Oliver's Army
15.
An hour later, after a couple of beers at the bar in the Lakeview, Reid realized that even the dull haze of alcohol wasn’t going to make him feel any less on edge, so he decided to just return to his room and try to sleep this night away. The sooner he fell asleep, the faster morning would come and he could get the hell out of this godforsaken town.
He’d just removed his suit jacket and tie when he heard a tentative knock on door. He threw the door open to berate whatever member of the staff who had chosen to ignore the “Do Not Disturb” sign he’d placed on the doorknob, only to watch helplessly as an obviously agitated Luke Snyder plowed through the doorway and into his room.
“Oh, yes, why don’t you come on in,” Reid muttered to himself while he closed the door, watching as the other man yanked at his own tie, loosening it before opening the top few buttons of his dress shirt.
“What the hell was that all about, Reid?” Luke poked a finger into Reid’s chest. “We haven’t seen each other in months and when we finally get a chance to talk, you drag me out of the party and accuse me of God-only-knows-what before storming off like a tantruming pre-teen? What is your fucking problem?”
“My problem? Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You see, I don’t have a problem…not anymore. My conscience is as clean as a whistle,” Reid sneered. “While yours and that smarmy foreign bastard’s, on the other hand…”
“’Smarmy foreign bastard’? Luke asked, his tone full of confusion. “Who are you…wait, are you talking about Damian? What does he have to do with anything and don‘t fucking talk about him like…”
“I can’t believe you’re defending him, Luciano,” Reid’s face contorted in disgust. “God, Luke, how can you stand it? What…does he call you that when he has you bent over the sofa in the home he shares with his fucking WIFE?”
Luke’s face went from beet red to nearly ashen. “What the fu…wait…do you think that…” Luke held up a finger. “First, you’re going to have to give me a second to try to swallow down the bile that just rose up into my throat. By the way, thanks a fucking lot for that image. I’ll be sure to send you the bill that years of therapy will surely cost me.”
Now it was Reid’s turn to be confused. “What are you talking about, Luke? Surely, you couldn’t have thought that what you and Damian were doing was okay?”
“Damian and I are not lovers, you imbecile. Damian is my father. Oh my God, what is wrong with you?”
Reid felt himself lose his equilibrium a bit and moved to plop himself down on the sofa. “Your father? But…but…I saw you two at the peds opening, he was caressing your back and kissing your head, acting like a proud peacock to have you on his arm.”
Luke buried his face in his hands for a few seconds before answering. “Um, yeah, as you so kindly pointed out, he’s not American, he’s Maltese and, in his culture, men don’t shy away from affection. And, he‘s my father, so of course he‘s proud of my accomplishments. He knew how much that project meant to me and he was there to offer his love and support.”
“Didn’t you once tell me that your father is a horse farmer or something?”
“I guess you could say I have two Dads. Damian is my birth father and we’ve been estranged in the past, while Holden, who was married to my mom, is the one who raised me. My mom and Damian reconnected a couple of years ago and he‘s come a long way in regaining my trust.”
“Holy shit, I’m an asshole.”
“I would say that’s a gross understatement,” Luke replied mirthfully as he sat down next to Reid on the sofa. “So does this mean that you did go to the party at the pediatric unit? I looked for you all night, but I just assumed that you didn’t want to see me.”
“Oh, I saw you alright, with some fabulously glamorous guy’s arm around you,” Reid admitted. “I left before anyone saw me.”
“Not that I forgive you for the vile picture you so brutally forced into my head, but do you want to tell me why seeing me with someone else made you leave the party?” Luke kept his voice as even as possible.
“You know why, Luke. I was jealous. I’d gone to that party hoping to talk to you, to apologize to you for the way I’d behaved those last two time we saw each other,” Reid was embarrassed to hear his voice crack and hoped that Luke hadn’t noticed. “When I saw you with tall, dark and handsome, I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. Even though I’d told myself that I’d blown it with you, I guess a part of me had hoped that you would give me a second chance.”
“What about Scott?” Luke asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Scott and I are friends…best friends, but we realized that while we loved each other, we weren’t right for each other and we never would be. You were right, I fought to keep my arrangement with Scott because it was safe.” Reid turned on the sofa to face Luke. “As long as I was with Scott, I never had to put myself out there. The limits to our relationship kept me from ever having to take any chances with my heart.”
“And now, Reid? What is it you want now?”
Next
An hour later, after a couple of beers at the bar in the Lakeview, Reid realized that even the dull haze of alcohol wasn’t going to make him feel any less on edge, so he decided to just return to his room and try to sleep this night away. The sooner he fell asleep, the faster morning would come and he could get the hell out of this godforsaken town.
He’d just removed his suit jacket and tie when he heard a tentative knock on door. He threw the door open to berate whatever member of the staff who had chosen to ignore the “Do Not Disturb” sign he’d placed on the doorknob, only to watch helplessly as an obviously agitated Luke Snyder plowed through the doorway and into his room.
“Oh, yes, why don’t you come on in,” Reid muttered to himself while he closed the door, watching as the other man yanked at his own tie, loosening it before opening the top few buttons of his dress shirt.
“What the hell was that all about, Reid?” Luke poked a finger into Reid’s chest. “We haven’t seen each other in months and when we finally get a chance to talk, you drag me out of the party and accuse me of God-only-knows-what before storming off like a tantruming pre-teen? What is your fucking problem?”
“My problem? Oh, that’s rich coming from you. You see, I don’t have a problem…not anymore. My conscience is as clean as a whistle,” Reid sneered. “While yours and that smarmy foreign bastard’s, on the other hand…”
“’Smarmy foreign bastard’? Luke asked, his tone full of confusion. “Who are you…wait, are you talking about Damian? What does he have to do with anything and don‘t fucking talk about him like…”
“I can’t believe you’re defending him, Luciano,” Reid’s face contorted in disgust. “God, Luke, how can you stand it? What…does he call you that when he has you bent over the sofa in the home he shares with his fucking WIFE?”
Luke’s face went from beet red to nearly ashen. “What the fu…wait…do you think that…” Luke held up a finger. “First, you’re going to have to give me a second to try to swallow down the bile that just rose up into my throat. By the way, thanks a fucking lot for that image. I’ll be sure to send you the bill that years of therapy will surely cost me.”
Now it was Reid’s turn to be confused. “What are you talking about, Luke? Surely, you couldn’t have thought that what you and Damian were doing was okay?”
“Damian and I are not lovers, you imbecile. Damian is my father. Oh my God, what is wrong with you?”
Reid felt himself lose his equilibrium a bit and moved to plop himself down on the sofa. “Your father? But…but…I saw you two at the peds opening, he was caressing your back and kissing your head, acting like a proud peacock to have you on his arm.”
Luke buried his face in his hands for a few seconds before answering. “Um, yeah, as you so kindly pointed out, he’s not American, he’s Maltese and, in his culture, men don’t shy away from affection. And, he‘s my father, so of course he‘s proud of my accomplishments. He knew how much that project meant to me and he was there to offer his love and support.”
“Didn’t you once tell me that your father is a horse farmer or something?”
“I guess you could say I have two Dads. Damian is my birth father and we’ve been estranged in the past, while Holden, who was married to my mom, is the one who raised me. My mom and Damian reconnected a couple of years ago and he‘s come a long way in regaining my trust.”
“Holy shit, I’m an asshole.”
“I would say that’s a gross understatement,” Luke replied mirthfully as he sat down next to Reid on the sofa. “So does this mean that you did go to the party at the pediatric unit? I looked for you all night, but I just assumed that you didn’t want to see me.”
“Oh, I saw you alright, with some fabulously glamorous guy’s arm around you,” Reid admitted. “I left before anyone saw me.”
“Not that I forgive you for the vile picture you so brutally forced into my head, but do you want to tell me why seeing me with someone else made you leave the party?” Luke kept his voice as even as possible.
“You know why, Luke. I was jealous. I’d gone to that party hoping to talk to you, to apologize to you for the way I’d behaved those last two time we saw each other,” Reid was embarrassed to hear his voice crack and hoped that Luke hadn’t noticed. “When I saw you with tall, dark and handsome, I felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. Even though I’d told myself that I’d blown it with you, I guess a part of me had hoped that you would give me a second chance.”
“What about Scott?” Luke asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Scott and I are friends…best friends, but we realized that while we loved each other, we weren’t right for each other and we never would be. You were right, I fought to keep my arrangement with Scott because it was safe.” Reid turned on the sofa to face Luke. “As long as I was with Scott, I never had to put myself out there. The limits to our relationship kept me from ever having to take any chances with my heart.”
“And now, Reid? What is it you want now?”
Next