In Tune: The Road to Rocktoberfest 2022, page 13
“Surely it’s booked up already?”
An event like that was going to be popular. Brooch Resort had a special place in the hearts of Piedras locals.
“No rooms available, for sure, and dining-only reservations are full too. But for you guys, we can make an exception. If you don’t mind sharing a table, we can seat you with a few other locals.”
Would Dean like a fancy dinner? Probably, and they would avoid possible food poisoning. There didn’t seem to be a downside, especially because Neb could come too, if he wanted. As hard as Luka tried to find one, there didn’t seem to be a downside to anything if it involved Dean Blanchett. Maybe it was time for Luka to take a breath and trust that the time was finally right.
Dean was talking to someone on his phone when Luka walked back into the house. Their house. Outside the sun had set already, and the fairy lights Luka had wrapped around the deck railings glowed against the dark.
“Fine, goodbye,” Dean said to whoever was on the other end of the call as Luka closed the front door. Hastily, he shoved his phone into his back pocket as he watched Luka hang his parka and wool scarf on one of that hallway wall hooks.
“Hey, you,” Dean greeted him enthusiastically. “Where’d ya go? I missed you.” Leaning in, Dean bussed a kiss across Luka’s lips before heading to the kitchen island where several bags of groceries were sitting.
Luka frowned, irritated by the pleased thump in his chest.
“Just to the Brooch, said hi to Ben.”
Dean was pawing through the bags but stopped to glance at Luka.
“And how is my cousin?”
Luka eyed his boyfriend. “Fine. What’s up with you?”
“Nothing,” he said too quickly, his attention back on the bags. “Was, uh, just talking to Chris for a minute.”
Right, because, like it or not, the Lost Apostles tour was starting up again in January. Dean would be gone until March, and for the first time, Luka wouldn’t be traveling with him. The biggest emotion he felt was relief, followed by guilt.
“So, I picked up some groceries. Does stir-fry sound good?”
“What do you know about making stir-fry?” Luka asked, momentarily distracted from Dean’s weirdness. Or Luka’s perceived Dean-weirdness, he couldn’t tell which it was.
“It can’t be that hard.” Dean grabbed an onion and tossed in the air. Catching it, he said, “Just chop some veggies and throw ‘em in a pan, right?”
Dean poked at the limp vegetables and slightly charred chicken on his plate.
“Maybe I should watch some videos on how to cook this stuff.”
“Maybe me sticking my tongue down your throat was distracting?”
Raising his gaze from the inedible stir-fry to Luka, Dean grinned. “Possibly, but I always want to kiss you so…” He shrugged as if sacrificing their dinner was no big deal.
“I don’t get it,” Luka admitted, setting his fork down. He was not eating this concoction.
“What? This is disgusting, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but that’s not what I don’t get. I’ve read all the books. You’re supposed to be freaking out, having, like, second thoughts about being in a relationship. You know, coming out and all that.” He waved a hand to indicate the multitude of things he thought Dean should be worried about.
Dean narrowed his eyes at Luka. “Is this why you’ve been acting all weird?”
“Me, acting weird?” Luka sat back in the chair, trying not to feel defensive.
“Yes, you. Look, come here.”
Dean stood up and held out his hand to Luka. He took it, and allowed Dean to pull him to his feet.
“Frank, off the couch.”
Frank cocked his head as if Dean was suddenly speaking a language he didn’t recognize.
“I mean it, off now.”
With great reluctance, Frank eased his doggy self off the couch and flopped onto the floor with a grunt.
“So much drama,” Dean muttered as he sat down and patted the cushion next to him.
Luka sat down beside him, refusing to speculate about what Dean wanted to say. Was the drama him or Frank? The jury was out.
“Luka,” Dean began, “I am not ‘freaking out,’ as you put it, because there is nothing to freak out about.”
“But—”
“Nope.” Dean lifted his index finger to Luka’s lips, stopping his words. “You, Luka Gajić, are it for me. I’ve already spent too much time flailing and not realizing you were right there, that the only thing I needed to do for my life to be how I wanted was to take the last step.”
“What about your family?”
Dean sighed and shot Luka a hesitant glance. “Okay, so that wasn’t Chris just now. It was my mom. They won’t be visiting Piedras anytime soon.”
Wow. “Is it the bi thing?” Luka figured it must be something like that. She’d taken a dislike to Luka the moment they’d met years ago, so he didn’t think it was just him.
“She said a lot of shitty things I won’t be repeating. And only confirmed my decision to cut her out of my life. If—which, yes I know, will never happen—she apologizes and means it, maybe someday we’ll have a relationship, but at this point, we are done.”
Luka nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry.”
“I am too.” he stared out the window into the dark. “Mostly because I wasted so much of my fucking life trying to please them. The only person I want to please anymore, Luka, is you.”
Luka couldn’t stand the minute separation between them a moment longer. Swinging around, he climbed over Dean, straddling his thighs. Dean smiled up at him, his gaze as clear and strong as Luka had ever seen it.
“I love you.”
“I know. I remember you telling me at that party after the Rocktoberfest show. Not right away, but it came back to me.”
“Do you forgive me?” Luka asked him quietly.
“What do I have to forgive you for?” Dean sounded honestly perplexed.
Bending down, his hands gripping Dean’s shoulder’s, Luka pressed kisses against his cheekbones. “For not saying anything earlier.” He kissed Dean’s nose. “For being scared.” He dropped a kiss on Dean’s soft lips. “For not trusting you. That was bad. For crushing your phone.”
“If you need forgiveness, Luka, I forgive you. But understand me when I say, I didn’t deserve you until now. I love you, Luka, with my whole being.” Dean huffed a laugh. “My body always knew it was you. I think that’s why I’ve always slept better when you were there. I don’t have the right words to explain it, but everything finally feels right.” Squeezing his hand between their bodies, Dean tapped his chest right where his heart was. “Especially right here.”
“Like when a song comes together,” Luka murmured, grinding against Dean.
“Just like when a song comes together, just like we have since we first met, baby. We’re in tune.”
EPILOGUE
Luka rolled over only to discover the mattress next to him was cold. He sat up and scrubbed his eyes. Dean had managed to sneak out of bed without Luka waking up. Not a surprise, he supposed, since they’d been up late celebrating Dean’s return to Piedras now that the tour was officially over. He’d flown out to see the show in Raleigh, but other than those few days, it had been a long four months.
The scent of freshly brewed coffee drifted into the room, inspiring him to roll over and set his feet on the floor. Grabbing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, Luka shuffled out into the main room, where seeing Dean at the stove, humming and swaying to music only he could hear, forced a broad smile to stretch across Luka’s face.
Frank was curled up on the couch, a Husky cinnamon roll. Not even his nose was showing. Before they’d gone to bed last night, they’d had to take Frank for the longest walk in the history of walks before he calmed down and they knew he wouldn’t howl outside the bedroom door for hours. He’d missed Dean as much as Luka had, who else would roll around on the floor with him?
Luka padded across the room to lean his head against Dean’s back.
“Shit!” Dean jumped. “I didn’t hear you.”
“Sorry,” Luka said as he wrapped his arms around Dean. “What are you doing up?” He squinted at the stove clock. “It’s only seven.”
“I think I’m making breakfast. I at least have toast and scrambled eggs down.”
His shoulders moved under Luka’s cheek as he did something to the eggs.
“And coffee?” Luka prompted.
He may have been a coffee snob, but morning coffee without Dean just didn’t taste as good regardless of the beans. He’d gotten in the habit of taking Frank and heading over to his dad’s or to the Brooch instead of starting the day at home. Frank had a lot of admirers in Hidden Harbor these days.
“And coffee.”
Luka released a happy sigh, then a thought occurred to him.
“I feel like I should be the one cooking for you.” At least he’d taken a cooking class from Chef Petyr at the Brooch while Dean was gone. He could make a great ratatouille now and even the rosemary bread had been okay, if a little odd shaped.
“Nope.”
Luka felt more egg-cooking action happening as he soaked up as much of Dean’s scent and warmth as he could.
“Okay,” Dean announced, “breakfast is ready.”
Reluctantly, Luka let his arms drop and headed to the table. Dean followed him and set two plates of scrambled eggs and toast across from each other. Luka sat down, eyeing Dean’s tight ass under the threadbare jeans he wore as he moved to grab their coffees.
Turning back with a mug in both hands, he busted Luka ogling him.
“You missed me,” he stated with an annoying grin as he set their mugs down. Dean’s had a rainbow Dolly Parton on it while Luka’s had the word Rockstar’s in a massive font. Dean thought he was very funny.
“Duh,” said Luka as he lifted the blessed liquid to his lips and sipped at it. “Why are you up so early?” he asked. “And dressed, even.”
Dean sipped his coffee and picked up his fork. He was trying to look casual, and failing.
Luka narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend. Something was up—other than being happy to see each other. They were going to have to wash the sheets and put new ones on the bed before nightfall.
“It’s not early on the East Coast.” Dean shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth followed by a bite of toast.
“Mm-hmm.” Luka let that roll around in his brain for a moment. Yup, still suspected something.
“Hurry up and eat, your food’s going to get cold.”
Now Luka really squinted at his boyfriend. “What is going on with you?”
“Please? No more questions, just eat.” Dean blinked imploringly. “And then get dressed,” he added.
Now he was curious. After one final eyeball at Dean, who continued to shovel food in his mouth, Luka shook his head and scooped the eggs onto his toast the way he liked it. Fine, Dean could have his little secret, but there would be payback later.
Dean smiled. “I missed the weird way you eat eggs.”
“I missed my weirdo,” Luka snarked as he popped the last bite into his mouth. “I’m going to get dressed now. Are you happy?”
“Yes, over the moon. I forgot how stubborn you could be.”
“I am not stubborn!” Gasping, he raised his hand to his chest dramatically. “Are we having our first fight?”
“No, and you are too stubborn. Christ,” Dean snickered, “stop it.”
Padding back into their bedroom—which totally smelled like sex—Luka dug out something to wear from the closet. Dean hadn’t given instructions so he pulled on his favorite Levi’s and an old band shirt. Back out in the living room Dean had his coat on and Frank snapped into his leash.
“He’s got to be tired.”
“We’re not taking Frank for a walk.”
“Where are—never mind.” Luka shoved his feet into his Doc Martens and grabbed his barn jacket off one of the hooks, buttoning it up before he added a knit cap. It was spring, but who knew what the weather was going to do.
Once Frank was tucked into the backseat and Luka had buckled up, Dean backed out of the driveway and turned his truck toward Hidden Harbor. But there were a lot of places between the house and town.
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll find out.”
“Oh my god. Not even a hint?”
“Nope.”
“Are we going to see my dad?”
“Nope. Not yet anyway.”
“Ben?”
“Nope.”
Doug firs and cedar trees cast long shadows over the road, and a few maples were already in full leaf, brilliantly proclaiming spring was on its way. They passed through Killegen’s Point, and Dean slowed for the curve, but they didn’t stop. The suspense was killing Luka, and Dean would absolutely pay for this later. Luka was going to edge him so hard he wouldn’t come for hours.
Frank whined and shifted behind him.
“I get you, dog,” Luka muttered.
Just before Hidden Harbor, Dean turned off the road onto a gravel drive. Luka had no idea who lived down there. Glancing at Dean, he realized his boyfriend had a white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel.
A low-slung rambler came into view, and Luka could see that the property went all the way to the water. There were several small outbuildings, so maybe this had been a small farm once. The property looked empty and there didn’t seem to be any vehicles randomly parked. Luka had always thought it was a weird kind of human awareness to know if a house was inhabited or not, but he could tell this one was not.
Dean pulled the truck to one side and stopped the engine. Peering out the window, Luka spotted a bright white post stuck into the ground with an arm coming off it. That bit would normally hold a For Sale sign.
“Dean?”
What had Dean done now? And was he going to spend the rest of his life asking himself this question?
He suppressed a groan because the answer was clearly, yes.
“Come on already,” Dean said impatiently.
Luka was ready to point out that he already had a house, even though, admittedly, they couldn’t do a lot with it due to changes in zoning since it had been built. They might not even be able to put in that second bathroom.
Grabbing Frank’s leash, Luka walked with Dean. The house was just one level but spread out, and Luka stopped abruptly, Frank jerking the end of the leash.
“What was that?”
“What?” Dean asked too quickly.
Luka heard it again, and this time he knew it was a dog barking. Frank tugged harder, wanting to find the source.
“Dean Weasel Blanchett, I am not moving another inch until you tell me what is going on.”
“Weasel?”
“Focus.”
The yipping grew louder and Frank answered the call of his people with a long warble. Seriously, what the fuck had Dean done?
“Look, Frank needs a friend and we need a bigger house. This one is,” Dean said quickly as he eyed the house, “pretty ugly actually, but it’s something we can work with and the other big building can be remodeled into a recording studio. And see” —he pointed to the water— “it goes to the beach without a million stairs. Which, when we are old, will be good, right? We can even fence the whole property,” he finished, a hopeful puppy-dog expression on his face.
A dark-haired man Luka did not recognize emerged around from the back of the house. In his arms was a wriggling grey and black fluff ball. A puppy. Luka’s heart flipped and did a smooshy thing.
“And when we’re working here, Frank and um… Weasel can do doggy stuff.”
“What about Boise?” Luka wondered.
Dean turned to him, his tone almost pleading. “Boise is really far. Boise is not where you are. If we record in Boise, I’ll be gone more, and I don’t want to be gone more than I have to.”
Luka nodded. It made sense, in a Dean way, to just buy a house to solve a problem.
“And, when the band isn’t using the studio, I want to sponsor island kids who maybe wouldn’t get a chance. I’m shit at teaching, but you aren’t.”
Nodding again, Luka stared into the pair of eyes he loved most in the world.
“And we can get married here, um, if you want.”
Luka grinned hard, even as Frank was still trying to tug his arm off, wanting to see the puppy. “Married, huh? You have been planning.”
“I mean, if you want to get married. Um, to me.” Dean pointed at his chest.
“Married to a Rockstar. That sounds like an afternoon soap opera or romance novel,” Luka teased. “I don’t know, we’ve only been dating six months. This is the longest you’ve dated someone without being engaged, isn’t it?”
“Fuck off.” Dean’s expression turned serious, but he managed a smile even as his eyes darkened. “It’s always been you, Luka. Always.”
He couldn’t keep teasing, and besides, it had always been Dean.
“Yes, Dean, I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Kiss me already.”
Smiling, Dean bent his head ever so slightly and pressed his lips against Luka’s. It would have been easy to get lost in the kiss if Frank hadn’t lost all patience with them and jerked out of Luka’s grasp.
Luka lurched away from Dean. “Frank! Get back here right this minute,” he ordered.
“He’ll be fine,” the dark-haired man said with a smile. “I’m just going to let him sniff and see what he thinks about this little one.”
Clearly deciding to ask permission later, Frank darted to where the man waited and began sniffing both him and the fluff.
“Frank needs a friend? Really? Yeah, we’re definitely going to need a bigger house.”
“She was the last of the litter?”
Shifting to better watch Frank interact with the puppy, Luka entwined his fingers with Dean’s.
The puppy-pusher set Weasel down on the ground. They needed to come up with a new name because Weasel was Dean’s. Frank nosed it and warbled. The puppy stared at Frank and produced its own warble. Frank leapt backward, his tail waved back and forth excitedly. He clearly wanted to play. The puppy mimicked him, tail wagging too, and Frank jumped backward again with a ‘woof.’
