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 ( Read more... )

14.

After that fateful evening, Reid had thrown himself into his work even more than ever before. Despite both Joseph’s and Martha’s admonitions that he slow down, he had taken on more cases and lent his expertise to more and more research projects. He needed to work in order to keep himself from thinking, from feeling.

When he wasn’t at work, he ( Read more... )

13.

One week later, Reid was checking himself out in the mirror of the bathroom attached to his office. He’d had a longer day than he’d hoped and was grateful that he’d had the foresight to bring his suit with him in case he didn’t have time to run home to change. Gingerly running his fingers through his hair to try to tame the curls, he mentally ( Read more... )

12.

Two months had passed since his final conversation with Luke Snyder, and Reid continued to find himself reliving the words that had been exchanged between them. He’d never admit it to anyone, but he was ashamed of the way he’d behaved. He’d taken his own confusion and feelings of uncertainty out on Luke, someone who didn’t deserve to be treated ( Read more... )

11.

It was early evening when Scott called and Reid found himself agreeing to dinner…at Reid’s, of course, but with Scott picking up take-out on the way. Reid hoped that seeing the other man would help him to better clarify what his usually infallible brain had been toying with for the better part of the day. Surely once he and Scott spent some time ( Read more... )

10.

Luke spent Sunday morning arranging his return to Oakdale. He still had a meeting on Monday morning with the design company he’d hired for the pediatric unit, but, other than that, he truly felt that there was nothing that was keeping him in town. He needed to accept the fact that he’d felt something between him and the doctor that clearly wasn’ ( Read more... )

9.

A little over a week later, Luke gave himself one last once-over before leaving for the party. His wardrobe had come a long way recently, but he still wasn’t completely comfortable in deciding what “look” to go with. Should he go for “hot, young twink on the prowl” or “sexy, secure professional out on the town”? Neither really described the way ( Read more... )

8.

Reid answered the knock at the door dressed…or was it undressed…in preparation for what was to come.

Once Scott had entered the condo, Reid quickly pushed him up against the door and brought his mouth to his in a searing kiss. Already shirtless, Reid immediately started unbuckling his belt and turning the other man around to face the door.

“Mmm… ( Read more... )

7.

Over the next couple of weeks, Luke’s life had fallen into a bit of a routine. He’d head to the hospital in the morning, usually stopping by Reid’s office to annoy the doctor for a bit, then he’d meet with various staff members, designers and construction foremen to discuss the pediatric unit, and he almost always ended his day by spending a ( Read more... )

6.

Luke spent the next few hours lining up designers and architects, ingratiating himself with the staff and visiting the children currently staying in the unit. While he got a bit of high from wheeling and dealing and the knowledge that he was quite good at it, hanging out with the kids was truly his favorite part of the day. Spending time with ( Read more... )