Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“ H ow was your trip off-island?” Anna asked Sami. Anna was curled up on the living room sofa, reading a magazine. Smith jumped up and snuggled next to her, like he always did. Anna reached over and petted him, scratching behind his ears the way he liked. Everyone else was still upstairs getting ready to head out to the Chicken Box. Anna had showered and changed right after dinner and headed downstairs to give Katy some space to get ready. Sami looked cute and tan in a sleeveless, cream colored top and jeans. She poured herself a glass of iced tea and took a long sip before answering.
“It was ok. I actually sort of had a breakup, I guess. I mean, we weren’t serious, but I’d hoped it would go in that direction. Instead, we went out for a drink and he told me that he’d met someone special. Kind of ruined my night, if you know what I mean?” Her voice broke a little and Anna felt for her.
“I’m sorry, Sami. That stinks.”
Sami smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yeah, well, his loss, right? Onward!”
“Yes, definitely his loss. We’ll have fun tonight. Forget about him,” Anna advised.
“That’s my plan.”
Forty-five minutes later, they were all on the dance floor at the Chicken Box, and Sami seemed to be having a great time. She danced up a storm with different people, Jason and Billy among them. It didn’t bother Anna as she’d just sat down after dancing and Sami and Jason just danced for one fast song. She could tell that it bothered Katy, though. But Sami just danced one fast song with Billy, too, and then she found a new guy at the bar and they went off to dance.
Billy went up to get another round of drinks, and Katy immediately complained about Sami as soon as Billy walked away. “What is going on with her?”
“I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” Anna filled her in on what Sami had told her earlier and Katy was sympathetic.
“That’s rough. I guess I’ll cut her a little slack. Maybe she’s just trying to have fun and get her mind off the breakup. As long as she doesn’t get any ideas about Billy.”
He returned to the table a few minutes later with drinks for all of them. Anna took a sip of her chardonnay and people-watched for a while. The music was loud, so it was hard to talk when they were playing. But it was fun to watch people on the dance floor and to observe the dynamics of their group.
She noticed that Suzanne and Noah seemed to be going strong. At first, she hadn’t thought that Suzanne or Noah would be interested in starting a real relationship. Both of them seemed more the quick fling types. But they were really sweet with each other. And as far as Anna could tell, they were taking things slow and getting to know each other.
Anna wasn’t totally sure, but she thought she picked up a vibe between two of the production team—Hudson and Lauren. They seemed interested in each other, but she also didn’t think it had gone past the mild flirtation stage. And then there was whatever was going on with her and Jason. That had taken her by surprise. As she spent time in the house around Jason, she enjoyed his company more each day. They hadn’t gone past the flirting stage yet either, but Anna got the strong sense that if she gave him the green light, it would go in a romantic direction. And she was tempted. Very tempted. But not just yet.
She wanted to wait as long as possible, until they were close to the end of the show’s filming schedule. She didn’t want to be that open with the whole world about her private dating life. But she also wasn’t sure how much longer she could wait. It was hard—especially when Jason walked over and held out his hand to lead her to the dance floor for one of her all-time favorite slow songs—Eric Clapton’s “Wonderful Tonight”. As they swayed to the music and she felt his arms tighten around her, she shivered.
“Are you cold?” Jason asked softly and ran his hands along her bare arms to warm her. His touch only made her shiver again, but it wasn’t from the cold.
She laughed. “No, I’m fine.”
She glanced to her left and saw Billy and Sami slow dancing. Sami’s eyes were closed and her arms were wrapped around Billy’s neck. Anna looked back at their table and Katy was sitting there alone. She looked furious. When the song ended, Jason asked if she wanted to keep dancing.
“Yes, but not just yet. Maybe in a little bit.” She headed back to their table. Billy and Sami were still on the dance floor and were now dancing to a fast song. Sami was laughing and tossing her hair off her face. Katy, meanwhile, looked positively murderous.
“I think I hate her. Maybe I hate him, too,” she said when Anna sat down.
“How did they happen to go off for a slow dance?” Anna asked.
Katy frowned. “Billy was in the bathroom when the slow song started. Sami was nowhere around. I went off to use the bathroom and when I came back, the two of them were out there.”
Anna nodded. “Ok, that’s good. It’s not like he asked her to dance while you were sitting right here. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
Katy relaxed a little. “I won’t. That’s a good point.”
A few minutes later, Billy and Sami returned to the table and Billy sat next to Katy. He glanced toward the bar. “What do you say we head to the bar, just the two of us? Production can film as the sparks begin to fly.” He smiled his devilishly charming smile and Katy immediately melted and seemed relieved.
“Sure, let’s go.”
They headed to the corner of the bar, where there were several open seats. Hudson moved closer to catch both film and audio of their conversation.
“Is that real? Or just for the show?” Sami asked. She looked as though she doubted it was real.
“They seem to be hitting it off,” Anna said. “We came back here to recreate some of the moments from the other night when we were all here without cameras.”
Sami nodded. “Suzanne and Noah are obviously into each other. What about you and Jason? Is anything going on there?”
“I’m not sure. We’re taking it slow and getting to know each other. I’m a little hesitant to be that open too soon—I guess I’m a little more reserved when it comes to my own love life.”
“You should be more spontaneous. Just go with how you’re feeling instead of trying to suppress it. It’s a freeing thing— and you never know where it will lead you.” She glanced over at Billy and Katy. They were leaning into each other and Katy had her hand on Billy’s forearm and they were both smiling and laughing.
“I’m going to take a lap around,” Sami said as Jason headed back to the table.
He sat down next to Anna and glanced at his cell phone, that had just buzzed with a text message. When he read it, he grinned and then texted right back. A moment later, his phone vibrated again, and he laughed out loud and showed Anna the image that had just come through.
“My mom just made a huge pot of homemade sauce, meatballs and sausages. She knows it’s my all-time favorite meal. If I’m home, I usually try to have Sunday dinner with the family. I miss that.”
“Your parents live nearby?” Anna asked.
He nodded. “Everyone is in Brooklyn, except for my younger brother. My parents have lived in the same townhouse for thirty-something years. My sister is married and lives on the same block with her husband and their two kids. Tony lives in the East Village with a bunch of roommates. But he makes it home often.”
“That’s nice.” Anna envied Jason’s closeness with his family. It sounded wonderful to gather often over a meal and catch up with everyone.
“What about you? Do you have family nearby?”
“Sort of. My parents live just outside the city, in Greenwich, CT. My dad is a hospital administrator and my mother is a litigation attorney. She’s not much of a cook and they’re always so busy. I mostly see them on holidays.” That usually meant dinner at a fancy restaurant, which was fine, but it was far from a cozy, Hallmark type of holiday. Anna was an only child. She loved her parents, but she didn’t feel like she had much in common with them. Her visits home were usually short ones, and she was always glad to get back to her peaceful apartment in the West Village.
“Well, maybe you’ll have to join me one Sunday. My mother always cooks extra. She usually sends me home with leftovers. You’ll like them,” he assured her.
Anna smiled. She was a little intimidated at the thought of meeting his family, but they sounded wonderful. And she took it as a good sign that he was even thinking of introducing her to them. She felt a rush of happiness as she lifted her glass of wine to take a sip. The band launched into a new song, a lively dance tune that made her start tapping her toes against the floor. She didn’t even realize she was doing it, but Jason did, and he laughed.
“Looks like you like this song—shall we?” She stood and followed him to the middle of the dance floor. Suzanne and Noah were already there. Billy and Katy were still deep in conversation at the bar, and there was no sign of Sami. Anna caught Jason’s eyes, and he held her gaze and smiled. “Are you having fun?”
“Yes, so much fun.” She felt happy, really happy and relaxed. She wanted to bottle this feeling and make it last as long as possible.