Page 40 of Waiting for a Prince
Sam’s eyes narrowed, his chin raised, his head cocked to one side. Mark did his best to keep his expression neutral.
“What’s going on, Sam?”
“I’m sorry about last night,” Sam said finally. “I had no right to say those things. I knew as soon as I said them that you wouldn’t do something so… so…”
“Underhanded? Mean? Sneaky?” Mark suggested. Sam nodded unhappily. Mark pushed out a long stream of air. “Then why did you leave like that?”
Sam hung his head. “Because if I’d stayed, I might have told you the truth,” he whispered.
Mark stilled. “The truth? So that implies what, that you’ve been lying to me?” Sam kept silent. Mark put his mug down and moved closer, until he was sitting so close to Sam that he could feel the heat pouring off him. “Come on, Sam, you’ve got this far. Don’t stop now.” His heart pounding, Mark stretched out a hand and cupped Sam’s chin, tilting his head upward. The tortured look in Sam’s lovely blue eyes twisted Mark’s gut.
“It’s okay,” he whispered. “You can tell me anything, all right? I’m not gonna judge you.”
Sam blinked, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed several times. He straightened and looked Mark in the eye. “I’m gay.”
Mark froze, staring at him in confusion. “What?” The words wouldn’t register in his brain. “I don’t understand.”
Sam stared at him miserably. “I’m gay.”
“Since when?” Mark demanded. A thought suddenly hammered in his brain. “Oh, God, you’re not gonna tell meIhave anything to do with this, are you? That I somehow turned you gay? Because I hate to break it to you, but you can’t catch gayness like some infection.”
Sam’s eyes widened. “Oh, God, no. I’ve known I was gay since I was in high school.”
Mark’s mouth fell open. “Youwhat?”
“Remember me telling you Mr. Edwards was the one who caught me on the computer, watching porn?” Mark nodded. “Well, what he didn’t tell anyone was that it was gay porn.”
Mark was suddenly dizzy as fuck. “Really?”
“Yeah,” Sam admitted in a low voice. “He said he had to inform the Head, but that the… subject matter would be our secret.” He gave a wry smile. “I’d always wondered about him. Well, I stopped wondering after that. He was so cool. We had this long chat one day after class. He was the first person I came out to. I was just starting to be interested in guys, and it was a really confusing time.”
“I still don’t understand,” Mark persisted. “You’re passing yourself off as straight. Hell, you have agirlfriend.”
Sam wrung his hands. “Mark, there’s no way I can be gay. My dad…. My dad just wouldn’t understand.”
Mark’s heart went out to him. Apparently, that was one thing they had in common. “If that’s the case, then okay, I get it. But why not stay single? Why go to the lengths of having a girlfriend?”
Sam stiffened. “I…I don’t want to talk about Rebecca, all right? It’s… it’s complicated.” His eyes pleaded with Mark. “Besides, there’s something much more important that I want to discuss.”
“What?”
And then the breath caught in his throat as Sam leaned forward and kissed him. His lips were soft and warm. Mark let out a soft moan and cupped Sam’s head, deepening the kiss, his tongue darting out to lick the seam of Sam’s lips, tasting coffee. Sam groaned and reached for Mark, his tongue demanding entrance. Mark was lost in the heady moment.
Until reality bit—hard.
Mark pushed at Sam’s chest, breaking the kiss.
“Wait a minute.” He struggled to get his breath back. Sam stared at him, wide-eyed, his lips parted, his cheeks flushed.
“What’s wrong?” Sam asked, his chest heaving.
Mark gave him an incredulous look. “What—you thought you’d tell me you were gay and that would be it? Next stop, between the sheets?” He shook his head in disbelief. “Sorry, Sam, it doesn’t work that way.” He shivered. Despite his protestations, the kiss had shaken him to the core.
No one had ever kissed him.
No one had ever rocked his world the way Sam had done in a heartbeat.
Mark struggled to compose himself.
