Ironman

Luke thought about going straight home, but decided to stop in and let Jason know he was leaving first.

The noise seemed deafening this time, and were he not so disgusted with himself, he'd have laughed at being 27 while thinking like someone who was 30 years older than that. He looked around, but didn't see his brother at the table so he continued walking.

Just before he got back to the last place he'd seen Jason, he finally saw his brother who was dancing with Kendra.

"Well, at least someone didn't strike out tonight with a woman named Michaels," he thought to himself. Luke was too tired to remind himself again he couldn't strike out with someone he he'd never even see again let alone date, so he sat back down and waited for his brother to come back over.

When the song ended, he saw Jason offer Kendra his arm. She was smiling and looped hers in it as they headed his way. He stood up for Kendra who told him again he was a gentleman, but this time she added, "Just like your brother."

"Wait. Are you talking about MY brother?" he asked loudly enough for Jason to hear.

"Yes. He's a very nice guy," Kendra informed him.

"Have you been drinking?" Luke kidded.

"No. Not a drop. I just think he's...nice. That's all."

Jason was unusually quiet for being half 'in the bag' so Luke told his brother he was going home. He not only didn't give his 'little bro' a ration of...crap...about it, he thanked him for coming out.

"I really appreciate you talking to Kendra's mom, bro. That means a lot to me," Jason told him.

Luke stared at him then said, "Yeah. Sure. But it's a good thing my performance wasn't the basis for ever seeing her again, because I think I pretty much scared her off for good."

Jason raised his eyebrows while Kendra gave him a look.

"What?" Luke asked her when he saw the confused look on her face.

"I don't know. My mom texted me after you guys finished talking, and she said she had a really nice time."

Talking over the noise was annoying, but Luke knew he was almost out of there as he said, "That doesn't surprise me. She's such a nice lady she'd never tell you how much of an ass...a fool ...I made out of myself."

Now Kendra was looking at him with a 'what are you talking about' kind of look.

"My mom said she really enjoyed talking with you, but she did mention something she said she'd explain later. Maybe that's what you're referring to?" Kendra asked.

"Wait. Your mom said she enjoyed talking to me?" Luke asked, not sure he was hearing her correctly.

"Yes. She did," Kendra said loudly. "She didn't say too much, but I got the feeling you made quite an impression on her."

"Oh. Okay," Luke said, assuming the 'impression' was one that meant she hoped never to have to spend any more time with this 'kid' who told her she was beautiful too many times, and probably in a way that creeped her out.

No one else spoke so he told Kendra it was nice meeting her then let his brother know he was leaving.

"Okay, man. And uh, I'm really glad you showed up."

"Yeah. Sure. I'll uh, I'll see tomorrow."

Kendra smiled at him and Luke smiled back, nodded, then walked away.

Once he was back outside in the quiet of the evening, he tried to reconcile what Kendra had just told him with his actual experience. None of it made any sense, so by the time he got home, he filed it away in the 'stuff happens' folder of his brain and tried to forget about it.

But as he lay down to go to sleep, he couldn't get the image of her smile out of his head. Her very...beautiful...smile and her...beautiful...face, and how beautiful she was.

"There you go again, asshole," he said to himself ruefully just before he fell asleep.

As the rest of Luke's 'down days' ticked off and his body healed itself from the gawd-awful trauma of a triathlon, he stayed busy at the bike shop and mostly forgot about the uncomfortable moment with Ashton. But on his last 'day of rest', Jason mentioned Kendra, and Luke stopped working and asked him to repeat what he'd just said.

"She's leaving for college tomorrow."

"Oh. Right. Yeah, I guess I lost track of time. Isn't that kind of late, though? Even for a college?"

"How would I know? I didn't go to college. Unlike a brother of mine," Jason said with a smile.

He'd had the opportunity to go, but Jason chose to stay home and work in the shop when their dad still owned it. Luke, on the other hand, went to college then ended up coming home with an obsession for trying and went back to the bike shop to make ends meet. Well, that and because it allowed him to train as much as he needed and work when he could.

"Okay. So...why are you telling me this?" Luke asked.

"Because...I think I might kinda like her," Jason replied.

"You like a LOT of women, bro."

"Yeah, but I don't really...like 'em, you know? But Kendra's...different."

Jason smiled, and Luke knew it was because he was thinking about her.

"I guess it's because she...gets me. And honestly? She makes me want to be a better man."

Luke didn't respond because he was in shock. Not real shock, but the kind a person gets when they hear something so foreign to them it gives them pause.

"Say what?" Luke said, putting down the wrench in his hand.

"It's true. We've been texting since that night at Gypsy's. Don't laugh, but we've even talked on the phone several times. I'm pretty sure she likes me, too, but because she's goin' away, I think she's afraid to get involved."

"Yeah, and you're like...what? A hundred years older than her?" Luke joked.

"Eleven, smart ass," Jason told him sarcastically before he smiled.

"So what are you gonna do?"

"Hell...I mean...heck, I don't know. What do you think? What should I do?"

"Okay, this is just gettin' weird," Luke told him. "You and me? We don't do...emotions. We don't talk about stuff like this. Ever. So you can't just ask me that out of the blue."

"Oh, so if I give you advanced notice then it's okay?"

Luke ran a hand through his hair then sighed.

"Sorry, bro. Go ahead. Lay it on me."

"I just did," Jason said. "That's all there is."

Luke laughed, shook his head, then went back to work.

"What? You mean you've never had feelings for a girl before, Mr. Ironman?" his brother asked, mostly taunting him. "Real feelings?"

"If I did, you'd be the last person I'd tell," Luke told him as he trued a wheel.

"I do know how to listen, you know," Jason said defensively.

Luke was once again so taken aback by his brother's comments he didn't know what to say so he didn't say anything.

An hour later Jason brought it up again.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Luke told him.

"Yeah. I am."

"It's time for lunch so how about this? Maybe you can talk while we eat?" Luke suggested.

Jason hadn't ever 'done feelings' before so he was all over the map trying to explain what he meant. Luke, however, desperately needed someone to talk to—he just never, ever thought it might be his big brother, and he was more than a little afraid to admit it.

"So does that make even sense at all?" Jason finally asked.

"Yeah. Sure."

"Okay. And?" Jason asked when Luke didn't say a word.

"You've been bit. Or would that be 'bitten'?" Luke replied.

"Oh. Okay. For a minute there I had no idea what the hell you were sayin'," his brother said very sarcastically. "But that cleared everything right up!"

"It's the Love Bug, bro. You know, that itty bitty thing they call the love bug?"

"Can you speak English, for god's...I mean, for heaven's sake?"

Luke thought about singing the song again, and that made him think about Ashton, and thinking about Ashton made him feel...bitten.

"Look, bro. You're almost 33 years old. Your brain is finally telling you to find someone and settle down. Not like the first time where it was just you being all 'gaga' over the most beautiful girl who ever paid any attention to you. No offense, but you married her before you really even knew her. From what little I know, Kendra might just be the first decent woman who's come along since the 'bug' bit you, or maybe she's actually the one. That seems unlikely, but hey, stranger things have happened, right?"

Jason sat and chewed, but most of all he listened.

"So...does that make any sense?" Luke asked.

"Maybe so. Hell...er, shoot, I don't know. I mean, the thought's never even crossed my mind before. So why now all of a sudden?"

"You're asking me?" Luke replied. "I sure as...heck...don't know. But maybe the 'bug' just strikes whenever it feels like it, and we're left dealing with the results."

"Yeah, like some kind of cosmic Cupid or something."

"Okay. Sure. That works," said with a shrug of the shoulders.

Luke thought about saying something about evolutionary forces creating an internal drive to reproduce and preserve one's genes for future generations but decided against it for obvious reasons.

"Why don't you ask her out tonight?" Luke suggested.

"Dude, she's leaving tomorrow. Weren't you even listening?"

"No, I heard you, but you could at least put down a marker. Let her know you have feelings for her. Worst case she tells you 'it's been real' and that's it. But who knows? Maybe she really does like you and is waiting for you to make the first move. Not every woman is a modern-day feminist, you know. Not even the ones who go to liberal universities in ultra-liberal Oregon."

"You think I should call her?" Jason asked almost hopefully.

"You're uh, kind of running out of time, so yeah. If you like this girl then yes, give her a call."

Jason smiled then said, "You know what? You're not as dumb as you look, bro."

"Coming from you, that's high praise," Luke told him as he finished his bean salad.

"Oh, before I call her, you never said if you've had feelings for anyone."

"Um...that's because you and I don't talk about stuff like that, remember?" Luke said thinking that would get him off the hook.

"Oh, okay. Because I'd have sworn we just did that. But I'm not a know-it-all 'college boy' so what the fu...heck...do I know?"

"Look at you! Cleaning up your language. I'd say someone's been bit—hard!"

His brother not only didn't laugh, he got very serious.

"Luke. You know you can talk to me, right?" Jason said, further blowing his brother' mind.

Luke couldn't remember the last time his brother had called him by his given name. That, more than anything else, convinced him his brother was serious.

"Yeah. Sure. Of course I do," Luke answered.

"So...there's never been anyone? Ever? There's nothing to discuss?" his brother asked so sincerely it stunned him again.

He stood there for several seconds then said, "You'd just give me sh...a hard time about it."

Jason shook his head then said, "I won't. Not this time."

"I don't know. If I tell you who it is that's kind of gotten inside my head, I can't imagine you won't give me grief."

"Bro. I just told you I've got a thing for a girl who's 11 years younger than me. A thing that isn't all about wanting to get her in bed with me so I can put another notch on my bedpost. What could be worse than that?"

Luke hesitated before the need to tell someone overwhelmed him.

"I won't hold you to your promise not to give me some static, but I need you to promise me you won't mention this to anyone. Including Kendra."

"Yeah. Sure. You got it, bro," Jason told him.

Once the flood gate was opened, Luke couldn't stop talking beginning with the way things had gradually been changing.

"So this has been eating at me for a year now. When I kidded around about you having been bitten by the 'love bug', I was thinking about it from my frame of reference because that's me. I've been bitten—hard. Really hard."

"Geez, man. You're like...27. You sure that's what you really want? Think of all the hot women you could bag for another five years or so. I mean, when I was your age, that was the last thing on my mind."

"You're my brother, but you're not me, Jason," Luke said, using his brother's name for the first time in...months. Or maybe years.

"Okay. That's true. And I gotta admit my experience was so bad I know I'm projecting it on you. But are you really, really sure?"

"Look. All I can say is getting married is on my mind pretty much all the time. I'm not talking about right now or any specific timeframe, but I don't want to be 30 and still be single."

"Damn. You really are serious."

"I am. And it sounds like you are, too. With Kendra."

The mention of her name caused Jason to ask a question.

"Was there some reason you said 'including Kendra' when it comes to keeping this quiet? Why would you even mention her?"

Luke had gotten so involved in explaining the general that he'd forgotten all about the specific.

"Wow. Yeah. That's the hardest part to talk about. Don't get me wrong. Just sharing all of that stuff was hard because you and I don't 'go there'. But I'm not sure I can talk about this. And maybe there isn't even a 'this' to talk about."

"What the hell, dude? Just say it."

Luke drained the water in his glass then said, "I don't know. It's probably not even worth mentioning."

Jason wasn't buying it.

"You're my brother. You can BS anyone else, but you can't fool me. So who is she?"

Luke made a noise caused by sharply exhaling from his nose then looked at his brother.

"You're gonna think I've lost my mind."

"If you don't tell me, yeah, I will."

Luke shook his head then exhaled long and loudly.

"Kendra's mom. Ashton."

Jason sat there staring but didn't speak. He was checking his brother out for signs of a 'tell'. Some little tic or facial expression that said he was BS-ing. But there wasn't one.

"No shit?" Jason finally said forgetting about his goal to clean up his language.

"Nope. That's the god's-honest truth."

When Jason didn't respond, Luke said, "It sounds even more ludicrous when I say it out loud, but I...I can't stop thinking about her. I've tried. Believe me. But I can't. The chances are I'll never even see her again, but just the time we spent talking was unlike anything I've ever experienced."

"So you guys just talked, or by 'talking' do you mean..."

"What? No. Come on, man. How could we...you know...in that amount of time? And why would I ever be interested in a woman longterm who'd do something like that?"

"Yeah, okay. Sorry. That was just the 'old me' talking."

Jason sat there staring again then shook his head.

"Damn, man, that's...I don't really know what that is. I'm more than a decade older than Kendra, but her mom's like...what? Maybe 50 or something?"

"Dude? Did you not see her? Were you that drunk?"

"I was pretty hammered," Jason admitted. "So...how old is she?"

"She didn't say, but Kendra's 21, so...do the math."

Luke nearly laughed when he saw his brother counting on his fingers.

"Okay. Well, that's better than 50, right?" he said without venturing a guess.

Luke laughed then started putting his lunch stuff away as he said, "I suppose it's a moot point. Like I said, she doesn't know how I feel, and I think I scared her off anyway."

"Wait. How'd you scare her off?"

"Oh, right. I forgot about that, too. I uh, I kinda mentioned she was beautiful a couple of times during our first conversation, and it seemed pretty obvious she thought I was some kind of nut job. So, yeah, I got that goin' for me, too."

"Maybe you should talk to her," Jason said, again surprising his younger brother.

"Nah. I think it's probably just the 'bug' trying to push me to find someone. In the end, I've gotta be realistic and find someone who's got it for me as bad as I do for her."

Jason started putting his things away too, then said, "I'm glad we talked, bro."

Luke tilted his head a little, smiled, then said, "Yeah. Me, too. But who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

Jason laughed loudly then replied, "Time changes us. Or maybe this 'love bug' of yours struck. I'm not the smart one, remember? All I know is Kendra's not like anyone I've ever met."

"Well, that's how I feel about her mom, and, once again, just saying that out loud sounds worse than having told you about it."

"No worries, bro. My lips are sealed," Jason assured him.

And they were until Kendra agreed to see him that evening.

Jason went all out to impress the pretty, young co-ed who'd stolen his heart and even wore decent shirt and a pair of slacks with dress shoes. He also avoided alcohol altogether, something not lost on Kendra. Nor was the difference in the way he spoke as he did his best to avoid four-letter words or saying 'cool, awesome,' and other colloquialisms.

"This was really nice, Jason," Kendra told him after dinner while they sat and talked. "I especially enjoyed the conversation tonight. You almost seem like someone else."

"Is that a good thing?" he asked, the concern in his voice showing.

"Yes. It's a very good thing," she told him with a warm smile.

"Oh, okay," he said, the relief just as obvious. "Because, I uh, I...really like you, Kendra. You're so different than anyone I've ever met."

Kendra smiled and thanked him.

"I just happen to like you, too," she finally said.

"Seriously?" Jason asked the way someone in high school might.

"Yes. Seriously. Why is that so hard to believe?" she said, the smile still there as she reached over and took his hand.

"Maybe because I'm, you know, a little older than you?" he told her with a smile of his own.

"It's not that big of a gap," Kendra assured him.

"So my being 32 doesn't bother you?"

"No. Why should it?" she countered.

"I...I don't know," Jason told her, satisfied with the response.

"Well, it doesn't. In fact, I was talking about that very thing with my mom, and she said age wasn't as important as having things in common and being committed to being committed."

Jason smiled then said, "I like your mom."

Kendra smiled happily then said, "Thank you. I do, too."

The thrill of knowing the first woman he'd ever really liked liking him back caused Jason to want to share everything and before he knew it, the secret he'd promised to keep to himself spilled out.

"So does my brother, Luke. He uh, he thinks your mom is pretty amazing. And...pretty. And..."

"Wait. Are you saying Luke...likes my mom...like that?" Kendra asked as she pulled her hand away.

Suddenly feeling unbelievably guilty, Jason said, "Oh, man. I am in so much trouble."

He looked at Kendra then said, "Please. I'm begging you. Don't let him know I said that, okay?"

Kendra sat there with a stunned look on her face and didn't speak.

"Kendra? I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I didn't mean to say anything...offensive. I just sort of...came out. On its own."

When she didn't reply, Jason said, "I am such an idiot."

Kendra finally spoke, and when she did, Jason had to ask her to repeat it.

"My mom said the same thing. About Luke."

"Wait. She...she said...what?"

"You think you'd be in trouble? She'll kill me if she finds out I said anything, but she came home after talking to him, and I could tell something happened. She never, ever stays up late, but she was still up when I got home. I sat with her until she finally told me, and she said she was embarrassed to even talk about it. She said she felt foolish and she'd die if I said anything, but Luke really made a huge impression on her."

"That's...crazy," Jason said.

"I know, right? And my mom's so...vulnerable, you know? She's only gone out twice since my dad died, but I know she's lonely. The really crazy part is Luke is the only guy she's ever felt like that about except my dad, and...they barely even know each other. And we can't even talk about it!"

"Wow. My brother has marriage on the brain—big time. For the last year, it's all he can think about. You know, finding the right woman. Settling down."