Knight

24

Mason Maloney

Sam and I sat in silence for a few minutes, the only noise was the sound of the music coming through the walls from downstairs. I moved away from Sam and sat on the closed toilet seat, looking down at the floor. Neither of us said anything. It was like we were both waiting on each other to start talking. If he didn't go first, then we were going to be waiting forever.

"I broke things off with Mercedes," he finally said, turning his gaze to me.

My eyes widened in surprise at his words. He looked at me with a serious expression as if willing me to say something.

"Oh," was all I could think of.

Of course, I was happy that he was no longer seeing her, but it didn't stop my confusion as to why he stopped seeing her. I didn't know if I was just getting my hopes up thinking it was for me. Sam just nodded, not saying anything else.

"Why?" I asked in a spurt of courage.

"I had a talk with my brother," he said. "He made me realize some things."

My stomach fluttered with nerves and my head spun, making me dizzy.

"Like what?" I muttered quietly.

"That nothing should be able to stop me from being with the person I want to be with," Sam explained, looking straight into my eyes.

I was stunned, my mouth parted in awe. My heart skipped a beat then continued to pound wildly in my chest as if trying to break free and give itself to Sam. I wanted him to have my heart, he could take it.

"It made me realize," he continued, "that the one person I thought I couldn't have, is the only one I want and that if I wanted that person enough, nothing could stop me."

I stared at him before looking to the floor with a smile on my face.

"That's funny," I said with a light chuckled.

Sam looked puzzled. "What's funny?"

"I had a similar conversation with Nathan yesterday," I admitted, looking back up at him.

"You did?" Sam asked in a surprised tone, his eyes widening slightly.

I nodded, my smile widening. "I didn't tell him about us, but I told him that there was someone."

"And what did he say?" Sam asked, titling his head to the side.

"Basically the same thing," I told him.

Sam nodded. "Interesting."

We stayed silent for a few more moments before Sam left his spot at the sink and came to stand in front of me. I looked up at him, my face filled with hope as he grabbed a hold of my hand.

"I want us to try again," he said. "And be serious this time."

"Like, be exclusive?" I asked timidly.

Sam nodded. "Yeah."

"I think that's your best idea yet," I answered with a smile to which Sam returned.

"I'm full of good ideas," he boasted.

I rolled my eyes and stood up, Sam's hand still in mine.

"We should probably keep it quiet until after football season," I suggested, looking down at our hands.

"You're right," Sam agreed. "That'll save us from at least some of the drama."

I looked up at him, my smile growing wide as my eyes settled on his face. He was always handsome, but in this moment he looked even better. Sam's smile matched mine as he leaned down close to my face and pressed his lips against mine.