Chapter Thirteen
Sitting in their local pub later that night, Luke, Jack, and Toby were talking about Sarah. Since the day Luke had admitted the truth to them both, neither of them had said a word about it but had continued as normal. The only thing they had told him was that it didn't bother them and Luke was a friend. Something Luke was grateful for.
"Man, she's a complete bitch. What did you ever see in her?" Jack asked, lifting his pint up and taking a sip. "I mean, I know why you swore off men, but Sarah?" Jack shook his head.
"Doesn't matter now, does it?" Luke muttered.
"At least she's had a warning now. I imagine Krish would follow through with it."
"What's going on with you and this Krish bloke?" Toby asked, leaning on the table. "He's the TA on our courses, isn't he? I've seen him looking at you."
Luke's eyes widened in surprise. "You've noticed him looking at me?"
"Oh yeah. Many times. I'm surprised you haven't."
Luke shook his head. "I was with Sarah, so I never saw him."
"And Krish likes you." Toby smiled at him. "I think you should give it a go."
"You do? It wouldn't bother you?"
"Nah, best of both worlds, isn't it? Men and women." Toby shrugged. "Not like I can say anything. I've been with a man."
Jack coughed, choking on the beer he'd just swallowed. Luke leaned over, smacking him on the back until Jack nodded his head. "What, you've been with a man? You've had sex with a man? Why am I only just hearing about this?"
Toby shrugged. "Didn't think it mattered."
"Didn't matter? I could have been grilling you for information."
"Grilling me for information? Why would you want to do that, Jack? You got your eyes on someone?" Toby smiled at Jack, waggling his eyebrows.
"Actually, I have."
Both Luke and Toby stared at Jack, mouths hanging open. Luke recovered first. "Who? Is it someone we know?" Luke pointed to him and Toby.
"Might be." Jack smirked. Picking up his pint, he leaned back in his seat, staring at the two of them. He took a sip, smacked his lips, and then chuckled. "Otis."
"Otis." Both Luke and Toby spoke at the same time.
Jack nodded. "Otis." He chuckled, glancing between the two of them. "You should see the look on your faces. What's wrong with me liking a man?"
Luke and Toby stared at each other again before looking back at Jack. Luke opened his mouth to speak, but Toby beat him to it. "It's just, you've never shown any signs that you like men." He shrugged, looking back at Luke.
Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, what Toby said." He shook his head. Wow, Jack had thrown him with that confession!
"I like women too. But there's just something about Otis. Maybe it's because he's taller than me, black hair and blue eyes and pale skin. Thinking about asking him out."
"Is he gay?" Luke asked. Otis didn't ping his radar at all.
"Yep, he sure is. Saw him kissing a bloke a couple weeks back."
"So, he's got a boyfriend?" Toby asked. "If he's got a boyfriend, you shouldn't be asking him out."
"No, no boyfriend. Just someone he was kopping off with." Jack glanced between the two of them, smirking. "And I've noticed him looking my way a few times. Enough that I smiled at him and he smiled back." Taking another drink of his pint, Jack placed it back on the table. "He's definitely interested. I'm gonna ask him next week."
"You sure he's interested?" Luke asked. He knew Otis, and he had to be honest and say that he hadn't seen him look at Jack.
"You know when you see a girl looking at you, and she's biting her lip and messing with her hair?" Jack waited for them to nod. "Well, he's been doing that to me. If that isn't the biggest 'I like you' sign, then what is?"
Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's a definite come on. So, you're gonna ask him on Monday then?"
"Yeah, after our last lecture together."
"Good luck. Hope he says yes." Toby smiled at both of them. "Otis is nice-looking."
Jack snorted. "Otis is fucking gorgeous."
All three them looked at each other and then burst out laughing. Luke shook his head and glanced around the pub. The laughter died in his throat when he spotted Sarah and her boyfriend sat in the corner. He looked back at the other two then nodded over towards them. All three of them glanced over, and Luke heard Jack sigh.
"What the fuck is she doing here? It's not like it's even her local."
"It's just Luke's animal magnetism."
Luke laughed, shaking his head."Animal magnetism? Nah, she's just a bitch. She wants to make my life hell. I don't understand why he's with her. What have I done to him?"
"Fucker needs a wake-up call," Jack muttered. Standing, he glanced down at the two them. "I'm going over there to find out what the fuck her problem is."
Luke also stood, grabbing Jack's arm as he stepped away from the table. "No, she's not worth it, mate. If she wants to sit over there and waste her evening staring at us, let her. I'm not gonna let her ruin our night out."
"You sure, mate?"
"Luke's right, Jack. Leave the stupid bitch alone. She's not causing us any problems sitting over there."
They all sat back down and tried their best to ignore Sarah and her boyfriend. As the evening progressed, it became increasingly difficult to do. As Sarah drank more, she became louder, making comments about Luke.
Eventually, Sarah stood and approached the table Luke and his friends were sat at. Hands on hips, she glared down at them before finally resting her gaze on Luke. "How's the hole?"
"Oh, fuck off," Jack said, leaning back in his chair. "No one gives a shit about anything you've got to say."
"How much you paying him? I mean, you do know that he's a fucking cocksucker?"
Jack laughed. "Really?" He shook his head as he continued to laugh.
"Just go, Sarah. No one's interested." Luke muttered.
"No one's interested?" Sarah shouted, spinning around on the spot and throwing arms in the air. She turned back to them and as she continued to shout, "Everyone wants to know about Luke and the fact that he's a rent boy. What's your favourite position? Hands and knees, with your arse in the air, your hole begging for someone to fuck it."
Luke glanced around the pub, noticing that everyone was staring at them. He stood, glancing at Toby and Jack. "I'm leaving. I've didn't come here for this." He turned to Sarah. "You need to go and sober up. You stand there saying shit that you know nothing about, making up rumours about me and spreading them. I could have you done for that." He looked over at the table where Sarah's boyfriend was sat and pointed at him. "You need to come get your girlfriend and get her home where she can sober up before I make an official complaint."
"Yeah, you tell that bitch!" Jack shouted.
"Shut the fuck up!" Sarah shouted back at Jack. "I bet you're fucking him, aren't you?"
"Not Luke. Got my eye on some other man." Jack smirked.
"You're gay, too? Fuck, I'm surrounded by you."
"That's it. I'm gone." Grabbing his coat from the back of his chair, Luke waved at Jack and Toby and left the pub.
As he walked away, Luke could hear shouting coming from the pub and chuckled to himself. No doubt, Toby and Jack were giving Sarah an earful. Nothing she didn't deserve. He did feel slightly guilty at leaving them to sort her out, but in all honesty, he'd simply had enough. His phone rang, and Luke took it out from his pocket. Glancing at the screen, he saw Krish's name on it and smiled. Answering the phone, he said, "Hello, Krish."
He heard Krish chuckle on the phone. "Hi. What are you doing?"
"Nothing now. I was at the pub, but Sarah showed up and decided to mouth off, so I left."
"Are you all right?" The concern was evident in Krish's voice.
Luke smiled. "I'm fine, really. Thanks for asking."
"The night's still early, so why don't you come over to mine? I'll come and pick you up."
Luke stopped walking and bit his lip. He was fairly certain if he went around to Krish's house then they would not spend the night talking. Did he want to take that step with everything that had happened to him? Was he ready to be with Krish in that way?
His stomach churned, and Luke swallowed. He was nervous, afraid even. Sweat broke out over his skin and Luke wiped his clammy hand on his jeans. Inhaling deeply, Luke exhaled slowly.
Yeah, he wanted to. He wanted this, and he wasn't going to let his fear stop him. Clearing his throat, Luke answered. "Yeah, I'll come over."
"You will? Great! Where are you and I'll come and pick you up."
Luke told Krish where he was and a few minutes later, ended the call. He walked towards the spot he'd arranged to meet Krish at, and it wasn't long before Krish was there. Luke watched Krish's car pull up in front of him, and he inhaled deeply. He wanted this. He did. But if he took this step, would it be fair to Krish if he realised he'd made a mistake? He didn't want to hurt Krish.
Approaching the car, the passenger door opened for him, and Luke got in, shutting it behind him. He twisted on the seat and looked at Krish, who was smiling at him.
"I need to be honest with you. You're the first man I've been interested in since my time on the streets, and I want this, but I'm just..."
"You just worried that you might not be ready?"
"Yeah, that's it." Luke gave Krish a weak smile, shrugging slightly.
"I understand. We'll take this as fast or as slow as you want."
Luke sighed, nodding. "Thanks."
Krish chuckled. "There's nothing to thank me for. I've been thinking about you all week and your past. I realised that this might happen, so there's no pressure, okay? We'll only do what you want to do and if that means we meet up and have a drink? Then I'm okay with that, too."
"Are you sure? I don't want to lead you on."
"No. You've been up from the start, and I respect that." Krish placed his hand on Luke's knee and squeezed it gently. "We'll do this at your pace. Now, come on. I've got some beers in the fridge chilling."
They smiled at each other, and as he put his seatbelt on, Krish started the car and drove away.