AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Too old to care what people think. I know who I am, and if you'll have me, that's all that matters. Besides, I already told Dave everything, and he’s been asking to meet you ever since. I’m sorry. I’ve been selfish. I wanted you all to myself for as long as I could get away with it.”
Sammy melted in his arms, and they forgot about the dishes and how messy the table was after their breakfast. Logan backed Sammy to the counter, then leisurely, slowly, teasingly proceeded to nip his chin and his neck, savoring the taste of his lover. Hearing Sammy’s breathing hitch and grow ragged made him just a little bit more feral and excited, digging his fingers into Sammy’s flesh, pulling him in a tighter embrace.
Sammy smiled, aroused, exhilarated, breathless. “I love you.” He had known this was true for him for some time now. He hadn’t meant to rush saying it to Logan, for some reason hoping for that one perfect occasion when he would be able to give his lover a special moment to remember.
His plan certainly hadn’t involved Logan in his pajamas, bed hair sticking up in every direction, and Sammy in his sweats, wearing an old hoodie damp and disheveled from washing dishes and cooking breakfast, his hair in a messy bun and Morpheus sneakily licking leftovers from Logan’s plate that had been abandoned on the table. That hadn’t been how he had intended this to go down, but his heart was flying high, regardless. He was so damn happy, he wouldn’t even dream to take this moment back or to change a single detail.
Logan pulled away from him, just enough to look into his eyes and say, “I love you so much Samuel! I think I’ve loved you for a while now. I love you!” He leaned back into their kiss and they both murmured “I love you” in between kisses until the time came that words were no longer necessary.
* * *
The weekbefore Jackson’s first birthday party rolled away faster than Sammy had expected. In the wake of the small celebration, he tried to remember if he had been to any children’s parties as an adult, and not in the capacity of a photographer. Nope.
He didn’t have friends with kids just yet, and to say he had no idea what a one-year-old might need was an understatement. He should have known asking James for help would be a big mistake, but here they were, cruising the isles of FAO Schwarz, James pushing a cart overflowing with giant toy sets, driving Sammy crazy.
“This LEGO set says it is for ages three and over. Put it back!”
“Don’t be a pussy, surely the little runt won’t gobble it up. It is a special edition! It’s the fucking Batmobile!”
Sammy rolled his eyes. “Thatisexactly what will happen. I’m not trying to get them to hate me for being a clueless idiot. I don’t know a lot about kids, but I’m pretty sure toddlers don’t care about special editions.”
“This is boring!” James groaned in frustration, and reluctantly put the giant LEGO set back on the shelf. He stomped away in another aisle full of LEGO sets, and Sammy walked on refusing to waste any more time following James down the memory lane of his own childhood.
Sammy had paused in front of a shelf with wooden alphabet and number puzzles and block books with simple nursery rhymes. They were all cute, but if he had to guess, little Jackson would have been given some sort of variation of those toys already. He was growing worried he wouldn’t be able to find anything suitable that would show he had indeed invested some thought into his gift.
Logan had told him not to worry about it, Dave and Stef were super chill. He was getting them something they had asked for – a set of snugly blankets and pillows. He had reassured Sammy the gift would be from both of them. Yet he knew that this was something important - making the effort, trying to be thoughtful and show Logan he wanted the people important to his lover, to like him.
The steady hard click of heels startled him. Later he would swear the store had grown colder, and darker suddenly, as he felt a small hand rest on his shoulder – Danika clearing her throat to signify how uncomfortable she was to be anywhere near him.
“Here.” She shoved a shopping basket in his arms when he turned reluctantly to face her.
He frowned and observed her with suspicion. Danika whipped her hair over her shoulder, and took off, calling out, “I don’t have all day, Samuel Mori-Ikeda.”
He followed her as she expertly weaved through the aisles, stopping briefly here and there, and tossing items into his basket. Sammy hated the fact that everything she was selecting was so much more sensible than what James had been trying to sneak by him. He smirked, when he picked up one of the boxes – a set of adorable face towels with beautiful elephant and bee pictures.Well fuck.
Danika had walked ahead of him, and when he wasn’t there for her to toss her next selection to, she returned to him annoyed and tugged him after her impatiently.
“How do you know what to buy? And why the hell are you doing this for me?”
She turned to face him, and he noted her expression, although still bored, was slightly more human than any other time Sammy had interacted with her.
“I have five nephews between the ages of three and six. I have been to enough baby showers and birthday parties to know at least whatnotto get, unlike your friend over there.” She inclined her head to the left, where James was looking at crafting sets with tiny very edible-looking bits inside. When he turned to look at them, he grinned, shook the box, and proudly tossed it into the overflowing shopping cart. Sammy chuckled and was startled when Danika emulated a noise that one would commonly recognize as laughter.
He looked at her like she had sprouted a second head. “Are you like dying or something? Why are you acting so…?” He motioned vaguely with a zig-zag motion of his hand in her direction. She shrugged her shoulders, and went ahead, with Sammy having no other choice but to follow her.
Danika spoke to him, he had to assume, since she never turned to look at him, and they were alone in the aisle. “James was very worried about you. Don’t be mad at him, but he called me and asked me to come over to help you out. I suppose, he didn’t want you to lose your shit and drive into a tree, on your way to your lumberjack daddy. Neither of us want you wrecking that sweet mans’ car.”
“So, this is about James?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Does it matter?”
Sammy couldn’t answer if any of this mattered. He realized what he thought of Danika didn’t make a bar of difference about the way James felt about her. He also came to the conclusion his friend had kept the details of his renewed relationship with Danika a secret from him, probably because Sammy hadn’t been shy to berate her at every possible opportunity he had. It’s not like she hadn’t driven him crazy with her insults and blatant disregard, but the more he thought about it, Sammy could see that neither of them had ever hit the pause button to stop and think if they could possibly treat each other better. Even if just for James’s sake.
He reached for Danika and lightly tugged at her arm. She stiffened then stopped and turned to face him. “Danika, thank you for helping me with this. It may seem silly right now, but choosing the right gift is important to me. I appreciate it even if you’re doing it for James. Thank you.”
She frowned, gave him a suspicious look, and her lips twitched, as if glitching between a smile and a painful grimace. She finally gave him a curt nod. “You’re welcome.” Then she cleared her throat and asked, “Uh… do you have a photo?”
“Of…?”
