Ink & Flowers (9 page)

Aunt Gloria chimed in. "Yes, Luke, we'd really rather talk with you about this alone." She glared at Cooper.

Cooper looked concerned. He glanced at Luke."You gonna be okay if I leave?" he asked.

Luke desperately wanted to say no, but Aunt Marabeth had turned to glare at Cooper. "Of course he'll be fine. What are you suggesting?"

Cooper ignored her, looking at Luke instead.

"It's fine," said Luke, even though he knew it wasn't.
Please don't leave me.
He tried to make his eyes beg Cooper, but even if Cooper read into it, there was nothing he could do. He couldn't beg Cooper to stay, not with his aunts listening. And it wasn't fair to involve him in this either. It was Luke's problem, and he knew how to deal with them. He hoped so, anyway.

"All right," Cooper said finally. "Call me if you need anything."

Aunt Gloria barely waited for Cooper to disappear into the bedroom before announcing, "I don't like him! So rude, and all those tattoos ..."

"Is he really gay, Luke? Because he seems like such a bad influence ..."

"He's
not ...
not a bad influence, okay?" He was being rude, against all his instincts, and it was stressing him out completely. His hands were shaking, his voice weak. He wondered how obvious his fear was. It felt like they were latching onto it, going in for the kill. "Anyway, I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions!"

"Yes, of course, Luke, but that doesn't mean you have to make decisions all on your own!" said Marabeth as Gloria sat down on the couch next to her, nodding encouragingly. "Gloria and I are much older than you, you know, and we know a lot."

"Yes, but you don't necessarily know what's best for me," said Luke. "I know you think I'd be better studying business or science, but I really am doing well in art—" He hated bringing up this old argument again, but it was the thing he was most sure of.

"Oh, Luke, you say that now, but you really don't know that for sure, do you?" asked Gloria."Anyway," she placed her hands on her lap. Her voice was sweet and sugary. Too sweet. "That's not what this is about. That man—Liam. He's a," her voice receded to a hissing whisper. "He's a
fag
, isn't he?" She crinkled her nose at the thought.

Luke stared at her, outraged. "Auntie, don't say that word!" he said. "It's really rude."

"He is, isn't he?" said Gloria, completely unashamedly. "And I don't know, Luke, I worry about the influence he's having on you. You seem," she widened her eyes as if trying to hint at something, "different."

"Different," repeated Luke, his voice cold. He was staring at Gloria in disbelief, although he was certain she could see the disgust on his face.

"Luke, we don't blame you," Marabeth cut in. "But this Liam man is definitely a bad influence."

"His name is
Cooper
, Auntie."

"It doesn't matter what his name is! He's an ugly brute, and I think Brody was right about him being a ... well, you know."

"Fag," finished Gloria with pursed lips. She raised her arched brows at Luke. "Don't look at me like that, Luke, I can use whatever words I want, especially if they're deserved. I don't believe in people making excuses to act inappropriate, you know that."

Marabeth cut in before Gloria could go off on one of her tangents. "The point is that just because you're an adult, doesn't necessarily mean you know what's best for you. Now, I can see the influence this man has had on you, even if you can't—"

"What, you mean besides standing up for myself and admitting that I might not be exactly how you want?" said Luke, his voice suddenly louder, as if the burn of indignation had risen up his throat and cleared away the lump there.  "And anyway, what is so bad about Cooper being gay? About me—"

"You know perfectly well what's wrong with that," spat Marabeth. "It's disgusting."

Gloria nodded vigorously.

Luke shook his head, his fists balled in anger now, not fear. "I am not disgusting."

The side of Marabeth's mouth turned up, but her eyes were cold. "Of course you're not, sweetie, you're not gay."

"How do you know that?"

"Because, Luke, you're a good boy!" Marabeth sighed, looking frustrated. "We're just trying to help."

"Well ... you can help by telling me there's nothing wrong with the way I am, and that you're going to let me live my life and make my own choices."

"If we said that we'd be lying," replied Gloria. "We care about you, and we'll always be involved in your life. And besides that, the gay thing is just completely inappropriate, and it is disgusting, too. I mean, what would we tell people?"

"No one else cares! You two are just ... you're horrible!" His heart jumped as he realised he had just insulted them, and the look on Marabeth's face was terrifying.

"Luke," she said, her lips white. "We are trying to help you."

"No, you're not, you're trying to insert yourself into something that has nothing to do with you, and make me feel bad for something that doesn't hurt anyone!" He was going to cry soon. He could feel the stinging in his eyes, and the lump in his throat was back. "So what if I happen to like men? There's nothing wrong with it—"

"Yes, there is," said Marabeth. "You're going down a dangerous path, Luke. You don't think I know how dangerous it is? I work at a funeral home, I see lots of dead gay men. They get AIDS, or ... or they get beaten up, and their families wish they had done more to prevent it."

"You don't know anything!" Luke brought a hand to his mouth to cover a sob. "I'm being safe, okay? Cooper will protect me."

They exchanged a look. "I don't think so," said Marabeth. "I think it's time you came with us, Luke."

"I'm not going. I want you to leave."

"Well, I'm sorry, but we're not leaving unless you come with us."

"Cooper!" Luke yelled. "Cooper, please—"

Cooper was there in an instant, as if he had been listening for Luke's call. "Everything okay? Luke, what—are you crying?"

Marabeth stood and turned on him. "This doesn't concern you. We are leaving with Luke, and you are not to contact him again."

"I'm not going with them," said Luke firmly to Cooper. He'd managed to force the crying down for the moment, and his voice came out stronger than he'd hoped. 

Cooper nodded at Luke, and moved to stand between him and his aunts. "Yeah, I think you two had better leave."

"Excuse me, are you threatening us?" said Marabeth.

"What? No!"

"Because I don't think the police would take kindly to a," Gloria gestured at Cooper, "a brutish queer threatening two women."

Cooper breathed out heavily through his nose, and he seemed to increase in size. "Okay, one, I don't appreciate being called that. And two, I am asking you nicely to leave, or I
will
call the police."

"And tell them what?" continued Gloria, "That you're threatening two women? Don't you dare touch me!" She dodged around Cooper and grabbed Luke by the arm. "You are coming with us, Luke."

"No!" Luke pulled his arm out of her grasp and backed away. "Are you delusional? I'm
not
going with you!
I'll
call the police, if I have to."

"Luke, you're being unreasonable," wheedled Marabeth.

Cooper guffawed. "
He's
being unreasonable? Get a grip, lady!"

Gloria was staring at Luke, her eyes wide and terrifying. "Let's go, Marabeth," she said, continuing to stare at Luke. "We'll call the police tonight." She turned away from Luke and pointed a thick green nail at Cooper. "You are not taking our nephew from us," she hissed.

"Holy fuck." Cooper whistled as the two of them stomped from the apartment, slamming the door behind them. "And good riddance!" He turned to Luke. "You okay?"

"Cooper ..." Luke whispered his name, swallowing his tears. His whole body was buzzing, and in an instant, he understood what it was. "Oh god, Cooper."

He threw himself at Cooper, wrapping his arms around his waist, and shoved his face up to press his lips against Cooper's mouth. Cooper froze for a moment, caught off-guard, and then his hands slid automatically around Luke's waist and held him tight. Luke pressed his body against Cooper's, wanting to feel as much of his strong, hard body as he could. He kissed Cooper, over and over again, his mouth sloppy and wet, his breathing heavy.

"Hey, hey," Cooper whispered, bringing a hand up to Luke's face. "You're crying still. Slow down."

"I don't want to," growled Luke.

He began to claw at Cooper's shirt, lifting it up to feel the firm muscles underneath. He kissed Cooper again, harder, and Cooper gave in, kissing him back. It was exhilarating, the feel of Cooper's mouth against his, the overwhelming sensations of his lips, his body, his hands. Cooper slid his hands under Luke's shirt and began to lift it. They broke apart, and Luke felt momentarily self-conscious as Cooper helped him remove his shirt. But then Cooper's hands were sliding up his body, over the smooth skin of his sides and the sensitive nubs of his nipples, and Luke felt sexy for the first time he could remember. He could feel what his body felt like under Cooper's hands, knew how he felt to him, and it felt good.

He moved against Cooper, pressing close and writhing against him. God, he felt good. As if reading his mind, Cooper paused to pull his own shirt off, and Luke was rewarded with the sight of his thick, rounded muscles and smooth, colourful skin. "
Fuck
," he moaned, leaning his head against Cooper's shoulder and breathing in his warm scent.

"Ah, see, you're getting used to me," said Cooper with a grin in his voice. "Let's go to the bedroom."

"Mmm, yes ..." Luke pressed himself into Cooper, lifting up onto his toes, as Cooper's hands ran down the length of his back and over his ass to grab tight. His fingers dug into the sensitive skin as he lifted Luke, and Luke wrapped his legs around Cooper automatically. He could feel Cooper's fingers sliding between his legs as he carried him to the bedroom and rubbing lightly against his balls ... God, he was so hard. "Cooper ..." he moaned. "Cooper, I want you."

"Yeah? You sure?"

"Uh-huh." Luke moved back a little to look Cooper in the eye. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Cooper laughed, shaking his head a little in disbelief, and kissed Luke again. "Yeah, sure," he said, but Luke felt him tense up a little. It didn't matter. Cooper wanted him, he'd said so, and Luke was far beyond caring. His body was buzzing with adrenaline and lust, and he felt free to do what he wanted for the first time in ... well, ever. And he was going to do just that.

They reached the bed, and Cooper bent to let Luke down onto it. He stood, unbuttoning his pants, and Luke watched, his own pants forgotten, as Cooper slid them down, revealing black briefs stretched tight across his impressive package. Luke wanted it so very badly. How could he have ever thought he didn't want that? He sat, propping himself on his arms, and looked up at Cooper.

Cooper's eyes were dark in the low light, and he was staring down at Luke. Finally he reached a hand out, slid it tentatively over Luke's chin, and then grabbed his face, bending down to kiss him hard. Luke responded desperately, kissing Cooper in what he hoped was an acceptable way. It felt good, so he must have been doing something right. Cooper's lips were so very soft, and the feel of them against Luke's sent shivers of excitement and pleasure all the way down his body.

He fell backwards onto the bed and Cooper slid on top of him, his hips grinding into Luke's. "Oh," Luke whispered again, between frantic kisses, "yes, Cooper ...  Please, touch me, please, I can't stand it."

"Luke ..." Cooper's hands brushed down Luke's body, over the curve of his waist and to the front of his pants. Luke's body was thrumming, his cock straining against the fabric of his jeans, desperate to be touched. Oh god, he wanted it so badly. Cooper's hands slid lower, trailing slowly, teasingly, under the waistline of his jeans. Closer, closer, slower, and slower. Then, suddenly, his hands stopped moving altogether and then began to retreat. "Luke," he whispered, "I ... I can't."

Luke was frozen, his body still tight, expectant.
Needing
. "Can't? Can't, what do you mean you can't?"

"I ..." Cooper's eyes were closed, his face turned away from Luke. He slid off of him and rolled to the other side of the bed. Luke looked after him, his body still thrumming with lust, frozen in place. Cooper brought his arms up over his face and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay ..." Luke felt like he was in shock. His body hadn't realised yet that he wasn't still about to have sex. He forced the feelings down and slid up next to Cooper. "What's up?"

Cooper dropped his arms and narrowed his eyes at Luke. "Why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice sharp.

Luke said nothing. Wasn't it obvious?

"I mean," Cooper gave a frustrated sigh and turned back to look up at the ceiling. "Like, do you actually want me, or are you just trying to get back at your aunts, or what?"

Luke almost choked in indignation. He felt suddenly, violently, irrationally angry. "Are you serious?" He wanted to hit Cooper. "What the fuck do you care? You're the one that wanted to fuck me in the first place, and you didn't even care if I wanted you, and now you care if I actually want you
for the right reasons
? What's your problem?"

"Luke, I just ..."

"No, you ..." Luke broke off, repressing all the horrible things he wanted to say. He flopped back down onto the bed, staring at the ceiling, all desire gone from his body. "You're just like them, aren't you? You just want to control me, you don't care about me."

"I
do
care about you, that's the point!"

"Uh-huh."

"No, I do. Luke." Cooper sat up and leaned closer to Luke. Luke tried to shift away, annoyance still coursing through him. "Luke, I ... remember when I said that I didn't really just want you for sex? That I wanted company?"

"Yeah," said Luke. "So, what, you don't really want me at all?"

"No, I do. But I can't. Especially not like this."

Luke shook his head and turned away from Cooper. He was right, of course. It didn't feel right, having sex with him just to get back at his aunts, or as Cooper's reward for forcing Luke to come out. But he still
wanted
Cooper, and he couldn't bring himself to care that it wasn't in the right circumstances. "Why do you have to be a good person like that?" he asked dully.