“Hey, um...” Ollie started, turning around to face Sam, his cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink.
Sam’s breath caught in his throat. On the table behind Ollie sat a modest bouquet of about a dozen deep red roses, neatly arranged in a simple glass vase. He looked back at Ollie and then at the flowers again, and his feet seemed to move of their own accord, shuttling him toward Ollie as he just... stared.
“Did you . . . ? Are these . . . ?”
He stopped just in front of Ollie, his eyes still fixed on the flowers.
No one had ever bought him flowers before. Not that he’d had many other boyfriends before Ollie, and none of his previous relationships had been serious, none had lasted more than a few weeks at most. Still...
Ollie reached out and took Sam’s hand, interlacing their fingers. “I just wanted to, um... show you how much I...”
Sam’s heart did something weird then, jumping around in his chest and racing wildly, even as Ollie faltered and trailed off. He squeezed Ollie’s hand and stepped a little closer to the table, reaching out with his free hand to touch the petals of one of the roses. It felt velvety and soft. He looked back up at Ollie, and his heart flipped again.
“Oll, they’re beautiful. I...” He shook his head, unable to find the words he wanted. “Thank you. I... love them.”
Ollie smiled, that same brilliant smile Sam loved so much, and then Ollie released Sam’s hand and reached up to frame Sam’s face. “I... wanted to make sure you know...”
Sam just nodded and then met Ollie halfway in a gentle, tender kiss. Ollie’s hands slid up further, meeting at the back of his neck and tugging him deeper into the kiss, and Sam shifted to fully face Ollie as he moved his hands to his boyfriend’s hips. Their tongues met and danced and tasted, and for a moment, Sam let himself get lost, just a little, in the dizzying sensation. But as he felt a rush of heat to his groin, a familiar pulse of arousal, he pulled back slightly, his fingers pressing into Ollie’s hips to maintain the distance between them.
He didn’t want to have a repeat of yesterday morning.
Ollie seemed to agree as he also pulled back, breathing heavily, and rested his forehead against Sam’s. “I’m... glad you were home still. I was preparing myself for the drive to Seattle—”
“You wouldn’t have—”
“I was going to. If I had to. Because I needed to see you again,” Ollie said, an odd sort of confidence in his voice now.
Sam opened his eyes and straightened up. Ollie tilted his head up just enough so they could kiss again, just a brief touch of their lips.
“Love, I... You didn’t need to... I mean, I...” Sam shook his head. He couldn’t remember a time he’d felt so tongue tied. He laughed lightly. “I’m so... happy right now, I can’t even speak. God, I love you, Oll.”
That seemed to be the exact right thing to say, because Ollie lit up again, his smile huge and bright and brilliant. And god, when he smiled like that, it made Sam’s heart start racing anew. How had he been so lucky to find someone so smart and kind and handsome and just so... exactly right for him?
“That makes me happy—to hear that you’re happy,” Ollie said, and he pulled Sam in for one more kiss, this one a little deeper and lingering just a little longer. When Ollie broke the kiss this time, he rested his head on Sam’s shoulder. “I know you have to leave, but I... I’ll miss you, and Iwillwait up for you tonight.”
Sam placed a kiss on top of his boyfriend’s head and then frowned. “I’ll be late again. Midnight... maybe later.”
“That’s okay,” Ollie said, and he shifted in Sam’s arms until he could stretch up and kiss Sam on the cheek. “Just let me know when you’re on your way home. I’ll make popcorn, and we’ll watch that movie you wanted to see, um, what was it? The one with the UFO thing?”
A laugh bubbled up, and Sam found himself grinning as he hugged Ollie tightly. “That sounds perfect, love. I can’t wait.”
Hereallydidn’t want to leave now. The comfort of having Ollie in his arms was so real, and a renewed sense of hope seemed to fill him, his heart almost bursting. He rememberedOllie’s words from last night, mumbled in his sleep—the quiet “Love you too, Sam”—and he kissed the top of Ollie’s head.
“I love you, Oll,” he whispered, and he felt his boyfriend sigh into him, his warm body pressed up against Sam’s. “I gotta go, but... I’ll be counting the minutes until tonight.”
Ollie laughed lightly. “Me too.”
After another moment, Sam finally managed to pull away and plant one more kiss on Ollie’s lips before he grabbed his messenger bag and headed out the door. Just less than an hour later—thanks to Seattle traffic—he parked his car in the parking garage of his apartment complex and then jogged outside and down the street a few blocks to Olympic Tower, where his office was.
He was a few minutes late, but no one blinked an eye when he slipped into the conference room and settled silently in his seat. Eduardo gave him a brief nod and then continued with some explanation he’d been giving about the final designs. When Eduardo finished, Jeanne picked up, describing their updated timeline for the next few days. Mike stood when the meeting was over and gave a few words of encouragement, making sure everyone knew that he appreciated the extra time they’d all been putting in during the final push to meet their client’s deadline. Then they all dispersed, heading toward their individual offices.
Sam stopped at the coffee station on his way, grabbed his mug from the cupboard, and poured himself a cup of plain black coffee before heading back toward his office. Just as he reached the door, he heard Eduardo’s voice from across the room.
“Hey, Sam, come over here for a sec!”
He glanced over to see Eduardo motioning him toward the center of the common space, where there was a large table littered with scale drawings of their current project. With a quick nod of acknowledgement, he turned back around and headed inEduardo’s direction. He stopped next to where Eduardo sat at the table and took a sip of his coffee.
“What’s up?”
