𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳-𝘑𝘰𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘨

two

   He walked down the sidewalk with a fast pace, the ends of his fingers aching. He rubbed at the tender flesh as he approached the book shop. He could see Joe at the counter, speaking with a customer. All he needed to do was just walk inside, start a conversation and all would go well.

At least he hopes it will go well, he can't mess this up or else he's screwed. The bell rang and Joe looked up, his eyes lingering on Luke who once again neared the back. He sat alone, away from everyone as he listened to his loud music.

Joe bid the customer he was ringing up farewell as he wiped the sweat off his fingers along his jeans. He walked towards Luke smiling sweetly.

"I hope you're not waiting for your friend again this time, and are actually here for books". Luke let out a light breath "my friend is going to Paris for work, she goes back and forth. So I'm actually here for books this time. Hopefully you picked good ones".

Luke stood up from the chair and Joe looked at the counter "I actually have them near the counter, I picked them out and just let them sit there overnight, I was worried you weren't gonna show".

"I was gonna come earlier but the damn dry cleaners couldn't find my clothes. So I had an extra hour of wait time, and had to drive back home to wait. Then I remembered this place, I have like twenty minutes before my dry cleaning is ready".

"Well that's enough time to start reading the books you get or even just browse through the shelfs". Luke let out a scoff "no offense but I don't really get the whole idea of browsing through books. I just let my friends pick them for me, they have rather good choices but since my friends are not here".

"Ah well let me say I'm honored you let me pick these books out for you then. Not many people ask me about any recommendations, they just walk away whenever I ask if they need help".

"That's society for you, but hey I technically asked for recommendations, in a sense of course". Joe nodded as he got behind the counter "wasn't sure how many you actually wanted, so I picked out two that I feel you'd like".

Luke grabbed his wallet out of his pocket and grabbed the cash he figured would be enough.
Joe eyed the one hundred dollar bill then looked back at Luke, like he was thinking.

An awkward silence filled the air as he bagged the books into a bag. "Do you know any good coffee shops around here, preferably ones that aren't new. My friend gets back next week, she really loves coffee. And honestly I've lived in the area for like six months, and haven't done much research".

Joe smiled "I can show you a few places if you'd like, I'm not a big coffee person but I know all the best shops around". Luke grabbed the bag from Joe "that'd be cool, when do you get off of work?".

"I have a break in like two hours" Luke put his wallet back into pocket. "I'll see you in two hours then Joseph, keep the change by the way".

He walked out of the shop and Joe let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.

—

Joe looked at the computer screen intensely as he scrolled through the many pages of photos. Luke or more so Luke Cain, moved away from his home after his father died in a tragic accident.

His mother grew ill and died a year after, his family was known for owning a rather big business. Although Luke didn't claim it and let his brother have it instead, he grew distant from the public.

Mainly so the press wouldn't know anything about him. Aside from a few tickets from speeding and not finishing high school. He was normal, he had a normal life. One he plastered all over Facebook.

He truly was desperate for the attention, he'd heart or thumbs up every single comment he'd get. He wrote in lowercase and never used emojis.

This guy was truly something special, he didn't like taking photos of himself. The only one that even was on his Facebook page, was old.

A family photo that was taken at his parents first business building, it had burned down a week after the photo was taken. A new one took months to make, luckily this one remained intact.

Aside from his brother and parents, Luke didn't have any friends on Facebook. None that at least appeared to even associate with him anymore.

Most were accounts that hadn't posted in years, the one that was even remotely relevant was a man named Joseph Minx. He posted a photo of him and Luke about a month ago.

They were at a bar and the caption was just a heart emoji. At the sound of the door chiming Joe closed his laptop and looked at Luke.

"Hey stranger, I'm here looking for a coffee buddy" Joe smiled at the man's words as stood up. "Well you're in luck, I just started my break and I don't like coffee but I can still attend with you".

Luke smiled "great, I'll drive and you just give me directions or we can use my gps". Joe followed after the man "If I'm gonna be your coffee buddy Maybe you should tell me your name".

Luke grinned "you gotta earn my name Joseph, who knows maybe you'll find out sometime today". He got into his car and Joe looked at him "you sure are a mystery, you look like a John or maybe Logan unless it's William".

Luke's grip tightened on the steering wheel for a moment "none of those are right, but hey just keep guessing and I'm sure you'll figure it out".

"I kinda like the mysterious vibe you got, so I'll just wait until you tell me what it is. Unless your names Jack or Alfred, Gregory".

Luke laughed as he drove off down the road "gosh you really are bad at guessing names Joseph but hey I believe in you. You'll figure it out".

Joe looked at Luke with a grin, if only he knew just how much Joe cared about him. "Tell you what I'll just say a name whenever I feel inspired".

Luke smiled "I'd rather play punch buggy or I-Spy, but by all means go ahead, I'll nod if it's right but if it's wrong I'll just stay silent".

Joe was silent for a moment and then he felt the confidence to speak and say the name he wanted to since the very beginning.

"What about Luke?" Luke didn't nod, he was silent.

not edited!
—
authors notes:
Didn't reread just sorta fixed a few things and called it good lol, I'm trying to get a bit more towards the drafts of this book I haven't had published before, I'll get there eventually but for now here's this lame chapter. Anyways I'm gonna go, enjoy.