For the next few minutes, Luke is bombarded with questions only teenagers would ever dare to ask, which he either answers gracefully or skirts around with impressive tact, and then he poses with anyone brave enough to take a picture with him. He’s as patient as a saint, even when the interactions last longer than they probably should, but I can tell he’s genuinely happy for the attention, thriving in his element.
My presence, as briefly as it was welcomed, has become all but irrelevant in the face of Luke’s shine. I don’t mind. I was never one for the spotlight anyway, and witnessing Luke in this way is fascinating, like seeing the man behind the curtain, learning what makes him tick. The way his whole face lights up with unmistakable joy is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
Eventually, some of the adults partying inside catch on to the fact that something weird is happening with Luke and all these kids in the backyard, and they come out to speculate on it. At one point, Marcus materializes at my side, and he hands me a beer as he stares at the scene before him with mild confusion. When I tell him what’s happening, he laughs, shaking his head.
“That would be Tiff’s fault,” he says. “She introduced him to Luke’s Instagram a few weeks ago after he came out to us and told us about his future dreams. Ryder was a little obsessed once she’d told him he was an actor from New York who grew up here, too.”
“I think he’s got himself a little crush.” I chuckle.
“Oh, yeah.” Marcus laughs. “Big time.”
“I doubt Luke minds, though. He’s probably been missing all the adoration since he’s been cooped up here.”
Marcus nods thoughtfully. “What’s the deal with him anyway?” he asks after a moment. “Is he here for good, or is he going back?”
My heart jolts with the unexpected question, the sudden reminder that Luke might yet leave me making my gut clench,but I try to keep the panic from my face as I shrug, hoping it comes off as unbothered.
“Unclear,” I say. “He’s very tight-lipped about his plans, but I know he wants to go back.”
“Hm.” Marcus frowns, then, after a moment, he adds, “You know, I always wondered why you weren’t more interested in moving somewhere like that.”
“What? Why?” I scoff, genuinely taken aback.
“I don’t know.” Marcus shrugs, glancing sidelong at me. He gives me a curious up-and-down look like he’s staring at something foreign and not quite sure what to make of it. “You were always into that artsy, culture shit. Opera, ballet, musical theater… I kinda thought you’d want to end up somewhere you can go see more of it. It’s not like the country has a lot to offer in that area.”
I gape at Marcus blankly, my brain whirling with the realization that he may have paid more attention to my niche interests than I’d ever given him credit for. It wasn’t like I actively hid any of it from him, but we never outright discussed these things, either. And Iknowhe wasn’t into any of it, so I didn’t see the point in bringing it up…
He smirks at me, almost like he can tell that’s what I’m thinking, and he takes a swig of his beer. “The man was too stunned to speak,” he teases.
I frown and shake my head. “I’m not cut out for city life,” I say, sipping my beer as well.
“We both know that’s bullshit.” Marcus snorts, and I freeze. “You were always the adventurer. The one who constantly talked about going out to see the world when we were younger. You hated it here more than anyone else, going on about your plans to move away every chance you got. Hell. You got accepted to U of M and couldn’t pack your bags fast enough to live in AnnArbor. Your dream wasalwaysto leave until your dad died, and then everything changed.”
His words hit like an axe hammered deep into my chest, and I clench my jaw tightly, looking away. The truth of it cuts with precision, and even though I know he doesn’t mean to be harsh, it still feels like an attack with how my body tenses. The problem is that I know he’s notwrong, even though I’ve never taken the time to examine the correlation myself.
I tend to forget that I lived in downtown Ann Arbor for three months before my dad passed. I walked those city streets almost daily and didn’t hate it. In fact, I really liked it. But my anxiety about going back after he died was so intense that it morphed into a fear of the city itself, and eventually, I dropped out of school because I couldn’t take it. Afterward, every time I found myself in any crowded place, I felt triggered, almost like walls were closing around me, and I couldn’t breathe.
My date with Luke in Detroit was the first time I’d felt a sense of that old excitement about being in a city, and none of the gut-wrenching fear that had plagued me for years. But that was likely just a fluke. Not something I can count on happening twice.
“All I’m saying is that you’re not getting any younger, dude,” Marcus explains gently, gripping my shoulder in a way that’s meant to be encouraging but just feels suffocating in this context. “There’s no shame in where you’ve been, but I think you should really consider branching out more. Give yourself permission to expand. You’re an unattached, loaded bachelor with means and nothing but free time. Don’t waste any more of it running on autopilot, working a dead-end job you don’t even need in the town you’ve always hated.”
“Where is this coming from?” I ask defensively, heat crawling up my neck.
Marcus shrugs, looking out at Luke and the kids thoughtfully. Then he sighs. “I don’t want to see you miserable for the rest of your life because you stopped trying.”
“I’m notmiserable.” I scowl.
“Jesus, man. Justthinkabout what I said, okay?” Marcus rolls his eyes. “That’s all I’m asking here.”
I don’t respond other than tossing up a dismissive shrug, and he seems to give up trying to encourage me further. His attention is suddenly pulled away by someone inside the house, and he gives me one last pat on the back before leaving me to stew in my confused annoyance as I try to figure out what the hell that was and why it felt so triggering.
Sure, I’ll admit there was a time when I wanted to go out and see the world, traveling abroad or even cross-country. It was a dream of mine since I was young, especially after listening to how Dad used to talk about the world outside our small town. I fell in love with the idea of exploring all that life had to offer back when the world felt colossal and immeasurable. But when he died, my world imploded with the loss. Suddenly, that big, expansive dream felt too overwhelming and impossible to achieve, and the parameters of my search for happiness changed, shrinking down to simply seeking comfort in the familiar and mundane. There was safety in mediocrity. Security.
And I had my books. Reading stories about grand adventures and worlds so different from my own gave me a glimpse into the kinds of things I was missing, satiating my curiosity without ever having to leave the comfort of my bed. I was content with that. Tales of love and romance were always fun to read, but that’s all they were. Stories for entertainment—not realistic or attainable. I neverfeltlike I was lacking in that area…
Yet, as my gaze falls back on Luke across the yard, I realize how wrong I had been about that. These past couple of months, I’ve experienced my very own whirlwind romance, the kind I’donly ever read about in those same books. Itisreal, and I found it. Now I don’t think I could ever go back to the way things were.
Luke opened a door that had been long closed, taking my hand, and drawing me out of my shell into a world of color I never thought I would experience in my lifetime. He broke all the barriers I’d carefully erected to protect myself and charged headfirst into forbidden territory to reach me where no one else dared tread. Luke’s the reason I’m looking forward to the future for the first time inyears, imagining all of the possibilities tomorrow may bring when I’d previously given up on it. And all because he walked into my life on a random Tuesday in August. Without him, none of this would have happened.
