Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2017 13:03:57 +0000 From: cullen s Subject: Falling in Love at Christmas - Chapter 5 - The Romantics Please continue to support Nifty financially. Thanks. Falling in Love at Christmas Chapter 5 The Romantics The evening didn't go as planned for Luke. Once he returned to the bed and breakfast, he began planning a romantic evening, but Mary told him they were almost out of food, and she told him the oven was giving them problems all day. He was sure what to do next. He really wanted to make this evening something special. Mary recommended they go to the diner, which is change in a drastic way for the evening clientele; it's more formal for evening dinner. Luke thought about it and really didn't have much of a choice, so he ran into his bedroom and started looking for nice clothes to wear, which isn't much. He didn't bring anything formal, so he makes plans to cancel the evening until Mary shows him a suit she borrowed for him from Brian, since they're the same size. Luke steps out of his bedroom wearing a nice dark blue dress shirt with black dress pants and suit jacket. "What do you think?" The ladies look over his attire, and he's quite handsome. Everything looks good until they look down at his shoes. He's wearing white tennis shoes. "What happen to the shoes?" asks Mary. "I don't wear other people's shows or socks," says Luke. "It's just something I don't do." The ladies accept his answer. Mary doesn't care as long as he looks attractive for this evening's date, which Luke refuses to call a date – it's just two old friends getting together. "Harrison is here," says one of the ladies watching at the window. The ladies pretend their working as Harrison walks through the door kicking the snow off his boots and hold his ranch hat in his hand. Luke walks towards him and smiles. He's very attractive tonight. Harrison is wearing his nice khaki pants with a light blue dress shirt. He's wearing a navy-blue sports jacket and his favorite boots. "You look good tonight." "This old thing. This is what I wear to church." Harrison looks over Luke and finds him very attractive tonight. "You look good too." "Thank you," he says. "This is Brian's suit. I didn't bring anything this nice." "It looks good on you," says Harrison. "Are you ready to go?" "I think this is a good evening for a walk," says Mary. Luke and Harrison look at each other and smile. They know this is another opportunity for her to set them up. They leave the bed and breakfast. They walk towards the diner to enjoy their evening. Mary and the ladies look outside the window hoping and praying there'll be a connection, a spark between them. The evening is cool. The snow comes down, but it's not a heavy snow this evening. They enjoy the walk witnessing the decorations, but it's Luke who breaks the silence. "I'm sorry we have to go out," Luke says. "I wanted to make you one of my famous romantic dinners. Your mom told me they ran out of food and the oven was giving them problems." Harrison looks at him strangely. "I don't understand. The ladies always have enough food, and the oven is brand new; I installed it the day before you arrived." Luke realizes Mary gave him an excuse just so they could go out. "Your mom is something else Harrison." "Yes, she is," he says. "She really wants us to make a connection." They arrive at the diner. Sally took the evening off. The room is decorated for the holiday. A Christmas tree with white lights stand in the corner. The fire place is warm. The room is lit dimly with candles on each table. The maître d' sits them at their table and hands them their menus. "What would you like to drink?" asks the maître d'. Luke orders water and Harrison orders sweet tea. "I'll be right back. Your waiter will be here shortly to take your order." Luke looks over the menu. "What would you recommend?" "The steak and chick is always a good choice. I'm ordering the steak with all the fixings." Luke looks over the menu and decides to order the grilled chicken with lemon. The maître d' returns with their drinks with the waiter waiting to take their order. They place their order. "It's a beautiful night," says Luke. "There aren't many nights that are not up here," says Harrison. "I love the evenings up here. Even during the summer, it's beautiful. I want to take you up to the spring one evening; I think you would really enjoy it." "I would like that," says Luke. "Talking about the spring, I want to apologize for this afternoon. I didn't plan on being intimate." "Don't worry about, Luke," says Harrison. "I wanted it too. I was so horny. I haven't been with a guy in a long time, so don't beat yourself up over it." "You raise a very good question Harrison. Why haven't you found a guy yet? I can't believe you're still single." Harrison smiles and takes a drink of his delicious sweet tea. "I fell in love with this guy; his name was Michael. He was an attorney in Atlanta. I have never felt such an experience Luke. I was willing to spend my life with him. We even sent roses and flowers to each other; I've never done that with anyone. Our relationship was growing and becoming strong, but neither one of us wanted to leave our communities, so we broke it off." He drinks so more tea trying not to get depressed. "It's been awhile but it still hurts. I really miss having a boyfriend; porn can only go so far." They both laugh. "I know what you mean," says Luke. "What about you? What's your story?" asks Harrison. The hard feelings return. The anger builds up again inside him as he thinks about Trent. "I thought I found my soulmate with Trent. Like you, I did things for him I've never done with anyone." He pauses for a minute to take a drink from his glass wondering if he wants to tell Harrison what he did, but he decides to tell him. "I sang a song for him," he says. "You didn't." Luke nods his head. "Yes, I did. I was in love. I thought he was in love with me too. He was a regular customer in my restaurant. I thought he was very attractive, and he said all the right words to suck me in; I fell for it. We dated for a year and a half; we lived together for year, but it wasn't good enough. He was having an affair, so here I am." "Is it true he broke it off on Thanksgiving?" asks Harrison. Luke looks surprising at him, but he realizes the difficulty of keeping secrets in Walter Hills. "Yes, it's true. He told me on Thanksgiving after we had dinner and made love. He told me he wanted to take a break, and I discovered he was having an affair, so I leased out my apartment and moved back here." "What about your restaurant?" asks Harrison. "It's in good hands," he answers. "I told them to call me if they have any issues, but I needed a break, so I cam here." "How's your restaurant doing?" asks Harrison. "It's great," he answers. "We make a profit every day. It's my pride and joy; it's my baby. I would do anything to protect it." "I would like to eat there," says Harrison. "I'll take you up there sometime," says Luke. "I would like to let you see it. I wanted to make you a romantic dinner tonight. I'm a helpless and hopeless romantic by the way." "We have time and by the way, so am I," says Harrison. The waiter brings their dinner. They spend the rest of the evening talking about each other. The stories they share make them laugh or reflect on life, but they enjoy the evening together sharing. Once they finish their cheesecake dessert, they pay the bill and begin their journey back to the bed and breakfast. As they walk back in the snow, they come across some of the young men in the community having a snow ball fight. The boys run to Harrison and ask him to play with them, but he told them tonight wasn't a good evening, but Luke convinces him to play with them, so they run to the park. Harrison and Luke to one side of the park while the four young men run to the other side with a frozen water fountain in the middle separating them. Harrison and Luke huddle together creating snowballs planning their strategy. "How's your throwing arm?" asks Luke. "It's just fine," says Harrison. "We should pack some snowballs for distance," says Luke. "You should be able to reach them while I attack from the front; I can make some on the way." "That sounds like a good plan to me," says Harrison. He rapidly makes as many snowballs as he can before the excitement begins. He looks at Luke who is smiling. "I know these boys. They're sneaking, so be careful. Make sure you know where they are at all times." Luke nods his head. He looks up to find the four young men who are nowhere in sight. "I don't see them? Where do you think they're hiding?" Harrison looks up. He closes his eyes and feels the wind against his face; he tries to listen for them. He hears some noises in several directions. "They're trying to trick us." He grabs a few snowballs and stands up facing the opposite side of the park. "Let me see if I can flush some of them out." Harrison throws one at a great distance hitting a tree. "You missed me Harrison," says one of the boys. Harrison looks at Luke and asks, "Did you see anyone?" "I did," he answers. "He's hoping I'll focus on him," says Harrison. "I'll start walk in that direction," says Luke. "Be careful," says Harrison. Luke begins to walk towards the tree Harrison hit. He's got a few snowballs in his hands. As he sneaks up to the tree, the young boy hiding behind it quickly throws a snowball at his feet. Luke throws one at the tree. The young boy quickly turns and runs in the opposite direction, but he's hit with a snowball in the back, which knocks him to the ground. Harrison could hit him from that distance. "Don't follow him Luke, that's what he wants." Suddenly two more of the boys come running out behind two more trees. They run towards Luke who begins to back up while throwing snowballs at them hitting them while dodging the snowballs coming towards him. Harrison assess the situation; he begins to throw some at the two young boys running towards Luke, but he's curious about the other two he can't see. The third young boy comes running out of the woods heading towards Luke. Harrison prepares to throw some more snowballs when a scent captures his attention. Harrison turns around to find the fourth young boy running towards him, so he begins to throw his snowballs quickly hitting the young boy who falls to the ground. Luke arrives next to Harrison; he grabs more snowballs and throws some at the other young boys while the young boys throw their snowballs. There are causalities on both sides. Once they run out of snowballs, they accept the battle is over, so the young boys express the appreciation to Harrison and Luke for the time and competition, but it's time for everyone to go home. Luke slides off Brian's suit jacket which is now dirty from the fight. "Brian isn't going to be happy with me." "He's not going to worry about it," says Harrison. "Brian only wears that suit at Easter and besides, he walks around naked more than clothed." They begin to walk back towards the bed and breakfast when Luke slips on a patch of ice. Harrison grabs him so he doesn't fall, but he was unsuccessful. Luke falls first with Harrison falling next to him; they begin to laugh. Harrison begins to rub his hand over his chest; he can feel Luke's heartbeat. They kiss each other. Harrison slides on top of him; they can feel each other's bulge. They roll around in the snow kissing and caressing each other, but the cold forces them to stop. "Thank you for a fun night," says Luke. "I'm glad you had a good time," says Harrison. "It's good to hear you laugh." Luke and Harrison finally return to the bed and breakfast. They give each other one more kiss before the evening comes to a close. "Harrison, I need to be upfront with you. I'm not looking for a relationship; I'm just looking to play around." Harrison smiles and says, "I'm okay with that. It's nice to have a guy to play around with; I don't get it that often." He slides his hand over Luke's face who closes his eyes and welcomes the gentle touch. "You just came out of a relationship. You need some time to heal and trust again. We can use this time to build our friendship." "Thank you for understanding," says Luke. They say their goodnights to each other. Luke walks inside the bed and breakfast, and Harrison gets inside his truck. He looks down to find that he left his phone in the truck. He picks it up and finds one message. How's it going? Harrison thinks about his response before he begins to type. It's going well. He seems to be adjusting fine here. When are you coming? We don't know, probably within the next few days. I'm not sure this is a good idea Harrison. He needs you to find healing.