Chapter Nine
Sam returned home to an empty apartment. There was a plate of pastries, a bag of coffee beans, and a note on the kitchen counter.
‘Got a new job! Celebrate for me!’
He brewed himself a cup of the coffee and sat down with one of the pastries, enjoying the few minutes of quiet. His team were going over to Warren’s place to watch the game and he needed to be there. No, he wanted to be there. Sure, he was tired, but they all were.
Checking his phone, he blew out a breath of frustration. Matt had stopped answering his messages again. It was fine. He’d call by his place on the way to Warren’s. The guys wouldn’t mind if he was a little late.
But Matt was worse for wear and a little late turned into a lot late. He rang Warren’s doorbell, glancing around as he did. It was a nice neighborhood. Not somewhere he’d worry about parking his bike.
“There’s a sight for sore eyes,” Warren said when he answered the door. “Figured you weren’t coming.”
“Sorry, I got caught up with something.” He must have sounded as drained as he felt because Warren didn’t ask any more questions, just let him in.
“Guys, am I seeing things?” Gary asked when Sam stuck his head into the living room. “Sammy boy, where’ve you been?”
“It’s halftime. You haven’t missed much so far,” Tom said, and Sam resisted the urge to duck the older man’s assessing gaze. Gary made room for him on the couch and Warren handed him a beer. “Just the one, mind. I see you brought your bike.”
“Yeah, I had to make a stop on the way. It took longer than I’d planned.”
That seemed to satisfy the rest of them, no more questions thrown his way as the second half of the game kicked off. He let himself relax and not think of anything but the game and the company.
Afterward, Tom cornered him in the kitchen.
“You alright?” he asked him.
“Fine.”
“Uh-huh. You know it’d be okay if you weren’t, right? It was a long week, some tough calls. On top of whatever it is you’ve got going on at home.”
“It’s not—” he started to protest, before forcing himself to slow down and be more careful with his words. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, I have it in hand, and it won’t affect my work.”
Tom watched him for another moment before nodding. “Okay. If you change your mind about talking, you know how to get in touch, day or night, okay?”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.”
He appreciated the sentiment, but he felt that might change pretty quickly once the particulars were known. Tom was the main reason he hadn’t come out to the team. He couldn’t get a read on how the other man would receive that particular piece of information and the attitudes on a team like this tended to be top down. He didn’t want to find himself isolated and ostracized from them because he happened to be a little too forthcoming about his personal life. That would be the beginning of the end of his position on the team. He loved his job, and he wasn’t willing to risk it just to have an agony aunt at hand.
“Are you sure you’re okay to drive home?” Warren asked. “I have a spare room and a couch if you want to crash.”
“No,” he assured him. “I’m good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He found Drew asleep on the couch when he got back, and was torn between waking him and getting him a blanket. Two nights in a row sleeping on those cushions wasn’t going to be good for anyone.
Crouching next to him, he called him softly. “Drew? Hey, time to wake up.”
One hand came up, brushing across tired eyes. “Huh? What time is it?”
“After midnight. Just thought you might be more comfortable in bed.”
Mumbling something under his breath, Drew swung his legs to the floor and sat up. “Did you like the coffee?”
“Coffee was great, thanks. Congrats on the new job.”
Drew gave him a sleepy smile. “Let's hope this one lasts longer.”
“Here,” Sam said, reaching for him as Drew yawned loudly. “Let me help you to bed.”
He got Drew up on his feet, Drew leaning heavily against him with a sigh.
“Russ didn’t like me sleeping on the couch, not when we had a bed with an expensive mattress. Poured a glass of ice water over me once. Not a nice wake-up call.” He shuddered at the memory and Sam tightened his hands on him.
“No, it doesn’t sound like a nice way to wake up,” Sam replied, keeping his tone neutral in the hopes it might induce Drew to keep talking.
“You want to come be my pillow again?” Drew asked, leaning against him far more heavily than Sam guessed was necessary.
Sam huffed a laugh. “As tempting as that sounds, I think we both had better get some sleep. Separately.”
They reached the bedroom and as much as he knew he should have, he didn’t let Drew go. There were a whole host of reasons why it wasn’t a good idea; Logan, Drew’s recent past, and Sam’s frame of mind right then were only the top of a long list.
“It doesn’t have to mean anything,” Drew said, his voice a soft whisper. “It was like last night. We both wanted company, both needed to be distracted from our thoughts.”
Sam gently detached from him, helping him down onto the bed. “It isn’t fair, on either of us.”
“It’s not hurting anyone,” Drew protested, adding, “Sleeping alone sucks sometimes.”
“Get some rest,” was all Sam could say, too tired to argue the finer points of why it was not a good idea for them to get too entangled.
“I’m sorry,” Drew called after him when he reached the door. “I’m told I can be sort of pushy.”
Sam glanced over his shoulder, giving Drew a smile and a shake of his head. “Yeah, that’s one word for it. Goodnight, Drew.”
“Goodnight.”