Luke felt himself nearly run back to the cabin. He wished he could make Reid understand what he had felt for him all those years ago. He wished Reid were here when he needed him when Noah died. He wished he could just talk to him without either of them losing their cool and achieving nothing.
Luke sat outside on the deck; the others were inside getting ready for dinner. As he sat alone he started to think that maybe what he was feeling for Reid was just unresolved drama and residual feelings. Reid was bothered by what he did as a teenager. He thought Luke was the same person that hurt him all those years ago. He on the other hand felt the exact same way about Reid. Like now that he was back in his life – well at least in his vicinity – then he could no longer imagine him not being there.
Surely if Reid could kiss him like that then he must feel something more than just – what – he just wanted sex? Reid had made all these assumptions about him – just like everyone else – and then judged him.
"Hey Luke, where have you been? Food is ready" Casey called out through the kitchen window.
He made his way inside, and sat down, just as Reid entered the cabin from the other direction.
God this is actually very awkward. Luke looked away and straight at Katie. Who looked at Reid. Who looked at Luke. Who looked at his feet. Chewing his lip.
Through the entire meal half the group where animatedly talking about various topics, the other portion of the group consisted of Katie and Luke straining to talk. Katie uncomfortable because she knew something was going down with Luke and Reid. Luke uncomfortable as Reid was staring at him through the entire meal.
He continued to push his food around his plate until someone else put their cutlery down, his cue to get out of there. So he jumped to his feet and started cleaning some plates and headed to the kitchen. Cameron followed him to the kitchen and started helping.
"So Luke, you and Reid enjoy your walk?" Cameron asked him as he elbowed him near the sink.
Luke felt himself blush. "Sshhh!" he said as he elbowed him.
Cameron just laughed in response. "Thought so. Is that why you ran from the dinner table?"
"I didn't run. I walked with purpose."
"Sure."
"I had finished eating."
"Sure"
"I am tired. I want an early night." He nearly shouted.
"Tired?" Casey then decided to join the conversation that he could now hear. "No chance Luke, it's games night!"
He groaned in response. "Well as long as its not twister."
"I am up for twister!" Maddie said.
"Celebrity head"
"Trivial pursuit"
"Scrabble"
This went on for 10 minutes while they all argued about which was the superior game.
"Since we are all arguing anyway, why don't we just play pictionary?" Luke heard himself suggesting. Pointless obviously as his suggestion was followed with silence.
Then he wished he hadn't spoken at all, knowing he couldn't avoid playing now.
"Brilliant"
"Ooohh I love pictionary"
"Yes! But I bags not Luke – he completely sucks at this." Casey said.
Maddie agreed, "Don't look like that Luke – it's true!" He felt himself laughing at this, knowing it was true.
"Well you were never very good at chess either." Reid said and looked Luke in the eye whilst red crept up his neck.
More staring from all directions this time. No one expected Reid to contribute. No one apart from Katie knew that he actually knew anyone well enough in Oakdale.
Twenty minutes later Luke was standing at the coffee machine pumping out coffees for the group. Wishing he had just gone to bed earlier. This was going to be a long night.
"C'mon Luke!"
"Alright. Last one."
"You are obsessed with coffee man," Casey complained.
"No I'm not. I just am very particular when it comes to coffee and this is a nespresso machine. A bit like mine. I love these machines. I remember my first coffee machine." Luke ran his hands along the machine, thinking back to the first machine he had. He got it from his grandmother years ago. It was the summer Reid left. After he got out of hospital and found out Reid had left him, he sort of lost it for a while. He stayed in his room, avoided his family, writing.
It was not until his grandmother Lucinda intervened and dragged him off for answers. She had said she was taking him for lunch. She had actually arranged for a bag to be packed and she took him to her cottage. She sat him down and demanded to know where her grandson had gone.
He told her about the debate team, about Reid, about Noah, about everything. She wanted to know what he had been doing since and when he told her he had been doing nothing much, but some writing. She decided to leave him there, with his laptop, food and phone. Said come home if and when he was ready. But never to avoid his family again.
She arranged for groceries to be delivered and he actually lived there for a few years. One day a few weeks after he set up there, his grandmother arrived with a large box in her arms.
"Luke darling, I have a gift for you."
"Grandmother, you let me live at your cottage, buy me food. I don't need more gifts." He hugged her tight.
"Stop. You are my grandson. I will do anything for you. And what I am doing now is giving you this so that you can stop drinking that instant crap. I know you don't like plunger coffee. If you are going to drown in coffee while you write, or any other time then at least do it appropriately." She placed the box into his lap.
He immediately opened it and found himself salivate at what he was holding – the most amazing coffee machine, the one with pods. He has never looked back. He has upgraded twice, but only when the machine had given up the ghost and packed it in. He always returned to the same brand.
"Hello, Luke? It looks like you want to have sex with that coffee machine."
"What?" he realised Casey was talking to him, as he got disturbed from his trip down memory lane.
"Where the hell did you go? And why where you fondling the coffee machine while you were there?"
He felt himself flush, he laughed. "Like I said, I was just thinking about my first coffee machine."
"Oh, I remember. That was the summer of no-Luke. You completely disappeared and holed yourself up at Lucinda's cabin. All you did was write. And drink coffee. You wouldn't hang out with any of us. I blame the coffee machine. Then you and I went on that road trip to Washington State University, and all of a sudden you were back. The old Luke. And you never looked back."
As Casey recounted the story, Luke watched Reid, who was looking into his glass through the story until his head snapped up to look at Luke when Casey mentioned Washington State University.
It was now or never. Lets get this started.
"Yeah yeah, so I love decent coffee, among other things." Not for a second did Luke stop looking at Reid.