Puzzle Me This (3 page)

“I’m not tired,” Alex insisted with a shake of his head. But just as he finished saying it, he yawned again.

“Yeah, I can see that. Wiiiide awake.”

“Well, damn.” Alex grinned sleepily. “So much for my effort to disguise my pathetically boring lifestyle. You’ve caught me out. This
is
my usual bedtime.”

“Nothing inherently boring about bedtime,” Luke said with a raised eyebrow.

Alex blushed. He opened his mouth to say something—maybe, hopefully, to flirt back—but he seemed too shy to get out anything of the sort. Or anything out at all.

“Well, good-night.” Luke stood up and pulled out his phone. “Texting would probably be faster than sticking messages in a crossword puzzle. Though not as much fun. What’s your number?” Alex gave it to him without hesitation. Luke punched it in and sent him a quick text. Across the room, a phone buzzed. “There, now we’re practically engaged.”

“You’re very trusting with your stalker,” Alex said.

“Oh, but my stalker is clever. He’d have gotten it anyway.” Then Luke decided to take a chance. “Besides, he’s pretty cute.”

Alex’s smile fled, his face falling into a confused frown. “You… shouldn’t tease me, Luke.”

“I’m not,” Luke said softly. “Good-night, Alex.”

He let himself out.

Chapter 3

L
UKE
could not stop thinking about Alex. He didn’t hear from him on Thursday or Friday, and there was nothing in the crosswords. And that was fine. He didn’t want to push, and frankly, he needed some time to process.

He liked Alex. He was intelligent and funny, seemed honest and kind, and they had a lot in common. And that was all very well and good. But there was more to it, and that
more
was disturbing.

Luke had a strange lump in his chest. There was a kind of brink-of-a-cliff momentousness to the situation with Alex that he’d never felt with a guy before. In fact, the closest thing he’d ever felt to it was the day he’d accepted his first job as a game designer, his dream job since the age of eight. That day he’d had an almost out-of-body sense of relief and joy that translated roughly to
Yeah, this is my future; I made it. I managed not to fuck it up. Thank you, God
.

He didn’t understand why he would feel something like that about Alex. It couldn’t be real. It was like seeing someone in the street that you think is a long-lost loved one, only to have them turn around and reveal themselves a stranger. Alex was a stranger.

And then there was
the chair
. They hadn’t talked about it, but it was obviously a long-term thing, not a temporary injury. Alex was independent. He’d made it through college—Masters in English, he’d said—and lived alone, and Luke admired that. But what about… relationships? Sex? There was a sweet, vulnerable innocence about Alex that Luke found really, really attractive. But the man was twenty-eight and blushingly shy. Was he a virgin? Was he even physically capable of… of not being a virgin?

Luke knew he hadn’t misread the look of hunger on Alex’s face as he’d removed his coat. Alex was capable of lust, and he liked Luke. But how far was he able to go physically? And did he even want to share himself like that?

And what if he did? Could Luke handle a relationship with a man in a wheelchair?

Luke searched his gut for some kind of ick response or reluctance to go there. But each time he thought of Alex, all he could remember was their easy conversation, the way Alex laughed, the look of his upper body in that red shirt, those wide, sensual lips.
Those eyes
. What he was sitting in just didn’t seem to matter much to Luke’s body. Or his heart.

When he hadn’t heard from Alex by Saturday noon, Luke decided to call. “Hi, Alex. It’s Luke.”

“That’s what my phone says. But then, you high-tech types are used to all these fancy devices.”

“Um. Yeah. But it’s the add-on vibrator alerts that are really hip. I can score you some if you want.”

Alex laughed. “I love the way you drag my mind right into the gutter.”

His voice was low and sexy, and Luke felt a tugging in his groin. No, there was no mistaking where this was headed. Thank God.

“Hey, Sunday is supposed to be in the mere eighties for a change. I thought you might like to get out of the house.”

“Um… sure.” Alex sounded a bit hesitant.

“You mentioned handicap-accessible trails. Do you have a favorite? I’ve Googled some we could try if you don’t have a preference.”

“You did? That’s… nice of you.” Alex sounded surprised.

“Well, despite what you might have read on the bathroom walls around here, I’m a pretty decent sort.”

“You’re right, that’s not what they write about you on bathroom walls,” Alex teased. “But getting back to
outdoor
activities, there’s a nice rail trail in Luzerne. I try to hit it a few times a year, but it’s probably not all that exciting for you. It’s a flat out-and-back, and it’s a two and a half hour drive to get there.”

“I don’t mind driving, and flat works for me. It is August. Don’t want to overdo the whole sweat thing. Can I bring Trevor?”

“Yeah! I’d like to meet him. Dogs are fine there on leash. But… I don’t have a car.”

“Your chair collapses, right?”

“Yeah.”

“It’ll fit in my back seat, and Trevor has his own spot in the hatchback.”

There was a pause. “You’ve thought this through. I appreciate that.”

Luke felt a tightening in his throat. Did Alex think his company was so forgettable that it wasn’t worth accommodating something as simple as a wheelchair? Well, he’d soon learn what it meant to hang out with a game designer. When it came to logistics? Luke was a fucking god.

“How about nine o’clock? We can do the loop and then grab lunch out.”

“There’s a good diner in Luzerne. They’ve got a ramp and great burgers.”

“Awesome. I’ll pick you up at your place tomorrow.”

T
HE
drive to Luzerne was uneventful, and the hike was perfect. Alex was right; it was a flat and easy rail trail. But it went through dense forest and the shade was pleasant. The sky was a bottomless royal blue with white fluffy clouds and the humidity was bearable.

Trevor was a natural with the wheelchair. He didn’t pull but trotted along right beside it. And when it came to Alex, it was love at first sight. Trevor put his front paws up on Alex’s lap as soon as Luke let him out of the back, his tail going nuts and his tongue lolling as he tried to lick off Alex’s face and neck.

“Trevor! Get down!” Luke admonished.

“It’s okay. I like it,” Alex said with a big smile. He rubbed Trevor’s neck with both hands and leaned forward for a kiss, pouting his lips.

Lucky damn dog
, Luke thought. “
So
unhygienic,” he tsked.

Alex arched an eyebrow at him. “As if you can talk.”

“I mean for him.”

“Ha ha.”

“Come on, mutt. You too, Trevor.”

“Ba-da-bing,” Alex said, faking a cymbal strike. “He’s gotta million of ’em.”

L
UKE
had figured he’d have to walk slowly in order for Alex to keep up, but it was the opposite. Alex had a lot of strength in his arms, and the chair he’d brought was sporty and rugged. He moved fast on the crushed gravel of the trail. Luke actually had to walk faster than normal. It made sense once he saw the chair in motion. It was a bit like a mountain bike, really, though not as fast or maneuverable.

“Am I slowing you down, Speedy Gonzales?” Luke huffed.

Alex chuckled. “I can go faster, yeah, but that would be beside the point. It’s great scenery.”

“And heeeere would be a place for some clichéd innuendo.”

“Come on, you’re not above it.”

“Sadly, true. But then, there’s very little I’m above.”

“That’s not what I heard.”

“And the cliché-o-meter scores!”

Alex laughed. “Hey, you write dialogue for those games of yours. I’m just the crossword puzzle guy, remember? You want clever? Go on, ask me what an anoa is.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense.”

“A small buffalo of the Celebes that has short, pointed horns.”

“See, if I put a clue like that in one of my games, I’d be driven from the industry with whips and scourges.”

“That’s because video gamers have no patience. Crossword puzzlers love to be stumped. And they like to learn ridiculous things that no one in their right mind would possibly know, just so they have something to say at cocktail parties.”

“Yeah, the anoa thing
would
make a hell of a pick-up line.”

“It would for female buffalos.”

Luke laughed. “God, you’re as nerdy as I am.”

“Oh,
hell no
, California boy. Got you beat there by a mile.”

“Hey, I was born in Pennsylvania! Anyway, you haven’t seen my DVD collection.”

“
You
haven’t seen my comic collection.”

Luke stopped and stared at him, aghast. “No!”

Alex blushed. “Okay, I sold it on eBay when I needed money for college, but it
was
very nerdy.”

Luke didn’t mention he might have bought some of those comics on eBay. Some things were just not appropriate to reveal in the early stages of a relationship.

They walked to the two-and-a-half mile marker before Alex wanted to turn around. Luke was impressed he could wheel himself five miles. The exertion brought out the muscle definition under his fitted T-shirt. His forearms were tan and thick and strung with healthy veins. He wore fingerless gloves on his hands to protect them from the gravel that stuck to his wheels. Seeing those hands at work, Luke had to force himself not to think about what they’d feel like on his body.

By the time they got back to the car, Alex was clearly tired, and so was Trevor. Luke opened the hatchback so Trevor could jump up, and then he stretched, pulling his arms behind him.

“Lunch?” he asked. “I could eat a Holstein.”

“Not vegetarian, then?”

Luke shook himself out and noticed Alex watching him move. He gave Alex a wicked grin. “Me? Nah, I like meat.”

Alex both snorted and blushed. “Does that one go on the cliché-o-meter or the heat-o-meter?”

“I’m all for multitasking,” said Luke.

T
HEY
enjoyed a nice lunch at the diner in Luzerne—a burger and fries for Alex and a burger and salad for Luke. It wasn’t a great place to talk. It was crowded with summer visitors, including teenagers and kids wearing shorts and flip-flops, so they kept the conversation light.

Luke learned Alex had a sister and parents who lived in Harrisburg, an hour and a half away. He’d attended the university in State College and had never left. He made a light comment about how the modifications to his apartment—it had been done over by a previous wheelchair-bound tenant—were hard to find elsewhere. He’d been there six years.

Six years at The Woodsman.
Practically a lifetime
, Luke thought.

“So of all the places on earth, how did
you
end up in State College?” Alex asked.

Luke shrugged. “I knew I wanted to move back to Pennsylvania, but not where I grew up. Being gay in Allentown is kind of like being a fish on the deck of a boat.”

Alex looked out the window but couldn’t stop the blush that lit up his cheeks. Cripes, he was adorable. Such an open book.

Luke leaned in. “You, um, did know I was gay?” Luke whispered with a laugh.

“I got that impression, yeah.” Alex smirked, but when his eyes flicked to Luke, they held a bewildered longing. They were quickly redirected to his fries.

God, what those eyes did to him. Luke leaned back. “State College is a liberal university town, it’s got skiing and hiking, and it’s just big enough not to be a fishbowl. I know you should have a better reason than that to move across the continent to live somewhere, but damned if I do.”

“I’m not complaining,” Alex said with a shy smile. “I’m glad you did. So you don’t have family close by?”

“My sister and my parents are still in Allentown. It takes me three hours to drive over there, and that’s close enough. They’re all fine. They’re okay with me being out and all, but we don’t have a lot in common. I mean, we all breathe oxygen and have this weird cleft chin thing going on, but that’s about it.”

Alex laughed. “I didn’t know anyone when I moved to State College either. But at least I had classes and I was in a dorm for a few years.”

Luke shrugged, not wanting to appear like the loner he honestly was. “I’ve met a few people through a Meetup hiking group, and I’ve made some friends around town.”

Alex frowned at that last. He looked like he wanted to ask something but didn’t.

Luke realized, belatedly, he was probably thinking about James, his one-night stand.

Alex changed the subject. He started talking cheerfully about some of the groups and events around town he thought Luke might enjoy. Luke was content to just finish his burger and watch Alex’s expressive face as he chattered.

I
T
WASN
’
T
until they were in the car on the way home that Luke finally dared voice the question he’d wanted to ask all day.

“So… Alex. Have you ever had a boyfriend?”

Alex was buckled in snugly in the passenger seat. He turned his head on the headrest, looking a bit tired and temptingly languorous. He gave Luke a wry look. “So… Luke. Are you asking me if I’m a virgin?”

“I was thinking it might be relevant, yeah.” Luke raised a knowing brow.

Alex’s eyes went a little wide. He swallowed hard. “That’s… good to know. I’m not.”

“Okay.” Luke waited.

“My senior year of high school I had a… connection with my English teacher, Mr. Talbot.”

Luke frowned.

“Nothing happened then. We were just friendly. But when I was a senior in college, I got a call from him one day. All casual, you know? Said he’d be in town and asked me to meet him for lunch.”

Luke waited, his hands stiff on the wheel.