The Brain vs The Heart - A Battle Royale
Chapter 8
Luke got off Reid’s lap and took the seat across from him, buckling up before swiveling his chair so he could face the doctor. He was grinning at Reid like a 12-year old girl.
“You’re looking at me like a dorky high school kid who just discovered the most popular boy in school has a crush on him.”
Luke nodded happily and bit his lower lip while widening the grin even further.
“You realize that I was the science nerd guy not mister popular right?”
Luke just nodded again, then finally added “I think you’re brains are very sexy Dr. Oliver”.
“Well I think your” Reid looked up and down the entire being that was Luke Snyder “everything is very sexy…..Luke” making the young man blush. “I’m sure you hear that sort of thing a lot though right? The guys have to be lining up, so what you’re doing on this plane with me is a complete mystery. It clearly means you just need to get out more, or maybe you are making me your rebound guy or” Reid clamped his mouth shut knowing he was talking just to fill the air with noise.
“You’re babbling Reid.”
“Yeah I know. Is it freaking you out?”
“Yeah, little bit.”
“I don’t know what else to do.”
“I think I can help with that.” Luke grabbed Reid’s feet one at a time and took off his shoes and socks. He began to massage each lightly and then while keeping his eyes on Reid he placed light kisses on the palms of each of his feet. Reid sunk lower into the seat he was in and closed his eyes on a sigh. Luke ran his hands on the inside of Reid’s pant legs massaging his calves.
Reid didn’t know how much time went by. He was enjoying Luke’s hands on him and just shut his brain off to everything else. He certainly hadn’t noticed the plane take off or that they were traveling smoothly at thirty thousand feet until Luke was back in his lap, unbuttoning the remaining three buttons on Reid’s shirt that he hadn’t gotten to when they were interrupted by the pilot. Luke leaned down and licked Reid’s nipple and watched it come to attention. He felt Reid’s body lean up below him making better contact with his ass. Reid grabbed onto Luke’s hips and pulled him closer still. Luke couldn’t believe how forward he was being with Reid. He had always let Noah set the pace when it came to sex. He was nervous, but somehow completely sure of how much he wanted this. Luke couldn’t have explained it to anyone if they had asked but he just knew it was so right to be with Reid like this even though there was still so much he didn’t know about the older man.
“I think I might want to have sex with you” Reid said with hunger and just a little bit of fear in his voice.
“I think I might be bad at it” Luke said more timidly than he wanted to.
The fear in Reid’s voice was replaced by a tone of infinite wisdom “not possible.”
Reid thought maybe he was pushing too far too fast. He’d never worried in the past if the guy he was with was ready or not. But this wasn’t some guy, this was Luke and his comment made Reid want to soothe him and be gentle with him and go slow with him. Soothing, gentle and slow had never been in Reid’s sexual vernacular but for Luke he knew he would add them.
His brain sent out an alert with big flashing warning signs you seem to be using the term “for Luke” a lot. Reid’s heart blissfully ignored his brain. Grabbing both sides of Luke’s head in his hands he spoke softly “look at me.”
Luke did. He searched Reid’s eyes for reassurance.
Reid gave it. “I want you Luke. Do you hear me?”
Luke nodded in agreement but lowered his eyes again and bit his lip nervously like he wasn’t sure he believed Reid.
In that moment Reid wanted to do serious bodily harm to Noah Mayer. Damn that idiot kid. How could he not see how magnificent Luke was, and treat him as such? His loss, my gain. Reid put a hand under Luke’s chin, urging him to look up again. “I want you.” Placing one of Luke’s hands on his crotch he added “feel how much I want you.”
Luke’s eyes shot back up and locked with Reid’s. Reid watched them change from soft and insecure like a small child to dark and all man, the heat and yearning evident. Reid could see that Luke wanted it just as much as he did.
Things got very hot very fast. They kissed with the intensity of all the new possibilities opening up for them. There was no more playfulness, no tentative touches. Reid ripped Luke’s t-shirt off over his head and started to lift him up off his lap to suck and bite Luke’s navel. Luke’s fingers were once again tangled in Reid’s hair helping steer Reid in the direction he wanted him to go. Reid needed Luke high enough to work on the buckle that Luke was wearing, intending to take off his pants as quickly as possible. That was when his eyes came into the direct sightline of a ten inch scar on Luke’s side. Reid knew immediately what it was and it made Reid come to a screeching halt.
“You’ve had a kidney transplant.”
Luke’s mind was stuck in a haze of pleasure and couldn’t comprehend why Reid was no longer touching him. “Huh” he mumbled leaning over Reid as he continued to work his fingers through Reid’s hair and kiss him anywhere his mouth would reach.
Reid pushed Luke completely off of him and turned away pointing at Luke’s scar. “Kidney transplant, you, a few years ago I’m guessing from looking at the scar.”
“Oh, yeah…. Um I did” Luke responded, instinctively placing a self-conscious hand over it. Luke was confused as to why that had made the kissing and touching stop so abruptly. “If fine now though....no problems, really. I’m in perfect health doctor. I can tell you all about the transplant sometime if you want, but right now I’d love to get back to what we were doing.” He started to swing his leg back over Reid’s lap but Reid’s hands came up stopping him.
“Is that why you don’t drink?”
Shit…why do we have to have this conversation now? “Partly” Luke replied.
“Elaborate please.”
Luke stepped back and took the seat across from Reid again, trying to remain calm. It was too early to be having this conversation. It could ruin everything, but Luke knew it was who he was so he said it “I’m an alcoholic.”
“But you’re like twelve. How is that even possible?”
Luke’s breath hitched. He could feel the tears threatening to come if he didn’t stop them. He grabbed for his shirt and covered his chest with it using it as a sort of shield. “You want the short answer? I had a hard time coming out. I drank away my first kidney and nearly did it with my second.” There, he said it.
Reid didn’t respond. There were many things he wanted to say, like how sorry he was and that he would make it his mission to see that Luke took infinitely better care of himself from now on. He wanted to run his hands along the scar and kiss it and tell him not to be embarrassed or ashamed. He wanted to tell him the scar he was now keeping covered with the shirt he’d grabbed added to his beauty not detracted from it. He did none of those things. He just sat there looking out the window as the Dallas skyline showed off in the distance.
After a couple of minutes Luke spoke. “Reid, look at me please.”
Reid grumbled “I don’t have time for this.”
“You can’t even look me in the eye? How long does that take?”
Reid steeled himself to what he might find when he did. He braced himself against the hurt, anger, uncertainty and vulnerability that would be written on Luke’s face.
“You know what I want?” Reid sounded far colder than he had guessed he had in him. No turning back now.
“What?”
You, all of you. I want to hold you and kiss you and make love to you and keep doing that for the rest of my life I think. I want to tell you that it doesn’t matter who you were before this or what you did or who you were with. I want to take away every bit of pain you have ever felt and make you understand how amazing and special and strong you are. “I want to get off this plane, go back to my house and go back to my life.”
Luke’s voice held all the regret and dejection both of them were feeling but only he had the courage to show. “Fine Dr. Oliver, to quote a doctor I once knew, your wish is my command.”
When the plane landed and taxied to a stop Reid said only one thing to Luke “you need to go home Mr. Snyder.” And Luke reverted back to what he always did. He listened to what he was told, and stayed put as Reid walked off the plane and away toward the terminal. Luke didn’t even watch out the window to see if Reid had looked back as the plane was re-closed up and taxied back out for takeoff.
Damn that man’s brain: Brain…. 4 ½, Heart 4 ½