pretty boy • bradley bradshaw

10

Luke placed a sure foot on the running board of Rooster's Bronco, carefully hoisting himself up and sitting down before gently shutting the door. He eyed the interior with envy, running a hand along the leather upholstery. Rooster climbed into the driver seat, once comfortable his head turned to look at Luke's practically drooling expression.

"You'll catch flies." He smirked, stretching a hand over to gently tap at the bottom of Luke's chin. Luke's face grew red at the attention, immediately turning his head to the side to stare out the window and away from watchful eyes. Rooster reluctantly decided to let him get away with it, ceasing his flirting to look back to the wheel, and turning the ignition.

Luke watched from his window as the truck pulled away from the curb, not deigning to look through the windshield until he felt his face begin to cool down so as to not further embarrass himself. His eyes trailed over to watch Rooster's hand push a cassette into the player, moving to then tap lightly in tune to the song against the gearshift. Luke's eyes traveled up his arm, his biceps, and broad shoulders to rest on the side of his face. He watched as Rooster's upper lip twitched when a car cut him off, knuckles growing white as his grip on the wheel tightened for a fleeting moment before turning lax again. Luke's attention went back to the man's face, trailing across the side of his face, before focusing on his brown eyes. They were dark, warm, almost asking him to look closer. He watched as they shifted to look at his own for a moment. He instantly turned away, his eyes darting to look down at his lap, embarrassed at getting caught.

A hand slid into view, two fingers moving to gently rest on the edge of his knee, as if they were asking for permission. Luke didn't make a move to stop, the only reaction being the muscles in his leg jolting while his body stiffened against the back of his seat. Rooster took that as invitation enough, his hand moving to fully rest on Luke's knee. Luke looked through his lashes to watch Rooster, who was as cool and confident as he always was, observing the road as if Luke wasn't there. The only hint of attention being given to Luke was the hand that was now lightly rubbing small circles across his knee.

Rooster trailed his hand up further, palm gently sliding against the denim of his jeans. He let it stop halfway up Luke's thigh, resting motionless as he turned into the parking lot of the beach before lifting it to place the truck into park. He turned to eye Luke, a tender expression on his face. One Luke wasn't used to ever being on the receiving end of. Rooster leaned forward quickly, attempting capture Luke's mouth with his own before Luke jerked away, causing Rooster to immediately pull back. Luke made quick work of the door handle before jumping out of the vehicle. He stepped over the curb, nearly tripping on it in his hasty getaway. His flip flop clad feet sunk into the sand as he quickly trudged through it.

"Pretty," Rooster called after him, jogging to try and catch up. "Hey," He began, gentle hand moving to tug at his wrist. Luke fluidly followed the movement, turning to face him. He didn't say anything, eyeing Rooster expectantly, as if he was waiting for him to do something.
"What was that about?" He said finally after noticing Luke wouldn't speak up.

"I don't know." Luke murmured quickly. "I'm sorry." He said easily, as if he had said the phrase hundreds of times prior.

"Hey, don't say that." Rooster reprimanded, eyebrows bunched together in concern. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He said earnestly, moving to let go of Luke's wrist.
"What did I do?"

Luke didn't say anything, face blank, his eyes buried under confusion.

"PB, Rooster!" A voice shouted from nearby. Rooster's hard eyes peered through his sunglasses at Bob who was waving his arms wildly in greeting. He turned back to look at Luke, who was watching him.

"We'll talk about this after, alright?" He asked, voice conveying his determination. Luke reflexively nodded his head. "Don't run away again." Luke nodded again in sincerity at the order. Rooster gave a curt nod in return before leading the way toward the group, while Luke followed obediently behind him.