snuggle into his pillow more, but he’d come track him down himself if he needed to. His chest warmed at the idea of being able to take care of Lukas again, like he had the night of his basement flooding. Then he remembered how cared for he’d felt when Lukas had taken pity on him and cooked a wonderful meal for him right on the spot. And the cupcakes had been amazing.
Running the back of his fingers down Lukas’s cheek, he rose and grimaced at the pain in his lower back and right knee. He sighed as he turned away from the bed. Maybe he shouldn’t even be considering having anything to do with Lukas. Lukas was young and beautiful, and John was… old and worn-out. There was no way Lukas would ever actually want something serious with someone John’s age. Forty-two wasn’t ancient, but compared to twenty-six?
As he exited the cabin, he sucked in a deep breath of fresh air and shook his head. He was getting way ahead of himself. Could he really be thinking about the possibility of making a move on his friend’s son?
When he’d noticed other men before, it had always been just a passing thought about how nice their body was built or how attractive their features were. With Lukas, it was so much more. He couldn’t stop thinking about the shy smile he got when John complimented him or the way he laughed at John’s dumb jokes. And he couldn’t help but feel like Lukas needed him in a way no one else ever had—not just to fix his pipes, but to make sure he was taken care of in other ways.
Scrubbing a hand over his face, he trudged back to the pavilion. He wasn’t in the mood for other people, but he’d promised to save a plate for Lukas and needed to grab that before he could go stare at the ceiling of his cabin and sulk.
When he reentered the covered area, he tried to head straight for the buffet table to make a plate, but Dave called him over to where he was still sitting with Lydia. A couple more people John recognized had joined them, and someone had eaten half the food off John’s plate.
“Hurry up and eat. I told Scott we’d play in his volleyball game after dinner,” Dave said as soon as John neared the picnic table.
“Oh, I don’t—”
“Come on, man. You haven’t played a single game since we got here,” Scott said, grinning as he stuck a forkful of mashed potatoes in his mouth… from off John’s plate. Scott had gone to college with Dave and had always seemed like he looked down on John a little, since he just tagged along on these vacations.
Narrowing his eyes, he said, “Fine. But I have to get a new plate”—he gave a pointed look to his half-empty one—“and I need to get one for Lukas so he can eat later.”
Lydia stood and patted his arm. “You get yours, sweetie, and I’ll prepare one for Lukas. Thanks for checking on him.”
He nodded and swallowed, trying not to feel guilty at her grateful smile.
He hadn’t done anything wrong… yet. His mind flashed to Lukas’s sleepy face, and warmth filled his chest. How could anything involved with Lukas be wrong though?
Chapter Seven
It was nearly nine o’clock by the time Lukas rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. He felt groggy and disoriented after sleeping so much during the middle of the day. If he wasn’t careful, his sleep cycle was going to get all fucked up like it had been when he’d been in college. He’d gotten into the habit of staying up until two or three in the morning, working on projects or playing video games, and the first few months after graduation when he’d started working at the clinic had been rough. Retraining his body hadn’t been easy, but he had a feeling it would be to fall back into that pattern.
After going to the bathroom and washing his hands and face, he stumbled back out into the main area of the cabin, wondering if there was any food left even though dinner had ended two hours ago, when he was hit with an image of John kneeling by his bed. Freezing, he tried to remember if it was real or a dream. He closed his eyes and concentrated and could almost feel John’s fingers in his hair, his deep voice telling Lukas to come find him for