A Rhythm Like You (1/? -- 2 or 3 at most)
"The beating of my heart is a drum and it's lost, and it's looking for a rhythm like you." -- Air Supply
"This seat taken?"
Luke looked up, a questioning look on his face. He really didn't want to deal with Reid Oliver right now. He shook his head. "No."
"Good." Reid sat down on the stool next to him and signaled the bartender. "What are you drinking?"
"Coke," Luke said softly, running his thumb along the condensation on his glass.
"Hard stuff," Reid joked but didn't smile. He turned to the approaching bartender and then looked at the draft beer selections. "Molson." The bartender nodded. Reid turned back to Luke and noticed the large coin sitting between Luke and his glass on the bar. He rubbed his forehead and looked at Luke, who stared wordlessly ahead at nothing.
The bartender set a full pilsner glass in front of Reid who rolled his eyes at himself and pushed it down the bar to the right of him, away from Luke. "I'll take a bottle of water," Reid said, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. He put fifteen dollars on the bar and indicated that it was for his and Luke's drinks. When the bartender put the water bottle in front of him, he unscrewed the top and took a long drink.
They sat in silence, as the jukebox played an old country song. Reid glanced back at a group laughing by the pool table, and then his eyes returned to Luke, whose chin now rested on his crossed arms on the bar. Reid reached in front of Luke, and used one finger to slide the coin in between them on the bar so that he could examine it. He turned it over and got a quick glance at it before Luke's hand was covering it and dragging it back.
"How long have you been sober?" Reid asked, geniunely curious.
"Nineteen months," Luke said without looking at Reid.
"Good. That's good," Reid said awkwardly. Luke shrugged. "What are you doing sitting in a bar though?"
Luke huffed out an irritated chuckle. "Exercise in self control."
"Do you feel like drinking?" Reid asked, wondering why he cared.
"I always feel like drinking," Luke sighed.
Reid tapped his thumb nervously on the counter. "You wanna get out of here?"
Luke turned to Reid and looked him the eyes for the first time since Reid had sat down. "Get out of here?....with you?"
"Yes. With me. Or you can stay here and continue to wallow in whatever it is you're wallowing in."
"Noah and I broke up today."
Reid tried not to show a reaction. "Like I said, you can wallow in it, or we can get the hell out of here and go find something to do." Reid got off the bar stool.
"You didn't drink your beer," Luke said, eyeing the glass on the other side of Reid.
"Nope. So, you coming?"
Luke nodded, and stood up. He put the coin in his front pocket and followed Reid out the door.
****************************************
"So what do you want to do?" Reid, asked, leaning against his car.
"I don't know..." Luke said, looking down. "Maybe I should just go home. Why do you even want to hang out with me? We kind of can't stand each other."
Reid shrugged and looked away. "I'm bored. It's Friday night; there's gotta be something we can do besides sitting in a bar not drinking."
Luke sighed. "No, I don't think I'll be very good company," he said, wondering what the heck he and Dr. Reid Oliver would even find to talk about. "I'm upset. I'm pissed..."
"Pissed? I can work with anger...c'mon," he rounded the front of his car and unlocked the doors. "Get in."
****************************************
They drove in relative silence out of town on Highway 57. Luke studied Reid's profile as he drove, until Reid turned to him. "It's rude to stare, even at genius. Plus, it's creepy."
Luke smiled for the first time that evening. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere where you can burn off some of that negative energy."
Luke looked at him questioningly but didn't ask anything else.
A few minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot of an entertainment complex, just outside of town. The parking lot was fairly crowded, so Reid parked toward the back. Without saying anything to Luke, he got out of the car. Luke got out of the car also. "What, are we going to play miniature golf?" Luke asked. "Ride some go karts?"
"No..." Reid said, opening his trunk. "You don't want to play miniature golf or any other kind of golf with me. I'd kick your ass. It would be embarrassing. I guess we can ride the go karts later, if you want."
Luke watched Reid unbutton the cuffs on his dress shirt and pull it over his head, exposing his middrift for a second before pulling his undershirt down and smoothing it across his chest. He then toed off his boots and pulled a pair of tennis shoes out of the trunk. He leaned against the bumper to put the shoes on. "I find nothing burns off frustration better than whacking the hell out of something with a stick. Well, that and sex, but..."
"What are you talking about?" Luke asked.
Reid pulled a wooden baseball bat out of the trunk and handed it to Luke. He then nodded toward the large netted area at the back of the complex. Luke watched Reid put a tight fitting glove on his right hand and retrieve a cap and helmet from the trunk before closing it.
"You have your own gear...you do this often?"
"Once a week. On Wednesday nights after work. Two for one tokens. And all-you-can-eat pizza." He held up the batting helmet. "I'm not putting my head in something that who knows how many other sweaty heads have been in." Reid put on a Red Sox baseball cap that looked fairly old and grungy...and in front of Luke's eyes he morphed from badass grumpy neurosurgeon into a guy who might actually be fun to hang out with on a Friday night.
Reid made his way toward the entrance, and Luke followed him, the baseball bat resting on his shoulder. They stepped through the door and were assailed by noise and lights. Luke followed Reid up to the rental counter.
"Let me have 20 batting cage coins, four go kart tickets, and twenty dollars in game tokens." Reid pulled money out of his wallet and handed it to the attendant. "Keep the change."
"Thank you, sir," the teenager behind the counter said.
Reid turned to Luke and handed him a cup full of tokens. He then put the go kart tickets in his pocket and fisted the batting cage coins. 'Let's go."
Luke nodded and followed Reid through a sea of children to the back door. Once outside, they walked to the back of the complex and found the batting cages to be empty, except for a few dads and kids in the slow pitch cages.
Reid walked to the fast pitch cage and hung his bat in the chainlink fence. "You want to go first, Mr. Snyder? You can use the bat I brought, or there are some other ones back there. I'll even let you wear my helmet because, believe me, you don't want to put your head in any of those," he said, nodding to the helmets hanging on pegs a few cages down.
"No, you go first," Luke said, stepping back and sitting on the picnic table behind them. "I'll watch."
"'Kay...," Reid said, removing his baseball cap and placing it backwards on Luke's head. Luke smiled, and Reid put the batting helmet on. "Watch and learn."
Luke laughed slightly despite his sad mood and watched Reid walk into the cage. He put the coins down on top of the start box. He then inserted one and stepped up to the plate. Luke noticed the sinew in Reid's forearms as he gripped the bat, holding it high over his shoulder, waiting for the first pitch. The doctor never wore short sleeves at work, and Luke found himself thinking that he most definitely should. And then he shook his head, trying to shake such inappropriate thoughts away.
Thwack! Reid sent the ball sailing back over the pitching machine, to the far back of the netted area.
And another. Thwack!
And another. Thwack!
Reid sent all twenty pitches straight back where they had come from.
He then inserted another coin and did it again, in much the same fashion, missing just a couple of pitches.
"Not bad there..." Luke said, standing up and removing his hooded jacket, revealing a tight-fitting red t-shirt. Reid stepped out of the cage and pulled the helmet off his head. He placed it on Luke's head and pushed down. "Sorry...it's a little sweaty already...it's humid out here tonight, but you have to protect your brain."
"Yes, doctor," Luke said with a smile.
Luke took the bat from Reid and entered the cage. He inserted a coin and stepped up to the plate. Luke did a good job of returning most of the pitches, but Reid didn't notice much because he was sort of mesmerized by the view of Luke from the side and behind. He was all biceps and shoulders and ass, and Reid found himself thinking that Luke Snyder didn't seem like such an entitled brat when he was standing in the orange-yellow evening light, swinging a bat. and glistening with sweat.
After three coins, Luke exited the batting cage, breathing hard. "That's a workout," he said, pulling off the helmet and putting it on the table next to Reid. He put the bat down and shook out his stinging hands.
"I know. That's why I do it. And I like to hit things." Reid laughed softly. "My turn," he said, taking the bat from Luke.
And that's how Luke Snyder and Reid Oliver spent the next forty five minutes, taking turns in the fast pitch cage, cheering and teasing each other where necessary, and generally having a good time, much to their mutual surprise.
"Crap, it's hot..." Luke said as he exited the cage for the last time. Reid handed him a bottle of water he'd gotten from the concession stand.
"Thanks..." Luke took a long drink of water, and Reid watched beads of sweat slide down his throat. Damn.
"I've got some clean t-shirts in the gym bag in my car. We can go change..."
As they approached the car, Luke pulled his shirt off over his head and wiped his face with it. Reid opened the trunk and turned around with a clean shirt for Luke, his eyes falling onto Luke's chest and then traveling south over his stomach, down to the hair stucking up from the waistband of his jeans, before coming up to Luke's brown eyes that stared right back into his own. He had been caught looking. Reid grinned and turned back to the trunk as Luke took the plain white t-shirt out of his hand.
Luke watched Reid from behind as he pulled his own shirt over his head and replaced it with a clean, gray one. He leaned against the bumper as Reid turned toward him. Luke narrowed his eyes at Reid. "You're gay." It wasn't a question.
Reid laughed. "That's some finely tuned gaydar you have there, Mr. Snyder...it only took you four months to figure it out."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" He moved so that Reid could close the trunk.
"You never asked." Reid walked back to the building, and Luke fell in by his side, trying ignore the sudden heat and tightness he felt pulling at his abdomen.
For the next almost two hours, Luke and Reid rode the go karts and played video and other games. Luke beat Reid easily at the basketball toss, but Reid slammed him in skee ball. They played a side-by-side racing video game where they had to sit on motorcycles that moved back and forth, and Luke couldn't even finish because he was laughing so hard. Reid beat Luke in foosball, but then Luke dominated him in air hockey. Being the competitive jerk that he was, Reid went and got an extra $2 worth of tokens to try to avenge his air hockey losses, but it was to no avail...Luke was really good at it, and he pumped his fist into the air when he beat Reid for the fourth time in a row. As a consolation, Luke promised to buy Reid ice cream on the way home.
****************************************
Twenty minutes later, they were sitting across from each other at a picnic table at a road side ice cream stand, fairly close to Reid's apartment. Luke was eating a soft serve cone, and Reid had a three-scoop bowl with so many toppings, Luke could barely see the ice cream underneath them. Reid also had a side of chili cheese fries.
Luke shook his head, watching Reid alternate between bites of ice cream and french fries. "You have the appetite of a 17-year-old. How are you in such good shape, Dr. Oliver?"
"How do you know I'm in good shape?" Reid asked, shoving a cheese-dripping french fry into his mouth.
"I saw you with your shirt off a couple of hours ago, remember?"
"Oh, yeah...that's right...were you checking me out, Mr. Snyder?"
"Yup." Luke smiled but then couldn't hold Reid's gaze and felt his cheeks heat up.
They were silent for a bit, concentrating on their food.
"I had fun tonight," Luke said. "Today sucked, but tonight was sort of great. I needed this. It got my mind off things." Reid continued to eat his food, without looking at Luke. "And you," Luke continued, causing Reid to look up. "You're...I don't know...I mean, who knew that you could be enjoyable company? Or that you actually know how to smile?"
"Yeah, well...don't let this information get around, okay?" Reid pushed the chili cheese fries toward Luke and gestured toward them. "I've got a reputation to uphold."
Luke picked up a soggy fry and ate it. "Not bad..," he said. "Your secret is safe with me. I won't correct the nurses when they call you Dr. Asshole behind your back."
"You've got to try this cherry ice cream," Reid said, digging into the bowl with his spoon an ignoring Luke's comment. "You know how usually it's just bland marichino cherries? This one is made with bing cherries, I think. Here..." Reid handed the spoon to Luke, heaped with ice cream.
Luke took the spoon from him and sampled it. "Mmmm," he said around a mouthful of cherries and vanilla. "You're right. I've been coming here since I was a little kid, but I've never tried it because normally I don't like that flavor...but that's good." He handed the spoon back to Reid.
A couple of minutes later, Reid said, "Ya know...you could offer me some of your ice cream because, ya know, I let you try some of mine, and you have chocolate, and I don't have chocolate, and I like chocolate...I should have gotten a scoop of chocolate."
Luke rolled his eyes in mock annoyance but then leaned forward on the table with his elbows and held the cone toward Reid's mouth. Reid leaned forward and stuck his tongue out to take a swipe, but as he did, Luke bumped his chin and nose with the icre cream and then sat back laughing. "Oh nice, Snyder," Reid said, grabbing for some napkins from the dispenser between him and Luke, but he coudln't help laughing as chocolate ice cream dripped off his nose.
Luke didn't know it at the time, and he would have scoffed it anyone suggested it, but weeks, months, and many years later, he would recall that in this moment, on a much warmer than usual spring night, as Reid sat across from him, wearing a backwards baseball cap, licking ice cream off his bottom lip, laughter crinkling his eyes...this was the moment that Luke fell in love with him. Just. Like. That.
****************************************
"Can I drive?" Luke asked, as they approached Reid's car.
Reid shurgged and tossed the keys to Luke.
Inside the car, Luke ran his hand over the BMW logo on the steering wheel. "This is a sexy car, Dr. Oliver."
Reid smiled. "I haven't driven a stick shift in a long time...I hope I remember how," Luke admitted, looking over at Reid, who he found staring at him intently.
"You never forget. It's like riding a bike." He reached over and pulled Luke's right hand gently off the steering wheel and placed it on the stick. He rested his hand on top of Luke's. "Step on the clutch and brake." Luke did as instructed. Reid went through the gears, moving Luke's hand with his own. "First...second...third..............fou
****************************************
Luke sailed past YO's.
"You know, you just passed the parking lot with your car in it, right?"
"Yeah, I know," Luke smiled, the car feeling really good under his hands and feet. "Is it okay if I get back on the highway? This thing's fun to drive."
Reid didn't answer because he could tell that Luke wasn't waiting for one. "Ya know, Mr. Snyder, you have more money than God...I think you could afford to buy yourself an automotive toy...or two even..."
They rode the highway for a few miles before Luke exited and turned down a dark, country road. They eventually progressed up a long driveway and stopped in front of a house that was dark, except for a porch light. Luke cut the engine.
"Where are we?" Reid asked.
"See that house back there?" Luke said, pointing ahead of them, through the trees.
"Looks more like a mansion," Reid answered.
"That's my grandmother's house. This is the back driveway up to it. "
"Holy shit. Does she live there alone?"
Luke nodded. "Her and the help."
Reid rolled his eyes. "So, who's house is this?" he asked, gesturing toward the house immediately in front of them.
"It's also my grandmother's. It's her guest cottage."
"Cottage?" Reid scoffed. "It's way too big to be a cottage."
"It's 4,200 square feet. Five bedrooms. Four bathrooms...the master has a jacuzzi. A media room. I lived here for a little while."
"Why on earth would you ever move out?" Reid laughed, shaking his head.
"Want to come in?" Luke asked, without looking at Reid and fiddling with Reid's keys as they hung from the ignition.
"Yes," Reid answered simply.
tbc...