Page 41 of Scoop Me Up
They frowned, brow furrowing. “Gabe, we need to talk about last night,” they blurted.
My stomach dipped and I was hit by a wave of nausea. It was time to face the music. “I know.” Sam was quiet for a moment, so I forced myself to keep going. “I’msosorry. I crossed a line and I shouldn’t have.”
“It’s okay,” Sam murmured.
“It’s not,” I insisted. “I don’t know what I was thinking, drinking that much. I’m so sorry. I’ll go back to Jennifer’s if youwant me to. I’d completely understand if you want to revoke my invitation to stay.”
Sam shook their head and ran a hand through their short, dark hair. “It’s fine.” I watched their Adam’s apple bob as they swallowed. “It’s really okay. I’m not mad. And I’m not making you leave. You can still stay. We all have regrets. There’s no reason to kick you out over one mistake.”
That word—regret—sent a hot wave washing through me. It felt like they were giving me an easy out, a chance to back off gracefully and dismiss a drunken mistake, but that’s not what it was at all. “It’s not that,” I said quietly, moving a step closer to them. “I don’t regret it. I mean, yes, I regret doing itwhenI did. But I don’t regretwhatI did.”
Sam’s brow furrowed just a little. “You don’t?”
I shook my head. Another step closer, drawn to Sam like a magnet. “I knew what I was doing. I wanted to kiss you. I still do.” My throat tightened—I was taking a risk, giving Sam the chance to reject me, but I knew I really would regret things if I didn’t speak my truth.
Their breath hitched. “I thought you were straight,” they said, voice barely a whisper. They moved toward me until we were close enough to touch.
“So did I. Until I met you.” I hesitated, wanting desperately to tell Sam just how much I liked them. “I still want to kiss you,” I repeated. “If you’re okay with that.”
Sam let out a shaky exhale and nodded slowly. A shy smile appeared on their face. “I am.”
My heart soared with relief and excitement, my breath catching in my throat. I closed the gap between us, easing my hand along Sam’s neck and pulling them toward me. With our bodies pressed together, our lips met, Sam parting theirs readily to invite me in. They moved their hands to my back, clutching the fabric of my T-shirt.
Every nerve ending in my body felt lit up. All I wanted to focus on was Sam’s lips moving against mine and their tongue in my mouth, but the intensity of the moment was almost too much to bear. I was acutely aware of Sam’s hands on my back, holding me against them tightly, their five-o’clock shadow scratching against my skin, the harsh, ragged sounds of our breathing drowning out everything else. I wanted more.
After several moments, we parted, saying nothing, just holding each other close. I tipped my head forward to press my forehead against Sam’s as we each caught our breath. Sam closed their eyes, squeezing me tight for one last second, and stepped back, breaking the contact between our bodies. Immediately, my gut told me to reach out and pull them close again, but I respected the distance they’d created. I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep myself from reaching out again.
We stood there, gazes locked for what felt like an eternity. My body ached to touch Sam again, to kiss them again, to feel their warmth against me.
After a few seconds of silence, I spoke. “Sam, I…” What was I supposed to say? Was I supposed to tell them that it was the best kiss I’d ever had? Or that I wanted to do it again—and that I thought I wanted to do more than just kiss?
“I should let you get back to work,” Sam said, nodding at my laptop on the table.
“Please don’t leave.” We were both quiet and Sam stayed put. I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck. “This is new territory for me, but I don’t want to run away from it. I really like you. I’d like to—”
Without warning, Sam stepped close and kissed me again, this time more fiercely, hungrier. A groan rumbled deep in my chest that had Sam pulling me tighter against their body and letting out a soft moan. The kiss felt like much-needed oxygen, like I’d been deprived and suddenly I could breathe again.
When we broke apart, I let out a shaky laugh and Sam did the same, their cheeks pink. I was truly speechless. All I wanted was to keep kissing Sam, touching them, being held by them until we fell asleep. My breath caught in my chest as I let myself imagine it.
A buzzing from the table cut through my foggy thoughts, brought me back to the present as I realized my phone was ringing. I gave Sam an apologetic smile and scooped up my phone, a strong suspicion of who the caller was before I picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Daddy!”
My suspicion was confirmed. I couldn’t help but smile at the sound of Ellie’s voice, even as Sam nodded at me and left the room. “Hey, Bug. What’s up? How was school today?”
I listened to Ellie chatter about her school day, telling me about the book she read, about the boys in class who were a distraction, and about her friends. I focused as closely as I could on Ellie’s stories, but my mind kept wandering back to Sam.
“Will you, Daddy?”
I zeroed in on the conversation again. “Sorry, Bug, I missed that. Can you repeat it?”
“Mommy is making meatloaf for dinner tonight and she said you should have dinner with us. Will you?”
“Of course I will. What time should I be there?”
We talked about logistics briefly and then we hung up with the promise that I’d be at her mom’s house soon and I’d take her to the park after dinner. After the call ended, I made my way to Sam’s office. The door was closed and I knocked softly.
