Page 58 of Chosen

“A small sacrifice to make for your long-term happiness and goals.”

“Ugh. You’re too perfect.” I frowned before I kissed him on the cheek. “Let me know when it’s dinnertime, okay? I need to get back to the article.”

“Okay, but think about what I said—”

“I will! Promise!” It was the last thing I said as I headed back to the living room, eager to get something typed up before dinner was served.

16

DAMON

I want this forever.

The thought had crossed my mind multiple times as I finished making dinner, before I’d even started making dinner, to be honest. I couldn’t stop thinking about the future and how much I wanted Sam to be a part of it, to be there with me at every step. It was exhilarating, in a way, to be overcome with so much emotion, so much certainty about what I wanted to come next.

Still, I couldn’t get the words to come out of my mouth.

I love you, Sam. I want to be with you. Just you.

I let out a deep sigh, putting the last touches on each of our plates. I’d decided to make steak for dinner, serving it alongside some of the wine that Sam seemed to like so much. It was like a fancier version of the first meal we'd shared together in the cabin, which I thought was poetic in a way. Just like the meal had advanced toward something less casual than burgers, so had our relationship, shifting from casual to so much more than I ever could’ve expected.

When I was finished with the plates, I brought them out to the living room, wine and cutlery included. Sam’s eyes lit up with excitement as he spotted the steak, his hand already reaching for it.

"Oh, my God. This looks so good," Sam started, before he brought his face down toward the plate. “And it smells amazing, as always. My compliments to the chef.”

“Your compliments taken.” I smiled over at him and handed him his cutlery. “How’s your article coming along?”

“I don’t think I can talk about that right now.” He pouted. “Not without tearing my hair out. Which would be such a shame, having to eat a steak with a bunch of hair in it.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” I smirked, while pouring us both a glass of wine. “How about you just focus on eating your dinner instead?”

“Now, that’s something I can do.” Sam beamed before he dug into his steak. He lightly moaned with each bite, pleased with the meal. Unfortunately for me, the more he let out those innocent moans, the more my cock twitched in my pants, so used to responding to him.

“Is steak something you eat a lot of? In Atlanta?” I desperately tried to give my mind something else to think about that wasn’t taking Sam right here and right now, in the middle of dinner. I wasn’t sure if he’d fully recovered from our adventure in the truck, the way I’d played with him until he was absolutely spent.

“Not really, now that I think about it.” Sam shrugged, as he took another bite. “But it’s not because I’m anti-steak or anything. I think I eat sushi more than anything else. It’s always a pretty neutral choice, especially when meeting up with someone for an interview.”

“A neutral choice?”

“Lots of people have opinions about red meat in the entertainment industry.” Sam chuckled. “Deserved or not. It’s just better to steer clear from anything too controversial.”

“See? This is what I’m talking about,” I replied. “The way you think about things, Sam. You’re always a few steps ahead. There’s no way you wouldn’t be great at running your own company—”

“What about you? Are you much of a steak eater?” Sam quickly turned my question back around on me.

“I see what you’re doing, Sam.” I playfully rolled my eyes. “But if you think you’re going to get me to give up on encouraging you to set out on your own—”

“I don’t mind the encouragement. Really,” Sam sighed, “I think it’s really nice that you believe in me, Damon. Especially since…”

Sam stopped in the middle of his response, instead opting to take another bite of his steak.

“Especially since what, Sam?”

“Especially since I’ve never really felt supported by a boyfriend before,” Sam murmured, his fork half in his mouth.

“What did you just say?”

“That I’ve had a string of bad luck with the people I date,” he murmured again. “That I’ve been pretty bad about picking out guys in the past, but let’s not get into it tonight—”

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