Ollie loved sunsets—loved the way the sun sank slowly, the brightness of day dimming into such a fantastic array of colors and giving way to the mystery and vastness of the night sky.
But he loved sunrises too. He’d always said there was something very special about that moment when the sun’s first light inches up over the far edge of the Earth... something hopeful, something good and strong and reliable, something trustworthy.
“Just like you, Sam,” Ollie had told him one day several months ago as they’d settled together at the peak of nearby Tiger Mountain after a quick predawn hike to watch the sunrise. He’d turned in Sam’s arms, grinning up at him with that adorable grinthat somehow made Sam’s heart race. “You’re always here for me to brighten my day.”
Silly, yes. And a little cliché, certainly. But it had sent Sam’s heart fluttering anyway.
And he’d do almost anything to hear Ollie’s voice right now, to see that smile.
Sam closed his eyes and swallowed tightly, trying to remind himself of Katherine’s words. Ollie was fine. He was probably just sleeping. He was fine.
His phone’s ringtone blared from behind him, and he jumped again, startled by the sound biting into the relative silence of the office. He spun around and grabbed for his phone, not bothering to check the number as he answered.
“Hello?”
“He’s fine, honey.”
Sam’s legs gave out as relief washed over him, and he grasped his desk to keep from collapsing and then pulled himself into his chair.
“Th-thank you. God, thank you so much, Mrs. E.” His voice was trembling so badly, he wasn’t sure he even sounded like himself then. He closed his eyes and blew out a short breath. “Um... why—why didn’t he...”
He heard muffled sounds of a door shutting, followed by a sharp whistle from Katherine.
“JoJo, car! Good girl. Sorry Sam. One second, I just...” After a short pause, Sam heard a car door shut, and then Katherine cleared her throat. “So, honey, you have nothing at all to worry about. Ollie’s asleep upstairs right now—honestly, looks like he’s been asleep for a while. He must be exhausted. He didn’t hear me come in, even thoughJoJo”—she said the dog’s name with just a hint of annoyance in her tone—“took it upon herself to go bounding up into the bedroom and hop up on the bed. Ugh. I swear. I love this dog, but it’s like she thinks she canrun the place as long as she doesn’t get a command. She’s just a little much sometimes. You know?”
Tears had started falling at some point in the last couple of minutes, but Sam laughed, even as he wiped his cheeks. He knew Katherine, and he knew JoJo. And he knew that Katherine was purposefully playing up JoJo’s antics a bit right now to try and lighten the mood. And he loved her for it.
“I’m really glad that didn’t wake him,” Sam managed between sniffles. “He, um, looked... okay? And his phone, did he leave it downstairs?”
“He looked fine, honey,” she assured. Sam lowered his head to rest in the crook of his elbow as she continued. “Sleeping quietly, except for that little thing he does where he mumbles sometimes. You know, he’s done that since he was a baby. It was the cutest thing then, and it still is now—God, don’t you dare tell him I told you that! He’ll probably be mortified that I was even there to check on him. But yes, he looked fine, peaceful even. And his phone was on the nightstand. I didn’t check it, but I’m betting since he missed both of us calling multiple times, the ringer is off. And that’s probably a good thing, really. Sounds like he needs the sleep; don’t want a bunch of notifications going off and keeping him up. Right, Sam?”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course.” Sam straightened back up and cleared his throat. “Thank you—thank you again, Mrs. E. I... feel a little silly, because I’ve been sitting here fretting, and—”
“It’s not silly of you,” Katherine cut in. “After everything the two of you have been through together, it’s not silly at all.”
With a weak nod, he closed his eyes and let out another long breath. “I should probably get back to work, so—so I can get home.”
“Yeah, good idea,” Katherine said. Then, after a short pause, she added quietly, “And Sam, don’t hesitate, okay? Call me. Just like you did tonight. Any time of day. The two ofyou are my whole world. And Ollie, he’s... Well, if you even suspect something’s wrong, call. I’m nearby. And I know Ollie would much rather have me come check on him than have you worrying. He’s said as much. Okay, honey?”
“’Kay. Th-thank you. I . . .”
“Good night, Sam.”
“Good night, Mrs. E.”
Sam hung up the phone and sat quietly with his eyes closed for a few more minutes, giving himself a chance to stop shaking, for his mind to settle so he could hopefully get back to work. He desperately wished he could just head home; he’d never hated his odd work schedule as much as he did in that moment. And itwasa strange business practice—having their team work in shifts like they did. But it was part of the working-outside-the-box mentality that his boss, Mike, owner of Watters Architecture and Design, had that made the company successful, and it allowed their small team to take on major projects, like the one they were currently working on.
Resigned, and hopefully recovered enough from all of his anxiety and worry, he opened his desk drawer, pulled out his day planner, and skimmed the list of to-dos before their final deadline on Wednesday. He took a moment to organize a new list into the most time-sensitive tasks he needed to complete—things his team was depending on him for—and then he turned on some quiet music and got back to work.
Nearly four hours later, just a little before one in the morning, he pulled his car up in front of Ollie’s apartment, let himself in, and padded quietly up the stairs. He stopped in the doorway to the bedroom as his gaze was drawn to his boyfriend. Ollie slept peacefully just about in the middle of the king-sized bed, curled up on his side so that he faced Sam. The comforter was pulled all the way up to his shoulders, but from Sam’s spot, he could see Ollie’s face clearly, thanks to the dim moonlightstreaming in from the window. Ollie’s mussed dark brown hair fell across his forehead, and his mouth was slightly parted, his chest rising and falling slowly, rhythmically, visible even with the comforter covering him.
Sam fought the urge to crawl into bed right then. He’d been battling exhaustion for the last two hours, and he was pretty sure he’d be asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. However, he convinced his feet to move, and he disappeared into the bathroom for just long enough to take a quick shower, brush his teeth, and change into his pajamas.
When he came back out to the bedroom a few minutes later, Ollie hadn’t moved an inch. Sam hesitated, eyeing his side of the bed with a frown. Ollie’s back was to his side, and he was always careful not to surprise Ollie by holding him from behind while they slept, since that could be a trigger for him. But at the same time, he wanted so much to fall asleep with his boyfriend in his arms right now.
Finally, Sam decided he’d better just try to get to sleep, and as much as he wanted to spend time cuddling, Ollie was probably too tired to wake up anyway. Quietly, he crawled under the covers on his side of the bed, careful not to wake Ollie, and settled on his back. Letting out a long breath, he relaxed into the soft mattress and closed his eyes. However, not more than a few moments later, the bed shifted as Ollie stretched out in his sleep, and Sam couldn’t help turning onto his side and opening his eyes again to just... watch his boyfriend. He pushed himself up onto his elbow and smiled as he saw Ollie’s beautiful face.
“I love you,” he whispered. “Always.”
