They rode in silence back to the house and Holden didn't stop Reid when he made a bee line for his room, nor did he stop him when he came past a few minutes later in shorts and a t-shirt with a towel over his shoulder and making a path straight for the back door.
Later that afternoon Luke returned home, practically skipping his way up the walk. Holden sensed his son's good mood immediately and turned away from the sink where he was doing dishes, drying his hands and returning the rag to his shoulder.
"Where's Reid?" Luke asked hurriedly.
"I think he's at the pond," replied Holden. He didn't have a chance to say another word before Luke was literally running through the house. A moment later he heard the back door swing shut. Holden just smiled to himself, shaking his head and returning to the dishes.
"Reid!" Luke called, running down the dock. He saw Reid's shirt, the towel, and shoes neatly stacked together. His eyes fell onto the water, watching as Reid swam across the length of the pond, arms moving with strength through the water. Luke crossed his arms and smiled.
After a few minutes Reid finally noticed him and swam toward the edge of the dock. Luke crouched, still grinning.
"Hey you," he said cheerfully, though he quickly became confused as Reid came closer. Luke saw the frown on his face and knew it wasn't just because he was tired from swimming. "Having fun?" he asked.
"Sure," said Reid grumpily. Luke frowned. He stepped back as Reid gripped the edge of the dock and pulled himself out of the water, standing and immediately heading for his things.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked, following after him. Reid grabbed up his towel and dried off his face, chest and arms, never looking at Luke.
"I'm great."
"Liar," smiled Luke. Reid turned to him with a horrid scowl, and Luke immediately knew that jokes were out of place right now. "What's wrong?"
Reid didn't answer. He pulled on his shirt, which stuck to his moist body like a second skin, and slid his feet into his tennis shoes. When he started back toward the house, Luke ran after him, grabbing him by the shoulder.
"Reid, talk to me. What happened?" Luke asked, spinning Reid around to face him. Reid rolled his eyes. He didn't like to play games.
"You know, for someone so smart you can be such an idiot. Actually, I'm probably the bigger idiot here," he began to ramble.
"Reid," Luke said sharply. Reid sighed.
"I saw you, Luke, at Java this afternoon with Noah."
Luke tensed for about half a second, stepping back and running a hand through his hair.
"I saw you reach for his hand, and I saw the way you were looking at him," Reid began before realizing that Luke was actually, well, grinning. "What the hell is so funny?"
Luke smiled, shaking his head. "Nothing, it's just that I've never seen you act so jealous. I mean, there was that time I was flirting with the cute waiter, but that was on purpose…" he trailed off.
"Excuse me?" Reid said angrily, stepping close to Luke and standing very tall. "I see you on a date with your ex and you want to tease me about being jealous?" he went on, unable to stop fuming.
"Reid, it wasn't a date!" Luke insisted, still seeming amused. "We were just talking. You've got it all wrong."
"Oh really, Luke? Because it looks pretty clear to me. You sneak out of my bed and go running off to your ex. That's pretty clear cut in my book."
"Well then maybe your book needs some new pages," said Luke quickly. If he wasn't so angry Reid would have appreciated Luke's improving wit. Luke stepped forward, taking Reid's arms. "We were just talking, Reid. I called him this morning and asked him to meet me. You know better than anyone that Noah and I still had baggage to sort out. That's why I called him."
Reid was still shaking with anger, but he didn't bite back this time, a good sign.
"When I took his hand, it was because he was telling me about a recent trip to visit his father in prison, and how his father had actually apologized to him. I know you don't know the whole story, but this was a really big deal," Luke explained, his voice dripping with emotion. "I was happy for him. That's all."
Shifting uneasily, Reid sighed, still not seeming convinced.
"That doesn't explain why you couldn't tell me you were meeting with him."
Luke sighed. "I know, I should have told you, but I was afraid you would get upset, and I knew I had to do this. I was afraid that if I knew you were uncomfortable with it that I would back out, but I had to do this, Reid. When we saw him yesterday I realized something - I realized that it didn't bother me, seeing him, even with another guy. I realized that I almost didn't notice he was there at all because I was so caught up in my own thoughts, thinking about you, about us. I realized that for the first time in years, Noah was put in front of me and yet he still wasn't my first thought."
Reid was silent, going a bit pale in the face as he listened to Luke. He gulped, hoping Luke didn't expect him to talk for he was certain his throat was caving in on itself.
"I've known for months that I wanted you and not him, Reid. I hope you know it was never about not knowing what I wanted," Luke continued, stepping forward desperately and yet with more confidence than Reid had ever seen in him. It was pretty damn sexy, honestly, but Reid refused to linger in that thought. He was too busy pouting. "But things were still unsettled inside me, I still hadn't let go. After having such a small response to him yesterday, and then spending time with you at the pond and feeling like I was getting to know you all over again, I finally realized that I needed to stop sitting by and hoping things would get better, but that I had to actually do something."
"And talking to your ex was your decided course of action?" said Reid, sounding much less snarky than he intended to be.
Luke nodded. "Yes," he breathed. "I told him I'm over him, that yesterday I actually felt happy to see him with someone else, both for him and for me, because it was like that final piece I needed to let go. And I told him about you, about us."
Reid looked up, surprised. "You talked about me?"
"A lot, actually," Luke laughed, scratching the side of his face, "I couldn't seem to shut up about you. I told Noah about how we met, about how things have been the past few months. I even told him how we got into a fight after seeing him at Al's. He admitted that at the time he'd been jealous, that back then he would have loved to hear that he'd caused us to fight."
"And now?"
Luke smiled. "He wished me luck. He told me that he hopes things work out between you and I."
Reid was stunned. He run a hand through his wet hair, closing his eyes as everything sunk in.
"I was saying goodbye, Reid. Once and for all. I'm always going to care about Noah, and I hope he can still be in my life from time to time, but I asked him there to say goodbye, and that is exactly what I did. I know it shouldn't have taken me this long, and I know that none of this is fair to you, but I hope the fact that things with Noah are truly over, once and for all, and that I'm standing here telling you that the only thing I want is to be with you means something."
At these words, Reid opened his eyes. He stared at Luke for a few seconds before he couldn't fight it anymore, suddenly reaching for Luke and pulling their bodies together. He had no words to describe the mess of emotions spinning in his brain, so he decided to show his feelings another way. His lips collided with Luke's in celebration and he could feel Luke smiling into the kiss, arms wrapping around his neck.
For a moment Luke broke the kiss, laughing and still clinging to Reid.
"I take it that means you want me again?"
Reid laughed as well. "You really are an idiot, Luke Snyder," he began, and Luke tilted his head a bit. "Who the hell said I ever stopped wanting you?"
"Aren't you the sap?" teased Luke.
"Yeah, I blame you for that," laughed Reid. Luke smiled brightly, a smile Reid hadn't seen in months and had missed terribly. He took in the sight for only a moment though before he was claiming Luke's mouth again, lips moving eagerly and lovingly, refusing to hold back and letting out all the pent up longing and desire from the past two months.
The kiss lingered, Reid's hands wandering here and there. Luke felt a small tug at his back pocket and broke the kiss for a moment, realizing that his wallet and cell phone were suddenly missing. He looked up at Reid, hearing the small thud of these items as they dropped the short distance onto the wood, and laughed knowingly at the mischievous grin on Reid's face.
"What are you…?" he began, though he already knew the answer. Reid gave him no time to finish asking before he was pushing Luke back, steering him the few steps to the edge of the dock and then immediately over the edge, sending them both plummeting into the water below.
