“I’m sorry, Marcus. I feel like a jerk decking you, but after Zach and I met the first night and everything went great, he just up and disappeared. I thought he had a boyfriend and discovered a guilty conscience.”
One thing Zach loved about Marcus was that he never held a grudge, at least when it came to things friends-related. There was no hesitation in accepting Sam’s apology and brushing it off. He even slung an arm around Sam, leading him toward his office.
“No worries. Come on back and we can get better acquainted.” He deftly steered Sam over to the nearest bar, ordering two beers from the gorgeous bartender. The men Marcus hired to tend bar and wait tables were among the best-looking men Zach had ever seen. Marcus took their impossibly good looks for granted, barely noticing the flourish with which the young man presented the bottles and frosted glasses, probably in the hopes of impressing the boss.
“Tell me more about yourself than what I already know. For Zach here to be interested in someone, I know you must be special.”
“What is this, an interview? Don’t you have some place to be, someone to molest?” Now that Marcus had convinced Sam to stay, Zach wanted to talk to him alone and hopefully recapture some of that magic from Atlantic City. For the first time in his life, he wanted Marcus to go away.
“It’s okay, Zach. I don’t mind.” Sam’s smile reassured him. “I was a police officer and retired from the force last year after putting in my twenty years.”
“Did you have trouble being gay on the police force? We know from Julian’s boyfriend Nick, who’s a fireman, how hard it is for LGBT people in uniform to get respect from their peers.”
Sam drank his beer and stared at the bottle in his hand. “It’s happening, but much slower than we’d like to see. My captain never hassled me, but I don’t think he was too thrilled with having a gay cop under his command, either.”
Sensing the shift in the mood, Marcus guided Sam back to the more mundane “getting to know you” questions. “Where do you live, here in the city or in one of the boroughs?”
“I live in Brooklyn, in Carroll Gardens.”
Providence, something that rarely smiled on Zach, now shone its bright light directly on him.
“So do I.” He spoke for the first time since they had returned to the inside of the club. “All my life. But nearer to Red Hook than Cobble Hill.”
“Yeah, me as well. It was the only place we could afford.”
“We?” Marcus quirked a brow. “You have a roommate?”
“No. I lived with someone, but we broke up over six months ago.”
Of course; a man like Sam wouldn’t have been single all his life. He wasn’t like Zach, afraid to challenge the place life assigned him as a child. He’d have had boyfriends, probably many. Normal people have relationships; they don’t hide in their basements.
“That’s tough. Well, good thing Zach here took our little bet. Otherwise you two might never have met.”
“Bet?” Sam glanced over at Zach, confusion written on his face. “What bet?”
“Nothing. Marcus is making up stories as usual.” Zach pulled on Sam’s arm. “Why don’t we find a table in the back and sit down? We can get reacquainted.”
“I’m not a liar; why the hell are you saying that?” Marcus stood in Zach’s path, barring his way. “You didn’t forget the bet; I know you. You meet a guy and hook up, and I have to be celibate for three months.” His mouth curved up in an evil grin. “You lied to us and said you didn’t meet anyone, so as far as I’m concerned, you’ve forfeited the bet, and I’m off the hook. Don’t you agree with me, Sam?”
Eyes spitting fire, Sam slammed his bottle back on the bar. “A bet? It was all a setup for a bet?” The overhead lights flashed across his furious white face. “You let me fuck you, so why stay any longer?” His gaze raked a stunned Marcus. “It was all a game to both of you, huh? You can go to hell and take him with you.” Sam jerked a thumb at Zach who wanted to fall through the floor. “I’ve already been screwed once in my life by someone I thought I knew. I don’t need a stranger to do it again.”
Then Sam disappeared, swallowed up into the writhing mass of dancers as he cut through the club to the front exit.
“That wasn’t what happened,” Zach whispered to Sam’s retreating back. “It wasn’t like that at all.” Without taking time to think about it, Zach took off after Sam as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.
Chapter Twelve
“A bet.A fucking bet.” Ignoring the odd glances from the people he passed, Sam exited the club and began striding down the street, oblivious to his direction. “I’m such a fucking idiot.” He continued to argue with himself while waiting for the light to change at the street corner.
I should’ve known something was off. And here I was worried about him being abused, when all along he was playing me for the fool.
“Sam.” Red-faced and breathing heavily, Zach hurried up beside him. “Let me explain.” Sweat beaded down his face from the humid evening air, and the silky dark curls plastered wetly against his head.
Doubt, shame, desire, and fear. All those damn emotions played within Sam, and he hated it, hated himself for hesitating even a second, for wanting to talk to Zach, yet not trusting the man to tell the truth.
“Please.” Zach touched his arm, and Sam stiffened and drew away. “Come back to the club with me and if after I explain, you still don’t care, then you can leave and forget we ever met.”
Zach’s blue eyes met his, and damn it if Sam didn’t want him again; and that made him even angrier. But this time the anger was directed at himself. The bedrock of his relationship with Andy had been built upon lies and cheating. The last thing he’d ever do would be to allow himself to get swayed again, no matter how pretty Zach’s blue eyes were or how hot and sweet his kisses tasted. He wouldn’t get fooled again.
