Chapter 2
Sam
The swim competition had been an exciting even to watch. Sam worked as an independent photographer and sold his pictures to internet websites and to a few newspapers. He got a lot of good shots from the competition. Hopefully, they would turn out good when he printed them. He could make a decent profit from selling them to a few of the local papers and maybe even the news networks in the area would buy a few pictures to use for their small headline images when they introduced a piece.
He sat in the stadium seats as he looked through the pictures that were showing up on the digital screen. He used to have an all analog setup, but digital pictures gave him a better idea of what the pictures looked like soon after he took them.
Sam clicked through the various pictures that he had taken. He got a few good ones from the starting line when they swimmers pushed off from the block. There was a good one he got of the water cresting over a swimmer’s head as he pushed through the water right before the surface tension of the water broke. The pictures looked great as he flipped through them. He did find a few that wouldn’t be useable. It might have had something to do with the shutter speed that he was using. He would have to experiment with it to see if he could adjust it.
As Sam sat in the stadium to tinker with the camera, he didn’t notice the crowd of people that were leaving. He finished looking through the settings and thought he had everything just right. That is when he looked up to see a very handsome alpha male. He was a short distance away on the other side of the pool. He had a bag over his shoulder and looked rather handsome with his dark brown hair.
Raising the camera up, he looked through the view finder to get a better look at the man. He was rather stall and ruggedly handsome. His body had the muscled physique of a swimmer. Sam enjoyed coming to these events because he liked the competitive aspect of it. When he was taking pictures though, he forgot the small details like who won and came in second. He focused more on the picture and making it look good.
The camera clicked off a few times as he pressed the button to take a picture of this handsome alpha. Sam inhaled deeply as he looked him over. If it was not for the fact that Sam was recently divorced from his previous husband, he might consider pursuing such a handsome specimen. His divorce was rather recent though. He didn’t feel it was the right time to pursue another relationship. He still needed time to heal.
Lowering the camera from his face, he stared across the pool at the man. He was now moving around the pool and coming toward the stadium seats. Sam took the extended lens off of the camera to put it back into his camera bag. He found the lens cap for his camera to put it back on the camera and slip it into his bag as well. By the time he had finished putting the camera equipment away, the man was standing so very close to him.
Sam’s eyes met with the strangers. The way he stared down Sam felt like a predator stalking its prey. Sam’s heart leaped in his chest. The distance was closing fast. What would he say to him? Was he upset that he had taken pictures of him a few moments prior? The brunette man stopped and pulled his bag over his shoulder. He was not moving any closer to Sam, but he could feel the intense gaze.
The alpha was so handsome and Sam definitely felt an attraction toward him. His heart raced as their eyes were locked. He couldn’t look away from this handsome hunk. The awkward silence between the two of them grew. Before it got to the point where it was too much, another man approached the brunette from behind and touched his shoulder.
The man broke his gaze with Sam to turn his attention to the older gentleman. Sam had nervous energy coursing through him. He couldn’t stick around right now to find out what the alpha wanted with him. He zipped up his camera bag and put the strap over his shoulder. He exited from the pool hall, stopping briefly to look over his shoulder. The two men were still engaged in their conversation when he had reached the door.
Sam let out a sigh as he pushed through the doors to emerge outside. The man was so devilishly handsome. He hadn’t felt that kind of attraction since he had met his ex-husband a number of years ago. The relationship was great at the start between the two of them, but as they neared their third year of marriage things went sour. He had caught his husband sleeping with another man and it broke his heart. He didn’t feel like he was ready to pursue another relationship. He had been hurt when he found out about the affair and felt he couldn’t let his guard down again.
His husband didn’t contest the divorce and they were separated nearly six months now. A few times Sam had run into him and it brought back all the feelings of betrayal that he wanted to forget about. There was love there at one time but it was gone now. Sam didn’t feel any regrets about the divorce since it was what they both wanted. He only wanted to find someone that could make him feel good about himself once more. He wasn’t ready yet though. It was still too fresh in his mind to find someone new.
Looking down at his watch, Sam noticed that it was nearly lunch time. He hadn’t eaten since that morning when he got up. There was so much to do before he even got to the competition. He had to clean all of his lenses and make sure they were spotless. There was also the process of making sure that his settings were correct on the camera to get the best pictures. He preferred to use a burst shot to capture several pictures at once. It guaranteed that he could get at least one good picture whenever he pressed the button.
Taking note of his location, Sam looked around to see what types of restaurants were in the area. There were a few fast food joints but he didn’t feel like having a burger. The smell of pasta greeted his nose when he neared one café. Traditional Italian food with an outdoor sitting area was where the wonderful scent originated from.
Sam’s stomach rumbled from the need for food. He walked over to the café to await the hostess. The friendly woman grabbed a menu and lead him to one of the outdoor tables. He opened up the menu to peruse the selection. They had quite the variety that was available. His eyes settled onto the lasagna. A single serving of traditional lasagna with red tomato sauce and seasonings.
The waiter came over to place a basket of breadsticks onto the table and fill up a glass with water. “Do you need a moment to decide on what you would like sir?” The waiter was a lanky man with dark brown hair. He had a white button up shirt with a green vest on over it and wore black dress pants. His name tag had Devon written on it.
Shaking his head a few times, Sam stated. “No, I’m quite ready to eat. I will have the lasagna if you don’t mind. And can I get a salad with that as well?” He folded the menu up to hand it back to the waiter.
The young man took the menu from him. “Certainly sir. One lasagna and a house salad. Do you have a preference for your salad dressing?” Devon took out a notepad and wrote down the menu items. He could see the look of indecision on Sam’s face and started to name off the various dressings. “We have ranch, thousand island, oil and vinegar, a basil vinaigrette.”
Sam held up his hand to stop him. “Oh, the basil vinaigrette sounds like a good choice. Thank you.” The waiter then departed from the table to place the order for him.
Picking up a bread stick from the basket, Sam took a bite from it and looked out at the street. People were starting to filter into the cozy little Italian restaurant for lunch. His eyes watched the people coming down the street and then his eyes met with the same handsome alpha that was at the swimming competition. He was walking down the street and coming toward the restaurant. Did he follow me here?