In all honesty, Sam knew he should start looking at other guys. He needed to put Dominic out of his mind and his heart. There was no point in moping over something that was never going to happen. He had been trying—he had been trying so hard—but fuck, it wasn’t easy. His heart refused to listen to his brain, no matter how determined Sam was to get over his feelings for Dominic before he could do something stupid… like tell Dominic that he loved him.
Like he’d done weeks ago during sex.
The memory made his chest tighten. I love you. He’d blurted it out as he came, but thankfully, his words were probably too unintelligible for Dominic to hear clearly. Sam had wanted to say them again after the sex—when their bodies had still been joined, with Dominic breathing heavily against his skin, still high from his orgasm. They had seemed so close to each other at that moment, and the words were almost choking him, wanting out. I love you, I love you, I love you.
It had scared him shitless.
In a way, having sex with Dominic had helped. It had rid him of the delusion that he could fool around with Dominic without getting his heart broken. He was well on his way to getting his heart broken if he didn’t do something.
Something like going out with another bloke.
Suppressing his unease, Sam smiled at Andy, trying to see him as a potential boyfriend.
Andy wasn’t unattractive. He had a nice, strong face with nice blue eyes and reddish brown hair. He would never be as devastatingly attractive as his Dominic, but—
Sam exhaled noisily, annoyed as hell. Dominic wasn’t his. Dominic would never truly be his. Dominic was probably fucking some gorgeous woman at that very moment.
Pushing the thought away, Sam made himself smile at Andy. At least if there was one thing he’d learned from Dominic, it was how to fake interest and attraction when he actually felt nothing.
Andy smiled back, bumping their shoulders together. “I do like you. So can I give you a ride?”
Before Sam could reply, there was the sound of a car pulling over and he glanced that way.
His stomach did a small flip-flop when he saw the silver Mercedes. He hated that his world immediately seemed to shrink to the man who was getting out of the car, all his senses attuning to him.
“Damn,” Lisa said. “Nice.”
“I know,” Sam murmured before he could stop himself, earning a strange look from Andy.
Andy looked between him and the approaching man. “Do you know him?”
Sammy nodded, trying to look nonchalant as he said to Dominic, “What are you doing here?”
Dominic’s sharp gaze flicked to Andy for a moment before focusing on him. “My business concluded earlier than expected. I figured I’d pick you up.”
“Sam’s already getting a ride from me,” Andy said, stepping closer to him.
Sam frowned at him, but before he could say anything, Dominic said, very mildly, “Don’t bother, lad. We live in Kensington and it would be pointless of you to drive all the way there when I’m perfectly capable of driving Sammy home.”
“You live together?” Lisa all but squeaked.
“I thought you said you didn’t have family,” Andy said, turning to Sam.
“He doesn’t,” Dominic said, his gaze lazy and his tone casual, as if he had no idea that he was giving them the wrong impression.
Sam stared at him incredulously, too confused to be angry.
Smiling, Dominic turned to Lisa and shook her hand. “Dominic Bommer.”
“Lisa,” she said simply, smiling a little.
Sam hoped the expression on his face wasn’t too sour. “Let’s go, then,” he said, striding toward Dominic’s car. “Bye,” he said belatedly, waving to Lisa and Andy. Lisa put her fingers up to her ear like a phone and mouthed at him, “Call me.”
Andy avoided his gaze, his jaw clenched.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Sam got in the passenger’s seat and waited for Dominic to get into the driver’s seat.
“What the fuck?” Sam said. It didn’t come out angry; he was still mostly confused.
Dominic pulled out of the driveway. “What do you mean? I’m driving you home.”
Sam narrowed his eyes. “Stop pretending you don’t understand. You just—you made them think we’re an item. On purpose! You don’t do anything accidentally.”
Dominic’s eyes were fixed on the road. “I didn’t like how that bloke was looking at you.”
Sam blinked. “Andy? And how was he looking at me?”
A sneer twisted Dominic’s lips. “He’s the typical horny teenager looking for an easy shag.”
Sam stared at him. “I thought we agreed that I should go out and get a crush on someone my age?”
“You should,” Dominic said testily after a short pause. “But that kid wasn’t good enough for you. It’s obvious that he cares only about getting his rocks off. He doesn’t give a damn about you.”
“And you determined all of this after knowing him for a total of ten seconds?” Sam said wryly, giving Dominic a curious look. If he didn’t know better, he’d think…