Page 56 of Give Me What You Will

He tilted his head back against the concrete. “Not last night, I didn’t.”

Frankie’s steel jaw clenched.

“I have no interest in telling you how to live your life,” Sam drawled heavily. “And I have no intention of being in anyone’s closet with them.”

“I’m not—”

“Don’t fucking act like this then,” Sam shot back. “Don’t act like some possessive lover, ‘cause we’re not. We fucked around a little. That’s normal, right? You said that to me not too long ago. So, the experiment’s over. You’re not gay, and don’t believe in being bi. So, we’re done.”

“Done?” Frankie asked in a quiet tone, all anger draining from his face.

“Done,” he stated with the utmost contempt. “I told you before I can’t be your friend. And now, after all the lines we’ve crossed, there’s no going back. I’m done. I’m sorry I can’t give you what you want. I tried for years to do just that. But I will not be anyone’s shame. Not even yours.”

“You’re not.”

“Then why didn’t you look at me all night?” Sam asked breathlessly, pain hitching his tone. “Why did you act as if nothing happened?”

“Because…” Frankie sucked in a breath, chest heaving. “Fuck. Sammy. I…”

Disappointed and hurt, he pushed away from the concrete wall and headed for the exit. Frankie grabbed his wrist, stopping him. Their eyes collided and held.

His voice dropped, eyes intent. “Is this—is this it, Sammy?”

He nodded, a hard lump forming in his throat. “Yeah. I ain’t comin’ back—I can’t keep coming back to you. I have to...”

Protect what’s left of my heart.

Grief, anger, and regret pushed past his common sense, so when Frankie reached for him, cradling his face in his hands and dropping his forehead onto his, he bit back the urge to whimper—or maybe weep.

“Don’t do this…” Frankie pleaded gruffly. “I can’t lose you again.”

“I have to,” he managed out, heart shattering. “I have to go.”

“No. No…”

He closed his eyes against the anguish in Frankie’s expression. “You gotta let me go.”

“I fuckin’ can’t,” Frankie hissed. “I can’t.”

“You’re a lot stronger than me,” he replied softly. “You always have been. Things end, Frank. It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” he rasped. “What do I gotta do, Sammy? What—what? Let me fix this.”

Sam’s heart shredded in his chest. “We can’t fix this.”

“Fuck, don’t say that. Give me another chance.”

“It’s not you. You’re perfect, Frank. You always have been. You always will be. You made me a better man, and I will always love you for that.”

Frankie trembled, the wall of his chest brushing against his and his unwavering dark eyes suspending him.

“But I don’t want just pieces of you,” Sam whispered, lips inches from his. “I want everything. That’s why this has to end, because it’s impossible for me to say no to you.”

Frankie’s breath was fast against him, body inching closer, crowding him, overwhelming him.

“So, if I touched you right now, you wouldn’t stop me?” Frankie murmured.

Fuck.