Strictly Business - 12. Unspoken Agreement

The day after their dinner with Sam’s mom and dad, the guys were in a very good mood. It was Sunday, so they had the whole day off. They woke up together, cuddled for a while and had breakfast. Brian made poached eggs, French toast, and a fruit salad to top it all off.

“This was delicious!” Sam said, wiping his mouth clean.

“You know I love feeding you, baby,” Brian smiled at him and got up to clean the table.

“That you do!” Sam playfully raised his eyebrows. “Hey, leave it, I’ll clean up. You cooked, the least I can do is wash the dishes and clean the table.” He got up from the chair and took the plates from Brian’s hands.

“OK, not gonna argue, I know how much you love doing the dishes,” Brian teased. He stood there, watching Sam move around his apartment and thinking how it all looks natural, just the way it’s supposed to be – the two of them together, like a family.

As Sam’s hands were busy, Brian went to answer Sam’s phone, which had just started ringing. It was Clara.

“Hello.”

“Hey, just checking if we’re still on for today?” Clara said, not recognizing Brian’s voice.

“Hey, Clara, it’s Brian. Sam’s sort of busy right now, he’s playing in the kitchen.” Sam threw some bubbles at him and Brian ran away.

“Brian! How’s my favorite Spanish teacher?”

“Would that be Sam or me?” Brian couldn’t help but chuckle, remembering that day. Clara loved to jokingly remind them of it, just in case they ever forgot.

“You, of course! Sam still has a lot to learn…”

“I won’t tell him you said that.”

“What? What did she say?” Sam yelled from the kitchen.

“Nothing, baby!” Brian replied.

“You’ll tell me later!” Sam yelled back.

“I’m great, how are you?” Brian said, returning to his conversation with Sam’s best friend.

“Not bad! Sam and I were planning to meet up today, and I just wanted to check the time.”

“OK, I’ll tell him to call you when he’s done. He’s probably dying to see you!”

“I bet! Nice to hear from you, Brian. Bye!”

“Bye!”

Brian returned to the kitchen, where Sam was just finishing cleaning up.

“Clara said to call her, she wanted to check when you guys were getting together.”

“Thanks, babe,” Sam said, as he wiped his hands clean and put them around Brian’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss.

“You coming back here after you see Clara?” Brian asked, already knowing the answer. He was glad Sam was comfortable with staying at his place.

“Of course, I’ll probably be back in time for lunch.”

“Great, see ya then, baby.” Brian said and gave Sam a peck on the lips. “I’ll take Bo for a walk around the park first.” As if he knew he was the topic of conversation, Bo came to the two men and lay on the floor, waiting for some cuddling.

“Hey, big guy,” Sam knelt down and started scratching Bo all over his belly. “Go and have some fun with your daddy!”

As Sam went to the bedroom to change and call Clara, Brian took Bo’s leash and the two of them headed out the door.

“We’re out, baby, see ya later!”

“See ya!” Sam called out.

--

Walking through the park with his dog was one of Brian’s favorite activities. He loved spending time in nature, and since he lived in the city and didn’t have much time to travel to the countryside, parks were the best he could do right now. Just being surrounded by trees and away from the traffic noise was a welcome change from the usual craziness of the big city.

Brian has had Bo for two years now; he adopted him from a local animal shelter when he was just a puppy, and they got along great from the start. He was friendly and liked to play, and also quickly accepted new people. Sam was already like an old friend to him, which Brian was especially happy about.

As their strolling session was coming to an end, they were leaving the park and going down some stairs. Bo rushed for another dog that was passing by, but as the stairs were wet and slippery, it was enough for him to slip and fall before Brian could detain him.

“Bo!” Brian shouted and ran to his dog. He was relieved to see that Bo quickly got up and wasn’t seriously injured. However, he was limping on his front left leg, which meant that he probably had a sprain. “Hey boy, does it hurt? OK, we’ll get you to the vet…” Brian said quietly as he petted his dog. He was nervous and a bit frightened, and just wanted to get to the vet as soon as possible.

A minute later, he already hailed a cab and they were headed to the vet. While they were in the car, he thought about letting Sam know they’d be running late. As he petted Bo with one hand, trying to comfort him, he used the other to type a message to Sam.

Brian: Hey baby, might be late, have to take Bo to the vet.

Sam: Is it serious?

Brian: Don’t think so, maybe a sprained leg.

Sam: Awww poor guy! Should I come?

Brian: No, don’t worry. I’ll call if I need you. Love ya!!

Sam: Love u too baby!

Luckily, it was as Brian had thought. Bo had sprained his leg, but it was not a severe injury. After the vet prescribed some medications and advised Brian to put ice on the injured leg, they were good to go.

“Thank God it wasn’t anything serious.” Brian thought as they headed back home in a cab. “Well, now you’ll have to rest for a few weeks. Bet you didn’t plan that, huh?” Bo was just looking at him with puppy eyes, as if to say “I screwed up, I’m sorry.”

When they arrived home, Sam was there, waiting for them.

“Hey, big fella, what did you do?” Sam knelt down to greet Bo. “Damn, he’s got a limp…”

“Yeah, he slipped and fell. I wasn’t fast enough…” Brian said, feeling guilty.

“Hey, it’s not your fault. Could’ve happened to anyone.” Sam got up and squeezed Brian’s shoulder. “While you were out, I finished lunch… And I bought Bo his favorite food. I figured he could use some cheering up,” Sam grinned.

“Aww, you’re a big softie! Thanks, baby,” Brian grinned back at him.

The guys spent the rest of Sunday cuddling in front of the TV, and occasionally checking up on Bo to make sure he doesn’t aggravate his injury. The dog must have realized that he should rest, as he spent nearly the entire day lying in his doggie bed.

The events of the day caused Brian and Sam to temporarily forget about their ‘moving in together’ talk. In the end, it didn’t even matter, because lying there together, they felt like family.

--

You know how things sometimes work themselves out if you wait long enough? You don’t even have to try, they just fall into place. Well, that’s what happened the next day.

At the end of the incredibly long work day (it was actually the usual eight hours, but it was Monday, so it felt twice as long), Brian finished first so he went down and waited for Sam in front of the office building. After a few minutes, he thought about texting him to see when he’d get out, but just as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he saw Sam approaching him.

However, instead of saying goodbye and going each to their own home, the two men walked together toward the parking lot, where Brian’s car was parked.

“We going home, baby?” Brian said, putting his arm around Sam’s shoulders.

“Of course,” Sam turned toward Brian and grinned. Brian looked at him and smiled back.

Just like that, they got into Brian’s car, fastened their seat belts and headed toward Brian’s home… their home. As they were driving, both men smiled without looking at the other one, only occasionally stealing a glance at each other. There was no need for words, they knew what the other man was thinking. They both wanted the same thing, and they realized there was no reason to wait any more. A few minutes later, as if he was having the most casual conversation ever, Sam broke the silence.

“I was thinking, tomorrow after work we could drive to my place to pick up my stuff.”

“Sure, baby. Do you have a lot of things?”

“Not much… Mostly clothes and electronics – my laptop, TV, game consoles, stuff like that. Oh, and some smaller items like photos, CDs, mugs…”

“No problem. I have some empty boxes we can use for packing”

“Cool, thanks. I think we’ll be able to get it all in one go.”

“Did you call your landlord to tell him?”

“No, I’ll call him today.”

Brian took Sam’s hand in his and squeezed it. He found it funny how things have changed between them. When they met, they were too afraid to tell each other how they feel; it took them a few months and an unplanned intervention from Clara to make them open up. And now, they knew each other’s thoughts and didn’t even need words to communicate.

“You’re awfully quiet all of a sudden… What are you thinking about?” Sam asked.

“Like you don’t know…” Brian smiled and took Sam’s hand to his lips, kissing it gently. “I’m thinking whether I have a big enough box for all your sex toys.”

“You big perv!” Sam laughed and fake punched him in the shoulder.

“But you still love me,” Brian said smugly.

“Always,” Sam grinned. “Hey, we gotta throw a ‘moving in’ party, right?”

“Yeah, I like that idea,” Brian nodded. “How about next weekend?”

“Sounds great!”