Sammy

I wanted to see for myself how big this place was, but I never figured it’d be so spacious that I would get completely lost in it. This was my very first time in a giant furniture store, and all because my lovely roommate had said we needed to get more stuff for our nearly empty loft.

It was almost one year now since we began living with each other. To say that it was easy, would’ve been an understatement. At first, we didn’t get along, at all. So, you could imagine the small arguments that’d ensued in our time as we adjusted to our new surroundings.

We were like fire and ice, hot and cold, like the sun and the moon. It must have seemed like a bad idea to some, to live with one another after only a couple of months of knowing each other. In fact, I felt the same way for a while.

But since my birthday had passed in April, and since his own birthday was last year in October, we were both having the same train of thought regarding adulthood.

I had to focus on school, on jobs, family, and friends, and of course him.

My roommate was nowhere to be found. He said he’d come right back after going around the corner to look at the bedding, and yet he hadn’t shown up for at least twenty minutes or so.

It was disconcerting. He was never the type to leave without letting me know. It made me weary of how easy it was to get lost. Either he made a wrong turn, or I had. And this, in no way, could be blamed on my clumsiness. I knew he would bring it up as soon as he showed up—if, he showed up.

I turned my head from side to side, staring at the sign above me that I’d probably crossed more than twice now. I swore I passed the cutlery already, so where was I? Wasn’t I originally in the section for bedrooms?

This was around the time when I yearned to rest, or maybe even give up and just sit on the floor and wait. Though, I hadn’t wanted my roommate to see me in such a slump. I wouldn’t hear the end of it.

Maybe he was sitting somewhere, waiting for me? That could’ve been a possibility. But knowing him, he was probably searching for me high and low, wondering where I was and why I left him. I hadn’t! I swore I just got the tiniest bit lost.

And it wasn’t because I was tiny, either. He simply should’ve used his advantageously tall height to find me. So this was his fault as well, not only mine.

There I was again, getting angry at him.

I only wanted to go home soon. After walking around, endlessly through the labyrinth that was this store, I couldn’t help but feel exhausted. Where had he gotten so much energy?

It must’ve been the fact that this was his first time coming to a store like this. He was a rich boy when I met him a year ago, though now with his inheritance cut off, he was in the same boat as I was.

Truthfully, it was amusing glimpsing his eyes widen at seeing how the outside world worked. When we began living with each other, he was like a kid in a candy store whenever I took him out to see places, places that I found normal, but he—he had never lived that normal life I always had.

I smiled to myself as I clutched at the stuffed bear in my arms. It was nice knowing that I got to spend all of those first moments with him. He too, was dealing with the same. This was our first time living with other people.

And we were doing just fine . . . sometimes.

That thought made me sit back on a nearby shelf. I was hiding in some corner of the kitchen section, half-willing to give up entirely on my search.

For some reason, there were random crates of stuffed bears in every aisle, as if the store was eager for people to adopt one before they left. Well, it worked, because I grabbed one, a grey one with slanted brows that made it look almost angry. They didn’t have a pink bear, my favorite color, so I chose the other.

Now all I had to do was wait for him, my roommate. My tall, troublesome boyfriend that I’d lost in this store. Would it have been a good idea to call for him via the store speaker? No. No, I couldn’t do that without laughing. My phone was dead too, so there was no good way of reaching him.

Tired, I got up from the shelf and walked out to the intersection of the store, near the patio that led to the outdoor restaurant. It was getting late. I could tell by the setting sun in the wide glass windows.

Before I could abandon my spot altogether, a presence appeared at my side, peering his head down to look at mine with a slight pout.

I paused, surprised by his sudden arrival. “Oh.”

He was way taller than me, so much that he had to bend over to rest his chin on my shoulder. When he stood, he placed a hand on his hip, while his other held a stuffed bear like mine, only this time it was pink. The one I was looking for originally.

A grin grew across my face as his usual frown deepened. He didn’t seem pleased that we got ourselves lost. I’d done it one too many times, and all those times he’d found me, so—I was never too worried when it happened.

“Sammy . . .” Lucas sighed, “Where were you . . . ?”

I held out the bear in my arms to him, with that same look of pleased amusement on my face. The smile I was giving him worked, because he sighed once more, took the bear from me, and handed me the one he was holding, which of course I accepted with glee.

He held onto our shopping cart as I pointed at his bear, “We’re matching now.” I hadn’t meant to actually say it. It sounded way too much like what doting couples said.

Lucas gave me a small smile.

At first, I thought he would simply say that it was now time to leave, but he surprised me by abandoning both bears in the cart to scoop me into a tight hug, hands slipping beneath my arms to latch around my waist, staying there so I wouldn’t go anywhere.

I gave in and wrapped my own arms around his neck, grinning into his shirt. It was air-conditioned in the store, so his skin felt cold against mine. It was probably because of the way he was holding me, but—I was so glad to see him. All the time, I was happy he was there, beside me.

He didn’t make any indication of releasing me, even though we were kind of in the middle of the walkway, and there were other customers walking by us. It was a very 'Lucas' thing to do. I would’ve done the same. I was doing the same thing, actually. Holding onto him tightly.

“I missed you, Sammy.” Lucas said softly.

Smiling, I kept embracing him, “I missed you too, Lucas.”

We hadn’t been gone for a long time, though in some instances, we couldn’t help but be like this. Was it due to the fact that we’d gone through so much to become what we were now?

Yes. Yes, definitely.

Lucas

The idea that I’d be living with Sammy had come very suddenly one day a few months ago when I’d decided to leave my family home for good. He’d stayed with us under certain circumstances for a long time. The entire summer, in fact. Which was enough reason for me to come to the decision that I would abandon everything I had for him.

He, of course, objected to it in the beginning, and was adamant that I keep in touch with some members of my family, including Felix, my grandmother, and of course the rest of my cousins who I’d found were also living in that boarding house.

Frankly, those relatives I was currently living next door to, weren’t as bad as the rest of our family tree. I was aware of how awful some of our blood could be, but at least Sammy got to meet the few who I did like.

It wasn’t nerve-wracking anymore, introducing him to my world, my family, since he was beside me. Sammy was, and always would be, the one person who would accept everything of me, and love me despite my tough exterior.

I stared at him from my side of the table. We were taking a break outside in the small patio next to a coffee shop in the store he’d brought me to. I’d never been to these places before, so I wasn’t too surprised that I’d gotten lost in it. Thankfully, we found each other again.

Sammy sat on his chair lazily, arms on the table while his hand supported his chin. His glasses were slipping off the edge of his nose, and his hair was falling into his eyes, covering most of his face until I reached out to hold it back with my fingers.

He gazed up at me, mouth upturning into that natural smile he’d always displayed, even when we didn’t get along. Our anniversary of meeting had happened a few weeks back, and our next anniversary of living together was going to happen soon.

I loved this new life we’d started together. Sammy was amazing in everything he did, whereas I was still having trouble adjusting to our new place. I would be fine, though. We had each other to depend on.

Sammy closed his eyes as I let him go to drop my hand, cupping the left side of his face, thumb tracing his jaw. “Lucas . . .” He said.

“Sammy.” I responded.

He looked at me, “What do you think of the trip? With Felix?”

Ah. That spur of the moment trip that my cousin had brought upon us all. It was an event I wasn’t too eager to fully accept, though I knew how much Sammy loved the beach, so I only agreed because of him.

Felix had arrived at our apartment only this morning to tell us that his roommate, Theo, was inviting all of the tenants to a week on the coast, courtesy of my cousin. The idea was that we'd camp on the shore, in an area they'd reserved. 

I shrugged, still holding him. It took all of my strength not to go over there and just take him in my arms. “I’ll go only if you want to go.”

He studied me, to see if I wanted to attend at all. “Are you . . . sure?”

I sent him a reassuring grin, “I promise.”

Sammy didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “Okay.”

From the start, I hadn’t been very willing to move into the boarding house that Felix owned, more so because I knew I would see some of my extended family there, and also because it was Felix we were talking about.

Out of all of my cousins, he was the one who I got to spend the most time with. That was mostly due to the fact that his mother was once friends with my own, and thus our families inevitably grew close.

I’d told Sammy all of this and more. As our relationship flourished, I began to tell him everything, even the things about my mother that I hadn’t told anyone before, not even my own grandmother.

Well, I never had someone who I could confide in. But the things I could recall from my childhood, when my mom was still here—I revealed all of it to Sammy.

Thinking of this, I got up from the table and walked over to his side, kneeling on the ground before him and taking his hands. He tugged at me, so that I could sit with him, but I stayed in my position.

“Sammy . . .” I said, “Let’s only stay there for a few days. Not a week, like everyone else.”

He arched a brow, “That’s fine, Lucas.” He didn’t ask me why, though I figured he knew.

It was difficult for me to return to such a familiar place. I was glad when Sammy took me away that summer and brought me to his home with his family. I got to meet his mother, his grandmother, and his friends. I would go back again, but I wouldn’t return to my own home.

Sammy must have sensed this all along. He refused Felix at first, though I didn’t want to burden them with my past. We would go, so that Sammy could visit his family.

“Thank you.” I told him, rising to sit in the chair next to his.

He didn’t release my hands. “No need to thank me . . .”

There was every reason to thank him. He would never want me to say it, since he didn’t believe he’d done anything, but I saw more than enough during our time that summer to know he was the best person I’d ever met.

Sammy’s eyes never wavered from mine. They were gentle, warm, even during times when he grew upset or determined, he was constantly bright like the sun.

We stayed like that for a good amount of time, most likely remembering everything that’d occurred as we’d gotten to know one another. Our journey to becoming the boyfriends that we were now, had been a tough one.

“I love you.” I told him.

He let our fingers entwine, “I love you, too.”

We were stronger now, more than ever.