Sam went to the living room just in time to open the door for the pizza man. After paying for the pizza and setting it on the coffee table, Sam put the TV on and stretched out on the couch. Dominic had texted him that he’d be home soon. Now all he had to do was wait.
He didn’t have to wait for long.
Not five minutes later, the door opened and Dominic walked in. Dropping his briefcase by the door, Dominic shrugged out of his jacket with a weary sigh.
“I’m getting too old for this,” he said, flopping down on the space left by Sam’s legs and dropping his head on Sam’s stomach.
Sam tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach and analyzed the other man’s behavior. There was another perfectly comfortable couch in the room, but Dominic had chosen Sam’s. That had to mean something, right?
“Poor thing,” Sam murmured, threading his fingers through Dominic’s hair and massaging his scalp. “How was your day?”
“Annoying,” Dominic said, nuzzling into Sam’s stomach. “Is that my shirt?”
“It was.”
Dominic snorted softly. “I thought we bought you plenty of clothes so you could stop stealing mine.”
“Liar,” Sam said with a smile. “You bought me clothes because you like buying me things.”
“Guilty as charged,” Dominic mumbled, closing his eyes.
“Are you going to sleep on me?”
“Probably.”
“There’s a pizza.”
“Hmm, tempting, but not tempting enough to make me get up.”
Sam was glad Dominic couldn’t see the lovesick look on his face. “I think you should quit your job if it wears you out so much.”
“Which one?” Dominic said with a sigh, burrowing deeper into Sam’s stomach, his large hands settling on Sam’s bare thighs.
Sam cringed, desperately trying to think of something gross. A boner was the last thing he needed right now. The evening wasn’t exactly going as he’d envisioned. While Dominic was touching him, he didn’t even seem to notice what he was doing; he clearly was just comfortable with him.
Sam had hoped… He didn’t know what he’d hoped for. That Dominic would suddenly realize how sexy he was and jump his bones? Stupid.
“Speaking of my job,” Dominic murmured, his words muffled by Sam’s shirt. “I’m going on a business trip to Tokyo. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”
Sam’s brows furrowed. “How long will you be gone?”
“A week.”
Sam pursed his lips unhappily, his stomach lurching. A week without Dominic seemed like a lifetime.
“A week?” he repeated.
Dominic heaved a sigh. “It’s not ideal, but there’s nothing I can do. The negotiations are too important to send someone else. The mission will have to wait. MI6 will watch Luke while I’m gone.”
What about me?
Sam bit the inside of his cheek, swallowing back the snappish words. He refused to be clingy. He wouldn’t be clingy. He wouldn’t.
“I with I could take you with me,” Dominic said as if hearing his thoughts. “You’d love Japan.”
Warmed by Dominic’s words, Sam smiled and parted his legs wider to accommodate Dominic’s shoulders between them. Their position probably looked pretty obscene. To the casual eye, it probably looked as though Dominic was giving him head.
His cock twitched at the thought.
“You’ve been to Japan before?”
“Yeah, a few times.” Dominic’s thumb traced Sam’s thigh lazily. “Had a long mission there once. Nice culture… really interesting. And people. I liked the people.”
“Sounds like there’s a story there,” Sam said.
Dominic didn’t say anything for a few moments.
“There was a woman,” he said, his voice a little hollow and wistful. “I fell in love with her.”
Sam’s smile faded.
“Obviously, it didn’t work out. Long-distance relationships rarely do. But…” Dominic trailed off.
Sam squirmed from under Dominic and jumped to his feet. “Pizza’s getting cold!”
Now he understood why people said “crushing” before disappointment and sadness; it felt like a vice around his chest, his lungs, the weight of it heavy and overwhelming, making it hard to breathe.
He couldn’t quite meet Dominic’s eyes for the rest of the evening, not wanting Dominic to see how upset he was. It wasn’t like he’d forgotten that Dominic was straight—he never forgot that—but…
Maybe he had forgotten, after all. He’d never seen Dominic with a woman he was truly interested in. Being reminded of Dominic’s sexuality in such a way felt like a blow to his gut. And to think that he’d actually entertained the thought that Dominic might want him… It seemed so pathetic and ridiculous now.
Was Dominic still in love with that woman? Would he see her while he was in Japan?
The questions hovered on the tip of his tongue for the rest of the evening but never left his lips. A coward. He was being a coward. It wasn’t like it mattered whether Dominic loved some woman or not. He certainly didn’t love him.
So Sam used everything he’d learned at MI6 and put a smile on his lips—a smile he couldn’t feel. He joked, he smiled, and he laughed. If Dominic noticed anything, he didn’t comment.