The Movie

Chapter 1

“I can’t believe he wants to do this. There’s no need. Besides, it’s not in the original manuscript that he supposedly loved!”

Reid watched his enraged spouse pace the length of their living room, waving his arms and gesturing into the air as if the person his anger was directed at was standing in front of him.

“What’s his problem? He’s happy. Why bring up all the bullshit from the past... and make it look like everyone was equally responsible.”

“Well, in all fairness, I did think you were hot the minute I met you and did wish, on more than one occasion, you didn’t have a boyfriend you were so damn loyal to.”

“Reid!” Luke glared at him. “You’re not helping.”

Standing up to halt Luke’s rant, although it was somewhat amusing to watch, Reid wrapped his arms around his partner and planted a wallop of a kiss on his lips.

After several extremely satisfying and peaceful moments lip-locked to Luke, Reid stepped back. He was pleased to see he could still get the same glassy-eyed response he got when they were first getting serious.

“Dallas.”

“Luke, are you okay?” For a moment Reid wondered if Luke had lost his mind. Playing Geography wasn’t the reaction he expected, or wanted, after a passionate kiss.

Smiling, Luke dove in for another, deeper kiss, opening his mouth. The two shared each other’s tastes as their tongues met.

Pulling back, with a huge grin splitting his face, Reid rubbed his hands up and down Luke’s arms. “I love the flavor of your toothpaste.”

“You love me.” Luke laughed.

“That too.” Reid returned to his place on the sofa. “So what was that about Dallas?”

“A couple of minutes ago, when you first kissed me, it reminded me of our first kiss.”

“Right -- in Dallas.” Reid leaned his head against the back of the sofa and briefly closed his eyes remembering the day he’d been cleared of fault in a ridiculous lawsuit. He had finally taken the opportunity to do what he’d wanted to do for months. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget how good it felt to finally kiss you.”

“Finally?” Luke’s eyes widened.

“Now you’re just fishing for compliments.”

Luke smirked. “Is that a bad thing?”

“No. And, yes, as you know perfectly well after all these years, I wanted you from almost the first minute I met you.”

“Blackmail and all?”

“Blackmail, kidnapping, daggers, and all.”

“Hey, I was never armed. You were the one who used a car as a weapon.”

The two laughed, ignoring the ringing phone in the background.

“What the heck are you two doing?” Ethan marched in, his hair still standing in a hundred different directions from having just woken up. “Didn’t you hear the phone?” He glared at both of them. “Oh damn, you were making out again. Jesus, I hope you let me suck face all day and night in the living room when I have a girlfriend or boyfriend some day.”

Reid raised his eyebrow. “Boyfriend?”

“I’m just keeping my options open. I’m not particularly interested in anyone right now; but a new, warm guitar to curl up with each night wouldn’t hurt.”

“We made a deal.” Luke chimed in, trying to look stern, but his ever-angelic face didn’t give him much credence.

“I know, I know. If my next report card is all A’s and B’s, I can get my new guitar.” Ethan looked at the cordless phone in his hand. “Oh yeah, Noah is on the phone.” He tossed it at Luke, who stared at it before putting it to his ear.

“Hi, Noah. How are you?”

....

“And Mark?”

....

Reid rolled his eyes at the lame effort Luke was putting into the conversation. He tried to tune it out while the two were obviously going through initial pleasantries.

Although he knew Luke was excited about making a movie about his parents and the tragic end of their beautiful lives together, Noah had insisted that the story would be more dramatic and entice more viewers if it followed Luke’s growth into manhood, occurring as it did, at the same time as he was forced to become the Oakdale patriarch of his family. Unfortunately, Noah also wanted to include his romance with Luke, for what it was worth, and their break-up. It seemed that Luke, as the extremely young CEO of a major foundation and the second in command at a major corporation, was intriguing to the general public.

Luke, on the other hand, would only include anything about the two of them, if it was completely honest, and NOT from Noah’s biased point of view. From that moment on, a war had been brewing between the two. It would seem that, while they had grown close in their new friendship, there were clearly wounds from the past that hadn’t been as resolved as all had thought.

Instead of the past being buried, and remaining where useless, post-adolescent drama belonged, in the ancient history section of Oakdale University, the movie had stirred up old resentments.

So, at the same time as Noah and Mark were planning their wedding, Luke and Noah were reliving long-suppressed angst from the dissolution of a first love. Personally, Reid thought the entire situation was ludicrous and the two were acting like the twenty-two year olds who broke up years earlier, but nothing he or Mark could say would make either give ground in their ongoing argument.

Katie was ready to shelve the film, but the script caught the eye of a network representative who was talking big bucks for many at WOAK if the TV movie met expectations. Noah may not be Reid Oliver’s favorite person, but he did respect his ability as a director and script consultant. Mr. Mayer had proven himself in Hollywood and was now able to reap the benefits in a more peaceful town of his choosing.

Luke’s escalated volume caught Reid’s attention again. All that kissing had been for naught. “Reid is not the bad guy here. You were!” Ouch.

....

“No, I won’t give approval on any of that unless it’s completely as I remember it. You’re living in a goddamn fantasy land if you think I’m going to let you do that.”

....

“We’ll just see who gets the last word! It’s a good thing I didn’t give away my rights to final script approval. Maybe I’ll just ask Katie to find someone who can direct and listen.”

....

“Fine, be like that!” Luke pressed the button to disconnect the phone and threw it across the room.

“Whoa! Don’t break the phone. That fancy unit cost over a hundred dollars.” Reid slowly approached Luke from behind and squeezed his shoulder.

“We’ll buy a new one. We have enough money to use dollar bills for a bonfire.”

“Is that really the way you want to use your newfound additional wealth from the sale of Grimaldi Shipping?”

Luke slowly turned around and wrapped his arms around Reid’s waist, resting his head on his shoulder.

“I hate fighting with him, but he’s got it all wrong. He’s going back to crap that happened before his accident; before we even knew you. Stuff I’ve come to terms with; that we were two young men who didn’t recognize their incompatibility. He still won’t admit his part in anything that went wrong.”

“You know it doesn’t make a bit of difference to me how I’m portrayed in the damn film. As long as my medical skills aren’t overlooked, I’m okay with being the bad guy.”

“But you’re not the bad guy. You saved me.”

“Huh?” Reid’s brow furrowed as he stared into Luke’s eyes.

“You’re the man who taught me what it feels like to be loved and appreciated for who I am.”

“And that’s why we’re still together. No one can take away the reality of our lives.”

“But I don’t want anyone to misinterpret our past, or what we have now, because of what they see on the screen.”

Ethan piped up from his spot on the sofa, having just returned from the kitchen holding a plate with a bagel and cream cheese resting on it. “I hate when you and Noah fight. I hated it when I was little and thought you would make him leave permanently, and I hate it even more now that you’re supposed to be friends. Damn. Aren’t you supposed to be his best man?”

“Ethan--”

“I know, big brother, don’t curse. But this is curse-worthy. Don’t you think so, Reid... Dad?”

Luke glared at Reid. “Curse-worthy?”

“Well, we both know some things are, don’t we? After all, the kid’s entering his teens; he’ll be entering high school soon. We can’t keep our rules the same as if he were still in second grade.”

Nodding, Luke gave Reid a peck on the lips. “You’re right.” He took a deep breath. “Everyone can see how great you are, and how smart. Why can’t Noah?”

Reid pressed their lips together one more time. Foreheads touching, he whispered, “Don’t let this asinine movie ruin your friendship.”

“I’ll try, but I’m just not sure anymore what’s going on, or why things got so out of hand.”

[TBC]
 

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