanted him. Luke was worried that he’d never fit into their relationship but he was so wrong—he was the perfect complement to what Winter and he had started building together. He just wished Luke could see that too.
Chris checked with the front desk to see if Luke had left the hotel and he had. Luke grabbed his bag, paid his bill, and took off before he and Winter could wake and stop him from making the biggest mistake of his life. If Luke only knew how he still felt about him, he might have changed his mind but he didn’t give Chris a chance to say the words. Once again, he was left with all the feelings and no outlet for them. He was in love with Luke and not saying the words; not telling him that this time would be a huge mistake.
Winter woke about an hour after he had and having to tell her that Luke took off nearly gutted him. She broke down and sobbed and all Chris could do was sit on the side of the bed and hold her. He wanted to tell her that it was all going to be all right but how could he? All he had was Luke’s cell number and the fact that he owned a garage in the San Francisco area.
Chris tried to call Luke but of course, he had his calls going directly to voicemail. He even texted him a few times and when that didn’t work, he brought out the big guns and had Winter call and leave him a few messages. At first, she was a weepy mess, begging and pleading with Luke to just call them but after about the fifth call, she had gotten mad. He listened as his girl released her anger in full force at Luke and he almost felt bad for the guy—almost.
He and Winter showered, having to get ready to go over to her parent’s house for Christmas morning present opening. She promised her family that they would be there in time for breakfast and her mother warned that if they were late, she wouldn’t be happy because the kids were going to be chomping at the bit to open presents.
“You think Luke just had to visit his family and we’ll see him later?” Winter asked while brushing through her long, wet hair.