Page 115 of Give Me What You Will

He nodded and hesitated, surprised by the general approval beaming back at him.

“You do realize that half of us here were hoping you guys would hook up, right?” Brendon said, surprising the hell out of him.

“Seriously?” Sam asked, also stunned.

“Seriously.” Brendon shrugged, “Frankie was the only one who seemed oblivious. We all saw it ages ago.”

“True,” Joel nodded. “It’s why I didn’t like seeing Mikey here last time. He’s too tall for you, Sammy.”

“Also true,” Brendon agreed.

“Have you all been talkin’ about this behind my back the entire time?” Frankie asked, astounded.

“And Sammy’s,” Tina retorted, glancing over to Sam. “Sorry, honey. We just didn’t have the heart to tell ya. You had the biggest puppy eyes whenever that idiot walked in. I figured you’d either tell us, or not. I thought you going to LA was good for you. To get over him.” She waved a dismissive hand at Frankie. “But now I see I was wrong. Y'all are fuckin’ cute as hell. I hate it. Joel, pour me a shot. I need to text Brit.”

“So, everyone’s cool with this?” Frankie asked, confused and yet—elated. It made him love his friends and family even more.

“Duh, you big oaf!” Tina chided, before sliding into the booth next to Sam and grinning happily at him.

Everyone else nodded, followed by a saluting cheer, and Sam, blushing into his hands, smiled lovingly at him. It took everything in his power not to go to him. Instead, he smiled back, winked, and with his heart lighter than it had been in years, walked out into the cool evening air, taking in the stars and knowing that Papi, wherever he was, was smiling, too.

Chapter 21

Afew hours later, Sam stood outside with Joel, the only one left, patting him on the back as they waited for his Uber to arrive. Joel, drunk as a skunk, grinned lopsidedly at him.

“I always thought you two would make it,” Joel hiccupped.

Sam arched his eyebrows and smirked. Ever since Frankie had openly declared they were a couple to all their friends, his heart hadn’t stopped racing. It was like he was on overdrive, thinking about everything the past few days. Everything. And what this would mean for their future—together.

He glanced down at the bracelet, thumbing the expensive metal, feeling the weight and the lightness of this moment.

Frank was his, and he was Frank’s. He’d made it happen so effortlessly, in the most Frankie Casavani way possible, and Sam couldn’t stop smiling about it.

“You guys are fuckin’ perfect together. You know that, right?” Joel declared, breath smelling of whiskey.

“We are far from perfect, Joel. No one is.”

“Yeah, well, my best friends are.”

Sam blinked, surprised.

“You know, I asked to buy the bar off of Frankie months ago.”

Frankie hadn’t mentioned anything about Joel wanting the bar. He frowned, eyes narrowing over Joel’s full, flushed face, recognizing he was serious.

Holy shit.

If Frankie sold the bar, he’d be free. Free from his father’s shitty legacy, and finally able to do something for himself. He could come to LA, be with him. For some reason, he had the urge to spin the bracelet around his wrist, imagining something else—something on his finger…

Slow the fuck down, Samuels.

Don’t get ahead of yourself.

“Told him I’d pay top dollar for it and everything. I hate my job at the bank. I’d do anything to get outta it. This here,” he gestured grandly toward the bar, “is my fuckin’ happy place, you know? Like, I come here and I just feel at home. Frankie doesn’t even have to be here. Well, usually a Casavani is, but still. It’s always been a dream of mine to own this place. Turn it around, make it shine like it used to.”

Sam hummed quietly, feeling sentimental about the bar, too.

Joel leaned into him, grinning like he’d just won the lottery. “I paid him the first installment last week. It ain’t official or nothin’, but I made a good faith payment, enough for him to know I’m serious. Cause I fuckin’ am. He texted me two weeks ago, told me this bar is mine on the first of the month.”