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I was missing something here, somethingbig, but Sam only shook his head with a pinched smile. “It’s fine. You and I have said worse to each other while joking, and I’m a big boy. I can handle it, and it’s not as if you’re wrong.”
Tension all but sparked across the table, and I bit my lip. Sam looked my way, probably catching my confusion, before rubbing a hand over the back of his head with a sigh.
“We’ve confused your girlfriend.”
Oliver winced, “I can tell her later if you want?”
This all but screamed of a sensitive topic, so I chipped in before Sam could say anything. “No one has to tell me anything. If it’s something private or painful, then I don’t need to know. If you feel like talking about it, that’s fine, but otherwise, don’t force yourself.”
Sam blinked, taken aback, before a low chuckle rolled from deep in his chest. Looking at Oliver, he smiled. “She’s perfect for you.” Then he faced me again, smiling even as that melancholy from before increased.
“It’s going to sound pathetic, but I’ve only ever been in one serious relationship, and it was years ago. I’ve tried since then, but it never works out. I try my best, of course, but none of them are who I actually want to be dating, and it brings a swift end to the relationships before they can even really start. It’s my own fault, but there it is.”
He shrugged as if it didn’t mean anything, and Oliver cut in and clapped his shoulder. “Hey, don’t give up yet. While I agree with your decision not to date until you’re ready, maybe you just need more time?”
Sam shook his head. “It’s been years, Oliver; if I haven’t gotten over her yet, I doubt I will. It’s my own fault anyway, and you know it. I should have stayed with her when she asked, so I brought this on myself.”
Before I could stop myself, I asked. “Where did you go?” Then I slapped a hand over my mouth and added on. “That’s none of my business, I’m sorry.”
He shook his head, waving off the apology with a smile. “It’s fine. I didn’t want to stay in this town forever, and when I got a job offer in a big city, I took it. I asked her to go with me but she refused and, like any other hot-blooded idiot, I snapped. I said things I shouldn’t have and left, figuring what we had was ruined anyway.”
He scoffed, rubbing his head with a dry smile. “A stupid move on my part. We could have tried with the long distance, or I could have put the entire thing off and tried to convince her to move later. She deserved better than what I gave that day.”
Oliver didn’t dispute that, and neither did I. It wasn’t fair of him to demand she leave her life behind because he hated the town they lived in, but he already knew that.
Knowing a subject change was necessary, I asked. “So you’re back in town now?”
He nodded. “Yeah, for the first time in years. Oliver and I usually plan our visits once a year, but something about this place always pulls me back. My father offered to let me run his hardware store, so this time I’m staying.”
Oliver lit up, a wide smile pulling across his lips. “That’s great! We can start up weekly game nights again!”
Some of the dark cloud around Sam eased and he nodded, then looked at me and frowned. “Shouldn’t you talk to your lady about that first? I know your work can be hellacious, and me stealing one of your two days off every week may cause tension.”
Oliver’s smile fell, but before he could start to doubt I shook my head.
“I don’t mind. I get to see him throughout the week too, and having time with friends is important. If you don't mind company, I might like to join in for a night or two.” I shrugged at the end to show that I didn’t mind either way, and Sam smiled.
“I don’t care, though we can get a bit rowdy once we’ve had alcohol; fair warning. I tend to lose any verbal filter I have, so you’ll probably hear some less than gentlemanly things from me.”
Oliver barked a laugh. “Yeah, like the time you went on an hour-long rant about how much you appreciate a woman’s thighs around your head?”
Sam’s cheeks turned dark red, and he grumbled. “You’re the same way, so you have no right to poke fun.”
Oliver shrugged. “Yeah, but I didn’t talk about it for an hour with no breaks.”
Before they could start bickering, as they looked ready to do, I cut in. “Alcohol does strange things to people. As long as you’re not violent, I don’t mind.”
Sam turned serious at that. “Drunk or sober, I won’t raise a hand to you. It’s against who I am.”
I’d gotten that feeling off him, and I was glad to be proven right. Oliver slung an arm around his friend’s neck and squeezed teasingly.
“Not to mention he’s more likely to wax poetic about women than anything else.”
Leaning back in my chair, I steadily ate and watched the two interact. The longer Sam stayed around Oliver, the more upbeat he became until the melancholy was all but a distant memory.
I could see who he was before the breakup, and to think he’d changed so drastically because of one woman… His feelings for her must have been deep.
Shelving that for later, I finished my plate and watched the two joke around. Time flew, and Sam was getting ready to leave in what felt like a blink.
