Does he not get along with his family?”
“The exact opposite, actually. They’re his loudest cheerleaders.” I’d heard so many horror stories
and seen just how awful some parents could be when their kids weren’t the cachet norm they’d
envisioned. I loved Sam’s family without even meeting them because they’d never made him feel he
was less than because of who he was. “But that’s also why he’s nervous. And when he’s keyed up, I
get stressed out because I don’t know how to make it better for him.”
“You guys are pretty much 24/7, right?” Tom smirked, knowing that before Sam, I’d sworn I didn’t
need or want a boy around all the time. I nodded. “So maybe part of the problem is he knows he’s not
going to get the time he’s used to while his family’s in town. If I’m right, and you know I usually am,
you need to do two things when you get home tonight.”
“Tell me, oh wise one,” I quipped, ignoring Tom’s comment about how often he was right. Any
other time, I would have pointed out that I was the one who had to help him pull his head out of his
ass when he was lusting after the student teacher who’d been assigned to work with him. This was his
payback and I was grateful for it, not that I’d ever tell him.
“First, you need to figure out subtle ways for him to get some little time. It might be as simple as
you picking out the outfit he’s going to wear or taking care of him while his family is there.” That
seemed like common sense to me. I couldn’t remember the last time I hadn’t done those things so it
wouldn’t be much of a change for us. “And then, you need to put him in the bathtub until he’s nice and
relaxed, then give him as much little time as possible until his family arrives. Make sure he has that to
hold onto until the next time the two of you have the house to yourselves.”
Huh. Seemed that was where I’d fucked up. I was planning on trying to help ease him into being
big at home, thinking that would help him feel confident when others were around. But now that Tom
suggested it, I knew what I needed to do. I started packing my laptop and papers, even though I knew
damn well I wasn’t going to get any work done this weekend. The next two days were all about
proving to Sam’s family that he was in good hands and that he was loved.
“You’re a genius.” I gave his shoulder a squeeze on my way past. Tom didn’t need to be told it
was time to leave. He knew I tended to go full speed once I had a task in front of me.
“I’m sorry, can you repeat that once I have my phone out?” I flipped him off without turning back.
I could hear him laughing behind me, and the secretary looked at both of us like we were insane.
Compared to a lot of the buttoned-up old guard around here, we were, but slowly, the rest of them
