Luka didn’t fully agree. He and Wulf gamed together; there had never been any sexual or romantic intention between them. Agreeing to meet Reno in New York City wasn’t just putting Luka’s safety on the line; it was putting his heart out there, too.
The plane bounced on the runway, jolting everyone awake before it settled smoothly on the ground. Luka heard severalpeople click their seatbelts off and internally chastised them, since they hadn’t stopped at the gate yet. When they finally did ten minutes later and the seatbelt sign went off, Luka stood and hunched over, trying to stretch without getting into his seat neighbor’s space.
In the end, he had settled on only staying the same amount of time as Reno, instead of the whole week like he’d offered. Yes, it was a short trip, and it was hard to justify the environmental impact of flying across the country for a booty call, but he felt more excited than anxious as they filed off the plane. He gave a shy wave to the flight attendant at the door as he said goodbye, then was happy to feel the fresh air on the gate bridge, leaking in through the gaps between the plane and the tunnel. He shouldered his bag higher and bypassed the baggage claim to find a man, somewhat familiar, in a suit and holding a sign bearing his name.
“Good to see you," the man said and Luka gave him a long look before he stuck out his hand. “Cane. I do security for Volt. We met in Columbia.”
“Oh, right.” Luka remembered, now. He’d been so anxious before at the show that he’d forgotten the tall man’s face. He had heavy-set brows and looked ridiculously built under his suit. There was an earring hanging from each lobe, but Luka didn’t spot any other visible tattoos or piercings. Luka shook Cane’s offered hand. “Thank you for reminding me. I was kind of nervous.”
“Understandable. Glad to see you look more ready this time.” Cane dropped Luka’s hand and turned to go outside. “He’s got this effect on people sometimes. Makes ‘em skittish. I like it when his company holds their head high.”
Was Luka doing that? He checked himself and found his posture more comfortable than he felt and then hurried to catch up to Cane.Wait, what company?
“Car’s right out this way.”
Luka caught up, stepping into line with Cane, needing to widen each stride to keep up with the taller man. He looked where Cane pointed and found an unmarked black car that wasn’t very flashy but still looked comfortable. Cane held the door open for him.
“Hi.”
The breathless greeting surprised Luka as he bent down to get into the car. He didn’t have time to process anything before Reno’s hands were on his cheeks, pushing hair away from his face and saying, “Let me see you.”
Luka flushed immediately, stammering, “H-hi," back to Reno and couldn’t help but lean his face into Reno’s hand. Cane got into the driver’s seat and gave them a glance through the mirror.
“Seatbelts on.”
“Yes, sir.” Reno smiled, not looking away from Luka as he reached over to grab Luka’s seat belt and pull it over his chest and lap. He clicked it into place and Luka could feel heat radiating off of Reno’s body before Reno pulled away to put his own on.
He was dressed immaculately, clearly in his clothes for the concert. His lips were so full, pink and glossy, and when he blinked, his eyeshadow glittered. His hair was curled at the bottom, but his fringe spiked out every which way. Luka knew on stage the style was impressive, making Reno appear bigger than he was.
“Sorry, I couldn’t come out and greet you. Kandi’s been on my ass about being in public when I’m dressed up. I guess I’ve been making her life hard.”
Luka didn’t know what to say but let Reno slide a hand over to him and link their fingers together.
“Have you decided if you’ll come tonight?”
Luka choked on a sudden cough and Reno clapped a hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh.
“I didn’t mean that. I mean, are you going to come watch the show?” Reno was pink-cheeked; it showed even through the layers of stage makeup.
“I want to, but I think I need to rest. You won’t be upset if I go to the hotel and sleep, right?” Luka couldn’t look at him. He could feel his palm growing sweaty against Reno’s and wondered if what they were doing was okay.
“Of course,” Reno replied, like it was easy to accept Luka’s wants. “When do you want to see me?”
Luka tried not to fidget and lost, twirling the ends of his hair between his fingers with the hand that wasn’t wrapped up in Reno’s.
“When is the show done?”
“Not until one.” Reno pouted. “I can’t leave early either since it’s our last show of the tour. Hearts wants us to come out for the encore to debut our new collab.”
“Tomorrow then?” Luka sounded more upset than he wanted to let on but the knowing look Reno gave him soothed his fears of beingtoo much. “Early?”
“How early is early?” Reno squeezed his hand. “Nothing before ten, please?”
“Okay. Just text me when you’re up then?”
Reno slowly peeled his hand away and his fingers traced over Luka’s arm up to his neck. “Anything you want,” he said, then leaned forward to place a feather-light kiss to Luka’s jaw.
It felt like fire.
