Coping chapter 6
Title: Coping chapter 6
Author: parishs
Rating: pg
Summary: Reid visits Luke and there's a lot of walking away from each other. Reid finds out things about Luke and he likes that.
Disclaimer: I owe nothing...
Author's notes: thanks for reading people, this site feels like a warm bath.
But I couldn’t sleep of course, due to my adrenaline. I cleaned my house a bit and took a long hot shower. What if he would be here with me tonight? Washing away our sweat and cum? Would he like to kiss me or just have sex? I stepped out of the tub and dried myself, looking in the mirror. What was wrong with me? We had to do business. Work. I had to focus or he would take advantage of me. He was not my type.
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I must have looked like a complete idiot when I opened the door, with my hair all messed up and thick eyes. I had fallen asleep on my couch and his knock on the door had startled me. I looked at him for a moment before I let him in.
With a thud he threw a bag on the table. I smelled something warm and spicy. He looked around in my penthouse while he removed his jacket.
“So”, I said, while I took it from him and walked to the hallstand. For the first time in my life, I didn’t know what to say, the firework in my body when his fingers touched mine made me speechless. I had to recollect for a moment, take a breath and count to ten before I could face him again. What the fuck…
Reid was looking at the view, it was already getting dark and the city was beautiful from my window. I opened the doors to my terrace and invited him to come and sit there. He hesitated for a moment, but then he went outside.
“Are you afraid of heights?”, I asked. He just nodded.
I got plates and stuff from the kitchen and his food and brought it to the terrace. Reid had sat down and looked away from me, so I had a moment to watch him in his normal clothes. I had only seen him in his scrubs, but in real life he was slender, and smaller than when he was as a doctor. I had to suppress the urge to stand behind him and circle my arms around his shoulders. So weird. So not me, and not what I wanted.
“You didn’t bring sushi I suppose”, I said, trying to start a conversation.
He turned around and I could only inhale. He smiled. Really, he did, and he looked so different when he did that. His eyes had their sparkle back, and his white teeth glistened in the last ray of sunlight. It looked like he felt more at ease than I did.
“No, I hope you don’t mind that I brought Indian food”, he said. “I don’t like sushi. It’s kinda hot, do you mind?”.
I shook my head, I didn’t mind, I liked all kinds of food and hot….he was hot, in private, when he was relaxed. I never thought I would think that.
“Have you been to India?”, I asked, to force myself to focus on anything else beside his eyes. They seemed to have barbs, I couldn’t look away when our eyes met. At this point I didn’t recognize myself anymore, I was almost hyperventilating and I had no idea what to say, me, the talker.
“Do you have something to drink”, he asked. “I am coming straight from the hospital.
“What can I get you?”, I said.
“Do you have a beer?”, he asked.
I swallowed. Suddenly they came back, his words on the ER, years ago, his condescending voice and his harsh way to get me out of the place. I looked at him and shook my head.
“No I haven’t, can I bring you a juice?”.
His smile grew even bigger.
“You quit drinking?”, he said.
Our eyes locked and I had no idea what to think anymore.
“What?”, I asked.
He stood up and walked my way. “How did you do that?”, he asked softly. Who was this guy, that seemed to hypnotize me? Did he remember me? Why?
“Some fucking shit at the hospital called me a spoiled brad when I came there all drunk, and it made me determined to prove him wrong. I have never touched it ever since, the alcohol I mean. It’s no big deal”.
His eyes came closer. “That’s what I tried to achieve Luke, to challenge you. To take life into your own hands. You had everything a guy needed to make it in life, but you just wasted yours”.
He totally swept me off my feet with his answer. “You remembered”, was all I could say. “Why?”.
He turned around and walked away from me to the balustrade.
I shook my head and had no idea what to do. He knew who I was. He had been so rude to me back then, and later, when he needed my money. His voice had hunted me for so many years, I had felt so bad because of it. It all came back in a flash, my anger and frustration, and it froze me. Literally I couldn’t move for a while, till I heard him enter my house. I didn’t want him to see me this way, I wouldn’t show him how much he could touch me with his voice and eyes.
“Where’s the boyfriend?”, he asked.
It took me a moment to realize what he asked. While filling the glasses, I smirked.
“I don’t do boyfriends”, I said, trying to sound relaxed.
Reid came even closer and inspected my kitchen. “So, the guy with you last night was a friend with benefits”, he said.
I turned around and gave him his glass, to keep him at a social distance, I didn’t need him in my personal space.
“Not that’s any of your business”, I said icy, “but no, he isn’t my friend. I didn’t know his name. Nor the name of his friend who accompanied us later. That’s the way it works for me. And you? Boyfriend? Or just bi?”.
He looked at me and smiled again, He had to stop doing that, because he totally freaked me out with it. I walked to the balcony and I could feel him following me.
In the dimness of the evening I relaxed a little. Here I couldn’t see his eyes. We sat down and ate in silence for a while.
“This is great”, I said. “You wanted to see me to talk about your project, maybe we should do just that, talk business. How far are we and what has happened in the last week?”.
He stopped eating for a moment. “Business, okay. We have managed to make a plan for the new wing, drawings and all, and we have a concrete list of equipment we are going to need. The budget is the same. I have send you the dossier”.
I pointed at my dinner table inside. “Yeah, I have read it, why did you want to talk to me about it then? Till now you haven’t told me anything new”. He put his knife and fork on his plate and looked my way.
“You have no clue?”, he asked.
Fuck. I didn’t know how fast I had to move, go, leave the scene. This was a dream, it was not real, this whole evening had been so weird that I didn’t understand what was going on. I had asked him questions he didn’t answer, and he insinuated an interest in me I didn’t like.
Or did I? Why was I trying to avoid the so very obvious? I closed my eyes and swallowed. We had a thing, a click, something magical between us, but I couldn’t do it. I resented him. He looked down on me, but at the same time he came here to..….what? Start something with me? I just told him I didn’t do boyfriends. Maybe he wanted to be in the second category, friends with benefits. I was so clueless and I hated it.
I walked inside to order my thoughts and come up with a plan. I grabbed my sink and held on to it to prevent from falling. All my securities were gone, my strength, my independence. And yet I couldn’t let myself fall, I wanted to stay strong and figure out what I needed.
His hands on my hips felt so natural, his lips on my neck made that my thoughts were blown away as if a breeze had taken them. They were kind, his lips, not just impatient. “Luke”, he whispered. “You know the answer, don’t you? After I had seen you last night, I couldn’t fight it anymore. I want you”.