Chapter 10 #2
“Hey, folks,” Sam called out over the tables of enthusiastic players once things really got going. “Thanks so much for coming to our games night party.”
A few people applauded, which sparked the others to applaud as well. I beamed under the show of support from all the people who had been strangers just a few weeks before.
“As you know, this whole games night idea was conceived by me and Brian here as a way to keep the community of Common Grounds thriving during construction of the new shop next door. It’s never easy to run a business like this, but it’s even harder with roadblocks and diminished foot traffic.
So I want to thank you all for going out of your way to make the café a place where you want to be on a random weeknight. ”
“No, thank you,” Katie called out from the table with her college friends.
“Yeah,” one of the newer regulars echoed her. “We love coming here. I didn’t know this place existed before.”
“We’ll definitely be back,” his friend said.
I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. That was exactly the point. That was why I’d wanted to find a way to give back to the place that had taken me in and accepted me as one of their own. Common Grounds deserved all the good things that a business could possibly get.
“But now,” Sam went on, “we need you all to settle a little bet that Brian and I have going here.” He pivoted to beam at me with a toe-curlingly hot look.
“When we came up with the idea, we debated whether to do an open format or a tournament format. We decided to give both a try to see which one landed better. And we figure the best way to do that is to get you guys to vote on it.”
“I’ve got the ballots right here,” Diccon said, coming forward with a stack of small pieces of paper and a basket of pens.
I jumped into motion to hand them out with him. “Write down whether you like open games night or tournament games night best,” I announced as we handed everything out. “We’ll tally everything out once the votes are in and let you know which idea won at the end of the night.”
It was a sign of how happy and content I was now that I didn’t feel so much as a pang of awkwardness at asking people to write something down.
I didn’t feel the pressure I might have felt before to read and tally the votes either.
I could entrust that task to Sam and not feel bad about myself for doing so.
“I’m proud of you,” Sam said once I made my way back through the room to him, setting the basket where people would deposit their votes on the counter.
“Proud of me?” I asked, blinking at him.
Sam looped an arm around me and drew me close. “For handling this all so well. I know it’s probably triggering for us to ask people to write things down.”
I smiled and leaned into him. “Not as much as it would have been a few weeks ago,” I said.
Sam touched the side of my face, nudging me to glance up at him so he could kiss me. Even though we were in public, I reveled in that kiss.
“I meant what I said the other day,” he told me in a tender voice.
“If you want to pursue help with your dyslexia, I’ll support that.
I’ve already been doing some research into places that help adults overcome challenges like yours.
I’m one hundred percent behind you, if you want to check those out.
Or I’ll step back entirely and not interfere, if that makes you more comfortable. ”
I was so grateful for Sam that I didn’t know how to put it into words. “I’d like to give reading another try,” I said. “But maybe in the new year. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself when I’ve got other new things growing and building all around me.”
Sam grinned at me, then stole another kiss. “Okay, sweetheart,” he said.
I seriously couldn’t have asked for a better boyfriend.
“I love you,” I said, lifting to my toes to kiss him. “You’re the best.”
Sam laughed. “We won’t know if I’m the best until the votes are in,” he said, eyes twinkling.
We didn’t have to wait long for that either.
People wrote out their votes and returned their slips of paper to the basket within about ten minutes.
I’d noticed a few people at different tables talking or whispering to each other as Sam and I were talking, but I didn’t dream what they were saying to each other until we started opening and reading the votes.
“Both?” Sam read aloud as he unfolded the first piece of paper. “Ha ha, very funny.”
Then he opened the next paper, which also said “Both”. And the next. And the next.
By the time he got halfway through the votes, even I could make out the word “Both”.
“Something tells me there’s been a coordinated effort to undermine the spirit of competition,” Sam said aloud, catching the attention of the gamers, who were all glancing in our direction with grins and mischievous smiles.
“We’re not undermining anything,” Paul, one of the older guys who had come for chess and had kept coming back because he enjoyed playing games with the college kids said. “Both ideas are great ideas.”
“Yeah, and we want both formats to keep going,” Katie said.
Her statement was met with agreement from everyone in the room.
I laughed and looked up at Sam. “It’s a tie, then,” I said. “We both win.”
“We definitely both win,” Sam said, sliding his arm around my waist. “And you’ll all be glad to know that we intend to keep both Tuesday and Thursday games nights going for as long as you all stay interested. And as long as you buy enough coffee and food to keep the lights on.”
People laughed at that, although it was the most serious thing anyone had said that night.
For the time being, we didn’t have to worry about income for games nights. The gamers, our community, were incredibly generous in their patronage.
“I get the feeling we’re going to be okay,” I said to Sam once everyone had gone back to having fun. Hannah had taken the dais stage and was tuning her guitar, which meant things were definitely settling in.
“We’ll be fine,” Sam said, hugging me close. “And I mean more than just the café when I say that.”
I beamed up at him, heart so filled with love that it was probably ridiculous. “Thanks for looking out for me,” I said, swimming in affection for the man who had made me feel safe, possibly for the first time in my life.
“Always,” Sam said, brushing his fingers along my jawline, then stealing a kiss. “I love you.”
“And I love you, too,” I said. In Sam, I had finally found my home.
I hope you’ve enjoyed Brian and Sam’s story! There’s nothing better than two people who care for each other and look out for each other.
But what about Gilbert and Kyle Jameson?
Those two couldn’t possibly care for each other, right?