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"What about Julie? She's going to notice all three of her bandmates gone."
Luke whined, "I'm bored and I dunno where Reggie's at. Let's just find him and Willie and get some street dogs." Alex spared a glance over the crowd that was a combination of people he had never met before. The lights were dim in the home, some guy was stood at Flynn's DJ station and was mixing music, Alex cringed at the bright strobe lights. Reggie had to be in there somewhere.
The house party was out of control, Alex didn't understand how Julie was going to get this all tidied up before Ray and Carlos got home tomorrow from an out of town baseball tournament.
Carlos FaceTimed Reggie earlier to let him know his team was going into the finals but there hadn't been any word back on if they won or lost.
It wasn't even supposed to get this out of hand. Ray gave the all-clear on having a small get-together but then Flynn made an Instagram post and within thirty minutes the house was loaded with people. The girl clearly knew how to network.
Speaking of Flynn, Luke saw her and Julie sneak upstairs about half an hour ago and it didn't take a genius to work out what they were about to get up to.
Alex lost Willie about twenty minutes ago and had been looking for him since. The long-haired skater likely got caught up chatting with someone, maybe Reggie was with him, Willie was one of the biggest social butterflies Alex knew. That was saying something because he had Luke and Reggie as best friends.
Street dogs didn't sound appetizing but burgers did and a new place had opened up ten minutes away.
"We'll go if you settle for burgers." "Deal."
"I'll search the crowd for Willie, you check the kitchen for Reg, I'll meet you outside." Luke nodded and split from his best friend in search of his boyfriend.
People were lingering about in the kitchen and Luke might have recognized a guy whose name he recalled being Johnny, passing a joint around which could explain the smell, but he didn't look into it. Julie wouldn't be pleased but Julie was also busy with Flynn right now.
The living room is where Luke found Reggie. It was pretty empty which made sense why the other room was so packed. Reggie was sat on the couch playing on Luke's phone, which he guessed he lost so thank God he hadn't. Reggie brightened, "Luke!"
The guitarist plopped down next to his boyfriend, head on the boy's lean shoulder, "Hey, was looking for you." "I was eating leftovers Ray left in the kitchen but then the smoking started and you know how my allergies get." Luke peeked at him,
"You okay? Alex might have some Claritin?"
"I'm okay .. should we warn Julie that people are smoking pot in her kitchen?" It was indeed a joint.
"Nah .. better to let her figure it out, she'll smell it eventually." Reggie rolled his eyes but let out a laugh at Luke's clear lack of responsibility.
"Carrie will tell her about it, she's gone into full mom mode, didn't think she had one. Five minutes ago she was chasing some guy out after he tried to rob Julie's forks and spoons."
Luke snickered, "I didn't know she had a mom mode either .. Alex is starting to rub off on her."
"Where is Alex?" "Looking for Willie." A rumbling sound came from Reggie's stomach making Luke laugh, "the leftovers didn't fill you up did they?"
Reggie shook his head and Luke placed a hand on the boy's stomach, his hand moved in circular motions for a moment, "that's okay cause we're going to get some food, Alex was thinking burgers."
Luke kissed Reggie's cheek a few times before standing up. Thinking of Alex reminded him that he was supposed to meet the blond outside as soon as he found Reggie.
Luke pulled Reggie up from the couch and fastened his arm around his shoulders. A smile played on his lips before he kissed the boy's lips sweetly, "let's go doll face." Reggie blushed as a result of the nickname Luke gave him years ago when he went through his makeup phase.
"You're prettier than a doll," he had mumbled as soon as he got a look at the makeup look Julie put together. His makeup phase was long gone now unlike the nickname that stuck like glue.
"What about Julie?" "Alex will let her know we're leaving." "He's going to walk in on her and Flynn in Julie's bedroom isn't he?" Luke laughed, "they won't ever learn to lock the door."
The two made their way throughout the house, Luke's grip tight on Reggie who shouted goodbyes to a few people he knew or those he just made friends with.
Time was transitioning from January into February, the temperature would be getting warmer soon, but icy nights always calmed Reggie. He was reminded of his love for the cold when he and Luke made it onto Julie's front porch. The cool, night air brushed his flushed cheeks and his body relaxed from finally vacating the stuffy home.
There was a railing that reached around the whole porch. Luke loved to sit out here with Julie and write songs or even use the space to think. He pulled Reggie near, his own back lounging against the foundation of the home, his cool meshed with Luke's warm. His arms moved to Reggie's waist and almost as if on reflex, Reggie's hands were laying around Luke's shoulder. His soft fingers fiddling with Luke's hair.
The peace that washed over Luke made him feel more than content. They were away from the noise, the smell of the people and the booze, it was just him and Reggie. He didn't know what he'd do with himself if he ever lost this feeling.
Lyrics were forming in his head, Luke would have to write them down later.
A teasing and heartbreakingly adorable smile stretched on Reggie's pale lips, breaking Luke's thought process, "what is it? You have your thinking face on and you thinking is usually never good." Luke rolled his eyes and jerked Reggie closer, "shaddup." The boy tossed his head back and a sweet laugh left his lips, Luke's eyes followed the movement, the sound of Reggie's laughter entirely melted his chest.
Infatuation wouldn't even begin to cover it.
Then his eyes enlarged and he tugged away from Luke completely, "you hear that?" Luke shook his head and Reggie's grin spread, "it's Ed Sheeran!"
Luke's ears picked up on Reggie's discovery, "so honey now, take me into your loving arms. Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars."
Thinking Out Loud was playing, Luke knew this one by heart, not that Reggie knew that yet. The black-haired boy loved Ed Sheeran and his cheesy love songs. So did Alex but he wouldn't confess to it if you asked.
Luke scanned his boyfriend's face before he let out a little chuckle. Of course that was what he wanted.
He walked away from the railing and held out his hand, Reggie's mouth fell open, his blue eyes blown, "seriously?"
Luke laughed again before he clasped Reggie's hands and placed them on his shoulders, and then he positioned his hands on Reggie's waist.
The floorboards of the porch creaked under their weight as Luke started to sway them together. The music wasn't as clear sounding from the outside but the lyrics were still unmistakable. He proceeded to sing quietly,
"When my hands don't play the strings the same way, I know you will still love me the same."
Reggie's expression was the softest Luke had ever noticed it, he opened his mouth to sing back, his voice just the right amount of raspy although there was a light tone to it because of the small smile he had. "Cause honey your soul, could never grow old, it's evergreen. Baby your smile's forever in my mind and memory."
Luke couldn't stare anywhere else as the lyrics flowed out of him, there was nobody else he wished to look at besides his blue-eyed boy.
"I'm thinking bout how, people fall in love in mysterious ways, and maybe it's all part of a plan. I'll just keep on making the same mistakes, hoping that you'll understand."
There were several times in Luke's life that he questioned his own decisions or whatever was going on around him. Multiple regrets, that he wouldn't take back because they brought him where he was now, but regrets that never eased up.
"But baby now, take me into your loving arms, kiss me under the light of a thousand stars."
Never had Luke doubted the way he wholeheartedly belonged to the boy in his arms. There was never another choice for him, no other guy, girl, anybody, that would change how he felt for his boy. He was made for Reggie, to keep his body warm, to slow dance with him in Julie's backyard, to listen to his country songs even despite Luke's distaste for the genre.
"Place your head on my beating heart, I'm thinking out loud."
Reggie giggled again, his smile wide as the cat from that fantasy movie he loved, it made Luke laugh as well. Together their voices blended, the perfect mix of dark and light.
"That maybe we found love right where we are."
Luke released his hold on Reggie's waist so he could whirl the bassist who giggled as he went. Luke's gentle hand brought him back into his arms, their bodies pressed closer than before, Reggie's heart thumping against Luke's chest.
He was facing the moonlight that lit up his soft features making Luke feel like he couldn't even think about anything but the boy in front of him. The blue of his eyes had never looked brighter, the curve of his bottom lip, the way his nose slightly reddened from the cold, it was all so precise for Luke.
Reggie put the moon and her stars to shame, his beauty greater than anything Luke had ever seen.
The hazel-eyed boy pushed their foreheads together, "please," Reggie uttered against Luke's lips. He'd give him anything, with or without Reggie having to ask, so Luke shut the small space between their lips.
Reggie's hands found their way onto Luke's chest, his fingers twisting into the boy's sleeveless shirt. And his mouth was on Luke's with something more than force, something that made Luke believe heavenly fire was being injected into his veins.
The emotion alone was enough to beat any high Luke had obtained from playing for a crowd of people.
He moaned. The way Reggie entirely gave himself to Luke drove him wild. Reggie kissed the way he did many things, with his whole entire being put into it. Luke pressed back into the kiss with just as much force, giving his everything to the boy he couldn't see himself without.
Before Luke's lungs gave out from the lack of air, Reggie pulled away, a satisfied smirk on his swollen lips.
"You do realize we're living a cliche right now? Luke, we just slow danced and you don't even dance!"
A shy smile came to Luke as Reggie's laughter slowed, "you make me feel like a cliche .. but in the best way possible." It was cheesy as shit but Ed Sheeran' lyrics did something to him, made him truly think out loud.
Reggie smiled, the boyish grin he'd had since the first day Luke met him in second grade, a smile he cherished more than words could explain.
Their bubble was busted by abrupt screaming. The front door ruptured open and suddenly people were clearing out from Julie's house.
As the crowd departed, Carrie strode outside with a vicious look in her eyes that managed to intimidate even Luke who had been friends with her for years.
"Did you see how much pot was in the kitchen? The place reeks!" "Did you tell Julie?"
The girl in question emerged with Flynn, Alex, and Willie tailing behind her. "Dad is going to kill me," she sighed. Her clothes were off, if Luke stared hard enough he would recognize that she and Flynn swapped shirts.
Assumably in a hurry to get dressed after being caught. Judging by the look on Alex's face, it was the drummer who found them. Luke gave Reggie a look and they shared a subtle grin.
Carrie tossed her hair over her shoulder, "don't worry Jules, I've got a guy who can take care of this mess, we just can't be here while he works. He's not fond of people being in his way."
Julie cheered up and without hesitancy, she pressed a kiss to Carrie's cheek. "Thank you thank you!" Carrie's blush was tough to miss and so was Flynn's slight smirk.
Willie called it that something was going on between the three girls, looked like he was right which meant Reggie owed him a twenty.
"It's uhm no problem .."
Alex cleared his throat and wiped off the smile he was wearing, "well I don't know about you guys but I'm starving." Reggie instantly nodded, "me too."
"Burgers?" Everyone gave their responses of agreement so Willie and Alex began to lead the way. Julie grabbed Flynn's hand and wrapped an arm around Carrie's shoulders.
"I'll buy you a milkshake Care."
"Strawberry?"
"Mhmm and a side of fries."
Luke beamed as his friends carried on, that peace flooding over him again as they surrounded him with their presence and personalities. He could hear Alex trying to convince Willie that onion rings were made for sharing.
Reggie's fingers wrapped within his, "I love you," he let out. And yeah, Luke was pretty damm content.
"I love you too."