Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

and Lee were making out in the bathroom at Social Club. Nearly got kicked out." They were lucky they didn't get their asses kicked. Quite a number of Savannah bars were gay friendly, but that didn't mean their patrons were accepting of blatant PDAs.
    "When was that?" Devin asked.
    "A few days ago, I think. Right before Lee quit."
    Shit. So Lee wasn't interested in Sam at all. And Devin had what, been protecting Sam from his friends for at least a year? Devin scrubbed at his face with one hand. This was crazy. He'd probably warned Tyler off because everyone knew he couldn't keep someone in his life longer than it took to get their clothes back on. And Tyler was so deep in the closet, he couldn't maintain anything that looked like a strong friendship because he was paranoid that his mom or brother would have questions. Devin knew Sam wouldn't stand for a relationship stuck in the shadows that way. He needed more than a quick hook-up with someone who doesn't care about him.
    What did Devin need? Assurance. Some guarantee that if he ended up doing to Sam what he and Tyler and Ian did with everyone else, he wouldn't ruin their friendship. He depended on Sam to be a stabilizing influence, though he doubted the other man knew it. When he needed to escape the merry-go-round of what passed for relationships with some of his friends, Devin knew he could come home to Sam and get his head straight. He was a rock, dependable, never shaken. Not until Devin hurt him by pushing him away.
    The wind picked up. Devin shivered and pulled his jacket closed, feeling the chill to his bones. He had to fix this.
    "So, since Sam has finally come around and, if the look on your face says anything, you're just figuring out how you feel about him, why are you looking for Lee?" Ian asked.
    "Yesterday, I told Sam it wouldn't work for us and now he's not talking to me. Lee's his best friend." Best friends were always intermediaries when something like this went wrong, either smoothing over the situation or warning the other guy off until things calmed down. In his case, Lee was joining Sam in ignoring him. Devin had no idea what the silent treatment meant in the grand scheme of things.
    "Oh, hon, you're his best friend. You and Mike. Lee is who he goes to when you're not around."
    Devin frowned. "How the hell does everyone know so much about me and Sam?"
    Ian shrugged again. "You know, Savannah's gay community is pretty tight. Plus, Lee is popular. I can't be the only person who wondered if there was something between him and Sam. After seeing the way you gave Tyler the evil eye, I asked him one day. He said Sam's like a little brother to him and he had his eye on someone else, anyway. Now we know who he had his eye on."
    "And I was too stupid to figure it out on my own."
    "You're not stupid, just blind, I guess."
    "Same difference," Devin said.
    "No, it's not." Ian reached out and rubbed one of Devin's arms, just below the shoulder. "You've cared about Sam for a long time. Being in love with him probably just snuck up on you. Hit you upside the head in the dark."
    "And now I'm alone in the dark."
    "Ooh, how very romance novel of you," Ian said with a small smile. "You're not alone. He's ticked because he can tell how you feel about him, like pretty much every person who's been in a room with the two of you in the last while." Ian's voice rose as he said this and he shook Devin lightly. "He'll calm down and then you can tell him you were a blind moron to throw his love away and you'll do anything to make it up to him so Sam knows he's the only man you'll ever love."
    "That's a bit much." Ian joined in Devin's light laugh. "What movie did you steal that from?"
    "Who knows? I'm just saying, you better say something worth coming out of a snit for or you'll never be able to get your Sammy back." Ian took his hand back. "He's lucky, you know?"
    "Sam?"
    Ian nodded. "If I had someone who looked at me the way you look at him, I'd give up anything in my life to keep him. When someone like you falls, you fall hard. And with your best friend, I don't think anything will be able to shake that."
    ****
    "You're so full of it."
    Sam looked up from his phone. Lee was scowling at him. Frowning, he asked, "What are you talking about?"
    Lee dropped his gym bag and pointed at Sam. "You don't want to talk to him, don't care what he has to say, but you can't stop checking your messages. That's what, the tenth time today?"
    Sixth. It wasn't Sam's fault Devin kept calling