together anymore. He didn’t know what to say, because... what could he say? Once again his destiny had been decided for him, and he’d sat by and watched it happen.
It had been going on for years, though, hadn’t it? First by his parents and then by a series of shitty employers who barely made sticking around worthwhile outside of the money, and when they finally did—somehow giving him the luxury of getting to know Erik—the rug was pulled from under him.
Time to move on. Time to find another town, another job, another place to search for another guy.
But he didn’t want another guy. Not this time.
The last three months with Erik had been his best three. Ever. He didn’t want to walk away from that, but now he was being forced away. And if his company was laying people off in the region, all the other companies would be too.
So this was it. That’s what temporary living arrangements and jobs were all about. He knew what he’d signed on for, but he never expected Erik and a barely dreamed-of future to walk into his life.
The silence was suddenly oppressive, so Luther turned on the radio. He discovered the nearby college station he knew occasionally played a good mix, and after three songs, he wasn’t disappointed when Jim Morrison started singing to him.
He listened as all twelve minutes of The Door’s “The End” played, which spoke to this moment more than any other song could’ve. This was going to be good-bye, not just to Erik, but to the last vestiges of his childhood if he was really going to step up and do what his grandma had always had faith he could handle. The melancholy the song draped over the truck forced Luther to drive with the radio off while only the sounds of the road and Erik’s soft snores entertained him. The sun dipped lower and lower, nearly blinding him as it appeared to hiss in watery waves as it sunk into the earth.
And he still had another hour to go.
As he drove past Erik’s motel, he didn’t consider dropping him off there for one second, but he did jostle him awake.
“We’re almost back to the man camp, so you might want to scoot back over,” Luther said as kindly as he could.
“Thanks,” Erik mumbled as he wiped at his face, as though to wake himself up more quickly before he slid to the passenger seat. “Can I spend the night with you?”
“I’d love that.”
Luther turned the corner and finally pulled up to his trailer, exhausted. When they got inside, Luther insisted Erik lie down on the bed and put an ice pack on his wound to numb it even more.
“You’re babying me.”
“Let me,” Luther said with far too much pleading in his voice.
This was stupid. Why was he holding all of this in?
He lay next to Erik, being careful not to wiggle the bed too much, and he pressed a kiss to Erik’s forehead.
“I had a lot of time to think while I drove.”
“Sorry I fell asleep.”
“Don’t be. I sorted a lot of shit out in my head.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“I’m going to go make my grandma’s house my own. I’ll live at the lake and escape this overpopulation that never sat right with me. I can fish and water-ski and sail. In the winter I can play hockey and learn how to fix hardwood floors. I can even work at the lumberyard, according to my mom.”
“Yeah?”
“I think it’s time to stop running. You were the first person to call me on that.”
Erik nodded and gave Luther a resigned smile. “It’ll be nice for you to finally settle down and grow some roots.”
“There’s only one thing missing.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“I need a plumber who can help me fix… well, a lot of stuff.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll be completely honest with you, anything up near the lake is not going to pay like oil jobs do, but the housing is free. Just move in with me and help me figure out how to make Grandma and Grandpa’s house a home again. Show me how to bend rather than break, because right this second, I feel like I’m
It had been going on for years, though, hadn’t it? First by his parents and then by a series of shitty employers who barely made sticking around worthwhile outside of the money, and when they finally did—somehow giving him the luxury of getting to know Erik—the rug was pulled from under him.
Time to move on. Time to find another town, another job, another place to search for another guy.
But he didn’t want another guy. Not this time.
The last three months with Erik had been his best three. Ever. He didn’t want to walk away from that, but now he was being forced away. And if his company was laying people off in the region, all the other companies would be too.
So this was it. That’s what temporary living arrangements and jobs were all about. He knew what he’d signed on for, but he never expected Erik and a barely dreamed-of future to walk into his life.
The silence was suddenly oppressive, so Luther turned on the radio. He discovered the nearby college station he knew occasionally played a good mix, and after three songs, he wasn’t disappointed when Jim Morrison started singing to him.
He listened as all twelve minutes of The Door’s “The End” played, which spoke to this moment more than any other song could’ve. This was going to be good-bye, not just to Erik, but to the last vestiges of his childhood if he was really going to step up and do what his grandma had always had faith he could handle. The melancholy the song draped over the truck forced Luther to drive with the radio off while only the sounds of the road and Erik’s soft snores entertained him. The sun dipped lower and lower, nearly blinding him as it appeared to hiss in watery waves as it sunk into the earth.
And he still had another hour to go.
As he drove past Erik’s motel, he didn’t consider dropping him off there for one second, but he did jostle him awake.
“We’re almost back to the man camp, so you might want to scoot back over,” Luther said as kindly as he could.
“Thanks,” Erik mumbled as he wiped at his face, as though to wake himself up more quickly before he slid to the passenger seat. “Can I spend the night with you?”
“I’d love that.”
Luther turned the corner and finally pulled up to his trailer, exhausted. When they got inside, Luther insisted Erik lie down on the bed and put an ice pack on his wound to numb it even more.
“You’re babying me.”
“Let me,” Luther said with far too much pleading in his voice.
This was stupid. Why was he holding all of this in?
He lay next to Erik, being careful not to wiggle the bed too much, and he pressed a kiss to Erik’s forehead.
“I had a lot of time to think while I drove.”
“Sorry I fell asleep.”
“Don’t be. I sorted a lot of shit out in my head.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“I’m going to go make my grandma’s house my own. I’ll live at the lake and escape this overpopulation that never sat right with me. I can fish and water-ski and sail. In the winter I can play hockey and learn how to fix hardwood floors. I can even work at the lumberyard, according to my mom.”
“Yeah?”
“I think it’s time to stop running. You were the first person to call me on that.”
Erik nodded and gave Luther a resigned smile. “It’ll be nice for you to finally settle down and grow some roots.”
“There’s only one thing missing.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“I need a plumber who can help me fix… well, a lot of stuff.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ll be completely honest with you, anything up near the lake is not going to pay like oil jobs do, but the housing is free. Just move in with me and help me figure out how to make Grandma and Grandpa’s house a home again. Show me how to bend rather than break, because right this second, I feel like I’m
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