Chapter 22
Chapter twenty-two
The birds’ beautiful song guided Baz out of the lands of sleep on Monday morning. He grunted as he stretched his arms over his head and rolled his shoulders back.
Was Sami feeling this good today too?
A smile spread on Baz’s face as he reached for his phone. No new messages. They better rectify that.
Good morning, Sami. <3
Baz regarded the gray circle next to Sami’s name.
He needed a picture of him, something more tangible than a memory to hold on to when his bed was empty.
Or he needed to invite the man himself here more often.
Be treated to his dorky face when he refused to wake up, the tangled mess of curls sprawled across the pillows. His lips, free for Baz to kiss…
Bzz bzz.
good morning to you too honey <3
Try not to commit any crimes today
try to not be a dick today <3
Can’t. Too busy trying not to think of you on my dick…
Baz bit his lip as he hit send and refreshed the chat. The three dots announcing Sami was typing popped up. Disappeared.
Refresh.
Refresh.
careful
you make me wanna come by for a taste
What if that’s exactly what I’m going for?
then you shouldn’t work in a glass office haha
i dont feel like getting castrated by aya today <3
Yeah, there was that. But if Baz could give Jack of all people a second chance, Aya could come around to Sami too, right?
To ensure it wouldn’t take thirteen years, he again stopped by her favorite coffee shop before work. There were only so many free oat milk flat white mochas she could resist before her demeanor mellowed.
He hummed to himself on the way to her office. Aya was already planted in her seat, focusing on something on the screen with a pinched expression. Barely eight am, and already on top of her game. She was incredible.
“Morning,” Baz chimed. Aya gave him the once-over. Her forehead creased.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You seem… happy.”
And that was a bad thing now? Funny how she was bewildered by his every emotion.
“It’s gonna be a good day, I can feel it.” He placed the cup in front of her.
Aya regarded the offering through narrowed eyes. “Hm. Well, you might be right about that. I just got word that we have a court date to obtain class certification. Next Monday.”
“That’s great news!” It might be the push Captain Green needed to make a sensible settlement offer, and then, he and Sami would be free to be whoever they wanted to be.
His heart summersaulted at the thought, despite Aya going back to ignoring him.
Hopefully, it wouldn’t be much longer until they could put this case behind them.
Baz fought the urge to skip down the stairs. He couldn’t wait to tell her what happened with Sami and his dad once there was nothing left for her to worry about. When he and Sami were just two lawyers who happened to fall in—who happened to enjoy each other’s bodies. And souls.
Especially his soul.
Really, he could see Aya and Sami becoming friends too, once she saw for herself what a kind, fun person he was.
He spent the morning rounding up his pretrial memorandum—the toxicology report for the herbicide batch the club used still hadn’t come through. What the hell was that lab doing?—and dealing with Eevee’s pestering to meet for lunch.
Eevee
We have so much to talk about! You brought a guy!
Hard to argue with that. And maybe, he was dying a little to tell someone about Sami and him, someone who was ready to believe in a happily ever after and didn’t deem him out of his mind.
No matter how often he did the court jumble, it never went any smoother. There should be one centralized place for all counselors’ submissions. And yet, who was responsible for accepting what seemed to change daily?
Civil proceeding? Sixth floor. Oh, the claim supersedes thirty thousand dollars?
You need to be on the eighth floor. Actually, you’re in the wrong building altogether, honey.
What’s that, you filed this here last time?
Let me just make a call. Surprise, you were right all along, and it is the sixth floor!
The hours of his life Baz had lost to bureaucracy were truly criminal. No one prepared him for that in law school; procedures had sounded breezy and straightforward.
Good thing Eevee was working at the Catfé today and didn’t waste her lunch break waiting for him to complete the seven circles of hell—oakmoss and lime.
Baz drew a deeper breath, sniffing the air like a dog looking for a bone.
He wasn’t hallucinating. Was it a coincidence that someone wore the same cologne, or… Baz gasped when he found him.
Sami, leaning against the wall by the staircase, absorbed in his phone. The black suit crinkled around his shoulders; his ankles were crossed. The very picture of cool, calm, and gorgeous.
He shouldn’t. He was the one who had demanded to keep their thing away from the workplace. The less attention they drew to themselves, the better.
Then again.
Sami was his opposing counsel. It was no secret they knew each other. Who could fault them for having a conversation in public?
Baz bit back the smile, transferred his weight to the front of his feet for a stealthy approach.
“Look what the cat dragged in,” he said, leaning in to get as close to Sami’s ear as possible for maximum surprise—Sami merely raised his eyebrows under the ginormous side-eye. Boring.
“Who’s stalking who now?” Sami’s voice was full of a warmth that did not translate to his stoic face. Look who had developed a poker face all the sudden. But would it withstand Baz kissing him?
Which Baz wouldn’t try to find out! Obviously.
“What are you doing here?”
“I’m not here for you, so don’t get your hopes up.”
“Shame. I’d have time to disappear into the bathroom.”
Sami made a sound somewhere between clearing his throat and a hum. His tongue wetted the corner of his lips. “Are you trying to turn the tables on me? That’s hot.”
Not until now he hadn’t, but the courthouse did have plenty of rooms that were not made of glass, one of which ought to be empty.
“You’re the one who said I’m lacking reckless experiences.”
Sami bit his lower lip. Baz could see the debate he had with himself whether he should or not. If only.
“I’m kidding. Actually, I’m meeting Eevee for lunch. If you’re hungry, you could join?”
“I’d love that, but…” Sami’s eyes drifted to something past Baz. The flicker of softness ran from his face. “I’m on duty, so don’t look so happy to see me before you give our undying love for each other away.”
His shoulder crashed into Baz’s as he walked by. What the…
Subtly as he could, Baz glanced over his shoulder, just when Sami approached a man Baz recognized as Gerry Webster, the paralegal on their case. Ian and his perpetually frozen, now ridiculously spray-tanned face joined barely a second later. Whatever he was saying, it had Sami’s shoulders drooping.
This timid work-Sami bore precious little resemblance to his Sami, the real Sami.
Which was no surprise. His Sami was fundamentally different to Ian and all he stood for.
The fact that Ian let some paralegal into a meeting over his associate, despite all the grunt work he made Sami do, was offensive.
Why did Sami put up with it when he deserved so much better?
Well. Dunkeld Wilson was always looking for talent. Perhaps, once Baz won, with Sami’s consent, he could use Erika’s favor to suggest a new, future star employee.
Ian’s scolding glare swept over him like Sauron’s eye above Mordor. Baz held his head high on behalf of both of them.
At last, Ian turned on his heel and strutted off. Sami didn’t look back.
Baz should text him to make sure he was all right—
“Who are you staring at?”
Baz flinched at a low voice suddenly next to him. “Jesus, Collin!” He clutched his chest, begged his heart to slow down.
“Since when are you so skittish?” Collin snickered.
“It’s called thinking. You should try it.”
“You’re funny, bro. Hey, are you heading back to the firm?”
“No.”
And yet, Collin still followed him down the stairs as if they were walking together. At least he was silent. Baz just needed to make it out of the building and—
“So. Who was that kid?” And not that.
“He’s not a kid. He’s two years younger than us.”
“Cute how you defend him.”
Baz frowned. “Is stating a fact defending him?”
The automatic doors opened for them. A gentle breeze went through Baz’s cotton suit. The sun was in his eyes.
“Just saying, you looked good together. I bet he’s the guy who keeps making you smile all loved up at your phone.”
Baz’s head snapped toward him. A piercing heat shot up his neck. “What? No! He’s part of the opposition’s legal team on the Captain Green case, that’s all.”
“Ooh. An affair with the opposition. Not bad, bro. Didn’t think you had in you.” Collin’s fist bumped his arm.
“That’s not…” God, Baz didn’t have the words to fix this. Why couldn’t he have a simple conversation with someone without Collin assuming they were hooking up? What had happened to his conviction that Baz was a heterosexual player that he so loved spreading around?
“Oh, come on, dude. I’ve known you for, like, ten years, and I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you just looked at him, and your closet has been made of glass since the beginning.”
…Huh?
Baz was vaguely aware his mouth hung open, but by god, he couldn’t remember how to close it.
“I don’t know what you’re—”
“I saw you get awkward around Katie at Sullivan’s party, bro. And you turned down Bernila Bautista on graduation night! No straight guy would have done that. She was a smoke show.”
That, Baz knew the answer to. “She was drunk.”
“She had one drink. She was a crying mess because she’d had a crush on you for years, finally had the guts to act on it, and realized you didn’t like her. Did you not know that?”
“I… No?” What was happening right now?
“Plus, I saw how you looked at her brother instead. Made even me blush.”