"Oh, Brady needed to get some shopping done for the NGO and since I was almost done with my work, I decided to take an early break and help him out. Brady is a good friend and one of the volunteers at the NGO," he explained before I could ask him.
"That was nice of you. Did he leave already, then?"
"Yep, he had to deliver all the things to the office and I told him I'd go back to work after lunch," Luke said with a shrug as he pulled out a sandwich and handed it to me before taking one for himself. He also pulled out a basket of fries and placed it between us to share.
We ate in silence after that, appreciating the last of the warm weather. Soon, the days will start getting colder and before you knew it, Christmas would be here.
There weren't many people in the park at that time of the day, so it was pretty quiet compared to the voices seeping in from the world outside, like a little cocoon of peace just for the two of us.
"How about a walk around the park before we head back to work?" Luke suggested as we crumpled up the wrappers and dumped them in the bin nearby.
"Sure!" I agreed readily, glad that I wasn't the only one who didn't want our time together to end.
As we walked, I realized this was the perfect moment to tell Luke about my weekend plans.
"So, you know Mike?"
"Your best friend?" I nodded. "I don't know him, but I know of him."
I chuckled, "That works too. Okay, so apparently I haven't been hanging out with him as much as I used to. So he wants to go hiking this weekend, booked a cabin and everything. I'll be leaving Friday afternoon and be back by Sunday evening."
Luke nodded, thought about something before turning to watch where he was going and spoke in a low voice, "Cabin? So are you two like...just friends or... together...or something?"
I stumbled at the image of me and Mike being anything other than brothers and Luke had to grab me to keep me from falling. He steadied me but didn't say anything, biting his lip as he waited for my answer. I shook my head to push away the horrible image before chuckling.
"God, no. Mike is straight, happily married and the father of my goddaughter. He's like a brother to me."
"Oh, okay." Was that a hint of relief I detected in his tone? Probably not. "Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed anything. Hell, I don't even know if you're gay."
"I am." I answered quickly, even though he wasn't really asking. Better to put it out there in case he was ever interested, right?
"Uh, good to know." Luke fidgeted with his cuffs, telling me he was getting nervous or anxious and we needed a change of subject.
"So, anyway yeah, we're heading out this weekend. I hope you don't mind?"
"Of course not. Why would I?"
I nodded without answering, because of course he could survive without hanging out with me for a weekend. What the hell had I even been thinking, asking him that? I checked my watch as we reached the part of the jogging track where we'd started our walk and realized I only had fifteen minutes of my lunch break remaining. "Time to get back to work."
"Me too." Luke agreed. "Well, see you at home, then." He gave me a short wave before walking backward towards the second gate of the park that opened near the bus stop.
"See you at home." I smiled at him before turning around and walking away. When I reached the gate, I looked back once and saw Luke standing near the gate, looking up at the yellow-green leaves of the maple trees with the sun lighting up his face and I'd honestly never seen anything so beautiful. I sighed softly before turning away, wishing I could capture that moment and keep it with me forever.
On my way home after work on Thursday night, my phone rang. When I saw that it was Mike calling, I received the call on the car’s bluetooth as I drove. He’d left work a couple of hours earlier today, so I figured he was calling to settle our plans for tomorrow.
“Hey, Scotty.”
Uh-oh. He only called me that when he wanted something. Or when he was trying to butter me up.
“What?” I answered warily, wondering where this was going.
Mike sighed on the other end, sounding tired and I immediately straightened up, “You okay?”
“I’m at the hospital. I’m okay, but Mia took a fall at school today. She’s got a broken arm and a sprained ankle.” Mia—his daughter and my goddaughter—was a bubbly, six-year-old kid that I loved more than anyone else in the world.
“Oh, shit. Is she okay? What can I do to help? How’s Roch?”
“She’s okay, don’t worry. Both of them are fine. They’re keeping her here overnight. I called because I can’t go hiking with you tomorrow, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be an idiot, Mike. Of course you can’t go. Mia and Rochelle need you there. It’s okay, we can go some other time. I’ll come by the hospital first thing tomorrow.”
“Actually, you won’t.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Well, the cabin I booked is non-refundable. And there won’t be good hiking weather for a good while after this. And you’ve been working too hard for a long time. You deserve this break. Oh, and Ro told me to tell you that if you don’t go on the trip, you won’t get to eat any of her desserts for a whole year.”
I gasped. “That’s insane! Why would she do that to me? I thought she loved me!”
“Because she does love you and wants you to take this break and relax for a bit. Now will you go or should I tell her you won’t be needing the desserts?”
“You’re both so mean.” I huffed. “Fine, I’ll go.”
“Good. I’ll send you the directions to the cabin, though it’s near the same trails you used to hike before, so it won’t be hard to find. You can go alone or take someone. Just have fun, okay?”
“Yup. Let me know how Mia’s doing. I’ll Face Time her tomorrow before leaving.”
Mike chuckled on the other end, “Will do. Have fun this weekend!”
Once I ended the call, I contemplated going alone, but the idea of hiking alone didn’t appeal to me much. Honestly, if Mike couldn’t come, there was only one person I wanted to take, but I wasn’t sure if it was something he’d be up for. Especially since it was a weekend trip.
I guess the only way to find out was by asking him.
9 | Luke
The walk with Scott on Tuesday had been so full of confusion that I still couldn’t get it out of my head. As I made a simple dinner of pasta and garlic bread, my thoughts turned back to the strange emotions I’d felt when talking to Scott. When he’d told me about going on a trip with his friend for the weekend, the first thing I’d felt was disappointment. I was disappointed because I wouldn’t get to spend the weekend with him like we usually did. And when he’d told me they would be sharing a cabin, I’d felt the weird, unfamiliar tinge of jealousy in my stomach. I still couldn’t figure out why I’d felt that. Was it because I hadn’t wanted to share my friend with someone else?
But the thing that confused me the most was the relief I’d felt when he’d told me his friend was straight and he was gay. Why had I felt such relief when he’d admitted that? He was just a close friend, right? He couldn’t be more than that because I could never be more than that.