4. Sam #2
“Well, umm, thank you for hanging out tonight.” I wasn’t sure what I said to make her dismiss me like this, so I stood. I could let her kick me out, force me back home for me to scramble to come up with a way to see her again, but something inside of me whispered to try one more time tonight.
I stood in front of her, and she stilled when I took the dishes from her.
“What are you—“
“You cooked. I’ll clean.” The old family rule at my house slipped past my lips. She blinked, her blue eyes working something out until she finally broke the silence between us.
“No, this was so I could say thank you and—“
“You did.” I winked. “Come on, get your water and hang out with me while I wash the dishes,” I ordered as I walked into her kitchen.
Her place was smaller than mine, but she’d done a great job of making it feel cozy. She stepped inside behind me, and I couldn’t help myself. I picked her up, loving the sound of her laughter as I set her on the counter next to me.
“So… tell me about your life.”
“My life?” She laughed and shook her head. “There isn’t much to tell.”
“I doubt that,” I said as I turned the water on. “Where did you grow up? What does your family think about you living in Forge Creek? What’s your favorite color?” I spit-fired. She didn’t say anything for a moment.
“California,” she finally broke the silence. “I don’t have any, and I don’t think I have one favorite, though I am partial to pink and orange together. It’s like a burst of happy.” She smiled politely. “What about you?”
“Blue,” I answered immediately, unblinking as I stared right into her eyes.
I knew what she was thinking, that I was going to ask about her family, or the lack thereof, but I wasn’t an idiot. I had a feeling that topic had to be approached with care; I could definitely do that.
“California girl, huh? So, does that mean you’re a Dodgers or Angels fan?” She laughed and relaxed a little.
“Neither. I like the Rockies.”
“Good girl,” I rumbled with a smirk.
We kept shooting questions at one another. Light to heavy to heavier.
“Ever married?” she asked, trying to be subtle with the way she didn’t really meet my eyes, but when I shook my head, I had her complete attention. “Really?” She blinked like she was trying to tell if I was lying. Soon, she would know daddy never said anything he didn’t mean or believe in.
“Really.”
“Not even once?”
“Nope,” I answered truthfully. “You?”
“God, no.” She snorted adorably and bit down on that bottom lip that made me want to do it for her.
“What is it?” I asked. “What were you going to say?” I couldn’t help but press the issue. There wasn’t a thought in her head I didn’t want to know.
“How do you… never mind.” She smiled. “It was nothing. Kind of embarrassing, actually.”
“Tell me.” I gently bumped my shoulder against hers. “Please?” I gave her my best puppy dog eyes, and that made her crack.
“I was going to tell you how I’ve never even had a boyfriend. I mean, I’ve gone on dates and stuff but…” She shrugged and a distant look filled her gaze. “Never a real boyfriend.” She shook it away.
“How is that possible?” I whispered out loud, unable to contain the thought to myself.
“It’s just…” The words lingered between us. “…never happened.” She made a face. “Now I’m a thirty-year-old single woman without even a pet.”
“I can fix that,” I offered. Her eyes, I swore to everything that’s holy, they sparkled.
“How?” She leaned closer just as I was shutting off the water.
“I guess you’re going to have to be a good girl and wait and see.” This made her laugh, and that blush I had fallen in love with returned before she looked away.
“So, I’m thirty, and you are…”
“You trying to find out how old I am, princess?”
“Maybe?” She shrugged. I stepped away from the sink, wiping my hands with a kitchen towel before placing it on the countertop.
“How old do you think I am?”
“Umm… not sure.” I stepped in between her legs and, to my surprise, she spread them, giving me space to accommodate my body.
“Older than thirty.”
“I kinda guessed,” she whispered. Her eyes dropped to my mouth, and my lips physically ached to press against hers. “How much older?”
“Enough to know better than being here with you without a chaperone.” She blinked and immediately fell into a fit of laughter. Her forehead pressed against my chest, and the sound hit me like a two-finger shot of aged bourbon. Warm and cozy.
“A chaperone?” She was still laughing when she pulled back to look up at me. Fuck! With the easy, carefree smile on her face, she looked even younger. Her hands stroked my chest. “Be careful, handsome, your age might be showing.”
“Chaperones are still a thing,” I muttered, but that just made her eyes brighten further. She pressed her lips together to stifle a laugh, but it ended up making a snort-type sound. “You making fun of me, little girl?”
“Tell me.” She did a better job of giving me puppy dog eyes, and I cracked. With my hands on her hips, I straightened and braced.
“Forty,” I laid out, and she just kept smiling.
“Ten years.”
“Ten years,” I repeated. “That a problem?”
“To being my neighbor? I don’t think so. Mrs. Blackstone next door is way older than forty, and she’s okay living on the block.”
“Smartass,” I murmured, cupping her face, then I leaned down to press my forehead against hers. “You know what I mean.”
“Do I?”
“Hmm…” The sound vibrated through my chest, and her eyes turned a little glassy, almost hooded, as we stared at one another. “Have dinner with me tomorrow.” It was an offer, but we both knew my tone was more than demanding.
“I wish I could but…” She shrugged, once again avoiding eye contact. “I shouldn’t,” she said but didn’t sound like she was happy
“Why?”
“We’re neighbors and…”
“Is it my age?” I asked and watched as she opened then shut her mouth before simply shaking her head.
“No.”
“Then?”
“It’s me,” she blurted, and I blinked. Her hand on my chest pushed me away slightly, and it cost me everything to give her that.
I have to give her the space she’s quietly asking for.
I stepped away and watched her hop off the counter only to stand right in front of me.
“Trust me, you’re better off. I’m just… you could do better.
Like, a lot better.” She gave me a small smile then moved to the kitchen and directly to the front door.
And just like that, I guessed our night was over. Fuck.
“Thanks again for everything, and tonight was fun.”
“Sure.” I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jeans because if I didn’t, I might do something crazy.
Insane, really. Something like toss her over my shoulder in a fireman hold and jog across to my street, where I would lock her up in my room, tie her to my bed, and bury my head between her legs until she agreed to giving me a chance. “Thanks for dinner.”
“Thanks for breakfast and saving me this morning.” I nodded, ignoring the growing ache of dread at the thought of leaving her side. I was nowhere ready to walk away from her. Dinner had been the best, then me and my stupid big mouth had fucked it up.
“Great second date, baby girl.” I gave her a smile. “You know, until you kicked me out,” I teased, but she gasped my name like a prayer. I was fucking lucky the shirt I wore was on the longer side to cover up just how hard I was.
“It’s not like that.” She shook her head, eyes sad. “Trust me, Sam, if…” She looked like the most adorable goldfish I’d ever laid eyes on as she tried to find the right words. I took her hand and squeezed it.
“It’s okay, princess,” I reassured her.
I was not giving up.
This wasn’t the end.
I just had to come up with another approach, a way to work for her attention, because at the end of the day, I knew where I belonged. And that was at her side.
“Sam—“
“If you change your mind… ever… you know where to find me.” I pointed at my house.
There was something about the sad, almost melancholic, way she looked at the house across the street then back at me.
She wanted this, that much was fucking clear, and it was not me with some wounded male ego thinking that.
It was in the way she stared at me, like it was all she could possibly want.
“I’ll see you later.” I lifted her hand and kissed the top of it before forcing myself to return home.
I didn’t turn around until I reached my door because I knew if I did before that, I’d rush towards her and kiss her until she agreed to give this unmistakable attraction a chance.
But when I touched my doorknob and turned around, it didn’t make it any easier when she was still standing at her door, staring right back at me.
I lifted my hand, and for some reason, daddy blew her a kiss.
And it wasn’t until her laughter rang in the night air that a little of the tension that had built up at my shoulders loosened.