“Great job on the steaks, Sam. Mine is perfect. And I love the flavor. That butcher knew what he was talking about.”
“This might be the best steak I’ve ever eaten, Jack. And killer potatoes. Twice-baked are my absolute favorite. My mom makes them for me whenever I get back home. My sister and I fight over the leftovers.”
“I like them, too. I’m not a fan of vegetables, but I like the way the green beans turned out. Kinda different.”
“They’re great. Excellent meal. Thanks for asking me to stay. This sure beats ramen noodles again.”
“Come on, Sam. You don’t eat ramen noodles for every meal, do you?”
“Naw, but it feels like it. I’m saving up everything I can. I start law school in the fall, and I don’t want to have to work a job my first year. So every penny counts right now.”
“You’re finishing your undergrad and then starting law school, huh.”
“Not exactly, Jack. I finished my pre-law degree and graduated last May from UCLA. I received a full ride to Law School at Washington University in St. Louis. But I decided I needed to take a bye year and get my head straight before starting that. I move to St. Louis in August I guess.” He didn’t elaborate on why he needed the break, and I didn’t ask. If my mental math was right, he was probably a year younger than me.
“What about you, Jack? How’d you end up here in Hawaii?” He sat back and held his hands across his stomach. I had to decide quickly how to play this. I opted for a similar story to what I told Marcus.
“Well, I earned my Business Management degree two years ago, and I’ve been working as an office manager and bookkeeper ever since. I’m from Chicago, by the way, but I actually grew up near St. Louis, on the Illinois side of the river. Anyway, a few weeks ago I found out a relative I had never met left me a house in Denver and some money. So last week I packed up what little I had, and I’m starting over in Denver in a little over two weeks. I never had the chance to travel, so I came here thinking a three-week vacation would be a dream come true. I found a sweet, sweet deal to stay here last minute, and the rest you know. It hasn’t worked out all that great, but today has been a big improvement.”
“So you’re what, twenty-three, twenty-four?”
“I’ll be twenty-five next month. And you?”
“I turn twenty-four in July, so you’ve got a full year on me, Jack. You’re old.” He smiled like that was a cool thing to him. He was a bit of a smart ass, I think. I didn’t care. I liked him.
“So, law school. Is that something you’ve always wanted to do?” I asked.
“Pretty much since I was in junior high. My old man is a lawyer, corporate law mostly. I went to court with him on like a bring-your-kid-to-work day, and I was hooked. I kept looking at the judge sitting high up there in front, in the robes and the gavel, and I thought, that’s what I want to be someday. Gonna take a long time to get there, but it’s all I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember. What about you? What are you going to be doing in Denver?”
Crap! What do I say? I didn’t really know myself.
“Well, I’m not totally clear on all the details yet. I have a job offer in a financial services group with a bank. They said they are willing to teach me the ropes if I’m willing to learn. So it will be a learn-on-the-job thing. I also have thought about going back to school to get my MBA, but I’m not sure what I’d use it for yet. So we’ll see.”
“You’re a pretty good student?” asked Sam.
“Kinda, I guess. I got mostly A’s in high school and college. But nobody really cares after you graduate. At least that’s been the case for me. I suppose if I decide to go to grad school I’ll have to take some kind of test or something.”
“Tell me about it. I did well in school, too, like you. But the LSAT test for law school was a bitch, let me tell you. I studied for six months. Thankfully I did well enough to get the scholarship. Probably helped my old man graduated from there a thousand years ago.” He started yawning, and I realized that it was nearly eight o’clock and we hadn’t had dessert.
“You want any dessert, Sam? I have fresh fruit and cheese if you’d like some.”
“Sounds great, but I’m still stuffed. That steak was huge. I don’t eat like this all the time. But thank you. What do you say we clean up and then I better get going. I have a forty-five minute drive back to my apartment and Fridays are an early day for me.” He stood up and started carrying dishes to the sink. I followed with mine.
We had everything ship shape in short order. I hand washed the meat platter and the cookie sheets—I wasn’t sure they could go in the dishwasher—and Sam dried. I caught him looking at me out of the corner of his eye a couple of times with a puzzled look on his face, like he was trying to figure something out.
I told him he could walk through the house to the front door to get to his truck. It seemed silly to have him walk all the way around outside. Besides, he wasn’t the hired help anymore. He was my friend. At least I hoped he would be.
He spun around to face me at the door. “This was a great afternoon and evening. Thanks for helping me, and for the great dinner. I was wondering, could I return the favor and invite you out tomorrow night to a movie and maybe some pizza afterwards? The guys, that is, some of my friends, are wanting to see the new Jason Statham action movie. You interested?” Did he just ask me out? No, Jack. It’s a guys’ night out. Get a grip.
“Well…are you sure your friends would be okay with my tagging along? I mean, they don’t know me.”
“Forget that, Jack. I didn’t know you before today and you’re a great guy. They’ll be cool with you along. Say you’ll come. You don’t want be here all by yourself, and to tell you the truth, I’d like you to meet Tommy, my best friend. He’s a native Hawaiian, and he knows all the little secrets and cool stuff off the beaten trail, if you know what I mean. You’ll like him.”
I threw caution to the wind and jumped. “Okay…yeah, I’ll go. When and where do I meet you?”
“Tell you what, driving in Hono on a Friday night can be a nightmare. I’ll pick you up here at six and we should have plenty of time to meet the gang for the seven o’clock show. Sound good?”
“Whatever you say, Sam. I’ll be ready. Do I need to bring anything?”
“No, and leave your wallet, too. It’s my turn to treat. ‘Course there’s no pizza in Hawaii as good as that steak, so you’ll have to make do.” He laughed and stepped out into the dark driveway. I stood there as he slid behind the wheel of his truck, and I waved to him as he drove down the driveway.
Holy crap! That went better than I could have ever dreamed. I was in shock—a pleasant shock for a change. Sam was an awesome guy. And not only had he stayed for dinner, he was taking me out tomorrow. What the hell just happened?
My mind started down multiple paths at once. Was Sam really straight and just wanted to be friendly and help me out, or could he maybe be gay, and his interest was much more? I was reasonably sure he was straight. I mean, there was no clue otherwise. I was also sure I had given him no clue I was gay, but that was by habit, not real intention.
If he did somehow think I was gay, he still asked me to meet his friends—his best friend, even—and go to a movie with them. That was huge for me. That meant he wasn’t freaked out by my being gay. And he didn’t feel like he had to hide me from his friends. And maybe, just maybe, if he was gay, too…
I couldn’t let my mind go there with Sam. Yes, he was smoking hot, and my dick got hard yet again just thinking for two seconds about his laugh, his face, his ass, and those eyes! But if he was straight, and I was still thinking he was, then I would just be torturing myself.
I was content to have Sam as a friend. He was an incredibly decent, thoughtful guy. He seemed to care about me on some level. He looked at me in a way that made me feel like he wanted to take away every difficulty or challenge in my life and make it all easier. Who does that? I’m sure it was the main reason he invited me to the movie—so I wouldn’t be stuck at the house, alone again. He was just being a nice guy.
I started crying, thinking about all the little ways he had tried to take care of me. The sunscreen, the sunglasses, holding the pole with me so my back wouldn’t hurt. Offering to go on tours with me he had already been on. Inviting me out and including me with his friends. No guy—gay or straight—had ever been that kind to me. Ever.
I wondered yet again why I always seemed to cry at the beautiful things in life. I finally dried my face, blew my nose, and called it a night. After the emotional catharsis, my body was screaming for sleep. I thought I’d be tossing and turning all night but surprise, surprise, I dropped off to sleep the second I hit the bed. Slept like a baby.