"I can't. I have to go apologize to Mrs. Del Rio for trying to run out on her," Sam told him.
"Good luck with that," Wyatt told him and kissed him again.
They held hands as Wyatt walked him to the café. The whole way Sam felt like they had some unfinished business. By the time they arrived, Sam knew what it was.
At the back doors of the café, Sam stopped, turned, placed his hands on Wyatt's chest and whispered, "I love you." As soon as the words were out, Sam was sure he was going to hyperventilate. He pushed himself away from Wyatt and ran inside so he could get yelled at by Mrs. Del Rio.
Chapter 34
Sam walked through the back of the café feeling like his whole world had turned upside down. He tried to ground himself in facts. He was signed up for the early shift so he could be there for The Little Peaches on Parade.
The boys put in some practice time walking in their peach costumes, but it would be different when they were walking down Main Street. They would need him and Wyatt, and Sam was so glad he was going to be there with them after all.
As Sam went looking for Mrs. Del Rio, he was teary-eyed thinking how he would have missed that if Wyatt hadn't stopped him. On his way through the kitchen, he tried to pull himself together and waved at Rico.
"Good to have you back. I thought Wyatt was the right man for the job. Don't pull that shit again. I mean it," Rico warned him then went back to washing dishes.
Mrs. Del Rio was by the wait station, and she let out a huge, relieved sigh when she saw him. "Come here, you. You've been a bad boy trying to run out on me," she said and gave him a big hug.
"Sorry. Wyatt stood in front of my car and wouldn't let me drive away," Sam told her.
"That's how you do it. Good for him," she said and patted Sam on the back. "You want to tell me what sent you running? Did that ex of yours try something?"
"Nothing since he tried to crash your party," Sam told her.
"Then you stay strong. He'll be on his way soon enough," she predicted.
"Or he might show up here," Sam said and felt himself go numb. Brian had just walked through the front doors of the café. Now he slouched near the entrance, looking around. There were no open seats anywhere, so he just lingered there, showing no signs that he planned to leave.
"Is that him?" Mrs. Del Rio asked.
After Sam nodded, she pulled him behind a shelf where Brian couldn't see him.
"I bet he knows I work here. He likes messing with me at work. He knows I have to be on my best behavior, and he's hoping I'll have a panic attack," Sam said. He was already starting to breathe hard.
"Hold it together now," Mrs. Del Rio ordered him. "You think you can get him riled up, get him to swing at you?"
"I can usually," Sam said, plus Brian might want to pay him back for punching him. "But I don't know if he'll do it in front of witnesses."
"You just do your best to get him good and mad, and I'll call the sheriff to toss him out."
"I'll try," Sam told her.
"Keep Rico in the back. I don't want him mixed up in this," Mrs. Del Rio said to someone as Sam went to confront Brian.
Sam didn't usually have trouble setting him off, but he had never done it deliberately. As he approached Brian, he got ready to do whatever it took.
"We refuse service to scum like you. Go steal the tips someplace else," Sam told him.
"You a bouncer now? Maybe I should talk to your boss, let 'em know they got a boy trying to do a man's job," Brian said and he looked around.
"I know you like using your fists when your dick doesn't do the job, but that doesn't make you a man," Sam told him. "You're a failure, you're shit in the sack and you're only here because you can't get any other guy to even look at you."
Brian bared his teeth, and Sam could tell that he really wished he could hit him. "You..."
"I wouldn't have even looked at you if I had any place to go. You made my skin crawl. There wasn't a second you didn't disgust me," Sam was saying.
Brian was narrowing his eyes, fuming with his jaw clenched tight, but Sam wasn't sure he would hit him even now with people looking on.
