Page 114 of Give Me What You Will

“We’re calling because your father had a fall. We had to call an ambulance, and he was taken to St. Mary’s about five minutes ago.”

“Is he okay?”

“We’re not sure. But he seemed to be in a lot of pain. Hopefully nothing serious, but we wanted to make sure.”

“All right, thanks.” He clicked off the phone, scrubbing a frustrated hand over his face and dumping his beer out in the sink.

Of course, his asshole father had to ruin their evening.

He shoved his phone back into his pocket, mind racing. Sam looked up from the booth, Tony and Brendon silenced at the sight of his sour expression.

“What’s up?” Sam asked.

Frankie leaned over, tone low so as not to kill the vibe of the party. Sam’s hand instinctively grazed his on top of the booth, concerned.

“Dad had a fall. He’s on the way to St. Mary’s.”

Sam began to stand, and Frankie shook his head, pushing him firmly back down. “Absolutely not. You ain’t leavin’. It’s your birthday. He ain’t ruinin’ it.”

“He just did if you’re leaving.”

“Yeah, well…” he sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you feel guilty for going. Of course, you’re gonna go check on him.”

“A better man than us,” Brendon added, and Tony nodded.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Frankie said. “I can leave my keys with you, and I can take an Uber.”

Sam shook his head, “I’ll stay. Worst-case scenario, I close up and just wait for you.”

“Or one of these assholes can take you back to my place,” Frankie suggested, glancing at the two men opposite Sam.

Brendon nodded, giving a thumbs up.

He hated leaving like this. Hated leaving Sam on his birthday. It wasn’t fair. And he really hated that the reason was because of his homophobic, piece of shit father, who would lose his shit the moment he heard his son was planning on moving to LA because he was in love with his best friend.

“Call me if you need me,” Sam insisted.

“I always need you.”

A flush heated Sam’s cheeks and he glanced nervously away. Frankie couldn’t have that. He grabbed his chin, and Sam stiffened.

He kissed him right there in front of their group of friends and didn’t hold back.

Sam melted against him before drawing back, searching his face. Damn, he was so fucking beautiful. And his, he thought, taking in his hot cheeks and faint smile. “I love you. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”

Sam’s bright green eyes softened. “I love you, too.”

He kissed him again, hard, and straightened, feeling everyone's eyes on them.

Tony’s mouth was open and collecting flies. Brendon was grinning excitedly, and Joel, who was pouring himself a beer behind the bar, left the tap open, foamy beer splashing him.

“Uh—you guys…?” Joel asked tentatively.

“Yeah,” Frankie said, striding to the door, unfazed. “We are. Anyone got a problem with that?”

Tina snorted, “I think Brit will. But we don’t. We fuckin’ love you guys.”