“You terrify me.”
“I don’t understand.”
Luka sighed. “Your world is so different than mine. Maybeyou’reused to getting what you want, but I’m not.”
“You have a point.” Reno knew he was abnormally blessed to consistently get the things he worked for. “I am coming at this confidently because I know my own capacity to care for you, and I see the way I behave towards the people in my circle and how my sincere feelings are unwavering. I know I am fully able, and willing, to make whatever life you want possible. I shouldn’t expect you to see what I do, even if I wish you did.”
“So you admit you’re being unreasonable.”
“Sage told me I am, by nature, unreasonable.” Reno didn’t have a problem saying so. “She said, and I think she’s right, that it's good I’m trying to be more considerate and rational, but if I present myself to you as something I’m not, then it’ll be bad. I’m stubborn, like a dog with a bone. Once I have what I want, I don’t let it go and I don’t stop wanting it. It makes me difficult to deal with sometimes, but it does make me trustworthy. If I say something, I mean it. If I say I’ll do something, I will.”
“I see,” Luka said. “This is why you asked for time?”
“Yes. I can say things to you but you need to watch.”
“What do you mean?”
Reno scratched his cheek, trying to come up with better words. “If you stick around, you will watch me and see I don’t give up. I can show you, year after year, that these things I am saying are real and true.”
“It is impossible for you to know that,” Luka argued, “No one knows where they will be in five years, or how they will feel then.”
Reno relented, “That’s true. However, I know myself.”
“You’re saying you’re built different.”
“Sure,” Reno laughed. “I mean, my life is proof enough of that. Isn’t it?”
“I’ll come visit you, then we will see where this goes,” Luka said with an air of finality. “But, I want my own hotel or something. I need the option to sleep somewhere else if something happens or if I just need some alone time.”
“I will have somewhere lined up for you,” Reno promised. “I want you to be comfortable.”
Luka grunted, sounding like he didn’t believe Reno, so Reno took it as a challenge.
“You’ll see.”
“Sure. What are you wearing?” Luka surprised Reno by asking.
“Uh.” Reno had to lift the covers and look at himself. “Band t-shirt and underwear. Long socks. My flat’s a little chilly.”
Luka chuckled and suggested, “I don’t want to think about life things anymore. Let's play a game.”
“A game?” Reno let the blanket fall back on top of himself. “What kind?”
“You tell me a sexual fantasy, and I’ll say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ then we can switch.”
Reno took a moment to process then asked, “How is that a game?”
“For every ‘yes’ you have to take off a piece of clothing.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Reno laughed. “What if something is a ‘maybe’?”
Luka took a moment to contemplate. “Say why it’s a maybe, and um, I don’t know. Move on. Turn your camera on.”
Reno hoped he looked okay as he pressed the video call option. When Luka picked up and turned the camera onto himself, he felt the same rush he did when he stepped on stage. ““Oh! Wow.”
“What?” Luka looked confused for a moment, then his eyes widened. “Your room. Your bed.”
Reno understood completely. Luka was on top of his bedding in baggy dark sweatpants and a tight shirt. It looked like he’d set his phone up on a stand to give Reno a better view of him lounging in his bed. Behind him were a few framed pieces of art and a bookshelf stuffed full of books and decorations. The curtains over his window were gray, the walls a lighter gray, and Luka looked like a Technicolor dream against them. Reno stared, seeing himself in the corner with his messy hair and lips parted in surprise, and he watched Luka turn slightly pink-cheeked.
