Coming Out
Part 4
Noah froze as Luke burst out of the door of the Lakeview. He hadn't planned on talking to Luke today. Truthfully, he hadn't planned much. But now Luke was here, and he was staring at him.
But at least he didn't stare long: after a moment he was looking at Mrs. Snyder instead. Noah realized that he must be here looking for her: it didn't seem like she was having a great day either.
"Mom, I've been looking everywhere for you," Luke said. "Aaron told me what happened. Are you alright?" Noah felt a bit guilty that about it, but he was actually glad that Mrs. Snyder was having problems: at least it meant that Luke wasn't paying attention to him.
That brief, however, respite was over when Mrs. Snyder spoke. "I'm fine," she said. "Well, at least I will be. Noah here was keeping me company. I'm going to go and have them make up a room for me. And you too, Noah. Don't argue. Just head to the desk when you're ready. They'll take care of you."
And suddenly, as Mrs. Snyder walked off, her son's attention was once more focused squarely on Noah. Luke's gaze made Noah even more uncomfortable. After a couple of seconds, he had to speak, if only to break the silence. He looked at his shoes, saying "So, Luke…"
Even if there were an end to that sentence, he wouldn't have gotten to say it. Luke broke in a moment later. "So," he said, motioning at Noah's duffel, "you told Maddie?"
Noah was barely able to find his voice as he replied. "Yeah," he whispered. "I told her. You should probably call her. I don't want things to get screwed up between you two."
"Henry's already headed over. I told him to go when I saw you with a gigantic duffel." Luke motioned to the window of the Lakeview as he spoke. "Besides," he said, "it doesn't look like you had a great day either."
"Not exactly something I want to repeat," Noah replied, "but it does feel better not to be lying to people all the time. To myself too. When ever I imagined saying I was gay, I thought it would feel horrible. But it doesn't. It's feels… like I've been hiding for a long time and now I don't have to."
"I remember that. It did feel good," Luke said as he smiled. His eyes darted a bit. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he asked "Want to get some coffee before you go to your room?"
That smile made Noah feel better. He nodded and the two of them walked towards the hotel café. And as they walked, it occurred to Noah that even though Maddie was one of Luke's best friends, Luke was still here, with him.
And so, after they both got a coffee and sat down, he felt a bit more confident about the question that was running through his head. Or at least, he wasn't scared to death, because it still took him a minute of pretending he was very interested in the cardboard ring around his coffee cup before he could muster up the courage to speak. "So," he finally asked, "are… are we ok?"
Luke chuckled at the question as he answered. "Yeah. I think we're good." And when Luke reached over the table and grabbed his hand, Noah found himself really smiling: not the tentative half smile he had been using all day, but a genuine smile.
And Luke smiled back.
After a moment Luke broke silence. "Are you doing anything tonight?" he asked.
"I am now."