Different Forms of Happiness

Part 9

Chapter 8 - Scott

Scott stared at the man, unsure of how to deal with the information flowing through his mind. Sam had a boyfriend. The man holding Sam was her boyfriend, a boyfriend. He repeated the word in his mind a couple times, trying to get used to the idea. Boyfriend, Max was her boyfriend.

"Look," he started, but Graham smacked him on the shoulder, shutting him up.

"I have to go," Graham started. "There is an appointment that I almost forgot about. Sam was just talking about wanting to tell Scott something though."

Graham smiled at him with a little wave as he hurried from the café. The different colored chairs were pushed out of his way as he made his escape. Narrowing his eyes at his friend's retreating back, Scott wanted to yell at him for leaving him in this situation. What was he supposed to do, watch while the two of them played happy couple? Someone cleared their throat, making him turn towards them. His eyes connected with Sam's.

She smiled at him, a worried look in her eyes. "This isn't what you-"

Max's hand snapped over her mouth, muffling her words. "It's awkward is what she means."

"I think I would prefer to hear what she really means," Scott told the man with narrowed eyes. The way Sam was trying to pull his hand away from her mouth sent him on edge. He didn't like people manhandling his friends.

Max's hand slowly moved away from Sam's mouth, and she turned a glare on the man. Poking him in the chest, Sam showed Max her full force of anger. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"Sam," Max started, cutting his eyes towards Scott. Scott knew that the man wanted him to give them some privacy, but Scott just smiled; he wasn't going anywhere. Letting out a frustrated groan, Max leaned towards her. "I thought they were like the others," he mumbled before narrowing eyes at Scott.

Sam let out a sigh before turning towards him. "Look, Scott, this honestly isn't what you think. I like to call Max one of my many guards. You noticed the male things in my apartment?"

He shook his head. The only things in the apartment that he had noticed were Sam's. Nothing else touched on his radar, but he could get where she was going with her question. "You live together?" The question was harder to get out than he thought, and when he saw her nod, he felt his stomach plummet. There went a good friendship, or possibly more. If he were dating Sam, he wouldn't want her hanging out with someone like him. There was no doubt in his mind that Max felt the same. "I understand."

Taking a step away from the two of them, he was shocked when Max grabbed his arm. The man was surprisingly strong. "I don't think you do," Max said with a small smile.

Scott turned confused eyes towards Sam, who smiled at him. "You see, me and Max, we bat for the same team."

Great, so now they even played baseball with one another. "I didn't know they had a team around here."

Max blinked at him before letting out a surprised laugh. The man doubled over, falling into the chair trying to catch his breath. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he turned towards Sam. "Did you..." he trailed off, more laughter escaping his mouth.

"Scott, Max is gay."

"Why are you dating a gay guy?" he blurted, but when understanding crossed his mind, he wanted to bang his head against the wall.

Sam chuckled. "You sounded like Graham." She shook her head at him before opening her mouth to continue. Before she could though, her phone began singing. "Shoot, I got to get this," she mumbled, flipping the phone open and pressing it to her ear. "Hello? Hey, Bethany." She paused, worry covering her face. "Stay right there," she said in a stern voice. "I'll be there in ten minutes." Snapping it closed, she sent an apologetic look towards the two of them. "Sorry, I have to go."

Max jumped to his feet. "You need help, babe?"

"No," she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Sit and explain everything to Scott. I got Bethany."

She weaved through the chairs, reminding him of Graham only moments earlier. Turning towards Max, Scott smiled. "So, you want to explain something?"

Max's eyes followed Sam, worry clear in them. "You've met Bethany, the girl with a nice criminal streak?"

"Yeah, she's a good actress, but a very confusing little girl."

"You think I should follow her?"

Scott let out a sigh, while dropping into his chair. Without having to ask, Scott knew that Max was no longer talking about Bethany. "Nah, I think you should let Sam do what she does. I've known her for a couple of days, but she seems pretty capable to me."

"A couple days, huh?" Max asked, a smile on his face as he settled into the chair across from Scott. "Has it kicked in yet?"

"What are you talking about?"

Max let out a chuckle. "Come on man, you don't have to play dumb with me. The more time you spend with her, the more you pick up on things, and the more she becomes."

"You sure you like men?" Scott's eyes narrowed. If he weren't, it would be the perfect excuse to stay around Sam, to earn her trust.

Max just rolled his eyes at Scott. "Been like this my entire life, and I've known Sam just as long."

Scott leaned back in his chair, contemplating the man's words. If that was true, what was that little display earlier? Opening his mouth, he voiced his question. "What's with the boyfriend display?"

"It's to keep men away from her. I'm a pretty big guy; most would back off as soon as they saw me. Sam's never really showed interest before, never told me to give up the act."

"Until today," Scott finished, making Max nod.

"Quite odd, don't you think?" Scott shrugged while Max continued to talk. "My question is: which of you did she give the act up for, you or your friend?"

"I don't know," Scott mumbled. "Maybe she did it because she wants to be friends with us?"

Max studied him, making Scott squirm in his seat. The man looked like he knew more than what Scott was saying. That wasn't possible though, Max couldn't know about Scott's plans. Leaning forward, Max sent a cold smile in Scott's direction. "You do anything to hurt her, I'll maim you, do you understand? There won't be a rock that you can hide under."

"Understood," he blurted, not used to threats. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Thing 1 rise from his chair. Shaking his head, Scott made sure the man knew to stand down. Only when the guard sat back down did Scott turn back to Max, but when he looked, Max was on his feet.

"Now," Max said with a friendly smile, "let's go find Sam. I can be a little overprotective at times, sure, but Bethany doesn't particularly live in the best of neighborhoods."

Scott jumped to his feet, feeling his heart beat in overtime. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded, pushing past Max.

The man just laughed at his retreating form. "She's very capable." Not even bothering to turn towards the man, he sent him a hand gesture that his mother would smack him for making. Max's laughter only doubled. "Sorry, I'll have to pass. I like my men with black hair."

"Ass," he mumbled, pulling the café door open. Even as he mumbled the word though, he couldn't help but smile. Now that he knew Max wasn't a threat, he was beginning to like the idea of having him around, because one thing was for sure, as long as Max was around, no one would be sniffing around Sam but them.