Pretend You Are for Five More Minutes by K.S. Murphy

Author:K.S. Murphy [Murphy, K.S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2020-05-23T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

The trip home was quiet.

Neither Henry nor Luke mentioned what happened or what was said the whole time. They sat side-by-side, stiffly, on the bus. Henry never looked at Luke, but he wished he could see his face. Everything Luke said and the way he said it…it all felt so real.

When they got home, Luke went straight to his room to change, leaving Henry standing awkwardly in the hall. With nothing else to do, Henry changed as well. He hung his suit up and shoved his legs into sweats and tossed on an old T-shirt.

Once he finished changing, he sat down at the edge of his bed and tried to make sense of everything that happened. Not only had he spent the night pretending to be engaged to his best friend, who he happened to be hopelessly in love with, he quit his job. Without even having the prospect of another lined up. To be honest, that was the least of his worries. Henry would find a job. Maybe not in a place with the same influence and prestige, but he’d get one. It was kind of exciting.

What worried him now was Luke and this dragged out silence. Henry couldn’t tell what Luke was thinking. Unusual, that. They could almost always read each other’s minds. This time, Henry had no idea.

Henry sighed and plopped back on his bed. He considered calling Ashely for some advice but would actually prefer to talk about this with Luke first. He just didn’t know how or where to start.

“H-Henry?”

The sound of Luke’s voice had Henry bolting upright on his bed. Luke stood in the doorway of his bedroom in just a pair of sweats. Henry’s eyes dropped to the tattoo on his right pec. A splotch of paint in the colors of the rainbow. Henry had been with him when he got it. Held his hand through it. He smiled at the memory.

It faded when he got a better look at Luke. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and nibbled on his bottom lip. Nervous, then. Luke always looked adorable when he felt nervous. This big, burly guy who could run through a crowd of people like a bull somehow looked so tiny and intimidated. But Henry couldn’t imagine what made him nervous now.

“Hey,” Henry whispered. “Are you okay?”

A smile started to lift on Luke’s lips. He did pull it off, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Actually.” He swallowed roughly. “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Me?”

“Yeah.” Luke nodded. “I…I’m…” His voice cracked, splintering into so many emotions that Henry couldn’t begin to pick them apart. “I’m so sorry, Henry, I shouldn’t’ve done that or…or said…but when I heard the way that asshole…I just reacted because—”

“Because you love me.”

Eyes falling closed, Luke lowered his head and sighed. He chuckled softly with a slight nod of his head.

“Yeah.” He wiped at his eyes. “Because I love you.”

Henry didn’t remember moving, but he now found himself in front of Luke. He couldn’t quite tell if he was really crying or if only a few tears escaped during that soft confession.

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