“You could have told me.”
“You would have argued.”
I could not actually dispute that. The ceiling moved another inch further away.
***
A few hours later when I woke up, I was already in Sam’s room. His room was set up for two like every room at Waypoint, even though he lived alone. There was no window. I was glad for it. I was still a little sensitive to light, and the darkness was even and quiet. Sam fussed over me and adjusted my blanket.
I grabbed his wrist before he could move away. “I’m good. I’m fine. Sit down. Can we talk?”
Sam studied my face. Whatever he found there, he seemed satisfied. He nodded and sat down next to me on the bed, his wrist still in my hand.
I studied him carefully in return. He had been under a lot of stress, and all the attention had been on me. Sam was the kind of man who wouldn’t complain even if his leg was broken.
“Are you okay?” I asked him. “And don’t even think of lying to me.”
“I’m fine.”
“Good,” I said, and then we fell into silence.
I didn’t know where to start. Even though I had heard his confession in the chopper, he didn’t know I had heard it. He had said he needed time to process — that was why he had stepped out of the tent. But then the whole fiasco happened, and I didn’t know if he had gotten enough time.
“Sam… what happened in the tent last night… do you regret it?”
His expression hardened. I could sense it was not directed at me. “No. Not one bit. You?”
“Me neither.” I blew a breath and looked up at the ceiling. “To be honest, I’ve been kind of fighting it. I don’t know if you had noticed, but I kind of had a crush on you.” I chuckled. “Fora long, long, long time.”
“I… I wasn’t sure.” He looked down at his wrist where my thumb was tracing a circle over the thin skin. He kept his gaze down as he spoke haltingly. “I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable with my… misplaced feelings. I’m older than you—”
“You talk as if you are my grandpa or something.” I snorted. “You are older than me by a few years, and honestly that is hot as hell.”
Sam looked up at me, surprised.
“What? You didn’t know that?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t it bother you that I’m not your age? I am this grumpy bastard. I’m not fun to be around…”
“Sam.” I raised my other hand to stop him. “Whoever told you all of this, they were wrong, okay? I know your folks were never kind to you, but it looks like they filled your head with all kinds of garbage. If you weren’t fun to be around, then why would I stick with you all these years? It’s not as if you held a gun to my head.”
His expression softened. “I am sorry for leaving you alone.”
“Well, I’m sorry for slipping on bird pee.”
Sam’s mouth opened in surprise. Oh, shit. I wasn’t supposed to let that slip. But I had never been able to keep secrets which is why it was a fucking Oscar-worthy act that I had managed to keep my feelings bottled up so long.
“You… you slipped?”
I fidgeted. “Um, yeah.”
“On Guano gravy?”
My face split into a grin at the way he said it. “Yeah, it’s so embarrassing. Swear that you won’t tell anyone?”
He was still staring at me.
“Sam? Promise me! Can you imagine Grant’s reaction?” I groaned.
