Wikipedia Said You'd Do This...

[Luc]

Story Title: Wikipedia Said You'd Do This...

Type of story: One-shot

Main Characters: Lucas, Ric.

Secondary Characters: Belle, Beth.

BTTB rating: Strong A.

Genre: Romance, fluff-ish angst, humor.

Does story include spoilers: Nope.

Any warnings: Sexual references

Summary: In which the boys discover sex, and feelings and stuff.

Ric Dalby discovered sex with somebody who wasn’t himself two months before his seventeenth birthday. It was with a girl whose name he was unable to recall. He’d put down the fact he’d remained a virgin so long to his acquaintance with Lucas Holden, a slightly odd child who had lived a sheltered life before coming to Summer Bay, and who was the son of one of the teachers at the high school, and Belle Taylor, a girl who never allowed her brain to control her mouth. Said forgotten-named girl had propositioned a ‘study session’ with Ric. Ric, who wasn’t failing, and had the help of Lucas, a superbrain, agreed, correctly assuming the ‘study session’ would consist of a hell of a lot of groping on her sofa.

After that one encounter he ended up having lots of sex everywhere over the next fortnight, during which he neglected his homework and forgot to hand in important assignments. Sally Fletcher, his principal and his foster mother ended up forgiving him a little too easily, arranging make-up assignments before going away, muttering something about teenage boys. Lucas, on the other hand, who had given up valuable time to help him prepare refused to speak to him for about a week.

After this he decided that he’d better get serious about his studies, with his HSC fast approaching. He put that down to Lucas’s influence. He approached the girl and said he was no longer interested in casual sex. She rolled her eyes, shrugged and muttered that she didn’t care. By the end of the day she’d managed to commandeer a new boyfriend.

Since then Ric’s life had got a lot better.

*

About a week after his seventeenth birthday Ric found himself drawn to the idea of sex with Lucas. As a teenage boy he knew that he was supposed to be excited by the stupidest of things, but he was pretty sure ‘sex with your best friend’ wasn’t supposed to be one of them.

It was the end of October – exams had just begun and he and Lucas were sat in the Holden living room, watching a really bad daytime movie. Belle had an exam that day, so it was the pair of them eating popcorn and mocking the characters, Well, Ric mocked, Lucas laughed at his sorry attempt at humour.

In one of the commercial breaks Ric looked over at his friend and found himself distracted from the fast food advert that was playing. Belle had grown tired of Lucas’s homely look and taken him out shopping to help him look ‘better’. For some reason it had taken Ric this long to notice exactly how skinny Lucas’s skinny jeans were. His t-shirt too seemed tighter. Another of Belle’s fashion tips.

Ric knew it wasn’t right to be thinking like this, but he couldn’t help looking at the boy and wondering what it would be like to slide his hands along Lucas’s chest. He noticed that he was fixated by the sharp rises of the teenager’s hip bone and rolled onto his stomach, forcing himself to think about old people and exam resits.

*

Ric had never sat down and discussed sex with his best friend at all. He got the feeling it would be like banging his head against an affable, yet entirely clueless brick wall. He had other friends to talk about sex with anyway – Drew Curtis, Aden Jeffries – improbable sex with supermodels, albeit. The idea of discussing sex with Lucas became really unappealing to Ric once he worked out that he fancied him. Lucas wouldn’t get it, and should he find out it would end badly, and Ric needed him as a friend in addition to want to get into his (unreasonably tight) jeans.

*

The school year came to an end, and all had far too much free time on their hands. Belle got herself a boyfriend – who was annoyingly nice and didn’t mind all the time she spent with Ric and Lucas. They were out on a date one day, so it was Ric and Lucas alone in the Holden house, stood in the kitchen.

Lucas was looking about in all the cupboards, looking for something they could eat whilst playing the newest video game craze. Something that was icky and violent and very graphic. Ric watched as Lucas bent over to look in the lower cupboards, so it was just as well Lucas had his back to him… or not.

“There’s chocolate…” Lucas said in a stunned tone, and Ric remembered Beth had started on a healthy brain food campaign, though really, if Lucas’s brain worked any better it was actually going to implode.

Ric tried to make a coherent reply that didn’t involve him saying things like I want to touch you everywhere. He managed a nod. “Cool.”

“Are you okay, Ric?” Lucas asked.

Ric became aware he was kind of staring. He coughed and looked away. “Yeah… ‘course. Why wouldn’t I be?’

Lucas shrugged and turned around again. Ric exhaled deeply as his not-too-good-in-the-first-place self control gave in. When Lucas turned around again, Ric was standing way too close. He grabbed the chocolate out of his hands, threw it down and pressed Lucas firmly against the sideboard. And then they kissed.

Ric knew that this wasn’t Lucas’s first kiss. He’d been with Belle for all of two weeks, when she decided to look over his general weirdness and see that he was actually pretty cute. They spent those two weeks blissfully unaware of the rest of the world, and spent most of their free time making out in empty classrooms, on the beach, in the diner… anywhere really. Lucas had freaked out at the end of those two weeks, as did Belle. They stayed friends though. Ric remembered thinking at the time that their relationship was cute. First lust. Nothing cuter.

Back to the sideboard. Ric was clenching Lucas’s cotton shirt in his hands. It took him a moment to realise what he was doing. He had tried to convince himself that it was completely fine to imagine Lucas in the shower instead of Angelina Jolie, or Jennifer Garner, or Keira Knightly, or whoever he was supposed to be fantasising about; but he had to admit that ambushing Lucas with his tongue was probably a step too far. He was about to pull away and assure Lucas that he wanted to be friends with him for reasons other than how he looked in those jeans Belle should never have recommended, when Lucas made a muffled noise that wasn’t quite protest, and kissed Ric back.

Ric couldn’t help but think that Lucas was a great kisser. He must have read every article on kissing, as he was like that, with his almost super-inquisitive mind, and he was a quick learner. He also enjoyed practising things until he was perfect at them. During those two weeks with Belle he must have worked everything out, as there was no hesitancy in the way he kissed Ric.

He had no idea how long they stayed like that; kissing until their mouths hurt and the novelty wore off (only it didn’t), and Ric was on the point of reaching underneath the t-shirt and finding out if Lucas’s skin felt the way he imagined when the sound of a key turning in the door forced them apart.

Lucas stared silently at Ric, his swollen lips moving as if he were attempting to find words but couldn’t. Ric was more distracted by the fact Lucas’s hair was standing all over the place from where he’d been running his fingers through it. And also he felt a problem emerging in his jeans that would lead to all kinds of awkward questions he really didn’t want to answer.

“I’m home early!” Beth called out, as though that wasn’t completely and annoyingly obvious. Lucas frantically tried to flatten his hair and Ric stood as close to the counter as possible to avoid awkward questioning.

“Hi Beth!” Lucas managed to call out, managing to sound like he was not in the middle of a panic attack.

“Hi Beth.” Ric added as she walked into the kitchen. She smiled at them both in a motherly way, not in an I know what you were up to 30 seconds ago kind of way, which was a relief to both.

“Are you staying for dinner, Ric?” Beth asked, placing her shopping down on the counter. Ric moved back slowly and exhaled deeply.

He should have said yes. He should have caught Lucas after dinner and tried to talk to him. Or tried to kiss him again. He should have done something.

“Can’t.” He said. “Sal wants me home tonight. My turn to cook.”

Lucas was staring at him. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes huge and slightly betrayed. He had no idea how eyes could say these things, but they did. Ric should have stayed and fixed it, but instead he grabbed his backpack and fled.

At the end of the street he turned around and looked at the Hunter-Holden house.

“Coward.” He muttered to himself, but kept walking.

*

For four whole days Lucas ignored him. He left for school early, so Ric got to his house every morning only to find from Matilda that he had already been gone for about half an hour. In form, Lucas sat with some of the overtly poetic and slightly pious people he was sort-of friends with in his literature class, and he disappeared off at lunchtimes to go read Shakespeare's sonnets, or translate the works of Jane Austen into binary code or whatever it was that Lucas did, and always managed to go off at the end of the day faster than Ric could catch up with him.

It hurt. Ric let himself admit that. He missed Lucas like crazy. It wasn’t just because every time he shut his eyes he could feel Lucas kissing him; he missed just hanging out with him. It wasn’t until Lucas refused to be near him that Ric realised just how many hours a day he actually spent with Lucas.

“Have you two had a fight?” Sally had asked him one day, about a week after Lucas had stopped speaking to him.

“Or something.” Was Ric’s answer.

Sally actually looked worried. Ric knew that this was a bad sign.

After school the next day Belle approached him. “Lucas’s home all by himself tonight.” She said.

“So?” Ric shot back.

“For God’s sake! Go and talk to him! Apologise for whatever it was you did.” She replied. Ric rolled his eyes.

“Why do you automatically assume I did something?” he asked his friend.

Belle raised an eyebrow skeptically. “And what, may I ask, could Lucas have done to you?”

Ric got her point, and thanked her for the heads up.

Early evening he headed over to the Hunter-Holden house. He spent nearly twenty minutes on the doorstep trying to work out what to say. What does one say in a moment like this? ‘Sorry I kissed you. Wanna shag?’ No, Ric was sure that wouldn’t work. He sighed, there was nothing he could say, he’d just risk letting his mouth be controlled by somewhere other than his brain. He knocked.

He was stood a few moments before the door was pulled open. ‘What?’ Lucas asked, glaring a pretty good glare.

Ric had been trying not to look at him at school, should certain problems arise, and was once again stunned at how Lucas had gone from boyish-ly cute at actually hot in the time that they had known each other.

“Can I come in?” Ric asked.

Lucas glared at him with his fantastic glaring face for a few more moments before shrugging. “Whatever.”

They went into the living room this time – Ric assumed Lucas didn’t want to take him into the kitchen again – and they sat in awkward silence on the sofas.

“I’m sorry.” Ric blurted when the silence became too much to deal with.

“Sorry for what?”

Ric decided he might as well be honest, lest risking their friendship to end. “I’m sorry for running out on you. I’m not sorry for kissing you though. Actually, if I had the chance I’d do it again. But I shouldn’t have run away like that. It was a terrible thing to do, and I’m sorry.”

Lucas stared at his friend for a few moments, making Ric feel uncomfortable.

“You want to kiss me again?” he asked, sounding a cross between pleased and uncertain.

Ric allowed himself to carry on breathing again. “Well, if you want to…”

The rest of the evening went from some fairly serious groping to some even more serious stuff on Lucas’s bed. It was awkward. There were too many elbows and there seemed to be knees everywhere. Neither of them knew exactly what they were doing, or if they were doing it right – Ric had only had sex with one freakishly dominating girl, and Lucas having had sex with no one – but it kind of worked out, anyway.

Later, when they were lying breathless and sweaty on the bed, Ric chanced a glance at Lucas.

“That was… okay.” He managed. “Wasn’t it?”

Lucas nodded. “I think it could be better, though,” he said solemnly. “I think we’ll have to practice. A lot.”

*

In reality, they ended up freaking themselves out. They hung out at school together, much to Belle’s joy, but they only spoke briefly if they spoke at all. Ric found himself distracted in any classes he had with Lucas. He’d find himself glancing over at Lucas, who was taking pages and pages of notes, and suddenly all he’d be able to do was picture him naked.

And then Lucas was kidnapped one day. As you do if you live in Summer Bay. Turned out the kidnapper had the wrong person and was completely nice about it, dropping Lucas off back home and then fleeing. They didn’t call the police, though they should have, but that’s another story.

Once Lucas had settled down and Beth had finished hugging him, everything went back to normal. They were all glad Lucas hadn’t been killed, but he wasn’t traumatised by the experience at all, and he had no lasting effects. The only thing that got left behind was Ric’s lingering panic at nearly losing his best friend.

A few days later Lucas had the house all to himself again. Ric came to the door, a DVD case in his hands.

“Bad science fiction?” he asked.

“Serenity?”

“Hey, I said bad.”

“Bring it on.”

They got through the opening scene before Ric shifted slightly, causing his arm to brush against Lucas’. The first contact in a few days was like a spark shooting between them and before Ric could even begin to register what was happening, they were kissing their way to Lucas’s bedroom, stumbling and laughing. Lucas kicked the door to his bedroom open and the boys fell onto his bed.

*

It was now a month later. And for some reason they were still doing it. Ric just thought their curious experimental passion would burn out after a week. But it just hadn’t. Probably because sex with Lucas was so disturbingly interesting. Lucas was a researcher. He had a constant thirst for knowledge of all kinds. Including sex. He was always going off and reading articles or books and coming back with new ideas for them to try. Of course, half of these Ric has had to put a stop too. Even gymnasts would struggle with them. And there was no way he was going to injure his back just because he wanted to have a whole lot of kinky sex with his best friend.

They hadn’t redefined anything . They were still best friends. As close as ever. Except Ric was more careful about how he touched Lucas in public. Even a casual handshake was enough to excite him. He was aware that as a teenage boy that, everything was supposed to arouse him, and that was fine by him. He just didn’t want anybody to find out. Not because he was ashamed, but because of the repercussions it would cause – bullies at Summer Bay High didn’t take kindly to ‘queers’, and he was afraid for Lucas’s safety.

Ric was afraid somebody would take Lucas away from him. Not kidnappers who grab the wrong person, but real, actual people. People who’d see Ric as trouble, as a bad influence. People who’d accuse him of taking advantage. Ric was pretty sure that everything they’d done, Lucas was up for it. But Lucas was naïve, inexperienced in interpersonal relationships. He wouldn’t blame Beth or anybody else in Lucas’s family if they lost their tempers and shut him away from Lucas forever. And the thought of being kept away from Lucas made his chest hurt.

“Lucas…” he began one afternoon. They were sat on the floor in Ric’s bedroom, the window open and an afternoon breeze drifting in. Lucas was half-asleep, his head resting on Ric’s shoulder. Sally was out. It was quiet and peaceful.

“Yeah?” Lucas replied, his hand resting on Ric’s chest. He was on the point of falling asleep, and the circulation in Ric’s arm felt close to being cut off. But he chose not to mention it to Lucas.

“I didn’t… I haven’t…” He hesitated. “I haven’t made you do anything you didn’t want too, have I?”

Lucas sighed and opened his eyes. “Wikipedia said you’d do this.”

Ric grinned in spite of himself. “Weirdo.”

“Ric, when I kissed you back… when we started this thing, I knew what I was getting myself in for.” Lucas said, wrapping his arms around Ric. It was getting unbearably hot, but Ric didn’t mind. “I haven’t done anything I didn’t want to do. I’m easily led, but not that easily.”

“Good.” Ric replied, ruffling Lucas’s short, blond hair with the hand that was trapped between his body and Lucas’s. “Just checking.”

Lucas grinned and shifted away from Ric. He planted a soft kiss on his lips. They were at an awkward angle, their noses bumped, but the reassurance was welcome. Ric moves his now numb arm and places it around Lucas’s waist.

Lucas leaned back into Ric’s body. “Now, can I get some sleep, or are you going to have another Big Gay Freak-Out?”

“Shut up.” Ric murmured as Lucas made himself comfortable.

Outside the waves were crashing against the beach, somebody was mowing their lawn. Cars passed by occasionally, but apart from that, all was quiet. Ric listened to Lucas’s slowing breathing. He was tempted to allow himself to fall asleep too, but didn’t. He wondered what would happen if Sally were to walk in and find them like this. As far as Ric knew, he and Lucas were best friends. Best friends who happened to like kissing one another a little too much. Lucas had never expressed a desire for more, but Ric couldn’t help but wonder what lines they had drawn, and if they’d crossed most of them by now.

Ric decided to stop thinking about it. He sighed and rested his cheek on Lucas’s soft hair. For that moment, nothing at all needed defining.

*

Ric was in the kitchen at Belle’s house making smoothies for the three of them. He was always relegated to the kitchen, being the only one that knew how to cook. Belle had tried once and almost set Ric’s house on fire. Since then he was the one in charge of all foodstuff. He overheard some of their conversation and stopped cutting up fruit to eavesdrop.

“Seriously…?” Belle was asking.

‘I don’t want a girlfriend.” Lucas repeated.

“Really?” she asked again. “Because there's this girl in my French class. She will not shut up about you…”

“I think I’m gay.” Lucas blurted out.

Belle was completely silent for a moment or two. “It wasn’t my fault, was it?” she asked, casually. Lucas shook his head.

Ric had done a lot of things with Lucas that involved mutual, intentional nudity, was pretty sure there wasn’t an inch of skin on Lucas’s body that he hadn't kissed, spent half the holidays trying to get Lucas to write ‘gives excellent head’ down as a skill on his university applications, and had never seen Lucas show any attention to any female apart from Belle, but he found himself surprised. He hadn’t reassessed his own sexuality yet. He knew he’d get around to it eventually – maybe next week, maybe next year, but he was pretty sure Lucas hadn’t given things like sexual preferences a second thought. As usual, though, Lucas was about eight thought processes ahead of him.

“Well…” Belle began, cheerfully, although a tone of awkwardness present in her voice, “Have you considered getting a boyfriend?”

“I don’t want a boyfriend.”

Ric felt as if somebody had kicked him in the stomach, repeatedly with steel-toe boots. However, it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Lucas had friends for social interaction, and he and Ric are having fun, but it was becoming apparent Lucas wasn’t like most others – he didn’t crave the closeness that came with dating somebody.

“Fair enough.” Belle said in a tone of voice that said the subject would be brought up again at a random, unexpected moment. “Ric!” she shouted, “I don’t hear that blender!”

Ric rolled his eyes, deciding that now was not an appropriate time to go all emo over Lucas’s revelation. “What did you last slave die of?” He called back, dumping sliced banana into the blender.

“I made him look after Miss Smart.” She replied. He was talked to death.”

“Actually, people can’t be talked to death, as such.” Lucas began. At this point, Ric turned the blender on, drowning out his voice. Under the sound of bananas, strawberries and all kinds of fruit being pulverised he muttered a few swears.

*

“Are you alright?” Lucas asked quietly.

“Yeah.” Ric replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

Lucas shrugged. He moved closer to Ric. They were sat on the sofa at Lucas’s house, a bad comedy playing, neither was paying attention.

“You’ve just seem distracted,” Lucas offered, “You’ve been distracted all week,” he continued. It was obvious he’d been worrying for a while, but had been avoiding mentioning it. “And your exam results were really good…”

“Really, Lucas, it’s nothing.” interrupted Ric, who had noticed a miserable look on Lucas’s face. He wrapped his around his shoulders. Lucas leaned into him, his cheek on Ric’s shoulder. Ric wrapped his arm around Lucas, ignoring the fact he usually finds hugs far too girly, even for him, decided to wrap the other around him, pulling Lucas even closer to him. “Are you alright?” he asked quietly.

“You’ve been distant… all week…” Lucas began, taking a deep breath and wrapping his arms around Ric, returning the hug. “You seem unhappy. You won’t even look at me directly. You’re distant and standoffish, you fold your arms whenever I got to kiss you and frankly, the sex is less exciting. I know you think I don’t notice things like this, but I do. And I’m worried. Have I done something? You seem to be worrying about something. Do you not… you know…”

Ric realised how miserable he was making Lucas. He’d never intended to. He himself had been over-thinking things over the last week, trying to work out where the thing… whatever the thing may be, was heading, ever since Lucas had confessed what he had confessed the previous week, even though he didn’t know Ric knew. Before this, he had never thought about them in a relationship, and now the opportunity had been taken away, he’d been depressed at the thought.

“You’re overanalysing things. Again.” Ric muttered into Lucas’s ear. “Okay?”

Lucas released his grip and moved away from Ric, looking his directly in the eyes until it got slightly awkward and he looked away. “I thought you didn’t want to do this anymore.” He avoided looking at Ric.

“Idiot.” Ric replied, reaching out and running his fingers through Lucas’s hair.

Lucas smiled, moving closer to Ric again and kissing him. Ric kissed him back. It went on for a while, and they missed the sound of a key in the lock, unable to pull apart quick enough as the door opened.

“I’m ho…” Beth trailed off. Ric and Lucas jumped apart as quick as humanly possible. Lucas jumped up off of the sofa and muttered a few ineligible words as he searched for what to say in this exact moment. Wikipedia had not told him what to do if this were to happen. Ric also jumped up, also searching for the correct words. None came to him. Beth had the power. She could put an end to this. She could call him a bad influence; she could say he was taking advantage. She could tear them apart. Ric had the utmost respect for Beth. She was an amazing, incredible woman, but she was also a mother. Ric had never seen her look this angry. Well, she looked angry to him – he could have been imagining it, couldn’t he?

“Outside. Now.” She said, he voiced raised slightly. Ric began to walk towards the door. “Not you.” She added. Ric took a deep breath and sat back down on the sofa. Lucas walked hesitantly over to the door. Beth closed the door behind them.

He paced the living room over and over until curiosity got the better of him. He walked over to the door and placed his ear up against it. He could hear nothing. Movie clichés never work in moments of need. He took a few steps to his right and slowly opened the window a few centimetres.

“Of course I like Ric.” Beth was saying. “I just want to make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“I do. Of course I do.” Lucas defended himself. “I love Ric.”

Ric lost all power of his legs and sat down on the floor next to the window. He wanted to open the door and ask Lucas what the hell he was doing, but he couldn’t find the strength.

“Well… um… I guess that changes things. I guess.” Beth replied. She sounds calmer. Almost as if she was smiling. But you can’t hear people smile. That would be weird. “Are you sure, Luc?”

“I am seventeen, Beth.” Lucas said, as if that was supposed to sway her opinion. She chuckles. “I’m not as naïve as I was. I’ve grown. I’ve changed. Because of Ric. Belle too, but mostly Ric.”

“You’re growing up so fast.” She sounded happy and sad. Melancholic? Possibly. More happy though. Proud too. Mothers, Ric thought. Ric presumed something like this would happen should he decide to tell Sally what he’d been doing over the holidays. Obviously not in great detail. He knew he’d have to tell her. He’d have to tell her he and Lucas were… you know. Something. “Oh Lucas.”

There was the sound of a hug. Beth seemed to be taking it well. They decided not to focus on Tony. But they were sure he’d be just as happy, if a little freaked. But then again, living in Summer Bay, she’d seen stranger things that her teenage step-son falling in love with his best friend.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Beth asked him. “You should have told me, and your father. We would have been fine with it. I would have been fine with it all along if you’d mentioned it.”

“…I haven’t told Ric yet.”

Beth sighed. “Then I think you should.” She said firmly. “Don’t you?”

Ric stood up and forced his legs to get him over to the sofa before the door opened. Beth looked emotional whereas Lucas looked plain nervous. Ric searched for something to say, but still drew a blank.

“Oh Ric.” Beth sighed, walking over to him and embracing him tightly. Ric gratefully returned this hug.

“Is this the part where you tell me if I hurt Lucas you’ll castrate me?” he asked quietly, impressed that he managed to sound relatively calm.

“I wasn’t going to say that.” Beth said, pulling away. “But now you mention it…” she laughed. “Now, I’m just going to be out here. Doing stuff.” She said, as subtle as a brick to the face. She walked out of the main house and closed the door behind her.

“Subtle.” Ric joked before looking over at Lucas, who was still avoiding eye contact. He wandered over to the sofa and sat down. Ric also sat down. There was an extended silence. Lucas looked almost comically awkward. Ric decided to take charge.

“I’ve got a question.” He said.

Lucas managed to look him in the eyes. “What is it?”

“I want to know how you had time to say ‘how about we try this really disturbing and kinky sex act I read about online at an obscure and possibly illegal website’, but never managed to say, ‘oh, by the way, I think I may be in love with you.’ You know?” Ric replied before laughing. Lucas pulled his eyes away from Ric.

“I thought…” he began, flushing a shade of bright pink. “I thought… I didn’t think you’d want to hear it.”

Ric groaned and then smiled. “Lucas Holden, you’re a tosser.” He announced. “I’ve just spent the entire week being all incredibly emo because I heard you say to Belle that you didn’t want a boyfriend. ‘I love you’, would have been an awesome and entirely welcomed self-esteem booster.”

“Oh.” Was all Lucas could manage to say.

“And what do you mean, not wanting a boyfriend?” asked Ric. “You’re alright about getting naked with me daily, but you don’t want to date me? What gives?”

“I don’t want a boyfriend.” Lucas answered. “I want you.”

Ric laughed and then shook his head. “That is just so… 90210-ish. So utterly and entirely lame.” He looked over at Lucas, who was confused. “Not this.” He added, wrapping his arm around Lucas’s shoulder. “This is great. Nice. I love you too. I’ll take you out to dinner on Tuesday, but…” he trailed off and made a noise that sounded remarkably like a drunken pirate. Not that Lucas had ever heard one.

Ric saw that Lucas was still not following, but he was smiling. And he was happy, so he decided against explaining how mixed signals and misunderstandings had made this summer interesting, to say the least. He’d gotten what he’d wanted and Beth Hunter had not yet tried to kill him, so all was good.

“Belle’s going to be so disappointed.” Lucas mused out loud. “Last I heard she was trying to set me up with one of her friends. I’ll have to tell her to stop that.”

“You better.”

Lucas burst out laughing, leaving Ric feeling confused. “Sorry.” He said, “You just looked so…” Lucas trailed off, still laughing. Ric rolled his eyes and pressed his lips against Lucas to shut him up.

“Come on,” Ric said, standing up. He held a hand out for Lucas, and he took it. “Let’s go and find Belle. Let her know before anybody else.”

Lucas stands, not letting go of Ric’s hands. “Once we tell her, you know she’s not going to butt out of our lives.”

Ric grinned in reply. Life would be so much easier, so much more normal, if Belle Taylor didn’t know, didn’t interrupt them in their most private moments. But he felt it would be boring too. It would probably be easier to live a normal life if they didn’t tell her.

But what the hell. Who needs a normal life anyway?

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