Page 144 of Cheap Shot

“Yeah.” Thad smiled. “Or hell, even Jesse and Connor, right? Jesse was a real wild child before he settled down with Connor.”

“Ha. Yeah. He sure was.”

“So, I think it’s possible that a person can be in a place where they don’twanta relationship until someone sparks that interest and makes them reconsider.”

“Sure. But what if you don’t ever meet anyone who makes you want to try? What if you were perfectly happy being alone?”

Because Luke had been happy before things started with Sebastian. He’d certainly never felt like anything wasmissingin his life. But it was still better with Sebastian around. It still made him wonder how good it could be with him in his life in the future.

Thad hummed. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t aromantic people on a spectrum? Some people absolutelyneverwant any kind of relationship ever. And for others, there’s some wiggle room or it varies depending on who they’re with.”

“Sure, I guess that makes sense.” Anker was at the far end of things. Way more sure he never wanted to be with anyone, ever.

Clearly there was some wiggle room for Luke, at least when it came to Sebastian.

“Just to be clear, thatiswhat you’re talking about, yes? Being aromantic?” Thad pressed.

“Not much of a labels guy,” Luke admitted. “But I think so.”

“So, and I’m just spitballing here, is it safe to say you met someone recently who makes you reconsider?”

“Yeah. We, uh, talked about it a little bit. When I was in L.A. Uh, on the phone,” Luke added in case Thad thought he meant someone on the team. “And a little more when I got back.”

“And that person understands that you’re somewhere on that aromantic spectrum?”

“Yeah, he does.”

There was a tiny flick of Thad’s eyebrow lifting, like he’d registered that it was a guy Luke was talking about, but all Thad said was, “And you want a relationship with him?”

“Yeah. He, uh, he gets me,” Luke said. “And we’re on the same page, I think, about what we’re looking for. He gets my need for space and all that. And wants some himself, so, you know, that part works.”

“But you’re worried about it?”

“I just, uh, don’t want to screw it up, you know?” Luke admitted because that had been weighing on him heavily since his talk with Sebastian the other night. “This could maybe be something good, and I don’t want to fuck it all up because my parents were the fuckingworsttogether.”

“I get that,” Thad said. “But the truth is, you’ll never know how good it could be unless you try. You probably will fuck it up sometimes, but if you really care about him, if he really cares about you, you’ll figure it out together.”

Luke nodded. “I’m gonna fucking try.”

Their conversation moved on to other things after that, and Luke let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t sorry he’d talked to Thad today but talking about his feelings was about as fun as having his finger and toenails pulled out one by one.

“You want to play some pool now?” Luke asked after he’d finished his drink.

“Sure,” Thad said, standing. “I could do a round. I have plans with Graham later though.”

“No problem.” Luke followed him over to an empty pool table. “Hey, uh, do you think it’s weird if people are in a relationship but don’t live together all the time?”

“Nah,” Thad said. “It took Graham and me a while to work up to that. I have some fucking nasty insomnia so sometimes I slept at my place if I knew it was going to be a bad night. I’m moved into Graham’s place now, which is great, but some nights … I still sleep on the couch. At least then if I’m flopping around like a fuckin’ fish, trying to get my brain to shut up, I’m not disturbing him.”

“Got it.” Luke grabbed a pool cue.

That wasn’t quite what he meant but he supposed that it didn’t matter. If he and Sebastian were happy with shit, that was the important part, right?

Thad stepped closer. “By the way, I won’t say anything to anyone, even Graham, about who you’re dating, if you don’t want.”

“You don’tknowwho I’m dating,” Luke said drily.

Thad gave him an exasperated look but he still kept his voice pitched low. “That you’re dating a guy, I mean. If you’re not ready to come out.”