“But that’s changed now, hasn’t it?”
Sam slid a comforting hand down his neck to rest on his shoulder.
“Yeah. And I know it’s going to be hard for her, but I need our relationship to move to a healthier level, one where she’s less dependent on me and treats me as an adult, not Zach, the child.” He gnawed on his lip. “She’s so emotional; I hope she doesn’t end up hating me.”
“Impossible.” Sam’s hand tightened on his shoulder. “Who could ever hate you?”
Something fluttered in his chest at Sam’s words, his heart twisted dangerously. It terrified and excited him simultaneously. The caution he’d lived with all his life stepped to the forefront, and Zach heard the warning ringing in his ears.
Be careful. You don’t really know him. You don’t want to get hurt again.
But this time Zach pushed back. Fear couldn’t be granted a home inside him; it was an unwelcome visitor he’d allowed to reside, behaving like a squatter in his blood, brain, and heart all these years. And where had it gotten him—hiding in a basement, alone and lonely, living vicariously through his friends’ lives, while wishing for courage to break through his walls.
Time to move past Nathan; Zach wasn’t the scared little freshman any longer, desperate for love, thinking any attention is good attention. He squeezed Sam’s hand. It was warm, large, and solid. Comforting. Sam was a real man without any need to put others down and hurt them to feel better about himself.
“Yeah.” Zach smiled up into Sam’s face. “I hope you’re right.”
They waved good-bye to the little girl riding on her father’s broad shoulders and laughing with glee, and exited the park. The walk to his house took only twenty minutes or so, and as Zach approached he could see his mother had been planting. Bright red and pink geraniums flourished in the white stucco pots on the front stoop, and the rose bushes were in full, glorious bloom, reaching to the top of the front parlor windows.
Sam slowed down in front of the house.
“Do you know what you’re going to say to her?”
It probably would be a good idea to think about how he planned to tell her. After all the years of waiting, she deserved an explanation.
“Uh, not really. I was always younger than everyone in my class, so she never pushed me too much about dating; only a few comments here and there. I know she’s dying for grandchildren. That’s one thing she isn’t shy about telling me.”
“I think,” said Sam in his quiet sober voice, “above all else, you must be honest and trust her to behave how she always has with you. With love and kindness. From what you’ve told me, I don’t anticipate there being any issues.”
“I hope you’re right,” said Zach, thinking,if not now, when? The time had come.
Making no move to go inside, Sam leaned against the waist-high, wrought-iron fence. “Is that something important to you? Kids, I mean.”
Taking a deep breath, Zach spoke from the heart. “Yes. I have the money and time to give to a child. And I want to adopt. Having my own isn’t as important to me as giving a second chance to a child who never got a first.”
“That sounds like a plan.”
He nodded. “Eventually.”
Zach passed by Sam to open the gate, but Sam placed a hand on his arm.
“I think that’s a wonderful thing you want to do for a child.”
Zach licked his lips. “You do?”
“Yeah,” said Sam, sliding his hand up Zach’s shoulder to cup his face. “I do. But then again, I’m thinking you’re a pretty wonderful guy, and I don’t know why you’re alone.”
The tip of Sam’s thumb rested against Zach’s lips. “But now you’re here. Are you planning on going anywhere?” He touched his tongue to the pad of Sam’s thumb, listening to the sharp inhalation of Sam’s breath.
The question hung between them in the air, heavy with meaning. Sam’s eyes darkened and he stilled, his hand remaining on Zach’s face.
“No. I’m right here, and I’m not planning on going anywhere else.”
Something shifted between them then, their connection firing hotter than it had before. From the start, even back to that first night in Atlantic City when they knew nothing about one another, Zach had bared himself to Sam in a way he never had prior, not even with his best friends.
And now? Now it seemed like the beginning of a future he’d never imagined possible. All thanks to a little bet and some help from his friends.
“Let’s go inside.”
