“No.” Sam held up his hand, turning his face away. “Please. The last thing I need to think of is you having sex. And you shouldn’t be so involved in my sex life.”
The smile faded from Henry’s face, and he looked uncharacteristically serious. “You don’t have one, that’s why Iaminvolved. Now,” he said as they exited the park. “Tomorrow is that big computer software convention in Atlantic City.”
“Yeah, so?” Sam tossed the ball up and down. “What about it?”
“Come with me. Heather’s out of town on a girlfriends weekend, and I don’t want to go by myself. You may pick up some of the computer stuff.”
The last thing he wanted was hanging out all weekend at a convention full of computer geeks. They spoke a foreign language as far as Sam was concerned, and he had zero in common with them.
“No way. You couldn’t pay me to hang around with those guys. Half the time I can’t understand what they’re saying, all that talk of coding and data mining and shit.”
“You’re so with the times, aren’t you?” Henry poked him in his side, and he grunted. “Come on, Sammy,” pleaded Henry. “I don’t want to go alone. All you have to do is come with me; you don’t have to talk to anyone. The company will pay for everything.”
Hmm. Hard to turn down a free trip. “You’re so desperate. Is this how you got Heather to marry you, by begging and making such a nuisance of yourself she couldn’t say no?”
“That and my other talents.” Henry smirked and studied the baseball in his hand. “Besides, maybe you’ll meet a guy who’ll make you beg and plead for him, or end up begging for you.”
No way. He wouldn’t let himself get that caught up in a relationship again that he’d need another person so badly he’d beg for them. He’d been in love already, and it had sucked the life out of him, forcing him to change who he was to please another person.
Never again, Sam swore. But he owed Henry; he supposed it wouldn’t hurt to join him for the weekend. Maybe it would be warm enough to go to the beach. He loved the ocean; one of his dreams was to have a place by the beach and walk along the shore every night. When he was young, he’d pictured having a man by his side to share it all with, but now he guessed he’d have to settle for a dog.
“All right, all right.” It cost him nothing conceding to Henry, and seeing his friend’s broad smile, Sam felt guilty about his hesitation. “I’ll come, but don’t make me go to any of those boring-ass panel discussions. I’d probably fall asleep and embarrass you.”
They’d reached Henry’s car, and Henry deactivated the alarm, opened the door, and tossed his glove and ball into the passenger seat. “You won’t regret it, I promise. Who knows, you might have fun.”
Fun. What could be fun about sitting around with a bunch of nerds? At least he’ll be by the beach.
“And what the fuck is my inner chi?”
Bright laughter filled Henry’s eyes. “Damned if I know. I thought you gay guys were supposed to be into all that stuff. You’re one big fail, huh?” Henry ducked his punch and slid into the front seat of his car. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at three, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. See you then.” Sam walked down the block whistling to himself.
“Come on Sammy, move it or lose it. We gotta be on the road, or we’ll never make it by tonight.”
“Chill out, Henry.” Sam flung his overnight bag into the back of Henry’s Jeep and settled into the seat next to him. He slid his sunglasses on, pulled down his baseball cap, and smirked. “I’m ready; what are you waiting for?”
“Wise-ass,” cracked Henry. He started the engine and within minutes they were on the Brooklyn Bridge. “So what’re you gonna do this weekend if it isn’t warm enough to hang out at the beach? You don’t gamble; are you sure you won’t come with me to the panel discussions?” Henry expertly maneuvered his way onto the FDR Drive, and they were caught in the stop-and-go traffic of the city on their way to New Jersey.
“I’m not sure. I’ll see. Those panel discussions are gonna be so boring I’ll go crazy if I have to sit through them.”
“Well, you’re definitely coming with me to the cocktail party. Free booze, food, and plenty of people to talk to. I bet you could find some hot-shot software developer to teach you some of his special coding.” Henry laughed at his own joke.
Great. His life was fast becoming a late-night comedy routine. “You’re a regular riot. Hopefully that used up your allotment of cheesy gay jokes for the evening.”
“Nah, I got a million of them.” Henry shot Sam a glance, and the two of them laughed that easy, comfortable laughter that only comes from knowing someone as well as yourself.
“Listen, you’ve been too long without a guy. Maybe this weekend you can have a little fun in the sun, find a guy to—”
“No.” That came out a little harsher than he intended. “I know what you’re trying to do, but I’m not interested. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine, you’re scared. It’s understandable after you’ve lived with someone and found out they’ve cheated on you. But I know you hate being alone despite your auditioning for a job as a hermit.”
“I’m not alone, I’m fine.”
“You’ve had a break,” said Henry, continuing to argue his point. “You’ve been alone for months, busy working with me on this business of mine. Now, I’ve already had to force you to come this weekend, I’m not going to let you sit in your room while I’m at panel discussions.”
Henry stopped at a traffic light and looked him up and down. “You’re not a bad-looking guy; I’m sure there are a few hot men who might want your grouchy ass.”
