Gravity (Greenford #2) - Romeo Alexander Page 0,20

a little too heavily on things at times, or brooding as Sam called it, had always admired that sort of resiliency.

It didn’t mean Sam didn’t think about things. Caleb knew that. So he was left to wonder just what Sam was thinking about as he chewed the sandwich slowly.

Was he thinking about their first, and probably only real relationship? The one where the bickering got to be too much for both of them. The one where Caleb inevitably was the one who pushed too far, demanded too much, and finally ended it?

Or maybe the second time, when they’d entered some strange zone of intimacy. A zone that they didn’t leave for months because Sam refused to let them and Caleb never found the courage to address it.

Then again, he could just be thinking about his sandwich or where he wanted to go next on the tour.

“Tell you what,” Sam finally said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Let’s play this right.”

“What does that mean?” Caleb asked.

Sam smiled. “It means that we shouldn’t treat each other like strangers or like two people who don’t know how to talk to one another. Even if the history between us is a little...ambiguous and maybe not all that settled, we shouldn’t have to act awkward and weird around one another.”

“It would be a great deal easier on us both,” Caleb agreed.

“Right. And well, quite honestly, I always did like talking to you and spending time around you. I don’t see why we can’t be friendly and not be completely weird around the other. So, why don’t we agree to leave the awkward shit behind us and work on being cool with one another.”

Sam might confuse Caleb at times, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know the man well enough to know when he was being genuine. It was Sam’s behavior and reactions to things that confused Caleb, never his words. If there was one thing Caleb knew for sure, it was that Sam always said what he meant and meant what he said. It was trying to figure out what he wasn’t saying that was the tricky part.

Yet, Caleb wouldn’t deny that the offer was the first good thing he’d heard since Dean Thomas had called him while he was still packing his things up out in Portland and offered him a job. He did need a friend, and despite everything, there was a strong thread of affection for Sam and a bond that Caleb suspected would probably never really go away. It would be nice to have Sam back in his life, in whatever form that took.

“I’d like that,” Caleb said, hoping he sounded like he meant it.

Sam’s smile was wide and brilliant. “Well, then let’s start off our renewed friendship with me giving you the grand tour.”

Caleb nodded, then hesitated. “You’re going to introduce me to people in embarrassing ways, aren’t you?”

Sam grinned, walking away without a word. Caleb followed after him hurriedly, dreading whatever was cooking in the man’s head.

Samuel

He honestly wouldn’t have thought it would be so easy to get used to having Caleb around. Samuel had to remind himself it had only been a week since he’d been temporarily assigned as Caleb’s designated tour guide. There hadn’t been much for him to show off that Caleb wouldn’t have been able to find on his own. The only things that had changed had been renovations done to buildings over the years and a few more seating and relaxation areas placed outside.

They’d spent the rest of the morning together and a couple of hours into the afternoon. After that, someone else from the Sports Science department had shown up to take over the tour, leading Caleb away and talking animatedly.

It was only after Caleb was gone Samuel realized that despite having been around each other for hours, they had talked about nothing. Oh, they’d talked, though most of the conversation was held up by Samuel, but there had been nothing meaningful or recent brought up. Samuel had talked about some of the renovations, throwing in a few anecdotes to add color to the description, or he’d talked idly about working as both a professor and an attorney for the county.

For his part, Caleb had talked about his continued life out in Portland and the job he’d had at a facility there. It was probably the only time during the entire conversation that Samuel felt he’d got somewhat close to a personal topic with him. Otherwise, he’d talked about the struggles of