Burning Bridges
Title: Burning Bridges
Author: sajaal
Rating: pg13 - R (You guys know what I’m like)
Characters: Luke, Reid, Casey, reference to other Oakdalian’s including my favourite; Noah and you know me some new characters, Raj Suthar, Dominick Chadworth III, just because I can.
Disclaimers’: I don’t own any of them and I mean no harm, I just like to write stories about them.
Summary: Luke meets Reid at a conference in Amsterdam and they share a wonderful night together with a promise of more. Unfortunately communication isn’t their strong suit and a misinterpretation of a situation sends Luke into a tailspin and he decides that the Happily-Ever-After is not for him but sex with whomever he wants is. Reid meets up with Luke again in New York and the young naïve man he met has been replaced with this suave playboy who only is out for one thing with no commitments…but Reid doesn’t want that he wants the young man from Amsterdam.
“Burning Bridges”
You and I were meant to be
Ain’t no doubt about it
No way to hide that sort of thing
Now I’m waiting for something better
Ain’t nothing better worth imagining
I, I keep on running
I’m building bridges that I know you never wanted
Look for my heart
You stole it away
Now on every single road that I could take
Listen, I want you to burn my bridges down
I said, I want you to burn my bridges down
Set me on fire
You set me
Set me on fire
You can burn my bridges down
One Republic - 2013
Chapter #2
Dr. Reid Oliver headed to the Garden Salon just after eight o’clock he hated these things, but unfortunately he had to attend one of these sessions every few years and he couldn’t put it off any longer. He was finishing up a three-year term at Royal London Hospital as head of the London Centre of Neurosciences. Reid had not gone to London by choice exactly, it was an opportunity for Reid but he would have preferred to come on his own timeline not for the personal reasons that had come completely unexpectedly. Reid’s Uncle Angus who had moved to England after Reid had started university to help one of Reid’s great aunts had become ill himself. Reid’s great aunt had passed away almost twenty years ago and had left Reid’s Uncle Angus with a substantial inheritance including a terrace house in central London. Now Reid’s Uncle Angus had succumbed to his cancer six months ago and Reid had finally taken care of all of the legal aspects and could go back to New York and continue with his work at the hospital he had left three years earlier.
He sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose, he didn’t want to go the meet and greet but he was starving and after going through his presentation once again he had come down to the Garden Salon. Reid began filling his plate from the large table of appetizers and turned to see the blonde from the lobby bustle in and Reid gazed at him in appreciation. The blonde man had that just got out of bed look about him, his hair was a bit mussed and he stifled a yawn as he walked in and Reid watched as he shook his head to get rid of the cobwebs.
Reid admired the broad shoulders and lean hips of the young man he had a strong jaw and a tiny hint of a cleft in his smooth chin. Reid’s dick twitched in response and he murmured “down” as he felt his body tighten. He usually didn’t mix work with a pleasant fuck but he could make and exception this time. The Centaur Group was the promotional and marketing firm for the hospital, so technically the hot sexy man was not a colleague per se and Reid could bend the rules just this once. What Reid would rather see is this guy bent over and Reid buried deep, he thought as the blonde walked past and Reid’s gaze lingered on his ass, which Reid had first taken notice of in the hotel lobby.
Reid stood back and ate watching the young man work the room like a pro, he didn’t look that old, maybe his mid-twenties but the ease as which he greeted and talked to people made Reid envious. Reid was definitely not a people person and tolerated very few people, most he found tedious and tiresome.
“Luke! Luke Snyder!” a female voice called from across the room, and Reid looked to see a petite brunette in the doorway her face wide in a smile.
“Damn,” Reid thought, “I could have sworn he was gay,” and Reid shook his head trying to figure out if he was wrong or if the guy was just in the closet.
“Annie! Annie Fleming there you are!” exclaimed Luke as she came across the room and gave him a big hug and Luke picked her up swinging her up off her feet, Annie had spent a week with Luke when they were both going through their initial orientation with The Centaur Group and had kept in-touch the past two years.
“It’s so good to see you Luke, how was your vacation?” Annie asked taking Luke by the arm and leading him off to a table.
Reid watched and noticed another man watching as well, Nigel Brooks who also worked with The Centaur Group out of the Manchester office, or so his tag had read as he introduced himself to Reid, giving Reid a thorough once over. Reid had just arched a brow and Nigel had huffed and moved on. Nigel seemed to find the blonde man interesting as well, Reid snorted, Nigel was small and wiry, with light blonde thinning hair, he was no match for the hot sexy looks of Dr. Reid Oliver, or so Reid thought.
Luke told Annie about his trip and the past few months and how he was waiting to hear about a possible transfer to one of the New York offices. Luke had made the request, filling out the application just before Christmas and had found out just before leaving on his vacation that he was one of the candidates on the short list and that they would make the final choices in early February.
“Hey Luke, a bunch of us are going out to a dance bar in the red light district later, do you want to come?” Annie asked, as they were moving towards the buffet table.
“I’ll go,” Nigel piped in who was still lingering by the table and had heard Annie’s suggestion to Luke.
“Uhm, sure I guess,” Luke replied, Nigel had been following Luke around earlier and he made Luke a little uncomfortable.
Reid kept an eye on the blonde man and Nigel as the evening progressed and had overheard the conversation of the plans for later. A sudden commotion at the doors into the Garden Salon caught Reid’s attention and Reid smiled despite himself when the flamboyant Raj Suthar appeared.
“C’mon let me in, I need a drink,” the small dark haired man told the guys blocking the door.
Raj Suthar was older than he looked most people figured he was in his early twenties rather than his mid to late thirties, but with flashing green eyes from his German mother and a light brown complexion from his Indian father he was a sight to behold. But it was those bright white teeth and that movie star smile with dimples that could get him in and out of any situation. As he walked in the room looking more like six feet tall than his petite 5’8” his eye caught Luke’s. Luke’s face broke out into a beautiful smile and Reid’s breath caught in his throat at the sight.
“Luke!” Raj’s cry reverberated through the room and Raj launched himself at the younger man, Luke had just enough time to put down his plate of food as Raj literally jumped into his arms.
Reid’s eye’s widened and his brows shot up in surprise as Raj grabbed Luke’s face between his hands and kissed him on the lips in front of everyone. Nobody in the room blinked an eye, everyone was used to Raj’s antics but two other pair of eyes narrowed at the display.
“Fuck,” Nigel muttered under his breath, “That little bastard.”
Reid snorted beside him and crossed his arms across his chest as he witnessed the display.
“Oh my god! Raj!” Luke laughed as the man let him go, “How are you?”
“Fucking tired mate, do you know how much time I’ve spent getting this thing organized,” he griped pushing his dark hair off his face, that just skimmed his shoulders, “I spent the last four hours tracking down my backup electronic equipment and microphone set-up for tomorrow, the first projector and microphone were fried today after a power spike and when I went to look for the backup equipment they couldn’t find it,” he explained grimacing with aggravation, “They’d sent it to another hotel and it took about three hours to figure out which one in the city had it, what a cluster! I need a drink,” Raj huffed and Luke pulled him back in for another tight hug.
“Nice to see you man,” Luke mumbled into Raj’s ear and Raj gave him another strong squeeze in response.
“How’s it going Luke?” Raj murmured quietly into Luke’s ear and Luke shrugged.
“Good, I’m good Raj,” Luke answered truthfully.
Raj had seen Luke at his worst almost two years ago when Raj had been in Chicago with The Centaur Group and Luke had been just been with the company for a few months. Noah and Luke had split up by this point but Noah was constantly calling Luke at work and at all hours pleading for Luke to come to LA. Raj had overheard Luke during one of the conversations and Luke couldn’t hide the red-rimmed eyes and tear streaked face before Raj saw him.
“Uhm, are you okay Mr. Snyder?” Raj had asked, Raj had only met Luke the day before and couldn’t believe the state the handsome blonde man was in.
“Ah, shit, uhm yeah Mr. Suthar, I’m fine,” Luke had taken a deep breath and gave Raj a wry smile, “Sorry about this, I’m a mess,” Luke apologized again and Raj gave Luke a soft understanding smile.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Raj had asked politely he’d already scoped Luke out thinking he may be a good diversion for the next week but seeing Luke in this condition Raj figured he may have to change his plans and provide a needed shoulder for the blonde man to lean on instead.
Luke shook his head in the negative and Raj gave him a look, “Hey, how about dinner and some drinks?” Raj ventured giving Luke his most beguiling and innocent let’s just be friends
smile.
Luke gazed into those clear green eyes surrounded by perfect brows atop an aquiline nose, and watched Raj’s smile deepen and his white teeth gleamed against his olive complexion and Luke found himself saying yes, “Okay, dinner sounds good, but not drinks,” he added and Raj could see by the flush on Luke’s skin that another story lay behind his request.
That was the beginning of an amazing friendship, they hadn’t seen each other since last October at another Centaur Group conference but they chatted once a week by phone and e-mailed one another throughout the week. Raj had helped Luke through a difficult time and also helped Raj get over Dominick, or so Luke thought.
“How are you?” Luke asked pointedly watching Raj duck to avoid Luke’s eyes, “Raj?” Luke questioned again and Raj shrugged him off.
“Nothing that a good shag with another bloke won’t cure,” Raj quipped letting his cockney accent thicken with every word as his gaze wandered around the room and settled on Reid.
Luke’s mouth fell open and he almost said something when Raj’s gaze moved past Reid and landed on Nigel Brooks, and stayed, and Luke saw a self-satisfied smirk cross Raj’s face. Raj had found his target for the night, someone who’d pursued him before, and someone the exact opposite of Dominick. Dominick Chadworth III was tall dark and handsome with curly black hair with just a sprinkling of grey, flashing almost black brown eyes and just enough of a beard to be as a sexy as hell he was also the man who’d broken Raj’s heart a few years before. Nigel Brooks was the complete opposite to Dominick and about the same height as Raj with light blonde hair and baby blue eyes, “The perfect diversion,” Raj thought with a sad smirk.
Raj had also noticed Luke stiffen when his gaze had stopped on the sexy auburn haired man and although the guy was gorgeous Raj didn’t want to fraternize with one of his presenters, not a good idea, and definitely not with Dr. Reid Oliver.
“Alright boys are you ready to blow this joint” Annie Fleming called to the group, she was feeling no pain and Raj and Luke burst out laughing at her choice of words, Annie flushed and swore at them, “Fuck-you,” she spat out and they laughed harder, “Oh god, you wankers are going to drive me crazy tonight,” she groaned rolling her eyes as they left the room, Raj and Luke still chuckling as she looped her arms in theirs and headed out to the lobby.
Two pairs of eyes followed them and Raj looked back to wink at Nigel and when Luke turned his eyes met a pair of amused blue ones and Luke flushed turning away quickly.
Author: sajaal
Rating: pg13 - R (You guys know what I’m like)
Characters: Luke, Reid, Casey, reference to other Oakdalian’s including my favourite; Noah and you know me some new characters, Raj Suthar, Dominick Chadworth III, just because I can.
Disclaimers’: I don’t own any of them and I mean no harm, I just like to write stories about them.
Summary: Luke meets Reid at a conference in Amsterdam and they share a wonderful night together with a promise of more. Unfortunately communication isn’t their strong suit and a misinterpretation of a situation sends Luke into a tailspin and he decides that the Happily-Ever-After is not for him but sex with whomever he wants is. Reid meets up with Luke again in New York and the young naïve man he met has been replaced with this suave playboy who only is out for one thing with no commitments…but Reid doesn’t want that he wants the young man from Amsterdam.
“Burning Bridges”
You and I were meant to be
Ain’t no doubt about it
No way to hide that sort of thing
Now I’m waiting for something better
Ain’t nothing better worth imagining
I, I keep on running
I’m building bridges that I know you never wanted
Look for my heart
You stole it away
Now on every single road that I could take
Listen, I want you to burn my bridges down
I said, I want you to burn my bridges down
Set me on fire
You set me
Set me on fire
You can burn my bridges down
One Republic - 2013
Chapter #2
Dr. Reid Oliver headed to the Garden Salon just after eight o’clock he hated these things, but unfortunately he had to attend one of these sessions every few years and he couldn’t put it off any longer. He was finishing up a three-year term at Royal London Hospital as head of the London Centre of Neurosciences. Reid had not gone to London by choice exactly, it was an opportunity for Reid but he would have preferred to come on his own timeline not for the personal reasons that had come completely unexpectedly. Reid’s Uncle Angus who had moved to England after Reid had started university to help one of Reid’s great aunts had become ill himself. Reid’s great aunt had passed away almost twenty years ago and had left Reid’s Uncle Angus with a substantial inheritance including a terrace house in central London. Now Reid’s Uncle Angus had succumbed to his cancer six months ago and Reid had finally taken care of all of the legal aspects and could go back to New York and continue with his work at the hospital he had left three years earlier.
He sighed in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose, he didn’t want to go the meet and greet but he was starving and after going through his presentation once again he had come down to the Garden Salon. Reid began filling his plate from the large table of appetizers and turned to see the blonde from the lobby bustle in and Reid gazed at him in appreciation. The blonde man had that just got out of bed look about him, his hair was a bit mussed and he stifled a yawn as he walked in and Reid watched as he shook his head to get rid of the cobwebs.
Reid admired the broad shoulders and lean hips of the young man he had a strong jaw and a tiny hint of a cleft in his smooth chin. Reid’s dick twitched in response and he murmured “down” as he felt his body tighten. He usually didn’t mix work with a pleasant fuck but he could make and exception this time. The Centaur Group was the promotional and marketing firm for the hospital, so technically the hot sexy man was not a colleague per se and Reid could bend the rules just this once. What Reid would rather see is this guy bent over and Reid buried deep, he thought as the blonde walked past and Reid’s gaze lingered on his ass, which Reid had first taken notice of in the hotel lobby.
Reid stood back and ate watching the young man work the room like a pro, he didn’t look that old, maybe his mid-twenties but the ease as which he greeted and talked to people made Reid envious. Reid was definitely not a people person and tolerated very few people, most he found tedious and tiresome.
“Luke! Luke Snyder!” a female voice called from across the room, and Reid looked to see a petite brunette in the doorway her face wide in a smile.
“Damn,” Reid thought, “I could have sworn he was gay,” and Reid shook his head trying to figure out if he was wrong or if the guy was just in the closet.
“Annie! Annie Fleming there you are!” exclaimed Luke as she came across the room and gave him a big hug and Luke picked her up swinging her up off her feet, Annie had spent a week with Luke when they were both going through their initial orientation with The Centaur Group and had kept in-touch the past two years.
“It’s so good to see you Luke, how was your vacation?” Annie asked taking Luke by the arm and leading him off to a table.
Reid watched and noticed another man watching as well, Nigel Brooks who also worked with The Centaur Group out of the Manchester office, or so his tag had read as he introduced himself to Reid, giving Reid a thorough once over. Reid had just arched a brow and Nigel had huffed and moved on. Nigel seemed to find the blonde man interesting as well, Reid snorted, Nigel was small and wiry, with light blonde thinning hair, he was no match for the hot sexy looks of Dr. Reid Oliver, or so Reid thought.
Luke told Annie about his trip and the past few months and how he was waiting to hear about a possible transfer to one of the New York offices. Luke had made the request, filling out the application just before Christmas and had found out just before leaving on his vacation that he was one of the candidates on the short list and that they would make the final choices in early February.
“Hey Luke, a bunch of us are going out to a dance bar in the red light district later, do you want to come?” Annie asked, as they were moving towards the buffet table.
“I’ll go,” Nigel piped in who was still lingering by the table and had heard Annie’s suggestion to Luke.
“Uhm, sure I guess,” Luke replied, Nigel had been following Luke around earlier and he made Luke a little uncomfortable.
Reid kept an eye on the blonde man and Nigel as the evening progressed and had overheard the conversation of the plans for later. A sudden commotion at the doors into the Garden Salon caught Reid’s attention and Reid smiled despite himself when the flamboyant Raj Suthar appeared.
“C’mon let me in, I need a drink,” the small dark haired man told the guys blocking the door.
Raj Suthar was older than he looked most people figured he was in his early twenties rather than his mid to late thirties, but with flashing green eyes from his German mother and a light brown complexion from his Indian father he was a sight to behold. But it was those bright white teeth and that movie star smile with dimples that could get him in and out of any situation. As he walked in the room looking more like six feet tall than his petite 5’8” his eye caught Luke’s. Luke’s face broke out into a beautiful smile and Reid’s breath caught in his throat at the sight.
“Luke!” Raj’s cry reverberated through the room and Raj launched himself at the younger man, Luke had just enough time to put down his plate of food as Raj literally jumped into his arms.
Reid’s eye’s widened and his brows shot up in surprise as Raj grabbed Luke’s face between his hands and kissed him on the lips in front of everyone. Nobody in the room blinked an eye, everyone was used to Raj’s antics but two other pair of eyes narrowed at the display.
“Fuck,” Nigel muttered under his breath, “That little bastard.”
Reid snorted beside him and crossed his arms across his chest as he witnessed the display.
“Oh my god! Raj!” Luke laughed as the man let him go, “How are you?”
“Fucking tired mate, do you know how much time I’ve spent getting this thing organized,” he griped pushing his dark hair off his face, that just skimmed his shoulders, “I spent the last four hours tracking down my backup electronic equipment and microphone set-up for tomorrow, the first projector and microphone were fried today after a power spike and when I went to look for the backup equipment they couldn’t find it,” he explained grimacing with aggravation, “They’d sent it to another hotel and it took about three hours to figure out which one in the city had it, what a cluster! I need a drink,” Raj huffed and Luke pulled him back in for another tight hug.
“Nice to see you man,” Luke mumbled into Raj’s ear and Raj gave him another strong squeeze in response.
“How’s it going Luke?” Raj murmured quietly into Luke’s ear and Luke shrugged.
“Good, I’m good Raj,” Luke answered truthfully.
Raj had seen Luke at his worst almost two years ago when Raj had been in Chicago with The Centaur Group and Luke had been just been with the company for a few months. Noah and Luke had split up by this point but Noah was constantly calling Luke at work and at all hours pleading for Luke to come to LA. Raj had overheard Luke during one of the conversations and Luke couldn’t hide the red-rimmed eyes and tear streaked face before Raj saw him.
“Uhm, are you okay Mr. Snyder?” Raj had asked, Raj had only met Luke the day before and couldn’t believe the state the handsome blonde man was in.
“Ah, shit, uhm yeah Mr. Suthar, I’m fine,” Luke had taken a deep breath and gave Raj a wry smile, “Sorry about this, I’m a mess,” Luke apologized again and Raj gave Luke a soft understanding smile.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Raj had asked politely he’d already scoped Luke out thinking he may be a good diversion for the next week but seeing Luke in this condition Raj figured he may have to change his plans and provide a needed shoulder for the blonde man to lean on instead.
Luke shook his head in the negative and Raj gave him a look, “Hey, how about dinner and some drinks?” Raj ventured giving Luke his most beguiling and innocent let’s just be friends
smile.
Luke gazed into those clear green eyes surrounded by perfect brows atop an aquiline nose, and watched Raj’s smile deepen and his white teeth gleamed against his olive complexion and Luke found himself saying yes, “Okay, dinner sounds good, but not drinks,” he added and Raj could see by the flush on Luke’s skin that another story lay behind his request.
That was the beginning of an amazing friendship, they hadn’t seen each other since last October at another Centaur Group conference but they chatted once a week by phone and e-mailed one another throughout the week. Raj had helped Luke through a difficult time and also helped Raj get over Dominick, or so Luke thought.
“How are you?” Luke asked pointedly watching Raj duck to avoid Luke’s eyes, “Raj?” Luke questioned again and Raj shrugged him off.
“Nothing that a good shag with another bloke won’t cure,” Raj quipped letting his cockney accent thicken with every word as his gaze wandered around the room and settled on Reid.
Luke’s mouth fell open and he almost said something when Raj’s gaze moved past Reid and landed on Nigel Brooks, and stayed, and Luke saw a self-satisfied smirk cross Raj’s face. Raj had found his target for the night, someone who’d pursued him before, and someone the exact opposite of Dominick. Dominick Chadworth III was tall dark and handsome with curly black hair with just a sprinkling of grey, flashing almost black brown eyes and just enough of a beard to be as a sexy as hell he was also the man who’d broken Raj’s heart a few years before. Nigel Brooks was the complete opposite to Dominick and about the same height as Raj with light blonde hair and baby blue eyes, “The perfect diversion,” Raj thought with a sad smirk.
Raj had also noticed Luke stiffen when his gaze had stopped on the sexy auburn haired man and although the guy was gorgeous Raj didn’t want to fraternize with one of his presenters, not a good idea, and definitely not with Dr. Reid Oliver.
“Alright boys are you ready to blow this joint” Annie Fleming called to the group, she was feeling no pain and Raj and Luke burst out laughing at her choice of words, Annie flushed and swore at them, “Fuck-you,” she spat out and they laughed harder, “Oh god, you wankers are going to drive me crazy tonight,” she groaned rolling her eyes as they left the room, Raj and Luke still chuckling as she looped her arms in theirs and headed out to the lobby.
Two pairs of eyes followed them and Raj looked back to wink at Nigel and when Luke turned his eyes met a pair of amused blue ones and Luke flushed turning away quickly.