Fandom:	Houston Knights
Series:	Playing For Keeps
Rating:	PG-13
Pairing:	Joe/Levon
Archive:	Starwinder's
Title:	Ghosts 2
Author:	Starwinder
e-mail:	starwinder2of7@gmail.com
Standard Disclaimer: Houston Knights belongs to Jay Bernstein and Michael Butler and Columbia Pictures. No copyright infringement is intended. This is fan fiction, written out of love for the shows. I am making no money off this. I have no money so please don't sue me. Any original characters who may appear in these stories are the property of the author.

Lundy walked out of the house. He couldn't stand looking at Bobby's body any longer. He stood outside a moment then headed for the Jimmy. He hadn't taken two steps when LaFiamma caught up with him.

"Where're you going, Lundy?"

Lundy sighed, figuring that LaFiamma wanted him to come back in and help with the wrap up he said. "I just needed some air. Thought I'd step outside for a minute's all."

"Yeah, you look like you could use some air. Why don't you wait for me in the Jimmy?" LaFiamma's voice was very carefully casual.

Lundy turned to look at him, "Are you sure? You wanna handle that FBI lady alone?"

LaFiamma grinned, wolfishly. It wasn't an expression that Lundy had seen before. "That FBI lady called me a dirty cop, Lundy. She owes me a pound of flesh for that. Ruining her day is gonna be a pleasure. By the time I'm through everybody, and I mean everybody, that matters from here to DC is gonna know that she blew it and we nailed the bad guys. I don't need any help doing that and the pleasure is all mine."

"A little revenge, huh?"

"More than a little, Lundy. I'm Sicilian. Sicilians invented the word vendetta." He smiled at Lundy, a real smile this time. "Go on. Wait in the Jimmy. This won't take long." He gave Lundy's shoulder a quick squeeze and turned back toward the house.

Lundy looked after him, grateful that LaFiamma had understood enough to at least let him get out of the house, away from Bobby's body. He walked over to the Jimmy and climbed in the driver's side, leaning his head back and closing his eyes, he tilted his hat down over his face and tried not to think about his former best friend, lying dead inside.

He must have dozed off under the hat because it seemed like just minutes later that LaFiamma tapped on the driver's side door and called his name.

#########################################################

A little groggy from having dozed off in the middle of the afternoon, Lundy straightened up and blinked. Reaching up he rubbed at his eyes.

LaFiamma pulled the Jimmy's door open. "Get out, Lundy. I'm driving."

"No. I'm fine, LaFiamma. Just dozed off is all."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm driving anyway so get out." LaFiamma reached for his arm and gave it a tug.

"Anybody ever tell you that you're one bossy Yankee, Boy." Lundy grumbled as he climbed out.

"Sure." LaFiamma grinned. "Let's see, bossy, pushy, obnoxious, arrogant, nosy, and that's just what you've called me." He sounded remarkably cheerful about it.

"You're in a good mood. Musta really nailed the FBI lady."

"To the barn door. She'll be lucky if they let her open mail at the bureau now." He flashed that wolfish grin again.

He climbed into the driver's seat and waited till Lundy got in the other side before cranking the vehicle. "So, where do you wanna go?" He asked cheerfully, the wolfish grin giving way to the smile that Lundy was growing familiar with.

Even as depressed as Lundy was it was hard to look at that smile and not smile back. [The boy could light up a room with that smile ... or somebody's life.] He sighed. He really didn't want to go home ... all those pictures on the wall. Didn't want to go to Chicken's either.

He looked at his partner, "I ain't particular. You're drivin'. Go where you want."

LaFiamma's smile spread into a happy grin as he pulled off from the curb and Lundy, watching it, had a sudden feeling that he just might live to regret his last statement.

LaFiamma steered the Jimmy through the late afternoon traffic like he knew where he was going. Lundy wasn't certain he liked that. It implied that LaFiamma had, had where ever they were going in mind and made sure that he knew how to get there.

Half an hour later he was staring at a sign that said Roller Rink as LaFiamma parked the Jimmy in the nearly deserted lot next to the huge old building and started to get out. "Come on, Lundy. We're here."

"A roller rink, LaFiamma? What are we doing at a roller rink?" He tried to ignore the knot in the pit of his stomach that said, [He wants to go skating.].

"You said go where ever I wanted." He gave Lundy an innocent look. "I've been wanting to go skating for a while and I found this place a while back but I hadn't had a chance to spend as much time as I wanted to here. But we got the rest of the day off and the place won't fill up till later so we should have two- three hours to enjoy it, pretty much to ourselves. You do skate don't you, Lundy?"

Lundy figured that the last was a throwaway question. LaFiamma obviously intended to skate even if Lundy didn't do anything but sit and watch.

"Sure," Lundy replied not mentioning that it had been better than fifteen years since he's been on a pair of skates and he hadn't been real good then. But he climbed out of the Jimmy and followed his partner into the rink.

The inside was as deserted as the parking lot. It looked like there wasn't anyone there but the guy who ran the place. The rink itself was empty.

LaFiamma grinned happily as he paid the skate rental and quickly put on his skates. In minutes he was out on the floor. Obviously expert on the skates he whizzed around the rink in sheer delight, oblivious to the fact that Lundy was taking a very long time to find a pair of skates that fit and to get them on.

He'd been zipping around the rink for a good twenty minutes before he finally seemed to notice that Lundy still hadn't joined him. He glided into the rail behind where Lundy was sitting putting on his skates and leaned over it. "Get a move on, Cowboy. The place'll start filling up in an hour or so."

He turned back and glided to the middle of the floor, turning around to skate backwards so he could keep an eye on Lundy's progress.

Lundy, finally and very reluctantly, got to his feet, clinging to the rail he slowly made his way to the opening into the rink.

LaFiamma began to grin, as he watched him. It seemed that Lundy wasn't as good on skates as he had tried to pretend. He decided that the best policy for now was to ignore his floundering partner. Lundy seemed to be embarrassed at his lack of skill and LaFiamma didn't want to upset him. None the less he kept an eye on him.

Lundy made his way slowly along the rail, reaching out to touch it every now and then to keep his balance. He hadn't gotten half way around when he started to fall.

He'd lost track of LaFiamma, too busy trying to keep his balance to keep an eye on his partner. So he wasn't expecting to be caught when he started to fall. It was with a shock that he felt arms go around him, holding him up.

"Straighten up! Don't lean forward. You'll fall on your face. Don't lean back you'll fall on your ass." LaFiamma's voice was right in his ear, his arms supporting Lundy as the cowboy tried to follow the instructions. "Don't try to skate right now. Keep both feet on the floor, till you get your balance. Let me keep us moving." He pulled back just a little, still supporting Lundy but giving him a little space.

Lundy started to lean toward him afraid that he'd fall without LaFiamma's full support.

"Uh-Huh, Lundy! Don't lean toward me. Keep your weight centered over the skates." LaFiamma ordered. "I ain't gonna let you fall. You start to go, I'll catch you. Okay?"

"Okay," Lundy replied shakily.

"All right. I'm gonna change positions. Don't go getting scared. I'm gonna move in front, just hold your hands. When I move be sure to stay straight up, don't lean toward me. You'll lose your balance. Understood?"

"Yeah," Lundy gasped. [Please, please don't turn loose of me!]

"All right here I go."

He turned so quickly that Lundy barely realized that he had moved, until he saw LaFiamma in front of him skating backwards.

LaFiamma still had hold of one of his hands and quickly reached out for the other, grasping it firmly.

"Time to start skating." He grinned. "Listen to the instructions first. Okay?"

"Okay." Lundy said with more confidence than he felt. People had tried to teach him to skate before. [Bobby tried and he couldn't.] He faltered as he remembered that Bobby would never try to teach anybody anything again.

"Stay with me, Lundy! Or we'll both hit the floor." LaFiamma's voice called him back to the moment.

He nodded distractedly.

"Okay." LaFiamma's voice was all business again. "Now don't try to follow the instructions till you hear them all. First just pick the right foot up. Then put the right foot down and shift your weight to it. Then pick the left foot up. Glide on the right foot, until you start to slow a little. Then put the left foot down and shift your weight to it. Pick the right foot up and glide on the left foot. Then repeat. You understand?"

"I think so." Lundy nodded.

"Okay, try it when you're ready. I ain't gonna turn loose of you till you say to. Okay?"

"Okay." Lundy, nodded clutching at LaFiamma's hands.

They had made two rounds of the ring with LaFiamma just pulling him along before Lundy decided to try it. [I don't remember Bobby being this patient. He was in a rush to get back to whizzing around. showing off.] Unbidden the thought came. [If we hadn't been sleeping together.. he woulda never even tried.]

He looked up at his partner. There wasn't even a hint of impatience in the man's face.

LaFiamma smiled encouragingly. "It's okay. Take your time.. If you don't wanna try today we can do this some other time."

"No! I... I want to just gotta get my courage up. I never was any good on skates. I reckon I got it in my head I couldn't skate. So now I can't."

"Sure you can. Just let go. Stop worrying about if you can or can't. Quit worrying about falling' cause I ain't gonna let you fall. Just start skating Keep hold of my hands till you're ready to let go Don't look at your feet. Don't look at the floor. Look at me. Look into my eyes and just follow me." He smiled, "Come on, Lundy. You can do it."

Lundy looked up into the clear blue eyes and for the first time he really and truly trusted his partner-completely. [He won't let me fall.]

Without ever making a conscious decision to do so he picked his right foot up and put it back down shifting his weight to it and gliding along on it as he picked up the left foot. He put the left foot down and shifted his weight to it gliding along on it as he picked the right foot up again.

LaFiamma's smile turned into a grin. "That's right, Lundy! You got it! Just keep it up. You'll be whizzing around before you know it!"

Lundy grinned back at him then suddenly afraid, that the part about he'd 'be whizzing around before he knew it' meant that LaFiamma was going to release his hold, he tensed up and clutched at LaFiamma's hands.

LaFiamma took up a little of the distance between them as he felt Lundy tense. "Easy, Cowboy. Stay relaxed. I told you. I'm not letting go. You let go when you get ready." [I don't wanna let go of you at all, Cowboy. I wanna close it up and wrap my arms around you and ... .] He cut the thought off. [Shutup! Dammit! This is your partner you're thinking about!]

Lundy saw the flash of something other than just patience and kindness in the other man's eyes. For just a second the eyes had gone hot with what looked like a quickly hidden flash of desire.

It was a couple of minutes before he realized that he wasn't even thinking about skating. He was just doing it. His partner's grip on his hands was warm. The smile on LaFiamma's face was the beacon he skating toward. He didn't want to let go of his partner's hands. [I wanna hold on to them forever.] The thought made him suddenly shy. Afraid that the thought showed in his eyes he dropped them away from LaFiamma's and in doing so faltered, losing his rhythm on the skates.

LaFiamma closed the distance between them instantly, wrapping his arms around Lundy, steadying him. His voice was suddenly ragged and husky as he whispered in Lundy's ear. "Maybe you had enough for today. Rink will start filling up soon."

They were close to the gap in the rink rail and he guided Lundy through it and to the bench.

Lundy sat down gratefully and bent to unlace the skates.

#########################################################

Back in the Jimmy, Lundy stared out at the night traffic. He felt strangely disjointed, out of place. Everything, especially the trip to the skating rink, felt surreal. He looked over at LaFiamma sitting in the driver's seat and he couldn't remember how it had been decided that LaFiamma would continue to drive or that he apparently was going to continue to go where he wanted to.

He watched with detached interest as LaFiamma parked the Jimmy in front of his apartment house and got out. He couldn't summon up the strength or will or whatever it took to get out of the Jimmy himself.

LaFiamma came around and opened the door. He reached up and took Lundy's arm. "Come on, Partner." He said gently. "Let's get you inside and put you to bed."

Lundy stared at him blankly. "I'm staying here tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah.. way to many ghosts out at your place. Come on." LaFiamma gave a gentle tug on his arm and Lundy obediently climbed out of the Jimmy, letting his partner lead him up the walk.

Inside, LaFiamma guided Lundy to the couch and sat him down, hovering till he was settled.

For some reason, the scene felt like a re-run to Lundy, then he remembered. [Rose Ellen ... night she died ... he brought me here.]

The two nights seemed to run together in his mind and he remembered that LaFiamma had told him that night that his best friend had killed himself. He watched LaFiamma moving around the apartment. [God! The man is beautiful! I could just look at him forever.] He'd gone into the kitchen. Now he was coming back. He had a bottle and a couple of glasses in his hands.

LaFiamma sat the glasses down on the table then opened the bottle. "Hope tequila's okay." He said.

Lundy blinked, trying to focus. "Thought you didn't keep the hard stuff around." he mumbled.

"Decided I might better keep at least one bottle on hand. For medicinal purposes. You look like you could use a drink ... bad." He poured a good double shot into one of the glasses and handed it to Lundy. With a wry smile he added, "I reckon my attempt to distract you from the events of the day didn't work too well."

Lundy chuckled. "I was distracted plenty while we were there. Problem is Bobby." his voice broke on the name, "was the last person to try to teach me to skate."

"Oh, Christ! I'm sorry ... ."

Lundy held up a hand to stop him. "Nothing to be sorry about. You couldn't know ... 'sides you were a whole lot more patient than he ever was ... . Fact is I ... Well ... Thinking about that and contrasting the way he treated me when he was trying to teach me with the way you were just made me realize that you were right about a lot of things ... maybe I never meant to him what he meant to me."

LaFiamma poured himself a drink and sat down on the couch next to Lundy. looking down at the glass in his hands he asked, "Just what did he mean to you, Lundy. I mean the way you defended him even after the way he talked to you the relationship had to be ... real special."

Lundy took a big swallow of the tequila. Hesitating before he spoke. "I ... Bobby and me we ... we were ... lovers." He stared down at the glass too afraid of LaFiamma's reaction to look at him.

For a long moment there was nothing but silence, until he couldn't bear it any longer and looked up at LaFiamma. His partner's face was still and calm, not shocked at all, just thoughtful.

After a moment LaFiamma seemed to realize that Lundy was waiting for a reaction and setting his drink down on the coffee table in front of them, he turned to him, laying a hand on Lundy's shoulder, "I'm sorry man. That explains a lot. It's rough to lose a friend but ... when they're more than a friend it has to be worse." He left his hand resting on Lundy's shoulder.

Lundy wanted to lean into it, seek the comfort and safety that he had felt when LaFiamma had held him at the skating rink but he was afraid.

As if sensing Lundy's need and his fear, LaFiamma moved closer and slid his arm around Lundy's shoulders.

With a sigh, Lundy leaned into the shelter of that arm. "Remember me telling you that he got his folks to take me in?"

"I remember." LaFiamma said. [And now I know why.] A cold rage seized him. [If Bobby Wilton wasn't already dead ... ]. He chopped the thought off. Fighting the urge that burned inside him.

"It started then. We were together off and on till we went to college. He broke it off ... . Didn't want people finding out ... . Maybe messing up his ball career. Back then we were both thinkin' 'bout going pro." Lundy's voice sounded small and lost.

LaFiamma drew him closer, cradling him in his arms. "I'm sorry, Lundy. I don't know what else to say. I didn't like the man. Hated the way he treated you and I gotta tell you that nothing you've told me now makes me like him any better. Truth is I dislike him even more ... but he was your friend and no body can tell you not to grieve for him. I just wish I could be more help."

Lundy rested his head on LaFiamma's shoulder and soaked up the warmth and comfort of his partner's embrace. "You're more help than you know." He sighed.

After a long silence he drew away, sitting up. "I ... " he started, groping for words, "I mean ... Can I ask ... " he trailed off, giving LaFiamma a helpless look.

LaFiamma watched his face trying to figure out what it was that Lundy wanted to ask then finally decided to answer the question as it stood. "You can ask anything you want or need to ask, Lundy. I'm not promising to answer the way you want, but you can always ask."

"You said that your best friend...." He hesitated not wanting to re-open wounds but still needing to ask.

"Rio ... . You wanna know about Rio." LaFiamma's voice was barely audible and filled with grief.

"I'm sorry I don't have any right."

"Right's got nothing to do with it." LaFiamma cut him off. "It's not about rights. It's about what you need. If you need to know. Think it'll help you then. I guess we can talk about it."

"I don't know if it'll help or not I just. I just lost a man that I considered my best friend ... you said that ...You'd lost your best friend. I guess I thought maybe you could help me deal with it. But I don't want to ... . Open up old ... " He floundered.

LaFiamma stared down at the glass of tequila sitting on the coffee table then picked it up and drank, emptying the glass before sitting it back down. He poured another drink, just sat there holding it. Finally he said, "What do you want to know, Lundy?"

Lundy had been watching LaFiamma as he drank the first tequila and poured himself another. "Is that how you dealt with it?" He gestured toward the bottle.

LaFiamma took a swallow of the second drink. "For a while, yeah. I crawled inside a bottle ... but Rio was my fault. Wilton wasn't yours."

"You're sure about that?" Lundy asked.

"That Wilton wasn't your fault? Yeah!" LaFiamma's voice was belligerent, hard and unyielding. "He brought it on himself. You couldn't save him 'cause he wouldn't let you!"

"If you're so sure that Bobby wasn't my fault Why are you so sure that Rio was your fault." Lundy asked.

"Because he just was."

"You expect me to accept that Bobby wasn't my fault just 'cause you say so but you won't even tell me why you think Rio was your fault. I don't see any difference. Maybe your friend killed himself and Bobby was killed by the outfit but if I couldn't have saved Bobby what makes you think you could have saved Rio? You said before he didn't give you any reason to think he'd do something like that."

"He was in love with me! I shoulda known. Looking back on it there were all kinds of hints." He trailed off and went back to staring down into the glass of tequila. He drank it suddenly the same way he had the first one ... all at once.

Staring at him Lundy suddenly realized that LaFiamma, who normally did not drink was a good drink and a half ahead of him. Without knowing why he did it he reached out and took LaFiamma's hand. "I'm sorry, LaFiamma ... . I shouldn't have asked ... . Didn't mean to upset you ... . We can just drop it."

LaFiamma squeezed his hand. "Too late for that. Once the ghosts get outta the hiding place and start rambling around you can't just say 'Go back to bed guys'. You gotta deal with them." He leaned back on the couch and turned his head to look at Lundy. "Funny thing. Talking about them is the only thing that seems to soothe them and get them to go back into hiding." He sighed. "I reckon maybe they just wanna be remembered." He fell silent but didn't release Lundy's hand.

They sat there for several minutes not talking or anything, then LaFiamma leaned forward, pulling his hand out of Lundy's, and poured himself another drink.

He caught Lundy giving him a disapproving look and sighed. "Last one. I promise."

He took a small sip and shifting it to his other hand reached out and took Lundy's hand again.

The silence stretched out between them. It felt strange to Lundy, sitting there in silence holding his partner's hand. Not unpleasant, in fact it was damn pleasant but definitely strange.

After a while LaFiamma began to speak again. "Rio and me, we grew up in the same building. Lived across the hall from each other from third grade till I moved out, started college.....that year of law school I told you about. I was doing pretty good ... grade wise anyway but ... I wasn't happy. The idea of helping crooks get off ... it just wasn't my idea of what I wanted to do ... Rio was already a cop. Went to the academy straight outta high school ... . he was the one that said, 'Switch your major to law enforcement, Joey. With a diploma in law enforcement you can go straight to the top on the force.'"

He paused then went on, "So, I did and switched to night school, too." He grinned suddenly. "I went to the police academy days and then spent four more hours four nights a week taking night classes at the college. I worked at my Uncle Mario's restaurant on weekends, breakfast and lunch rush. Hustled pool on Friday and Saturday nights for spending money. but I still couldn't afford to keep my apartment ... . But Rio, he said, 'Move in with me, Joey ... just till you finish up at the academy.'" He stopped again taking another small sip of the drink.

"I shoulda known something then ... he practically begged me to move in ... and after I did move in He was like a mother hen. Always looking out for me. He was working night patrol and he'd come home and cook me breakfast before I left to go to the academy. If I forgot to wash my clothes he'd get them done. He double checked my homework. All kinds of stuff. Man, I musta been deaf, dumb and stupid not to realize that he was in love with me!"

"Sometimes the hardest thing to see is what's right in front of you. And sometimes you see what you want to see ... like me with Bobby. I was so in love with him that summer." he shook his head, "it never occurred to me that he didn't love me just as much. But now ... looking back I can see that you mighta been right. Maybe I was just an easy lay for him." He trailed off his, voice filled with pain.

"Lundy, don't ..." LaFiamma gave his hand another squeeze, "he ain't worth it. He never deserved you. Don't tear yourself up over him. You can't blame yourself for not seeing it. You were just a kid and in love with him. You were in a crisis situation with your dad. That was the summer after your mom died, wasn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Lotta stress and grief. He took advantage of it ... not your fault-anymore than what happened today was your fault. I blame myself for what happened today more than anybody else ..."

Lundy interrupted "You? It weren't your fault. You did everything you could to stop it!"

"Maybe. But then maybe if I had backed off ... . Disassociated myself from the case ... stayed away from Gerandi the fibbies wouldn't have pulled their men off Wilton and he'd still be alive."

It was Lundy's turn to give LaFiamma's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I reckon the truth is that we all make choices then when we look back we start to think that maybe they were the wrong choices. But when all is said and done we did the best we could at the time. Maybe the best thing is just to let it go."

They fell silent again. LaFiamma continued to sip at his drink.

Watching him, Lundy decided that he didn't want anymore of his own drink. He wondered vaguely if the uneasy feeling that watching LaFiamma was giving him, was the same feeling that LaFiamma got when the tables were turned. If it was, he suddenly understood why LaFiamma so often chided him about his drinking. He just plain didn't like seeing Joe drinking. Maybe that was how Joe felt.

After a long silence, Lundy asked, hesitantly, "How did you ... find out about ... how Rio felt? That he was ... in love with you?"

LaFiamma pulled his hand out of Lundy's and sat up. He took a deep breath and let it out slow before replying. "After Rio ... killed himself, we went through the apartment looking for a note. He didn't leave one. But ... in his bedroom ... ."

He paused and went off on a tangent, "I always thought it was strange but he always kept the bedroom door locked, never let anybody in there, not even me and we were partners and best friends."

He fell silent for a moment before returning to the subject. "His bedroom was filled with pictures of me ... . He musta had a copy of every picture of me I ever had made ... . There was a big one on the nightstand, a portrait that I had made years before. I didn't have any idea that he had a copy of it. He had all my graduation pictures ... high school, college, police academy ... and snapshots ... thousands of them ... lots of them I didn't even know had been taken. He musta followed me around and took them. Lots of them were of me with women I knew but the women had all been blacked out with magic marker. In some of them he had pasted pictures of himself over the woman's picture. There were scrapbooks filled with every article about me that had ever appeared in any paper."

Uncertain what to say Lundy reached over and laid a hand on LaFiamma's arm.

LaFiamma stared down at the drink in his hands then leaned forward and deliberately set it on the table. Taking another deep breath he went on. "We found his journal ... . Every page was about me. He described what I wore to work everyday, when I got my hair cut, things I had said ... lots of things I didn't even remember, things I never thought twice about ... . And he wrote letters to me that he never mailed ... . Letters where he told me how much he loved me ... what he dreamed about ... what he wanted to do. He described in great detail how he wanted to make love to me ... ." His voice broke.

Lundy reached out and drew LaFiamma into his arms. "You don't have to say anything else. It's all right."

"I keep thinking, 'If only I had known.' I coulda done something."

"Maybe. And maybe not ... there ain't no way to know, LaFiamma."

"You don't understand!" He pulled away from Lundy, standing up and moving away from the couch. "I loved him! I loved him. But I was too scared to tell him! Scared of what my family would say! Scared that he wouldn't want me! Scared of IA finding out! Scared of everything! If I hadn't been such a coward maybe he'd still be alive and we'd be together!"

"Maybe. And maybe not! It don't sound to me like he loved you, LaFiamma. Sounds more like an obsession, and we both know what that can lead to. We see it every day on the job. Could be if you'd told him, you'd both be dead! Think about it, LaFiamma! Think about it like a cop. Nine outta ten murder-suicides that we see are a result of one person becoming so obsessed with another that the person can't satisfy their need to possess. Then the one that is obsessed kills the other, then kills themselves so that they can be 'together forever'. Seems to me that that is a more likely scenario than the happily ever after you wanna believe in."

LaFiamma stared down at the floor for a long time then he said very softly, "That's the same thing that Szabo said but I wouldn't listen. I kept telling myself that there had to have been something I coulda done. There had to have been."

Lundy rose and closed the distance between them, reaching out to lay a hand on LaFiamma's shoulder, "Sometimes, there just isn't anything we can do ... except let it go. It ain't your fault ... It ain't."

"Maybe ... maybe you're right. Szabo tried and tried to tell me that it wasn't my fault but I wouldn't listen. I wanted so much to believe that I could have made everything be all right. But I guess sometimes, there just isn't anyway." He turned to look into Lundy's eyes.

The expression in his eyes made Lundy think, [He's gonna kiss me.] Excitement sent a quiver through him, butterflies fluttered in his stomach.

Then LaFiamma's eyes went past him to the clock behind him, "Oh, God! It's after midnight! How'd it get this late?" He moved away from Lundy. "We gotta get up early tomorrow and we ain't even ate yet." He started for the kitchen, "I got some chicken Parmesan in the fridge. I'll pop it in the microwave. If that's okay?"

Lundy stood frozen, disoriented. [I thought for sure he was gonna kiss me!] Disappointment surged through him, deep and bitter. He forced himself to answer LaFiamma, "Sure, whatever you got." His voice sounded strange to him. He hoped LaFiamma wouldn't ask what was wrong.

LaFiamma came back into the livingroom and began to quickly and efficiently let the couch out into a bed. By the time the food was hot the couch was ready for Lundy to sleep on.

They ate quickly and in silence. They washed, dried and put up the dishes the same way.

Walking back into the livingroom, LaFiamma said, "Do you wanna shower before you go to bed?"

"Naw. I'll get up early and go out to the house. That way I can change clothes."

"Okay, then I'll get my shower and see you in the morning." LaFiamma said then turned and went up the stairs to get his pajamas.

Lundy pulled off his boots and lay down, listening to the sounds of LaFiamma moving around, first upstairs then in the bathroom. When the man came out Lundy watched him till he was up the stairs and out of sight.

"Good night, Lundy." LaFiamma called down from the loft.

"Good night, LaFiamma." Lundy called back. He lay awake for a long time after thinking. [You're a fool Levon Lundy! Why would a gorgeous guy like him want you? Hell, all we do is fight!] He sighed. [At least this time he ain't lying up there crying.]

Finally he drifted off to sleep.

The End