Playing With Fate

by Ava Thorpe

  “Shaking,” Luke said honestly. He’d had a couple of gigs at other bars since his last one at Future, but every gig still made him feel edgy. It was a good edgy, though, the kind that made his adrenaline go.

  Carter kissed his temple soundly. “You’ll be amazing.”

  “You don’t have to suck up to me, you know I’m a sure thing, right?” Luke joked, patting Carter’s cheek.

  “Yeah, you’re my sure thing,” Carter said, his eyes sappy. Carter put his arm around Luke, pulling him close. Luke wanted to kiss him, but while they were out to his teammates and Luke’s friends, Carter wasn’t out to the world yet.

  Baby steps.

  “You guys are terrible,” Jared said across the table, his arms crossed. He was grinning, though, and Luke knew he was just teasing. “So sweet, you’d think there’d be ants all over here.”

  “You’re just jealous, Jared,” Ash, Carter’s team captain, piped up beside him. “When was the last time you were in a relationship?”

  Jared made a face. “Relationship? What is this relationship thing you speak of?”

  Ash rolled his eyes. “See, there we go.” He nodded towards Luke. “How’s grad school applications, by the way? Carter said you were knee deep in them.”

  Luke smiled enthusiastically. “Great! I mean, it’s sort of a lot of work, what with all the supplementary stuff I have to write, but it’s going well. I’m hoping to get acceptance for January at either University of Ottawa or Carleton.”

  Both universities were local. Luke knew Carter could be traded or sent down anytime, but he believed in his boyfriend. He believed in Carter’s playing abilities, and he knew he would be in Ottawa for a long time. Luke wanted to stay. With him.

  “No more law school?” Jared asked.

  Luke shook his head. “No, no more law school.”

  “Thank fuck for that,” Z said emphatically. “That would have been a ridiculously bad choice.”

  Z was a bit to the point, but she wasn’t wrong. Luke had finally realized what a big mistake it would have been to go into law school. Not because of Carter—he had gotten into the law program at his Ottawa school, too—but because it wasn’t his passion.

  He didn’t want to be a lawyer. He would have been miserable.

  Of course, it meant his dad wasn’t too happy with him right now. He didn’t disown Luke, no, but his reaction was almost worse: he was disappointed in Luke, disappointed that Luke wasn’t following in his footsteps.

  Their relationship had been strained since the night Luke announced his decision over dinner.

  His mom, at least, was trying. She didn’t understand his decision either, but she tried to reach out to him.

  Still, it hurt, knowing his dad wasn’t proud of him. He was a grown adult, yes, but sometimes he still needed the validation of his parents.

  “All right, I should go setup and get ready.” Luke had about thirty minutes before his gig was scheduled to start, and while he did a mic check earlier, he wanted to make sure everything was just right.

  Carter squeezed the back of his neck. “You’ve got this, babe.”

  Luke smiled at him softly. He loved that Carter went to every one of his gigs, no matter how tired he was from games or practice. His support meant everything.

  When he got to the stage, he made sure his guitar was properly plugged in. He checked the settings on his amp, fiddling with them until he was satisfied.

  It wasn’t long before Mike gave him the thumbs up to get started. Swallowing, Luke inhaled deeply. Like Carter said, he got this. He was going to rock it.

  He opened his mouth to introduce himself, stopping before any words could come out.

  Holy shit.

  His parents were here. They’d just walked through the door, looking out of place in a crowd mostly full of students. His dad was dressed in his neatly pressed business suit.

  He didn’t even know they were in town. His parents lived several hours away. How did they even know about the gig? He didn’t tell them about it.

  Luke’s eyes flickered to Carter, who winked at him, pointing to his parents.

  Carter then.

  He was speechless. This was a huge gesture from his dad. Never did he think his dad would ever see him play.

  Luke felt the prickle of tears behind his eyes. He wasn’t going to cry on stage, damn it. Settling on his stool, he opened his mouth again, trying to speak. “Hi, uh, my name is Luke Bailey. Th-thank you for coming tonight.” His nerves were still shot, but he saw Carter raise a thumbs up from the corner of his eye, fortifying him. “This first song’s an original. I hope you enjoy it.”

  His nervousness subsided as he got into the song he was playing. Music had a way of doing that, of calming him, even in the most intense situations.

  He was still a little anxious. He didn’t know how his dad would react to his music. Even now, all he wanted was to make his dad proud of him.

  Luke hoped he was enough, that his music was enough.

  He played through his set, gaining strength from Carter’s support. Carter’s eyes were trained on him, his smile never fading, and it helped keep Luke’s anxiety from completely taking over.

  Luke finished with rousing applause from the crowd. He blushed at the attention, still not used to being in the center of things. It took him a while to get back to his friends’ table, shaking hands with many people in the audience.

  It heartened Luke, knowing that people genuinely liked him, liked his music enough to seek him out after the show. He knew he had a long way to go, but the response he got from other people motivated him to be better, to write new songs.

  His parents were sitting at the table when he reached it, right beside Carter, who was talking animatedly with his mom. Carter and his parents hit it off immediately, especially his mom. Carter was especially charming when he wanted to be.

  “Son,” his dad started, as he stood up to greet Luke.

  Luke steeled himself. He didn’t want to be embarrassed by his dad, not in front of a table full of his friends.

  “You were…you were…I didn’t know,” his dad said, like he was lost for words. It was a strange sight, seeing his dad so out of sorts. His dad was the most put-together man Luke had ever known. “You were amazing. I…I’m sorry, son. I’m sorry I didn’t see it before, that I didn’t pay attention to your talent before.”

  Luke blinked in relief. His dad liked his music? Did he really just say he was amazing? “I…I don’t know what to say, Dad,” Luke said, still surprised. “Thank you. For coming. You, too, Mom.”

  His mom stood up, opening her arms to him for a hug. Luke melted into her arms, wrapping himself around her. “Your dad’s right—you were amazing, Luke.”

  “We love you, son,” his dad said. “I should have seen it sooner. Music is what you love, and I’m sorry I tried to take that away from you. I’m proud of you. I’ll always be proud of you, no matter what you do.”

  Luke pulled away from his mom, giving his dad a side hug. “Thanks, dad. That means a lot. Really, it does.”

  He tried to blink away the tears, but it didn’t work. He felt hot tears down his cheeks, and he rubbed them away quickly, embarrassed.

  “Sorry, guys, I’m a mess,” he said to the table. They all looked at him fondly, and Luke wondered what he did in his past life to deserve such great people around him.

  “Please don’t hate me. I told your parents about the gig,” Carter said, sheepish.

  Luke shook his head, “No, no, thank you. I—this is good, babe. This is super good.”

  “We brought you guys a little something—just some flowers and a few toys for Puck as a housewarming gift. It’s in the car, I wasn’t sure if I should bring it here or not,” his mom said kindly.

  Luke had recently moved into Carter’s place, something he hadn’t gotten a chance to tell his parents yet. It was clear Carter had broken the news to them. “Thanks, Mom. I appreciate it. I really do.”

  His dad squeezed his shoulders. “
We’re going to let you all enjoy your night. Why don’t we have breakfast tomorrow?”

  Nodding, Luke said, “I’d like that, Dad. I’d like that a lot.”

  His dad smiled at him, the kind of smile that his dad rarely gives. “Good, that’s settled then.”

  “It was good to meet you all,” his mom said to his friends. Then to Luke, “I’ll see you tomorrow, son. You too, Carter.”

  “Wouldn’t miss it,” Carter said beside him.

  After his parents left, Carter took Luke into his arms. Luke looked around the room, seeing eyes on them.

  “Baby, people are looking,” Luke warned him.

  Carter just grinned. “Let them look.” He pressed their foreheads together. “Are you happy?”

  Luke thought about it, really thought about it. He was happy. The kind of happy that spiraled through your bones, the kind of happy that settled in your stomach warmly.

  “Yes,” he said emphatically.

  “Good,” Carter said.

  Before he could reply, Carter claimed his lips for all the bar to see, pulling him close, until there was no space between them. The kiss was brief, but searing, and Luke knew he would never forget it.

  “I love you,” Carter said.

  Luke could hear their friends cheering in the background, but all he could focus on was Carter. “I love you, too.”

  And the best part? He knew it was forever.

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  About Ava

  Hailing from the land of hockey and snow, Ava Thorpe is very familiar with how to keep the days hot and the nights even hotter. She’s a graphic designer by day, and an intrepid writer by night. She loves writing about people falling in love in the most unexpected of places.

  She lives with her partner and a fluffy black cat named Sidney Pawsby.

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