My Stardust Melody, Chapter 23, Part One
Luke dressed in a fitted, brown sweater that once belonged to Holden before washing up and heading out to the living area. He always packed it when he traveled to keep him company while away from home. The soft, woven yarn brought him comfort whenever he was feeling sad or unsure. With Reid outside the door, he was definitely experiencing the latter emotion. Luke left the bedroom and noticed that his foot felt a little better, but he still had to limp. Nathan was already gone when he emerged, which left only Reid sitting at the kitchen table. The doctor looked lost in thought, at first not noticing when Luke entered the room. After Reid’s hasty and embarrassed exit from the bedroom, Luke was a little surprised to see such a ponderous expression upon the doctor’s face. He almost looked forlorn.
As Luke half-walked, half-hobbled into the living area, Reid seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts and hopped out of his seat. Walking around the table, Reid pulled the chair across from him out and said, "Here, you sit down. I’ll get you something to eat. Would you like dry cereal or tomato soup?"
Grimacing, Luke replied, "I think I’ll go with the cereal."
"Good choice."
Luke smiled as he watched Reid fetch a bowl and then dump some corn flakes in it. The blond dug into the bowl with his hand-it seemed a bit silly to insist on a spoon when there wasn’t a drop of liquid. Meanwhile, Reid filled a glass with water, handed it to Luke, and then returned to his seat. It was too bad Luke couldn’t keep Reid silent and waiting on him forever. Luke smiled at the idea of Reid being his perpetual servant.
The younger man had to admit that Reid looked pretty sexy walking around in his boxers. His whiskers had grown in from not shaving this morning, which gave the doctor a particularly masculine appearance. Two years had enhanced Reid’s looks if anything. Luke liked the slightly longer hair Reid wore now. It was just long enough to see that the auburn locks curled, and it gave Reid a friendlier look--when Reid wasn’t glaring, which he wasn’t doing currently.
Unbidden, the recollection of Reid with a short strand of hair falling across his forehead ran through his mind. He could still hear Reid’s distinctive voice saying, "I know enough. I know you're thoughtful and intelligent. I know that there's a spot just above your hip here that makes you crazy when I put my mouth on it." Luke sighed and again found himself questioning the past. Had it all been an act as Damian had said, or was the picture Nathan described of Reid correct? Luke supposed the only way he’d ever really know is if he heeded Nathan’s counsel and attempted to find out more about Reid.
After Luke said his thanks for the cereal, the two men sat in silence aside from the crunching of the dry food. Mulling over what Nathan had said, Luke wondered if it were even possible to get to know Reid. The older man seemed fixed on staring at his meal, and from the furtive glances he received on occasion, Luke couldn’t help but feel that Reid was still embarrassed from having been caught cuddling. It was kind of charming that the usually ice-blooded doctor could be so unnerved from something that he couldn’t have helped.
When they were both finished, Reid cleared the table. Without a word, he disappeared in the bedroom, presumably to get dressed. Luke wondered if Reid’s clothes were like armor and the angry man of the past few weeks would return. He sort of liked the idea of Reid putting on his attitude with his pants in the morning-it was just too bad it wasn’t a better attitude. After about five minutes, Reid emerged dressed in his clothes from the day before, his face still damp from having splashed water in it. Surprisingly, he chose to sit down at the table again with Luke, which Luke took as a positive sign. The younger man racked his brain for what to say, but nothing came to mind. What do you say to the guy whose career you destroyed two years ago and who has made no effort to cover his dislike of you? Luke really wasn’t sure where he stood with Reid at the moment. When Nathan had interrupted last night, it cut short their conversation. Reid hadn’t said a word about forgiveness, and Luke certainly didn’t expect such a thing so soon. But still, they had been joking last night, and now Reid was being noticeably more courteous than he had these past two weeks.
Finally, Luke’s eyes landed on a chess set tucked in the corner of the living room on a small round table. "Do you play?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the board.
"Chess?" Reid replied. "Oh, I’ve played a little."
Reid let out a sigh of relief. Chess would be the perfect diversion and wouldn’t require him to talk too much. Luke probably wouldn’t be much of a challenge, but Reid figured he could draw the game out to kill some time. He just hoped Luke wasn’t a complete novice, or it would be tedious no matter what.
They moved over to the table, Reid pulling some chairs over from the kitchen. It was a surprisingly fine set with polished mahogany and ivory pieces. "This was your idea, so you be white," Reid said.
"Are you sure? I’m pretty good, so maybe you should go first."
Reid tried not to snicker at the noble look on Luke’s face. "I like the black, and, besides, you seem more like a ‘white knight’ kind of guy." This might be fun.
"And you’re what, the dark prince?" Luke asked skeptically.
"I think we can agree I’m no one’s prince." If the guy staring at him wasn’t proof enough of that, Reid didn’t know what was.
"I think there’s somebody for everyone, Reid. Even you," Luke replied.
Reid stifled the urge to cringe. "Good God, it’s like Nathan’s still here." Seriously, was Nathan piping that crap into a hidden earpiece attached to Luke? And did Luke have to look so perfectly gorgeous as he was sitting there? Reid was willing to pay some serious cash to cease being attracted to the blond’s good looks. Those chocolate brown eyes of Luke’s were absolutely lethal. "Quit yammering and make your move. This is chess, not a knitting circle. Or are you nervous?"
"You wish," Luke replied. He stared at the board for a moment, biting his index finger, and then selected a rook to move two spaces toward the black.
It was a common opening, and Reid doubted Luke was too versed in the many classic openings to chess. Most players these days learned the game on the Internet and didn’t seem to have studied chess strategy. Reid was fine with learning that way-he had started by playing as many opponents as possible. Experience counted for just as much as learning other master strategies, but Reid had read up on just about every technique he could when he progressed as a player. He liked to be prepared, and he knew he could learn just as much from other people’s mistakes and triumphs just as much as he could his own. Reid, without much thought, responded with the Sicilian defense, a common counter strategy to the move Luke just made.
Reid sat back and watched Luke. The next couple of moves would determine what kind of player Luke was. Though Angus had tried to ruin Reid’s enthusiasm for chess with his relentless pressure, Reid still found beauty in the game. He couldn’t help feeling a little rush of excitement at the beginning of every match. At the highest levels of competition, chess was challenging and served to increase Reid’s skill. But even at these lower levels, Reid was often astonished by the things lesser players saw on the board. And no matter what skill-level was involved, Reid was able to measure his opponent’s thought processes and emotional state much better than he could in conversation. Where Reid had trouble expressing himself and understanding people in direct interactions, chess was a medium in which he excelled in those areas.
To Reid’s disbelief, Luke appeared to be using the Italian Game opening, and it took seven moves before Reid saw Luke’s weakness. Reid was impressed despite himself. He had played some very good opponents who exposed their flaws in much shorter time. Sure, he had played some masters that he had to battle for hours before finding a hole in their offense, but this was remarkable for someone who probably only played casually. Reid knew it would take him fourteen more moves before he put Luke in checkmate. Fifteen if Luke did anything unexpected.
Luke wasn’t a chatty player, to Reid’s everlasting gratitude. He concentrated on the board with a tiny frown. The blond used aggressive attacks at first that forced Reid into aggressive counters. As the game progressed, Luke shifted more into positional play. He was protective of his king and appeared to play step-by-step, giving less thought to long-term goals and more to putting his pawns in a good structure. It was a sound defensive technique that would lengthen the amount of time before he would be in peril of being in check. Given Reid’s cataclysmic encounters with Luke heretofore, he was mildly surprised that Luke wasn’t more of a brash player. He would have expected more of a slash-and-burn technique than this cautious one Luke was using. Even a heavy reliance on gambits would have been more in sync with Reid’s expectations than this guarded approach to the game.
Reid was more of a tactical player himself. He used a blend of positional and tactical play as it suited him. He had studied classic openings and middle games only for the knowledge of how to take his opponent "out of the books." He liked to force his opponent into relying upon his own instincts and away from someone else’s strategy. Luke, he found, didn’t need much prodding to rely on his own instincts, and those instincts were good. If Luke played more and honed his strategy, he could be a really special player. Reid was not only surprised but also pleased at this finding.
As Reid launched into his closing moves, he saw the moment that Luke realized he was in deep trouble. To the doctor’s amazement, Luke smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. There was appreciation and a wry glint in those brown orbs. The blond knew he’d been had. Reid was unable to stop his grin in return. It had taken him fifteen moves from the point Reid had seen Luke’s weakness after all.
When Reid uttered the word, "Checkmate," Luke laughed.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Luke asked with a broad grin.
"Harvard Square. I used to hang out with these seventy-year-old Ukrainian guys after school. They showed me the game, and I got to be pretty good. Then my uncle entered me into a lot of tournaments."
"Did you ever lose?" Luke asked, still smiling that knock-out grin.
"Only once." And on purpose. He had been sending a clear message to his uncle that Angus couldn’t control him.
"Wow. I can’t even imagine playing that well." Luke’s admiration was evident, and Reid had to admit it was flattering.
"Where did you learn to play?" Reid asked. "Is chess part of the Grimaldi training program along with blood vendettas and revenge schemes?"
"Hardly," Luke said sardonically. "Actually, my Grandmother Lucinda taught me when I was twelve on an airplane. She had brought stacks of papers to go through for business, but she saw I was nervous about flying, so she dropped everything and distracted me with it. After that, she and I would play when she was in town. She traveled a lot."
"I’m guessing the infamous Lucinda Walsh was a pretty good player," Reid observed.
"She would have given you a run for your money. I only beat her once, and it was because I intentionally kept her distracted."
"I bet she didn’t take that well."
"Actually, she laughed and then she looked at me and said, ‘Luke, you have to be smart in this life to survive and know what’s important. You’re going to be okay.’"
"Did she always deliver greeting card sentiments when she spoke?"
Luke laughed, seemingly taking no offense, which elicited a smile from the doctor. "My grandmother? How much do you know about her?"
"Not much," Reid admitted. He’d never taken much interest in the lifestyles of the rich and greedy.
"Well, I don’t think anyone would ever call her sentimental. She clawed her way to the top of the industry and never let her life sink her."
"What could have possibly sunk her?" Reid asked skeptically.
"A lot that would sink other people. Six marriages, a tough adoption of my mother, multiple threats to WorldWide, and multiple threats to her life, now that I think of it."
"Oh." He hadn’t expected that response. The six marriages weren’t that unexpected-wasn’t that true of everyone over the age of fifty in Oakdale? But the rest of it sounded appalling. "Well at least she had her millions to keep her warm at night," Reid joked, not really wanting to explore any murky emotional waters. He wasn’t ready to be drawn into Luke’s world quite yet, no matter what Nathan might want.
"Making a lot of money wasn’t what made her happy."
"What was?" Reid asked despite having just promised himself to steer the conversation elsewhere.
Luke paused and appeared to think before he answered. "She loved her work. And to be honest, she loved being smarter and better than everyone else. She appreciated those who were direct and honest."
"Sounds like a superwoman." She sounds like me, come to think of it.
Luke shrugged. "She had her faults. She tried for years to break up my mother and father."
"Good dad?"
"Yes, good dad," the blond replied irritably.
"Why?" And why do I keep asking questions?
"I’d rather not go into that if you don’t mind. The ‘good dad’ comment sort of reminded me where I am."
"Feeling touchy this morning?"
"No, but I’d just as soon not open myself up to any of your lovely little comments today."
He couldn’t quite comprehend it, but the idea that Luke was afraid to open up to him stung. He watched as the younger man got up and walked over to the couch. Reid knew he deserved Luke’s reservations after what he said last night, which reminded him…
Reid popped up from his chair and walked over to the sofa. "I wanted to say I’m sorry for the crap I said yesterday and probably on a few other occasions. What you do with your life now is your business, and I don’t have the right to comment on it."
"But Reid-" Luke was about to point out that he and Henry weren’t actually involved, but Reid waived him off.
"No ‘buts.’ It’s not my place to pry into your life. And Nathan told me about Henry this morning, but I want you to know I was planning to apologize before I heard about that."
Well, hell. Luke hadn’t exactly forgotten some of the nasty remarks Reid had made about taking money from his boyfriend. Reid was right: Luke hadn’t deserved the one yesterday after he finished playing the piano. Even if Luke were sleeping with Henry for money (which was the most ridiculous idea of the century), it wouldn’t be any of Reid’s business. Reid had acted maliciously, and Luke still didn’t know what brought that out.
Still, given that Luke did take money from Julian, he could see where Reid got the idea. Luke doubted that Damian had told Reid that Luke never slept with Julian. Somehow the word, "awkward," wouldn’t even begin to cover that conversation. And Damian was never awkward. So Reid likely thought Julian and he were lovers.
Luke really wasn’t sure that misconception was even worth clearing up. There was no putting a positive spin on the fact that Luke still took money for a personal relationship. And the question of marriage had been brought up. He couldn’t exactly take pride in his actions back then. Why would Reid even believe him now? Maybe if they got to know each other better, Reid might come to trust Luke. But now? Even Luke could admit that it sounded far-fetched that he’d consider marrying a man that he’d never slept with.
Luke eyed Reid who had sat down on the chair next to the couch. The older man seemed nervous. His hand twitched anxiously against his thigh, belying the stony expression on his face. It reminded him how Nathan had said there were things in Reid’s past that were complicated. The blond wondered how much of Reid’s arrogance covered whatever pain he’d experienced. He realized that this apology, no matter how abrupt, probably was difficult and rare. And then Luke saw it: a deep breath and a flicker of uncertainty flashing through Reid’s blue eyes as he glanced quickly toward the fireplace. Something in Luke relented and wanted to make this better for Reid even if he wasn’t sure Reid deserved it.
A/N I couldn't fit this in one post, so please continue on to Part Two.
Click here fore Part Two