Chapter 8
Free left the coffee shop with no real plan. He was mad and frustrated and didn’t know what to do about it. Before long, he found himself pulling into the lot of Comic Universe. Adam’s mom owned the place, and although Adam worked there, Free always associated it as their place to hang out. At least it had been through high school. With the demands of college and work, they didn’t hang out in the store too much anymore.
He walked into the shop and stood for a moment to let the peace wash over him. The place never changed. Adam’s mom, Bonnie, often talked about moving things around or rearranging the entire store, but she never did. He could find any series in the store even if he was blindfolded. Adam stood at his desk, seemingly oblivious to his entrance.
“Hey,” Free called.
Adam looked over his shoulder as he put a paper on his drawing desk. Adam had mentioned that he was working on a comic anthology with a girl he’d met at the shop. From the look on Adam’s face, the drawing wasn’t going well. “What are you doing here?”
“Shitty day, so I thought I’d come hang out.”
“No rehearsal?”
“Opening weekend just passed, so we’re getting a break.”
“What about the new girl? Hunter said you found a date to the party.” He leaned against the counter by the register.
Free took off his coat and laid it on the glass. “I did. Her name is Samantha, and right now, I’m kind of pissed at her.”
“It’s never good if the fighting starts this early in a relationship.”
“It’s not a fight. She did something and I got mad. I might’ve overreacted, but I was already frustrated with my dad.”
“Where do you want to start? Samantha or your dad?”
“Samantha’s been taking pictures of me in costume when we meet for coffee. She snaps a shot on her phone after Cary’s workout. I thought nothing of it when she asked. I figured she had a good laugh about it. Then today, she tells me she uploaded the pictures to Reddit with the story explaining why I’m dressing up.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t know what she was thinking.”
“It’s a pretty damn good story.”
Free let out a huge sigh. Yeah, he’d overreacted to Samantha’s actions. “I never thought about it being a story. I was worried about my brother.”
“But it’s the kind of headline we all click on from Yahoo or Buzzfeed.”
Adam was right. He’d click if it hadn’t been about him. “I just came from meeting with my dad, so I was already kind of wound up. He wants me to come to the company holiday party to network. As if that’s not bad enough, he felt the need to point out that I should leave the costumes and actor talk at home. When I got to the coffee shop to meet with Sam, I just wanted to relax.”
“You were a total dick, weren’t you?”
Free stared at his friend.
“I know you. You’re like the most laid-back person until you freak out. Going to the party freaked you out and then the idea of your dad seeing the Reddit post pushed you over the edge. I don’t even need to know what you said or did. Just call her and apologize.”
The upside to having friends who knew you as long as Adam and Hunter had was that they didn’t mince words. They’d call your bullshit without even blinking. Of course, Adam was right. He needed to apologize.
Free walked around the counter and sat on a stool near Adam. “I’m dreading the party.”
“It’s just a stupid cocktail party.”
“I know my job. My dad knows I know it. I’m a numbers guy, but he wants me to network. I suck at it.”
“I’m no social wonder, but even I can manage a cocktail party. You do fine at our parties.”
“Those parties are filled with people I already know. We have things to talk about.” He straightened the cuffs on his long sleeves.
“Maybe you’re looking at this all wrong. Treat it like any other role you play.”
Adam made sense. Free had no idea why the thought had never occurred to him before. He’d spent so much time keeping those two parts of his life separate that he hadn’t considered how he could use the skills from one to help in the other.
He’d have to give some more thought to who he’d need to be. Although the Doctor would be his automatic choice, he wasn’t sophisticated enough.
“Have you asked Samantha to be your date for New Year’s Eve?”
“Yeah, assuming she’ll still come after today. How about you? You have a date?”
“Kind of.”
“Cop-out.”
“Reese agreed to be my date, but she’s not my girlfriend or anything. We’re just working together, and when Hunter started talking about the party, I blurted out that she was my date.”
Free studied his friend’s face. “You blurted something. Now I know you’re full of shit. You don’t blurt. Maybe the real question is why she isn’t your girlfriend.”
“Because I don’t want her to be.”
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated.” Adam hopped off his stool and walked to the other side of the counter.
“Did you have sex?”
“No, but I made the mistake of kissing her and now I can’t stop thinking about it. We’re better off as friends, though, especially working together.”
“You say that like you’re trying to convince me, but I think it’s you who needs the convincing.”
“Shut up.” Adam suddenly became invested in reorganizing a box of comics.
“Hunter’s right. We are pitiful. Did you at least buy Reese a Christmas present?”
Adam nodded. “We’re not going to see each other on the holiday or anything, but I have something to give to her at the party.”
“I don’t know what to get for Samantha. We’ve only been on a couple of dates, but I did spend the night at her apartment. She’s my girlfriend, but it’s new.” Free stood and walked down an aisle brushing his fingers over the comic books. “There should be some kind of guidebook for guys like us.”
“Keep it simple. I got Reese a Batgirl bobblehead doll and some notebooks that she likes to write in.”
“That doesn’t help.”
“What does Samantha like?”
“Fancy coffee. Books.” Shit, that was lame. He didn’t even know what things his new girlfriend liked. Made it hard to plan for a gift.
“Get her coffee and flowers. All girls like flowers.” Adam sounded relieved not to be discussing his own sad love life.
They left the topic of women and discussed the New Year’s Eve party and comics for a while before Free decided to leave. He had plenty to think about, starting with an apology.
Sam didn’t know how things had gone so wrong with Free. He was so upset, he didn’t even drink his coffee. She’d deleted the post as soon as he’d left, and she sincerely hoped that no one had copied it anywhere else. After all, it had only been up a couple of hours.
She really wished Free could understand that the attention could be a good thing for him. She’d thought a little exposure might garner him more acting jobs. Any publicity was good, right? At least she’d thought so.
Once home, she kicked off her heels and changed into her faded yoga pants and ripped T-shirt along with fluffy socks. She eyed her computer, knowing she had to finish the case study and submit it before the end of the week. It was the last assignment for the semester, then she was free. To be with Free.
She opened a bottle of wine and thought about calling him to apologize again. He’d had some time to cool off, so they could probably talk. What if she called and he didn’t answer? Then her mind would wander about where he might be and she’d start to think he was like her previous boyfriends. But Free was different and she refused to give in to that kind of thinking.
With her glass of wine, she opened her laptop and the case study. She’d need the wine to get through it. She loved the idea of being a social worker, but she had yet to learn how to distance herself from the problems of the people she worked with. Her eyes filled with tears as she reread her notes on the young girl who had been removed from her home because of abuse.
This wasn’t even a real child that she knew. Her professor had issued samples for the class to write up and defend how they would approach a client. After another sip of wine to fortify her, she dove in and began typing. Paperwork shouldn’t upset her. It was the most mundane part of the job.
Fifteen minutes into working, her phone buzzed with a text from Free.
I’m in the area. If you’re home, I’d like to come over.
Her stomach flipped. Surely, if he were still upset, he wouldn’t want to see her. She stared at the computer screen. If Free came over, there was the distinct possibility that this paper wouldn’t get finished tonight. So she’d work until he arrived. I’m home.
He didn’t say how close he was or how long it would take, so she called down to the doorman and told him to send Free up when he arrived. In the meantime, she focused on her case study. By the time she finished writing the narrative for the child, tears streamed down her face.
And then there was a knock on her door. Shit. She hadn’t thought Free would get there so quickly. She swiped at the tears and took a quick gulp of wine.
Sam opened the door with a smile, but Free’s face was filled with something other than happiness at seeing her. Maybe he was still pissed.
“What’s wrong?” He rushed through the door and cradled her face with both of his hands. His thumbs caressed her cheeks.
“Nothing.”
“You’ve been crying.”
She rolled her eyes. “I was working on my final case study for the semester and the story of this kid makes me sad.”
Instead of stepping away from her and laughing, he leaned forward and kissed her lips gently. He eased back and rested his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.
“It’s the job. I need to get a thicker skin so it doesn’t get to me so easily.”
“I’m sorry for everything, especially the way I acted at the coffee shop.”
“I’m sorry, too. I had no malicious intent.”
Now he did laugh. “I never considered that. I don’t think it’s even possible.”
As he pulled away, his fingers brushed her skin so achingly gently that she wanted to curl around him and beg for more. He held her hand and led her to the couch. They sat and Free stared at their linked hands.
“I love to dress up and act. It’s part of who I am. I know that when I get up on a stage, people are going to stare at me. When I started dressing up so Cary would work out, my entire intention was to get people to stare at me so he’d be more comfortable. But it was always about him.”
Sam nodded. “I know. I just wanted other people to know that people like you are out there doing selfless things.”
“What if the story gets bigger, gains traction? People would be all over Cary. And like I said, my dad would hate it.”
“I already deleted it. The post is gone, so I doubt it’ll gain traction anywhere. As soon as you left, I deleted it.” She stood and walked to get her glass of wine. She took a gulp without turning around. “I spend so many days surrounded by horrific things. People who have had cruel things done to them. You are a bright spot in my day. I just wanted others to see.”
Suddenly his arms were back around her. “Why do you do it?”
“Because they need help. I feel like I’m making a difference.”
“I’m glad I can be a bright spot for you. You’re much more than that for me, and I feel like a total shit for the way I acted. I had a frustrating day and I took it out on you.”
She set her glass down and turned in his arms. “Next time, just say so.”
“I’ll try. In case you haven’t noticed, words aren’t always my friends.”
“I think you do fine.” She ran her hands down his chest and torso. Then lower. “I know an excellent way to ease frustration.”
“You do?” He swallowed hard while she stroked him through his pants.
She nodded. “Go have a seat on the couch. You want a glass of wine?”
“Sure.” He backed away from her, his eyes not leaving hers until she turned to the kitchen to get a glass. She poured the wine and took it to him. After he accepted the glass, she knelt in front of him. Leaning forward, she started to unbutton his shirt, kissing the exposed skin.
When she reached for the button on his pants, he jumped and grabbed his glass with two hands. “What are you doing?”
“Easing your frustration by returning the favor from the other morning.” With a gentle hand on his chest, she pushed him back. “Enjoy your wine, but don’t spill it. I like this couch.”
She undid the pants and nudged him to lift his hips so she could pull them down. His skin was hot to the touch and his dick was already hard. With her fist, she stroked him a couple of times before leaning forward and wrapping her lips around the head. She swirled her tongue over the tip and Free groaned.
He was going to make this easy if he was groaning already. Instead of dropping her whole mouth over him, she licked his shaft on the underside to the base and then back up. His left hand gripped the edge of the couch as he watched her. He took a swig of wine, then reached for the table to put the glass down. She took it from him and set it on the table behind her.
She stroked him with her hand again as she lowered her mouth to lick his balls. His hips jumped at the contact. She trailed her tongue up his length and then took him into her mouth. On her way up, she hollowed her cheeks for maximum contact. When the head slipped from her lips with a pop, he shifted again, raising his hips, silently asking for more.
Sam obliged. This time, she went down on him and began to bob. Her lips met her fist at the base, pumping a rhythm. Free’s head fell back against the couch and he closed his eyes. His hands stilled at his sides, palms down, fingers spread wide, pressing into the cushion.
He held pretty tight to his control. More than most guys she’d been with. “Touch me, Free.”
His eyes opened and he picked up his hands, but he didn’t move to touch her. She grabbed his hand and placed his palm on her head, giving him the permission he must’ve needed. She went back to sucking him and loved the way his fingers tightened the grip on her hair. His other hand came to her shoulder, massaging and squeezing.
His hips rose to meet her mouth and Sam knew he was close. She moved faster, sucking and licking.
“Sam.” Free tried to push up to stop her.
She slapped her palm on his chest and continued. Her nails rasped over his skin as he spurted into her mouth. She swallowed until he stopped moving. His hand slid off her head.
Sam rocked back on her haunches. “Hope that makes up for the blue balls.”
“Christ, that was good.”
She smirked and drained his wineglass. “More?”
“Not wine. Give me a few minutes and I’ll take care of you.”
“This wasn’t a quid-pro-quo situation. I gave you a blow job because I wanted to.” She stood with the empty glass. “And you can’t spend the night. I have to finish this paper.”
“I can wait for you to finish.”
As tempting as that was, she shook her head. “If you’re here, I won’t get my work done.”
He tucked himself back into his pants. “Are we still on for tomorrow night?”
“You still want to wrap presents with me?”
“Of course.” He wrapped a hand on her hip. “I get to spend the night tomorrow, though, right?”
“As long as I finish this case study tonight.”
He smacked her ass. “Then get to work. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After pulling his coat on, he came back for another kiss. “Don’t cry. Just do the job.”
She kissed him back and wished she knew how to do that, to separate parts of herself. One more thing to work on before graduation.