Free Gay Sample -

“I have opinions on coffee,” Marco said. “I’m heading to aisle seven.”

Marco pulled out his phone and started typing a text before he even left the store.

“I’m a generous guy,” Sam said. Then, softer: “See you around, Marco.”

He was staring blankly at an endcap display of artisanal pickles when a voice cut through the noise. free gay sample

“Well?” the man asked.

Marco turned. The man was about his age, maybe thirty, with a lopsided smile and a canvas tote bag that read I’m Not A Regular Shopper . He was holding a small plastic cup with a toothpick sticking out of it.

“Alright,” Marco said. “Hit me.” “I have opinions on coffee,” Marco said

“About tahini,” the man said, gesturing to a nearby demo station. “My friend Noor makes this stuff. Sesame, garlic, lemon, and a secret ingredient she won’t tell me. I’m supposed to be giving away samples, but everyone just power-walks past me like I’m selling timeshares.”

Sam looked at his nearly full sample tray, then back at Marco. He grabbed a Post-it note from the demo station, scribbled something, and stuck it to the last clean sample cup.

“A person with opinions?” Marco repeated. Then, softer: “See you around, Marco

“That one’s free,” Sam said, handing it over. “The tahini, I mean. And my number.”

Marco felt something loosen in his chest. The fluorescent lights seemed less harsh. The screaming toddler three aisles over faded into background noise.

The free sample, he decided, was the best thing he’d ever picked up at a grocery store.

Marco glanced at the tiny cup. He wasn’t sure he had any opinions on tahini at all. But the man’s eyes were a warm, curious brown, and his flannel shirt had a small mustard stain on the collar that Marco found inexplicably endearing.

The man laughed, a real one, not a polite grocery-store laugh. “Two hours, actually. My name’s Sam.”