"I see." Sam took a sip of coffee. He'd been listening to Sandra ranting about how annoying Nora is for a while now. "But even if Nora is that bad, shouldn't you just let your brother decide who he wants to date on his own?
"Look, he's a total pushover," Sandra described her brother. "If someone asks him to jump, he's going to jump. That's why he's stuck with Nora. She is taking advantage of him, and he lacks the spine to stop her or walk away. It makes me so mad. I just need someone, I need you, to show him that there are so much better options out there.
After some more back and forth, Sandra did manage to convince Sam. They started the next step, planning how. Sandra explained what Aman liked, where he could be found, and whatever information could help. Sam was starting to get more and more into the idea. The next step was setting it all in motion.
...
"This one is so cute!" Nora squealed as she held up a pink dress. "I want it so, sooo~ much!"
"Uh-huh," Aman absentmindedly replied.
Nora glared at him. "I said I wanted it," she grumbled.
"Okay, I'll buy it for you," Aman shrugged.
"Thanks!" She was immediately back to her regular overly happy demeanor. "You're the bestest boyfriend ever!" She went up to him, raised her heels and gave him a peck on the cheek.
The couple soon left the store together, Nora happily at his arm, holding the bag of her new gift.
"It's almost 2:00," Aman exclaimed as he looked at his phone. "I have to leave for work, like right now"
"Oh, okay," Nora reacted, sounding a little disappointed.
"We'll see each other after, okay? I'll message you when my shift is over."
"Alright!" she smiled. "Good luck at work!"
Aman left. He would have wanted to spend more time with his girlfriend, but he needed the money. Since he was the boy, he was the one paying for all the dates, and they went on a lot of dates. They were together all the time. In fact, working was about the only time of day he was away from Nora.
He arrived at his workplace, a small bookstore. He changed into his uniform and started his shift. He manned the counter. As long as he wasn't dealing with the occasional angry customer, it was alright.
Most of his shift passed without anything noteworthy happening. Then something caught his eyes. A customer placed a certain book on the counter "The Black Tower: the Winning of Two". That was the second book of his favorite series.
"You've read this one?" the customer, a tall man, asked him. He must have noticed Aman's reaction.
"Uh, yeah, it's great. Actually it's one of my favorite books of all time."
"Glad to hear that," the customer said. "I loved the first one, so I was hoping the second would be just as good."
"It's amazing. You know Donald? When he actually finds the tower, and then, or, I shouldn't spoil anything." Aman wanted so badly to talk about this book.. He didn't know anyone in real life that had read anything of the series. Like, he'd begged Sandra to read it so many times, but she never gave it a shot.
"I just finished the first book yesterday," the customer explained. "There's so much to talk about, but I don't know anyone who's read the book."
"Same, same," Aman nodded. "If only I wasn't stuck here at work..." he looked at the clock. It was later than he'd anticipated. His shift was done in just 10 minutes. "Or, I'm actually almost done here. If you want to wait a little bit, I'd love to discuss the book with you!"
"Sure," the customer said. "I'll read outside until you're done."
Aman was giddy. He'd love to have a friend that reads The Black Tower series. Come to think of it, he hadn't recommended it to Nora, though it didn't feel like something she'd like to read. It was such a dark and gritty series, pretty much the opposite of Nora's persona.
As he waited for his shift to end, he looked at the customer. He was sitting on the bench outside reading. "Jock" was maybe the first word that came to his mind on how to describe him. He was wearing a tank top, revealing his large muscular physique. He had wild blond hair, and his features were sharp. He's what you'd imagine if you heard "popular star quarterback". Though, here he was reading a book, a very nerdy one too.
Aman finished up his shift, changed, and walked up to this man. He didn't look up. He seemed to be completely engrossed with the book.
"Um, hey," Aman greeted.
"Oh, hey again." He looked up from the book. " I should probably introduce myself. I'm Sam."
"Nice to meet you Sam." Aman was immediately a little nervous. He wasn't good with meeting new people "Um, I'm Aman."
"I just got to the part where Donald found the door," Sam said, referring to the end of the first chapter.
"That's such a neat part! I never expected the door to be in the cellar all this time!" Aman immediately became more at ease. He could gush about the book instead of getting through awkward small talk.
Their conversation continued on. Aman went on and one about what he loved about the series, and Sam listened attentively (or at least that's how it appeared). Slowly, Aman became more comfortable.
"What's your favorite part?" he asked Sam.
"So far, it's got to be the romance between Donald and Bernard.
"Yeah, that was, um, great." Aman was caught a little by surprise. The romance between the big strong hero Donald, and the androgynous Bernard. He couldn't help but notice that they kind of resembled the two of them, at least physically. He looked at Sam. He did kind of look like how Donald was described. If there was a movie adaption, he could play the part. He was for sure handsome enough. About himself, he hadn't thought of himself as small or cute like Bernard for a while, like he'd been so much with tiny Nora, but now, being next to Sam, he did notice how he was the much smaller one in size and muscle mass. Sam could easily overpower him and pin him down. that would be... That would be... Wouldn't that be kind of hot? No! He was just too horny. He was way too pent up. Not being with Nora and getting release was leading to these stupid sexual thoughts.
"Aman?" Sam started.
Aman mustered a weak "Yes?".
"Look at me." he ordered.
Aman couldn't look at him. Then he felt a hand on his forehead.
"You're warm," Sam said. "You don't look so well either. Do you feel alright? You're not sick, are you?" he asked concernedly.
"I'm alright!" Aman answered. "Sorry, I have to go!" he said and stood right up and left. He hurried away.
Aman was ashamed of how he'd acted. How just speaking with a handsome man and having a gay relationship mentioned made him all flustered. It made all these images enter his head, of Sam. How Sam would look naked, his hard pecs and massive arms, and how he could dominate him, and how he would have absolutely loved it.
Sam was probably not even flirting with him. It was probably all in his head. It must have been. It was just a normal conversation until he ruined it with his dirty mind. He calmed himself. Breathed slowly. He checked his phone. 7 unread messages from Nora. he sighed. That's right. He'd promised her that he'd contact her after work.