than a date at first. I nearly told him I was proud of him for being willing to talk to me, but worried
that would come across as condescending. “Thankyoufor being willing to talk to me.”
“God, watching the two of you is painful as fuck,” William complained. “Sit. Both of you.”
I glared at William, not thrilled about being ordered around like I was his sub. But I sat because,
if I wanted any chance with Sam, I needed to respect William’s position in his life—no matter how
temporary his protection might be.
The three of us stared at each other, no one knowing how to begin this conversation. I was
pleasantly surprised when it was Sam who spoke first. “Maybe it’s too soon to say anything, but I like
you, Theron.”
“I like you, too,” I responded, fully aware both of us sounded like elementary school students.
“Please, let me get this out. I’ve been sitting in the office thinking about what I should say to you
since William told me you were coming down here tonight, and I want to put my cards on the table so
maybe you’ll understand a little more about why I don’t trust easily,” Sam explained. I sat back in my
chair, crossing one leg over the other. If I’d thought ahead, I would have asked William for a drink
before we got started. Damn me and my principles for saying I needed to be sober for this.
“Take all the time you need,” I assured him at the same time William said, “There’s no rush.”
The two of us shared a glance and a nod.
My heart broke as I listened to Sam share a bit about his past. My blood boiled when he told me
about a man that he’d been casually dating tearing him down. And still, I wasn’t ready for the bomb
he dropped.
Sam sat up straighter, squaring his shoulders. His gaze seared through me as he said, “I’m trans. I
know a lot of people don’t get it, but it’s who I am. I am agaytrans man. I like the way you make me
feel, but if you can’t deal with the fact I still have some anatomy associated with women and still
respect me as the man I am today, I’d rather know now than get my hopes up.”
My heart broke for Sam. I wanted nothing more than to pull him into my arms and kiss him while I
promised him everything would be okay. But I couldn’t. Not yet. First, he had to trust me, and the way
his body quaked with fear told me we weren’t there yet.
I steepled my fingers against my chin, hunching my shoulders forward to make myself appear
small. I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths before opening them to look directly at Sam. The
goal here was to hide my rage over whoever hurt him in the past. “What would you say if I told you
