Page 28 of Dark Promises

The next morning, Icouldn’t sleep, so I brewed some coffee. When Bryan smelled it, he wandered in scratching his balls. “None of that in my kitchen,” I warned. He glared at me and dropped his hand as if his balls were on fire.

“What?” he exclaimed, glaring at me. “I said Daniel was the cause of my balls—”

“And I don’t want to hear about your balls this early in the morning either. I have no interest in listening to you cry about your nut sac. I didn’t ask you to keep Daniel company while I was gone. You did that at your own risk. You did that without consulting me. No one is responsible for that but you. And you should have known how to protect them, but instead you wanted the love of my life, and thought nothing of our friendship—”

“What friendship? You didn’t tell me how important Daniel meant to you. If you had taken the slightest interest in being my friend when I asked you to talk to your boss about giving me a promotion, where I could get out of that damn basement at that law firm, then Iwouldn’thave made a play for him. Everyone knows you can’t meet an eligible bachelor if you’re confined where there’s little interaction of any kind with men. I thought I could find me a rich boyfriend, and my worries would have been over.”

“So all you wanted was to get yourself out of the mess you’d found yourself in by spending all your inheritance in some sleazy hotel with a male escort in Las Vegas. For your information, if it hadn’t been for me, you would have lost that low-level job by now. And that’s what you do, blame me for everything, and then go off and try to fuck my boyfriend.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way, and as a courtesy to you, there’s something Sidney told me, and I want you to know.”

“Well, tell me. What is it?” Bryan acted as if he was going to disclose a treasure hidden somewhere. He paused while I glowered at him.

“I don’t want you to be angry. You know, they shoot the messenger.”

“Just fucking well tell me, Bryan.”

“It’s Sam.”

“What about Sam?” My voice gave me away. My feelings had been hidden and the guilt had lingered for so long that finally it showed itself. My heart pulsated and tears welled up in my eyes. Sam had been a beautiful little puppy I’d deserted, along with Daniel, and the guilt of what I had done finally caught up with me since I came back home to familiar surroundings.

“Sam is missing.” My heart fell, I tightened my jaw and shook my head, and I thought I’d lose my breath. I loved that puppy more than I’d ever loved any person until I met Daniel, and I hadn’t counted on leaving, but I knew he would be well taken care of, or that’s what I’d thought.

“What happened to him?” My voice broke, and my chest moved up and down trying to get my emotions in check.

“Daniel left the dog with his manager and his partner, so he could meet you tonight and get some rest, because Sam had been out of control since you’ve been gone. Daniel tried his best Sidney said. He just made the wrong decision in letting Ryan and Jay take care of him. They took him out for a walk, and Sam dashed across the street and headed uptown... isn’t that where you used to live?”

“Yes. It was a few years ago I first adopted Sam from a veterinarian. No one wanted him because he was the runt of the litter, and all his mother’s puppies were sold except him. He’d been passed down from one owner after the next in a short time and then I walked in, and we fell in love with each other. It was like that when I met Daniel. Everything was fine when we were all together. Sam was happy and Daniel was joyful, and I thought I had the world until I didn’t. I didn’t know what to do when I left him.”

“Why are you telling this to me? Don’t you think it’s time to tell Daniel?”

“Yes, you’re right. But first I have to find Sam. If I don’t, I think my relationship is doomed with Daniel. It’s like when it was just Sam and Daniel. Something was off, but when I was around everything was great. Get dressed. You and I are going to go find Sam.”

“I thought I’d have a day to rest. You know I’m having Sidney over tonight.”

“No. I didn’t know and have you forgotten this is my home and not your love nest? You’re going to have to show him where you live, and if he knows you and what he has to deal with and is willing to accept you the way you are, broke, and without a stable income, then he truly loves you, and you two can go from there. Let me give you some advice. Those quick euphoric stages of love won’t last.”

“Your love lasted two years with separation, and I suspect it could go on much longer, but you have to work on it. That’s what I plan to do.” I glanced at Bryan. Was he finally making sense and the right choices?

“Don’t follow in my footsteps. I did something stupid, and I’m paying a price for it now. We all are. Me, Daniel, and more so Sam.”

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