Page 42 of Scoop Me Up
“Come in,” Sam called.
I pushed open the door and found them focused on their laptop with what looked like a restaurant supply site pulled up. “Should we talk?” I was anxious about their answer, but I knewI couldn’t avoid it, and I wanted to get the hard part out of the way.
Sam turned to face me. “I don’t know what to say,” they confessed.
“I’ve never done this before, but like I said, I don’t want to run away from it. I like you—a lot. I don’t want to spend the next six weeks avoiding each other.”
“I like you, too,” they murmured. “If that wasn’t obvious.”
“So what do we do?” I held my breath waiting for an answer.
Their gaze flickered down before meeting mine again. “Let’s just take it one day at a time. Probably best not to make any big decisions right away.”
I nodded slowly. “Do what feels right until we have a better idea of what we both want?”
“Exactly.”
“I can do that.” I closed my eyes briefly, fighting the urge to go to them and pull them close again. “I’m having dinner with Ellie and Jennifer tonight, but I won’t be too late. It’s a school night, after all.”
Sam chuckled and gave me a soft half-smile. “Have fun.”
“Thanks.” With that, I turned and headed out. I was looking forward to spending the evening with Ellie, but at the same time, I had no idea how I was going to manage to think about anything besides Sam’s mouth against mine.
I arrived at Jennifer’s house a little while later, knocking before I let myself in. Ellie came running, her footsteps echoing on the wood floors the moment I called out a hello.
“Daddy!”
I picked her up and hugged her tightly. “Hi, Bug.” As I gently put her down, Jennifer appeared from the kitchen, a soft smile on her face. I gave Ellie’s shoulder a squeeze. “Why don’t you go play for a little while before dinner?”
“Okay!” She scurried off and a moment later I heard her bedroom door close.
Jennifer came over and put her arms around me. I did my best to hug her back, but as I did, memories of Sam slammed into me.
“It’s good to see you,” she said as we parted. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Thanks for inviting me.”
Jennifer shrugged one shoulder. “You’ll always be a part of my life, Gabe. You’re welcome here anytime.” We headed into the kitchen where she was finishing up dinner. I set the table and offered to help, but Jennifer waved me off and told me to sit down and relax. “How have you been? How’s work?”
I took a slow breath. Work wasn’t something I wanted to think about. “I got a job offer,” I admitted.
She turned to face me. “That’s amazing. Where?”
I gave her a quick rundown of the job, my chest tightening with anxiety as I did. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime offer.”
“You have to take it.”
I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t know. It would mean moving even farther away. I barely have time to see Ellie now.”
“She’ll be fine. We’ll come to visit. You can spend summers with her. Like you said—this is a once-in-a-lifetime offer.”
“I know. It would definitely open a lot of doors. We’d be able to put away a lot more for Ellie’s college fund. But… I don’t think I’m going to take it. She’s too important to me. I don’t want to miss everything just for a job. There’ll be other offers.”
She nodded and turned back to the stove to finish the mashed potatoes. “I understand. I don’t think I’d be able to do it either.” She was quiet for a long moment. “So back to business as usual, then? You’re headed back to the city in a few weeks.”
This was my chance. “I don’t know. I’ve been talking to Miles Rogers.”
She spun to face me, eyebrows raised. “The real estate agent?”
