by Liz Crowe
My phone dinged at an incoming text.
Sam: WE NEED TO TALK.
Jake: WHERE DO U WANT 2 MEET?
Sam: COFFEE HOUSE IN 30?
Jake: K
I stood up and headed for the door. “I’m going out for a while,” I told Rick.
“You just got here.”
“Well, I’m leaving again.”
“Don’t be mad, Jake.”
I turned around and looked at Rick. “I’m not, man. I just need to meet someone. I’ll be back in a while.”
I had a queasy feeling in my gut as I walked along the main street toward the coffee shop. I opened the door and stepped inside. I saw Sam sitting by the window, waiting for me. I joined her, trying to hide my nervousness.
“I talked to Jenna today. She told me you broke up because she thinks you and I should be together. She said you both agreed you weren’t right as a couple.”
“That pretty much sums it up.”
“Is that what you think? That you and I should be together?”
I shuffled my good foot along the hardwood floor, stalling my reply. “Well, I never really thought about it. I mean, you’re with Rick and I liked Jenna, so what’s the point of pondering the idea?” I asked.
“There is no point. But you kissed me.”
I looked at her, taking in her pink pouty lips and warm brown eyes. “It was the only way I could think of to make you stop talking,” I confessed in an exasperated tone.
Sam began to laugh and I joined in. “You’re probably right.”
“Of course I’m right,” I grinned. “Sam, you’re my best friend. Rick is too. I would never do anything to come between you two. You’ve both been the most loyal friends a guy could ask for.”
“I feel the same way,” she admitted, hugging me tightly.
“So we’re okay?” I asked, pulling away.
“Never better,” she replied, handing me the coffee she had bought for me.
Chapter Fourteen
In August, Jenna and Rick packed up the car and a U-Haul and took off for Florida. Sam decided to stay on campus, so she moved out of my house and into the dorms at Villanova. I had never felt so alone in all my life. How could the summer have started so perfectly and ended so terribly?
Jenna and I were over, but remained good friends. Sam decided to give the long distance thing a try with Rick. I don’t think either one of us was convinced it would work. I only wondered how it would all fall apart.
Sam and I still hung out. We studied in the library, acting as if the kiss never happened or that we hadn’t made love in the cabin. The only problem was that I couldn’t forget. The memory was so deeply ingrained in my mind, it grew and blossomed into the only thing that kept me going during those lonely nights in bed.
In October the Miami Heat came to Philadelphia to play the 76ers. The Welshes, Sam, and I drove down to the Wells Fargo Center to watch the game. Rick was amazing. He was so in his element that I knew he made the right decision to leave college and go pro. I wonder if the game helped Sam, who was still grappling with the issue.
We said a quick hello after the game, but Rick had to board a plane for New York City for his game the following night. I felt bad for Sam; the incident only seemed to reinforce her idea that a long distance relationship couldn’t work.
I picked up a copy of the New York Daily News when I stopped at Wawa to get a cup of coffee. I was following Rick’s career and cutting out the news clippings so he’d have something to remember when his basketball career was over.
After class, I made my way to the library for my study session with Sam. I was reading an article I’d found about Rick when she walked up behind me.
“What are you reading?” Sam inquired, sitting down at the table.
“Nothing,” I said, quickly closing the paper.
Sam looked at the cover. “The Daily News 7is there something about Rick in there? The game isn’t until tonight.” She grabbed the paper from me and flipped to the sports section. She found the small black-and-white photo of Rick and started reading. “Hot young Miami Heat player, Rick Welsh, stumbles out of hot spot Ice with two bodacious blonde beauties. Youth is on his side, but burning the candle at both ends won’t lead to a lasting career in the NBA.”
Sam slowly closed he paper. I couldn’t read her expression. Was she angry or sad? Maybe it was mixture of both.
“It’s just a paper. We don’t even know if the story is true,” I reasoned.
Sam stood up from the table and rushed outside. I followed her into the quad, where she fell to her knees and vomited in the bushes. I pulled her long hair away from her face and gently rubbed her back. She wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt. “How could he do this to me, Jake?”
“I don’t know,” I replied, just as confused as she was. We knelt together for a few minutes while Sam’s stomach settled.
“You don’t look very good. I’m taking you home.”
“Okay,” she agreed, holding out her hand. I took it and pulled her into a standing position.
I placed her in the front passenger’s seat of the Sentra and buckled her seatbelt. I got in the driver’s seat. “Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the doctor?” I asked before putting the car in drive.
“I doubt he can do anything for a broken heart,” Sam muttered, leaning back in the seat and closing her eyes.
I carefully drove home, minding my speed. I knew I had to remain calm, but part of me wanted to drive to New York City and break Rick’s hand so he couldn’t play that night. I opened the front door to my house and Sam wearily climbed the stairs to the bedroom she’d shared with Rick.
Sam entered the bedroom, kicked off her shoes, and then curled up in a ball on top of the comforter. She began to sob uncontrollably. I laid on the bed behind her and placed my arm around her to comfort her. “Hush, I’m here. I won’t leave you, Samantha.”
“I knew it,” she cried. “I knew something like this would happen. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” I said before planting a tiny kiss on her neck.
Sam went through an entire box of tissues. She refused to eat, but I persuaded her to drink some water. Her eyes were so puffy and swollen, it looked painful.
“Let me get you a cold compress and some aspirin.”
She nodded her head in agreement and I left her alone to grab the items from the bathroom. When I came back, Sam was staring at her phone with a look of determination on her face. Her thumb moved over the send button and then she turned off the phone and placed it on the bedside table.
I sat next to her on the bed and handed Sam the pills and water. “What was that all about?”
“I just sent Rick a text.”
“What did it say?”
Sam took the cold washcloth from my hand and lay down on the pillow, placing it over her eyes. “We’re over. Go fuck your blonde beauties,” she announced with aplomb.
She was back my feisty, confident Samantha. I had to suppress my laughter. I was grateful she couldn’t see my face.
“I know you’re laughing, Jacob Lewis. I can feel the bed vibrating.”
God, I loved this girl so much. I let my laughter fill the room. Soon Sam was laughing with me.
Chapter Fifteen
At eleven o’clock that night, my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID. It was Rick. Sam was fast asleep, so I quietly left the bedroom and answered the call in the hallway.
“Hello, Rick.”
“Where’s Sam? I’ve been texting and calling her, but she won’t respond.”
“We saw the blurb in the Daily News.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You out on the town with two blondes. Is it true?”
I waited with bated breath. Half of me wanted him to admit it was true, while the other half wanted it to be a lie. “I need to talk to Sam. I need to explain,” Rick frantically replied.
“I don’t know if she wan
ts to talk to you, Rick. I’m not sure I want to talk to you either.”
“Jake, please,” he begged. “Just tell her to turn on her phone. I need to see her. I have an off day tomorrow. I’ll come down to explain, if she’ll see me.”
“Fine, I’ll tell her if you want me to, but I can’t promise she’ll agree,” I conceded.
“That’s all I ask, man. Thank you.”
I crawled back into bed with Sam and held her as she slept through the night. When she awoke in the morning, I told her about the call I had received from Rick. She read the text in silence, shaking her head in disgust.
“Are you ready to talk with him?” I asked.
“I think I started the grieving process the day he left,” she admitted.
The comment took me by surprise. “So you just wrote him off?”
“No! I sincerely hoped Rick could handle the trappings of playing for a pro team, but I know the reality.”
“Did you ever stop to consider that Rick missed you so much he just needed comfort?” I asked with a knowing look.
“That’s not even the same thing, Jake,” she spat back in anger.
“You comforted me in the cabin,” I pressed, not letting it go.
“You were grieving. You kept suffering loss after loss and you needed to feel loved. Rick had a choice. He chose a stupid game over me.”
I’d crossed the invisible line and wished I could take it all back. How could I be so insensitive to bring up that night now? She jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room. I followed as quickly as I could, but forgot my crutch and stumbled forward, catching the door frame to stop my fall. “Sam, please wait up. I’m so sorry.” I held out my hand, expecting her to take it, but she refused.
“That night was special. Rick and I did it because we love you. Don’t ever try to cheapen to comparing it to what he just did.” She walked down the stairs two at a time, leaving me behind. She didn’t have a way to get home, so I figured I would leave her alone to let her cool down.
I waited ten minutes and then quietly made my way downstairs. I could hear Sam talking on the phone. I wondered if she called Rick. I took a seat on the steps and listened intently.
“Did Rick put you up to this?”
Well, obviously she wasn’t talking to Rick.
“Jenna, I love your brother. I’ll listen to what he has to say, but my trust is fragile right now. If he did cheat on me, I can’t promise this will have a happy ending.”
There was silence as Sam listened to Jenna on the other end of the line.
“You make a good point,” Sam said with melancholy. “I’m also upset because I had a fight with Jake.”
I heard the refrigerator door open as Sam continued to listen to Jenna’s advice.
“Of course he does. He’s my best friend.”
It was so difficult eavesdropping in on one sided conversation. I was dying to know what Jenna was saying on the other end of the line. I guessed it had something to do with the fact that I loved Sam.
“Thanks for the advice, Jenna. I’ll talk to you later.”
The conversation was over, so I decided to walk back upstairs.
I was sitting in my room trying to read a book, but it was no use. I kept peering at the open door, waiting for Sam to appear. When she did appear in my doorway, I closed the book and gave her my full attention.
“I’m sorry for fighting with you,” she apologized, walking into the room and stopping just in front of me.
“It was my fault,” I interjected. “I’m an ass. I’m sorry.”
She sat down on the ottoman, listening intently.
“I need to explain. I didn’t bring up that night in the cabin for Rick’s defense. For me, it was a perfect moment. When it was over, it was never mentioned again. It was like some antique you put on a shelf to collect dust and never look at again. I need to know what it meant to you, because I’ll never be able to verbalize how important that night was to me.”
Sam grazed the side of my face with her knuckles as she softly said, “I assure you, that night was never forgotten.”
I blinked at Sam, not believing what I’d just heard her say. After all these months of longing, could it be that Samantha felt the same way that I did? I took a deep breath and began: “Sam, the night we made love, I have never seen you more beautiful. I felt a connection with you that I have never felt with anyone else.”
“I know. I saw it in your eyes.” Sam brushed the raven fringe off my forehead. “Your eyes say so much when your voice fails you.” She moved closer, placing her hand over my pounding heart.
Holding her gaze, I moved in to kiss her. This time she didn’t shy away. Our lips touched, soft and gentle. Slowly I parted her mouth with my tongue and deepened the kiss. We broke apart for a moment and I mourned the loss of her touch. Sam sat in my lap and put her arms around my neck and began to kiss me again. The initial sparks of electricity I had felt when I kissed Sam in the library intensified into fireworks. I don’t know how long we stayed like that, but I was in heaven.
Sam finally pulled away from my kisses in a daze. “Jake...” She shook her head as if that would compose her scattered thoughts. “Wow.”
I laughed with joy, amazed that my touch could leave her this way. “Definitely, wow,” I agreed, kissing her forehead.
“I have to get ready to meet Rick. I need to end this properly if we’re to be together Jake.”
Her words washed over me like a burst of sunlight. “You want to be with me?”
She nodded her head as her mouth curled up into a smile. “Yes.”
Chapter Sixteen
I drove Sam into town so she could meet Rick at Starbucks. She wanted a meeting in public. It seemed like a wise decision. I pulled into a parking space along the street and turned off the ignition. “Are you ready for this?”
Sam reached over and took my hand. “I think its best I go it alone. There’s a lot to say and this is between Rick and me.”
I was disappointed, but I knew she was right, so I backed down. “I’ll go wander around the book shop. Text me when you’re ready to go home.”
I watched her step out of the car and walk into the coffee shop, a strong and determined woman.
Once she was inside the coffee shop, I followed her. Rick was sitting in a corner booth at the back of the shop. The booths had tall seatbacks, so I was able to sneak into a booth nearby, undetected. I didn’t enjoy listening in on the conversation, but my instincts told me to stay close to Sam incase she needed me.
Rick was nursing a coffee and had a cappuccino waiting for Sam. He stood up as she approached. “Thanks for meeting me. I didn’t want to explain in a text or email. You deserve better than that.”
Sam sat down and took a sip of her drink. “I’m listening.”
“I won the game in Philly and then they escorted us out of the stadium to catch the plane for the next game. I was upset that I couldn’t spend time with you. I was full of myself for winning the game. I went out to a club with some of my teammates. The women just flock to you when they find out you’re a professional sports player.”
“This is an explanation? Sounds more like a poor excuse to me,” Sam interrupted. “Did you have sex with them?”
“It was just sex. It didn’t mean anything. I’m a total douche. I’m sorry, Sam.” Rick reached for her hand, but she quickly placed it under the table.
“What do you want me to say, Rick? You want forgiveness? Well, I made a choice to be faithful to you. I made a mistake.”
“Oh, and Jake would have been a better choice?” he shot back in anger.
Sam ignored the comment. “When I agreed to the long distance relationship, I assumed that included loyalty and monogamy.”
“I fucked up! I wish I could take it all back, but I can’t. I’m begging your forgiveness, Sam. I was drunk. I was lonely. You didn’t go all mental on me when we had sex with Jake.”
“We were sober and that night meant something.”
“
So you admit you have feelings for Jake?”
“Of course I do. He’s our best friend.”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it.”
“Jake is not the topic of conversation here. It’s you and your betrayal. You shattered my trust.”
“So that’s it then? There is no way for you to forgive me.”
Sam shook her head. “You cheated on me once. It will probably happen again. I deserve better.”
Sam stood up to leave, but Rick quickly grabbed her arm. “Tell Jake I said hi,” he seethed with sarcasm.
“We could have had a wonderful life together. Just remember that the next time you fuck one of your skanks,” Sam huffed as she turned on her heel and left the coffee shop.
When Rick left, I got up and made my way across the street. Sam had already texted me.
Sam: WHERE R U? I’M IN THE BOOKSHOP.
Jake: OUTSIDE NEXT TO THE HALLMARK STORE.
Sam: K BE RIGHT THERE.
I was pretending to scrutinize the display window of the gift shop, when Sam came up behind me and whispered in my ear, “Hmm, you can see into Starbucks from the reflection in the window. Were you watching me with Rick?”
“Guilty as charged.”
“Come on, let’s get out of here.”
We walked to the car, arm in arm, in silence. I gave Sam a sideways glance. She was grinning from ear to ear. I nudged her with my elbow. “What are you so happy about?”
“Everything.”
“You broke up with Rick?”
“The whole story was true. He admitted he cheated. The only reason he could give me for doing it was that he missed me. I can’t trust him now. Once trust is broken in any relationship, how can it survive?”
I didn’t have an answer to her inquiry. I only had more questions. “Do you think you could forgive him in time? What’s going to happen to the three of us? How can we remain best friends after this?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead,” Sam admitted. “Just stay clear of him for a while. He’s very jealous of you at the moment.”
“Jealous of me! He’s the NBA star.”