Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 8

around me for so long... man, have the two of you been dancing around each other since I moved in?"
    Sam sat back in his chair, frowning. Had Devin been subconsciously fighting an attraction to him for nearly a year? More? No. There was no way. He'd treated Sam the same way from the day they'd met after Sam had responded to Mike's ad for a roommate on Craigslist. Dev had been friendly, just this side of teasing, and welcomed him into the house with the same warmth he shared with Michael. The only difference was they didn't spend as much time alone together because Sam's current class schedule opposed Dev's hours at Savannah Bee Company. His late afternoon classes began not long after Dev got home, leaving them a few minutes to squeeze in some chess moves before Sam had to run off. Even on Dev's days off, they were either at rugby practice or Sam was with Dr. Willis, going over patient notes or sitting in on a session. They'd only started seeing each other more when Mike began bringing Jessica home after their dates and Dev took refuge in Sam's room, taking advantage of Sam's late night study habits to escape the sounds of his other best friend getting lucky.
    "How many times have you looked at him and wondered if he was flirting with you or just being nice? How many times did you want it to be more?"
    Lee's quiet questions broke into Sam's thoughts and he looked up, startled. Crap. Had there been more to his jokes and their ongoing chess tournament than Devin's desire to prove his dominance to every male within a hundred feet? Sam closed his eyes. He really had to stop taking what he read and applying it to every person in his life. He'd never get anywhere as a therapist if he made assumptions about his patients before he knew all of the relevant facts. It was possible he'd read this situation all wrong, a mistake that meant time wasted. Time Sam hadn't had to spend wondering if Devin would be seriously interested in anyone other than Michael.
    "It never occurred to me he was being anything but nice," Sam said after a while, opening his eyes. "Dev's just like that. He's always playing around. Unless he's upset."
    Lee stared at him quietly for a moment, as if waiting for Sam to clue in to what he was about to say. For the life of him, he wasn't up to guessing. The entire conversation so far had thrown Sam for a loop. "And earlier today, was he upset because you and Mike were talking about him like he's a hopeless case or because it was you, and he thought you thought better of him than that?"
    Sam shook his head. "Stop. He can't possibly feel that way about me. We're friends, but he doesn't put that much stock in my opinion. He just doesn't like to be criticized."
    "You sure? He took what you said before practice to heart."
    Lee motioned to the plate of eclairs and Sam took one. He took a bite of the flaky pastry and it fell apart in his mouth. Sweet, peach-flavored cream oozed onto his tongue. "Oh my god, I think I love you. What did you put in here, orgasm dust?"
    Lee chuckled. "Secret ingredient. And don't change the subject. You have to know you mean a lot to him, more than those fuck buddies he goes out drinking with. He may not use you for free therapy services like me and Mike, but he does listen. You just have to say what he needs to hear, whether he wants to hear it or not."
    Licking the cream from his lips and fingers, Sam refocused on Lee. "How can you see all this when I can't?"
    "Easy," Lee said. "I'm not emotionally invested. Mike was right. You would be good together if Dev got his head out of his ass and you remembered you have a backbone." Lee pushed the plate of eclairs closer to Sam. "Speaking of things that give you boners, what do you think my chances are?"
    Sam grinned and reached for another eclair. "I think if the Simply Sinful bakery doesn't give you a job, the owner is an idiot and you should open up shop and put him out of business." He stuck out his tongue and licked cream from the edge of the eclair. Moaning, Sam closed his eyes and swallowed. Lee's soft laugh made him open his eyes again.
    "All you have to do to get Dev to come around is eat one of those in front of him. It's like porn."
    "Right."
    "Seriously," Lee began. "I know you don't like to push people. That will make you a great therapist one day. People will respond to you being caring and understanding but not pushing them before they're ready. But if this... whatever between the two of you has been going on as long as I