Lauren had gone into the bathroom to plug in some of the styling tools that she had brought, and when she stepped back into the room, her face lit up, “Oh my gosh, Sam you look amazing! That's the ONE! Here try these shoes.”
She handed Sam a pair of glossy black heels that sported a strap with a delicate gold buckle around the ankle.
As Sam stood after putting on the shoes, Lauren nodded her head confidently, “Well your mind might not be quite on board yet, but that dress? It definitely came to play.”
An hour before Luke was due to arrive, the two women sat in Sam’s bathroom, in front of her vanity, as Sam put on some light make-up with Laurens guidance. As they chatted companionably about makeup application techniques, Sam’s phone chimed, causing her eyes to widen.
“Could you grab that?” Sam asked Lauren, who was closer to the phone. When Lauren picked it up and looked at the face, Sam nervously chattered, “Is it Luke? Did he cancel? Oh, God!”
Sam was suddenly a bundle of nerves, dread, and incipient despair. It was quite a roller coaster drop from the high of expectation and giddiness she had been riding just moments before. God, was this what everyone went through before a date? It was exhausting!
“It’s Stephan,” Lauren said flatly, “Do you want me to check the message?”
“No, I know what it says,” Sam replied, trying not to let this ruin her good mood, “He has some big endorsement deal he wants me to sign, and he won’t leave me alone about it.”
“Have you told him you’re not interested?” Lauren asked.
Sam snorted, “Of course I have. Only about a million times. I have made it abundantly clear to him that I am taking this year off, and after that I plan on retiring.”
“But he keeps contacting you about it?”
“Yes,” Sam sighed. She found even discussing the topic of dealing with Stephan trying, let alone the process of actually dealing with him.
“Sam, that’s harassment. You don’t have to put up with it.”
“No, no it’s not anything like that. That’s how all managers and coaches are. They think they know what’s best for you, and if you don't agree with them, the only possible explanation is that you don't understand the situation well enough. They know if you really get what they're saying, of course you'll agree with them. So, obviously they have to keep explaining. Again and again. And again. And again. It's exhausting, but it doesn't rise to the level of harassment.”
“Have you asked Luke about it? He already did this right? Retired? Maybe he would have some advice as to how to navigate through all of it,” Lauren suggested.
“No, and for a couple of reasons. First, he had a career-ending injury. As much as I get fed up with Stephan, the truth is, Luke probably would have killed to have someone – anyone – begging him to get back into the game when he retired. I'm not about to rub that in his face. Second, I’m a big girl. I don’t want to confuse my past with what I am trying to build here. Talking about Stephan with Luke muddies the waters. Stephan was then. Luke is now. I just want a clean slate. I can figure this out on my own.”
As Sam listened to herself give this speech, she wished that she were able to feel even a fraction of the confidence about the Stephan situation that she heard her own voice projecting.
Chapter Twelve
Luke pulled into Samantha's driveway and took a deep breath before shutting off the engine. He was, if he was being honest with himself, a little nervous.
This was an entirely new experience for him. Not dating, of course, he had dated extensively. But the way that he was dating Samantha, the uncertainty about her feelings, the fervor of the chase with no promise of success – all of this was new.
He had been out with a lot of women in his life, yes. But as he was making the reservation today, and deciding what to wear, and wondering why he felt so damn nervous, he had realized that most of those women had pursued him.
It’s not that he had anything against being the pursuer, in fact he was finding it somewhat thrilling. He had just never done it before because it had never really been a necessity.
From as far back as he could remember he had gotten a lot of attention from the opposite sex. His first real kiss had been when he was in 6th grade, and that was from and 8th grader.
He had arrived at his first middle school dance and a gorgeous blonde girl named Heather asked him to dance. He had happily accepted the invitation, and within minutes of being out on the dance floor, she had stuck her tongue down his throat. He may not have initiated that first kiss but one thing was for sure, he quickly caught on and enjoyed the hell out of it! The result being? Heather had set up a precedent that endured to this day.
It had been this way for the last twenty years of his life. There was a very specific pattern to it all that Luke could easily identify now that he was looking for it: a girl would show interest and if he was interested back they would spend some time together. Then, when things fizzled out, he would move on. Simple. He never lied to anyone about wanting more, and he had managed to successfully remain friends with most of his exes, even going so far as to attend a couple of their weddings.
But this whole thing with Samantha was completely new for him. He was pretty sure she was interested. Damn, if she had felt even half of what he had during that kiss they shared the previous evening, then he had to assume she was attracted to him.
Still, that wasn't one hundred percent conclusive, though. Yes, she had kissed him, and rather passionately. Yes, she had agreed to go out with him. And, yes, she had she had dropped a significant amount of the armor that she tended to wear around him. The fact remained, though, that he still felt she was holding herself back with him in a big way, and try as he might, he still couldn’t figure out why.
He was hoping tonight would shed some light on that issue. Not that he planned to pressure her, of course – she definitely didn't respond well to that! But hopefully he could capitalize on the connection that he could feel forming between them – despite her efforts to the contrary – to make her feel safe enough to come clean about where her head was at, and where he stood in her estimation. He'd kind of like to know!
But, most of all – and this was another reason not to make her skittish with too much pressure – he was hoping to have a repeat performance of the kiss they had shared. Because, damn. Just damn.
That kiss, as brief and innocent as it had been, was still one of the hottest kisses he had ever experienced. He smiled to himself. Who was he kidding? One of the hottest, my ass, he mocked himself. Get real. That kiss was the single hottest kiss he had ever experienced, leaving him woozy and wobbly for hours afterward. It was lightening in a bottle, and he couldn't wait to experience it again.
Luke was still smiling to himself as he opened the beautiful wrought iron gate that led into Samantha's yard. He took in the sight. There was a small, beautifully landscaped courtyard, from which he followed a meandering rock path which curved around a bend, the view beyond which was blocked by towering, mature pines.
When he rounded that corner, he came upon a solid, polished oak door. Samantha certainly had privacy and security here, he marveled, and it was lovely, to boot!
Luke knocked on the door as he glanced to his left, taking in the amazing view of Hope Falls and the surrounding mountains that Sam had. It was breathtaking.
He turned his attention back to the door as he heard it opening, the sound causing fresh flutters of nervousness and excitement to start in his chest. He took a deep breath and wiped his suddenly clammy hands on his pants, then turned to face her.
The moment he laid eyes on Samantha, all rational thought abandoned him. Every drop of blood that normally supported brain function must have traveled south, because Luke was not just tongue-tied...he was brain-tied!
Luke heard Samantha's voice from a far off corner of his mind. She was standing right in front of him, and he could see her mouth moving, but it seemed as if the words were coming to him through a long tunnel, or underwater. As
if from some great distance, he heard her say, “Hey Luke, are you ready?”
Unable to formulate any kind of verbal response, he merely nodded. When she turned to grab her coat and purse, though, he got a glimpse of the slit that ran up the back of the dress. This motivated him to speech, although he had to get the words out over what felt like a baseball-sized lump in his throat. He heard himself say, “That dress should be illegal.”
Samantha blushed as she turned back to him and said, “Do you like it? It’s Lauren’s, she let me borrow it.”
“I love it,” he said definitively, and without a second's worth of thought, “You look beautiful, Samantha.”
Samantha smiled as Luke helped her on with her coat. With a twinkle in her eye, she turned to him and said, “You clean up pretty nice yourself.”
Luke stood straighter, shoulders thrown back just a little more. He recognized the sensation flowing through him, strengthening him, as pride. Man, just those six little words had made Luke puff out his chest, had made him walk taller. They weren't even in the same ballpark as the flattery that was usually heaped on him by females, but it meant so much more. What was this girl doing to him?
On the short drive to The Cove, they made generic small talk, and Luke found himself having a hard time focusing on driving. Several times he had to consciously yank himself down out of the pleasantly hazy fog that Samantha's presence enveloped his brain in so that he could keep his attention on the curving, windy road.
God, Samantha was a knock out! He marveled at her beauty. Still, she was always beautiful. This was something new. She seemed different tonight. It was not just because of what she was wearing, it was something more. She seemed more self-assured, there was an inner light of confidence that was shining through.
Luke pulled up to the valet and handed him the car keys, then bounded around to Samantha's side of the car. He opened her door, put his hand out to help her down, and then escorted her inside. He felt like a king.
As they entered the lobby of The Cove, Luke was happy that he had remembered this place from the several times he had come here with his family while growing up, always on special occasions. It had a cozy, yet elegant vibe, with dark wood lodge décor and overstuffed furniture.
One entire wall of the restaurant was glass from ceiling to floor, with an amazing view of the pine-covered valley that dropped away just beyond the wall of windows. Best of all, there was a large, wrap-around porch surrounding the building where patrons could sit during warm weather. Of course, that doesn't apply at this time of year, Luke thought to himself with a small half-smile – but it’s all the more reason to like the place. I can dream about bringing Samantha back here for a romantic brunch in the summertime.
Samantha handed her coat to the coat check and they followed the maître d' to their table. As Luke walked along behind Samantha, he could not remember ever being so proud to be out with someone before.
He had never understood the allure of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter…until now. He never got people's unrelenting desire to fill the rest of the world in on the day-to-day details of their lives, how they could think themselves so important that the world would be interested.
Well, he sure as hell understood it now, because at that moment he wanted nothing so much as to post, tweet, and scream from the rooftops that Samantha Holt was with him tonight. It was the single most fascinating fact in the world to him, and now he finally understood everyone else's compulsive need to share. He would have hired a skywriter if he knew how.
The maître d' seated them next to the fireplace and Sam immediately picked up her menu and began to peruse the selections. He liked the fact that she didn't coyly pretend that food didn't interest her. Hell, when it came down to it, it seemed like she didn't pretend about anything, coyly or otherwise, and he liked that a hell of a lot. He suddenly felt even more confident in his desire to get past her walls and connect with her.
As Samantha studied the menu, Luke studied her. The flickering flames brought out the red tones in her hair, and her eyes looked almost green tonight. Her fair skin had a light flush to it which made him think of what she would look like after they made love.
Whoa! Probably best not to indulge that line of thinking in a public place, he thought to himself, I don't want to find myself in an embarrassing situation!
Samantha glanced up and caught him looking at her. She smiled. Wow, he marveled, I could wake up every day and see that smile staring back at me, and I swear I'd never get tired of it.
“Do you already know what you’re going to have?” Sam asked expectantly.
“Yes,” Luke said. Not breaking eye contact.
“I think I might go with grilled Ahi, what looks good to you?” Sam asked.
“You,” Luke replied unapologetically.
Luke was rewarded for his boldness when he saw Sam’s eyes widen in surprise and heard an audible gasp escaped from her lips. Her cheeks flushed, but he thought that it was from titillation, not shock and dismay. He hoped so, at any rate.
The waiter appeared then, offering them wine and going over the chef’s specialties.
After placing their orders, Luke and Samantha found themselves once again alone at the table. Samantha was quiet, and he couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed by his statement or just shy in general, but whatever the reason, she seemed to be having a hard time making eye contact with him.
She was alternating between staring into the fireplace and out at the magnificent view – basically, the only other two places to look at, aside from his face. He could hardly mind too much, though, when it afforded him such an amazing opportunity to gaze at her uninterrupted. He felt that he could not look away from her if his life depended on it.
“It is so beautiful here, I love it. This is the first time I’ve been up here as an adult. I came a few times with my parents when I was young,” Sam said, finally meeting his eyes, albeit awkwardly.
“Yeah, I used to come here with my family as a kid too. I loved it then, but I don’t think I really appreciated the beauty. Not like I do as an adult.”
As he said this last part, Luke reached out and held Sam’s hand, brushing his thumb back and forth across her knuckles. He looked into her eyes and said, “Thank you for coming here with me tonight, Sam.”
“Thanks for asking me. It’s awesome. I’m so excited to be here! I still can’t believe you asked me out. I don’t know why you did, but I’m so glad you did. I love it here!” Sam heard herself as if it were someone else talking. She knew that – once again – she was rambling. She hated her tendency to do that. Note to self, she admonished sternly, work on not rambling!
“What do you mean you don’t know why I did?” Luke’s brow furrowed as he looked at Sam intently.
“Oh, nothing, I just...I mean...well, you know what I mean!” Sam said in a rush. She thought that it was fairly obvious what she must be referring to, and felt embarrassed that he was trying to make her spell it out so starkly.
“No, I really don’t,” Luke said sincerely.
“Oh, just, you know...I’m not really your 'type' or whatever,” Sam made quotation marks with her hands, trying to deflect the awkwardness she felt so painfully.
“Oh, really?” Luke said, smiling, “And what exactly is my 'type' according to you?”
Luke playfully mimicked Sam’s use of air quotes. Sam sighed as she tried to articulate her meaning.
“You know girls with big…” she cupped her hands in front of her chest, “and with, you know…” she flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“So...just to clarify...you’re saying I like girls with boobs and hair?” Luke teased.
“No....I mean, well, YES...but...” Sam shook her head in frustration, “You like…you date…like Playmates, and Supermodels...and you know, girls like that.”
“If you mean that my physical type is beautiful, sexy women, than you’re right Samantha. I do tend to date beautiful, sexy women. And you, Samantha Holt, are by far t
he sexiest and the most beautiful woman I have ever been out on a date with.”
Sam snorted and shook her head, “Yeah, right.”
“Saying ‘Thank You’ when someone pays you a compliment is normally what people do, but I guess snorting works too,” Luke teased lightly.
“I just know my strengths, Luke,” Sam stated firmly.
“Really?” Luke challenged, “Please. Enlighten me.”
Never one to back down, Sam confidently replied, “I’m fun, and nice. I'm honest and hard-working. I'm loyal and I really care about people. I’m fairly intelligent, and when I put my mind to something, I do it 100%. I don’t half-ass things.”
“I agree, those are all strengths that you have. And I do find the person that you are – your character, mind, and your heart – sexy as hell. But what about all your physical strengths?”
“Well, obviously, I’m strong. I run every day. I’m an athlete, or at least I was,” Sam said.
“I was asking about how you see your appearance,” Luke clarified patiently.
Samantha shrugged defensively, “Oh, well, I don’t know. I guess I’m cute, in a sporty kind of way. And that’s not bad or anything...I was just saying it’s not your type.”
Luke could not believe what he was hearing! Sam really didn’t know how gorgeous she was. How on earth was that possible? Had she never seen a photograph of herself? Never gazed at her reflection in a mirror? It was mind-boggling.
Well, one thing is for sure, Luke assured himself. I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that Samantha's self-image gets raised up to the point that it matches reality.
“Sam, you are cute. And you're sporty,” Luke assured her, lowering his voice to a near whisper and leaning forward, “But you are also hot as hell. You are my type, sweetheart, and as a matter of fact, I am having a really tough time right now keeping my ass in this chair, when what I really want to do is get up and pull you into a dark corner so I can show you just how sexy you are.”
---~---
Shivers raced up and down Sam's arms. It wasn't just the words Luke spoke, although they would have been enough. No. It was also the gravelly, intense, intimate tone in which he spoke them. Sam was pretty sure that every inch of skin on her body was completely covered in goosebumps before he'd gotten through the second word.
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