Miraculously, he fell back into an uneasy sleep.
Chapter 14
Asharpknockonthe door woke Sam up. He blinked in the afternoon light as Deirdre walked in carrying two takeaway coffee cups. Sam’s heart started racing, but it was far too late to do anything.
“There is this new fancy coffee place around the corner and you guys have got to try this!” she said, before freezing on the spot, her jaw dropping. Sam thought he had never seen anyone look so incredulous. He fully expected the coffee to fall to the floor in a dramatic splash.
“Oh my, this is a sight for sore eyes!” she exclaimed, eventually.
Tally and Jinx sat up and blinked at her. Sam groaned in dismay and covered his face with his hands. He would never hear the end of this.
“Sam, how long have I known you? And you don’t invite me to your orgy?” she teased. Relieved that she was not too scandalized, Sam risked a peep just in time to see her shaking her head in mock dismay as she placed the coffees on the chest of drawers by the door. Sam admired her strength of character that had prevailed and stopped her from dropping them.
“Sorry Deirdre, Jinx and I only like cock,” said Tally happily, with a cheeky grin on his face, playing along as if he wanted Sam to die of embarrassment.
Sam groaned again. How had his life come to this?
Deirdre grinned, “Good thing I still have mine,” she winked.
Tally giggled delightedly.
“I didn’t know you were here, Sugar,” she said to Jinx. “You’ll just have to get these two to share their coffees with you, like they’ve shared everything else.”
Jinx smiled cheerfully and nodded enthusiastically. Sam was confounded that he was the only one mortified by what Deirdre was assuming. Did no one else have any shame?
“Well, I leave you to it and see you downstairs.” said Deirdre with a little wave and then she was gone.
Sam sighed and flopped back down on the bed. What a way to start the day.
He watched despondently as Tally and Jinx got out of the bed and Tally started looking through the closet for something for Jinx to wear.
Sam lay there for a moment in complete dismay before reluctantly rousing himself. He needed to go downstairs and face Deirdre and anyone else she had told by now. It was delivery day, and he needed to be there.
He quickly showered and dressed and then told Tally he was heading downstairs. Sam didn’t have the appetite for breakfast, so he grabbed one of Deirdre’s coffees to take with him instead.
Tally was pouring Jinx a bowl of cereal and distractedly said he would see him later because he needed to keep an eye on Jinx. The flash of jealousy that blazed through Sam startled him. He was being a ridiculous overgrown child. It was a good thing that Tally no longer wanted to follow him around like a lost puppy. It meant he was getting better. So what if Sam’s ego had enjoyed the flattery? He would have to deal with it. He had known it wouldn’t last forever.
Feeling wildly disgruntled despite his pep talk to himself, Sam stomped downstairs to the bar. He hoped that work would clear his mind and put him in a better mood.
A few hours later, after being relentlessly teased by Deirdre who wanted to know, “Where he kept finding all these hot twinks from,” Sam fled gratefully upstairs for some lunch.
As he entered his living room, he stopped in astonishment at the sight that greeted him. Every single surface was covered in flowers. All his cups, teapots and pots had been repurposed as vases. It was colorful, messy chaos. There was water and mud absolutely everywhere, including ground into the carpet. Some of the flowers were battered and drooping. Others looked squashed.
Tally turned around and beamed at him. Looking very pleased with himself. “Flowers represent love!” he declared.
Sam blinked several times, but every time he opened his eyes, the flowers were still there. They looked familiar, he was sure he had seen them somewhere before.
“Did you steal all of these from the park?” he asked in alarm.
Tally nodded happily. “Jinx helped me,” he said, before turning to his friend, who had just taken a huge bite out of one of the flowers. “Jinx! No! You can’t eat them!”
Jinx glared, but spat out a mouthful of bright yellow petals before crossing his arms and pouting. Sam saw that he was now dressed in some of Danny’s old clothes.
Tally turned his attention back to Sam. “Will you have sex with me now?” he asked hopefully, his eyes shining.
“No, I will not! Clean all of this mess up!” Sam snapped.
It was the final straw. It was too much. He couldn’t deal with the absurdity. His home had been destroyed. No doubt hundreds of people had seen Tally and Jinx stealing the flowers and where they had gone with them. The authorities were probably going to visit, and Sam would have to deal with them. It was too much stress.
