Page 35 of The Long Way Found

"This man's best friend, no doubt," Luke said, opening his arms for a quick bro-hug. "Good to see you. Ready for a fun day?"

"Let's do it."

Luke directed Jack to the high school. The county had rebuilt the access road about ten years earlier, and Jack didn't remember the old route anyway.

"It's just up here," Luke said.

"High school horrors coming up fast."

"Please,” Luke said. “You ruled high school."

"Hey, you were homecoming king, not me."

"You weren't here for that."

"Oh, I heard all about it,” Jack said. “I even saw the yearbook. Your date was cute in her strapless dress, with her hair flat-ironed straight."

"Hey, it was the style back then. She was hot."

"She was hot? You were hot. No wonder Hollywood stole you away."

"Please. It was just Calvin Klein and Men's Fitness. I bombed out before I could even finish the audition for 'Survivor.'"

"'Survivor?'" Jack grinned. "Now that I didn't know. You would've been the sexiest castaway, for sure."

They pulled into the lot—school in front, athletic fields to the right. Julio was on the other side of the fence, keeping an eye on the team's bench while the kids tried to follow instructions.

Jack and Luke sat behind him. Julio turned and waved. During a break, Nita and Marco ran over for juice boxes. Julio said something Jack and Luke couldn't hear, and the kids turned to wave, their smiles aimed at Luke.

"Cute kids," Jack said.

"The best. Love them to death. They're the same age as my niece and nephew, but I'm much closer to these two. Don't tell my sister. They're my angel-babies."

Eventually, they made their way to the field and kicked a ball around with the kids, with Marley running around chasing balls, too. Practice was mostly drills—getting them used to behaving in an orderly fashion, more than anything.

Julio leaned in close to Luke and said something Jack couldn't quite catch. Luke shook his head, though he was smiling. Julio laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, shooting Jack a knowing look.

Whatever Julio had said, Luke's cheeks were slightly flushed.

The kids came running for high-fives, and Jack and Luke walked up to the school, which was locked on Saturday. They stood at a side entrance and began walking the perimeter.

When they turned a corner, Jack pulled Luke to him and kissed him.

"What are you doing?" Luke asked, breathless.

"Just had to do that."

"Yeah? Any chance you just have to do it again?"

"I do," Jack said, pulling Luke closer and kissing him more deeply. Their playful make-out turned serious fast. Jack's hand slid down Luke's back. "Remember when we used to make out here after baseball practice, my senior year? The only place I knew we wouldn't get caught."

He squeezed Luke's ass through his jeans.

"Not here," Luke said. "Too risky. Besides, it's cold. My dick will shrink."

They walked back to the Jeep uncomfortably, both obviously hard. No one was around, but by the time they got in, a couple more cars were pulling into the lot.

Jack groaned in frustration and pushed aside thoughts of pulling Luke into his lap right then.