Page 26 of The Long Way Found

But he observed that he wanted to, and he noted that information without self-judgment. He decided he’d text Luke because he wanted to. In a bit.

CHAPTER 8

LUKE

After walking Marley that evening, Luke stood at the kitchen table, drinking a glass of water and checking his phone. The kitchen was quiet, except for Marley's nails clicking on the hardwood floor and the refrigerator's hum.

He heard nothing from Jack: no text, call, or anything.

Fine. He's busy. New job, lots going on. Last night was great. Maybe it'll happen again. Maybe it won't.

He laughed at himself. But I'm not going to act like a teenager with his first boyfriend.

Except... wasn't he doing exactly that? Checking his phone every ten minutes? Replaying last night—with, literally, his first boyfriend?

Marley gave him the cocked-head look.

"I know, buddy. I'm being ridiculous."

Luke tried to distract himself. He cleaned the kitchen and folded laundry. By 7:30, he couldn't take it anymore.

"What the hell," he muttered, then typed a text.

"Hi, Jack… Hope you had a good day. Just wanted to say hi after last night. That was amazing."

He read it twice. Was “amazing” too much? Not enough? Maybe he should try “nice.” Or “fun.” Or cut that little sentence altogether.

Just send it, he thought.

He tapped send, then set the phone down on the counter.

Done.

Luke stepped onto the back deck for the clear, cold air. It hit his lungs immediately—sharp, clarifying. He looked up at the countless stars, told himself to appreciate the immensity of it all, and took three deep breaths. The white clouds exiting his mouth were second nature. He didn’t even notice them.

Back inside, he checked his phone.

Nothing.

He made dinner of leftover chicken and roasted vegetables, eating it while standing at the counter. The phone was face-up so he could see it.

By 8:45, Luke picked up his phone and called Alex, a ski buddy and one of his gay friends in the area. This was part of what sobriety had taught him: to reach out to others when he needed help.

"Please tell me you're not already spiraling over the Army guy," Alex said instead of hello.

"I'm not spiraling."

"You're totally spiraling."

Luke sighed. "We had this amazing date last night. Then he left, and I texted him more than an hour ago. And now … nothing."

"And?"

"And... I don't know. It feels like⁠—"

"Like he’s disappearing on you again?" Alex asked. "Luke. You slept with him once. It was great, I'm sure. But you're not dating. He doesn't owe you a text back within an hour."

"I know that."