Page 19 of The Boy from Half Moon

His grammar was incorrect, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to point out a tiny mistake in grammar, especially when I’m referred to as the ‘most handsomest.’ I felt heat spreading across my face… not to mention the fire I felt in my groin.

My heart expanded to what felt like triple its size. Luke was so innocent, so untouched, not ruined by our hateful society. He’d mentioned that others had nicknames for his community, so I imagined he had had his fair share of criticism and hurt, but the pure way that he came across was refreshing, yet painful to witness at the same time. He made me feel things, protective things, I couldn’t remember ever feeling before.

We stood inches from one another. He smelled soap-clean. His presence drew me in like I was a slab of steel, and he was a magnet. My desire to reach out and touch him was almost more than I could bear, but I instinctually knew that doing such a thing would be a huge mistake.

I knew not to touch him, but I wanted to get to know more about him in any way I could. “Do you ever go out to dinner or stuff like that?” I asked, trembling inside from my brevity.

“Like away from the ranch?”

“Yeah, like with a friend… or something,” I said.

Luke swallowed hard as he took in my question. I could see him wrestling with my inquiry as he bit his lower lip. The struggle to truly understand my intentions, and to be cautious about how to respond to me, was quite apparent.

“Only if I snuck away,” he mumbled, checking behind him, in case another employee or community member was nearby.

“You’d have to sneak away to see a friend?”

He nodded as the crimson came rushing back to his skin. He crossed his arms and nervously rubbed his elbows. “We’re not allowed to have friends outside of Half Moon,” he reminded me. “Folks that aren’t members, anyway.”

“But you’d be willing to sneak out?”

“I’m afraid if I don’t, I won’t see you again,” he whispered, his eyes welling. “You know if I didn’t try. Plus, maybe you won’t ever come back here or to the bakery.”

I wasn’t sure what to say. Luke, exposing himself like this, had not seemed like a possibility. A fantasy maybe, but how often do fantasies come true? My experience was limited when it came to flirting or getting to know someone I was attracted to, but his experience had to be an absolute zero compared to mine.

Being honest with him was the right thing to do. “You do know that I’m gay?” I asked, laying everything on the table.

“No. I did not know that,” he replied. “Thank you for sharing that with me,” he added. “Is that bad? Does it mean we can’t be friends?”

He was so unbelievably polite. How could a person not fall in love with his innocence? But I wondered if he understood what I’d just revealed. “Do you know what gay means?”

He shook his head. I was correct. Luke had no clue what gay meant. “I’m not real good at knowing too much stuff about outside folks,” he explained. “Best you know that upfront. I’m not all that smart, I guess.”

“Please don’t talk about yourself like that,” I said, noticing that my ride had still not come inside the store. I’d never wished I’d come alone more than I did right then. “You seem wonderful to me,” I whispered, my emotions swelling. “There are also a lot of things I don’t know about.”

Luke suddenly diverted his eyes to behind me and began to back away.

“There you are, sweet cheeks,” Alec said, placing his hand on my lower back and killing whatever chance I had to get to know Luke better.

“I was looking at the furniture selection,” I said, watching as Luke’s body language revealed he had completely closed off, moving away from us.

Luke noticed Alec’s hand on my lower back, but quickly diverted his eyes when I caught him staring. Was I imagining things, or did he look angry at Alec’s action?

“I didn’t want to park my Tesla in their shitty gravel parking lot, so I parked a few blocks away,” he bitched, looking around at the selection of furniture near us. “But they have good shit, right?” he asked. “These Moonies know their way around a piece of wood, that’s for fucking sure.”

My head jerked around, and I glared at Alec. “Do not refer to them as Moonies,” I hissed, embarrassed for myself, but horrified for Alec’s insensitivity.

He motioned to Luke. “He knows he’s a Moonie. Right, country boy?” he sneered.

Luke flinched at the meanness in Alec’s voice. His fists clenched as they hung at his sides. He’d obviously been a victim of this type of behavior before, but his polite spirit prevented him from responding to Alec’s rudeness.

“I’ll get you two gentlemen some assistance from one of our staff,” Luke stated, turning and disappearing into the backroom he’d come from earlier.

“You go ahead and do that, boy,” Alec hollered after him.

I couldn’t believe what I’d just witnessed. Not only had Alec interrupted my chance at building a friendship and trust with Luke, but he’d managed to show me what an awful human being he was.

“Please take me home,” I said, heading for the front door.

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