Page 57 of The Long Way Found

Jack disappeared briefly, then returned with a beer for himself, a club soda for Luke, and a Tanqueray and tonic for Alex. The conversation moved fast and loud, full of inside jokes and references Jack didn't understand.

"So, Michael," Brad said, raising his glass. "Another year older, you filthy whore."

Michael laughed. "You say the sweetest things."

"Maybe you can get laid this year, for a change," Brad chimed in. "Cobwebs have grown over that thing, it's been so long."

"I am a delicate flower," Michael said in his own defense, clutching his pearls.

More laughter. Gossip about a cute guy at the slopes this week and someone's latest Grindr chat.

Tyler pulled out his phone to show an especially explicit message he'd received.

"Look at this," he said, holding it up. "This guy wanted me to meet him in a parking lot at two a.m. Like, no thanks, serial killer."

"You should've gone," Brad said. "Live a little."

"Live? I'd be dead."

Jack finished his beer faster than he meant to.

"You okay?" Luke asked quietly. "They're harmless. I'll get you another beer."

Tyler renewed his focus on Jack while Luke was at the bar.

“Okay, real talk,” Tyler said, leaning in with the conspiratorial energy of someone who’d had two drinks and now considered himself your friend. “How long have you two known each other?”

“Since high school.”

Tyler’s eyes went wide. “Since high school? And you’re just now—” He gestured between Jack and the bar where Luke stood. “Oh, that’s a whole story. I need all of it.”

“Not much to tell.”

“I seriously doubt that.” Tyler smiled kindly. “He’s the best, you know. Like, genuinely. We all love him. You’re a lucky man, Colonel.”

Jack looked at him. “Yeah,” he said. “I know.”

Luke returned with the drinks. Tyler immediately turned the full force of his attention on him and launched into an elaborate story about an incident on the slopes that afternoon, and the table erupted in laughter. Jack watched Luke laugh with his friends and suddenly felt a distance from it.

"Sorry, Jack,” Tyler said. “I'm obnoxious sometimes, and I might just make a fool of myself tonight."

"It's all good," Jack said, and Tyler turned back to the group.

"You okay?" Luke asked Jack quietly. "Is this too much?"

Jack took a long drink. "It's fine."

They stayed another twenty minutes, but Jack felt the distance growing not between him and Luke, but between himself and this world. The loud performance of it all. The casual crudeness. The way everything was a joke, and nothing was private.

When a voice came over the loudspeaker to announce that the amateur drag contest would start soon, Luke must’ve caught Jack's expression.

"Come on," Luke said. "Let's say goodbye and get out of here."

In the Jeep, they sat in silence for a moment.

Jack gripped the steering wheel, staring straight ahead.

"Sorry," Luke said quietly.