Sam took a sip of his coke, giving me that strangely intense look again. "You know, Nate told me a lot about you," he said, not answering my question.
"What?" I asked, shocked, half spitting some of my drink back into the glass in surprise.
Sam smiled at me. "He told me a lot about you. At first I wondered if you were his girlfriend, but he cleared that up for me pretty quick."
"So you ah, you and Nate were…?" I couldn’t quite get it out, but Sam just laughed and said, "No, no we played on opposite teams."
Bingo I thought to myself. "So just friends then?" I said out loud to Sam.
"Just friends," he confirmed, smiling as he ran a hand through his blonde hair.
We sat in silence until our food arrived. I didn’t know what Sam was thinking about, but I was suddenly thinking things were definitely looking up. I silently thanked Nate for whatever it was he’d told Sam that had made him come and talk to me.
After our food arrived, I finally got up the nerve to ask him. "So, are you going to tell me what it is that Nate said about me?"
Sam looked up at me and smiled. "Maybe," he answered teasingly.
"Come on, you can’t drop a bomb like that and then not tell me anything," I protested, taking a bite out of my burger.
He laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay," he said, "I’ll tell you."
I waited for him to go on.
"He thought I should come back to Providence with him some time. That he should introduce us and I should take you out. Thought you and I would be a good match for each other," he finally said, his eyes never leaving mine.
I sat there with my burger halfway between my plate and my mouth. Wow I thought to myself, Nate really said that? Swallowing, I took a deep breath and asked, "And…..what do you think?"
Smiling Sam looked right at me and said, "I think like always, Nate was right."
And that was it. That was how Sam and I got together.
We spent the rest of the night with each other. After we finished dinner, we played some pool. Sam taught me how to hold the pool cue straight so I could actually hit the ball where I wanted to. I remember being surrounded by him, standing over me in that cheesy way you see in the movies, holding my hands in the right position, his body encircling mine. It felt so good. I felt so good wrapped up in him.
After the pub closed, Sam drove us to the beach and we took a blanket down to the sand and lay there talking and talking until the sun came up. Sam had to go back to Boston that day, but we’d had no sleep, so we went back to my place and crashed for a few hours. Lying on my bed together, Sam wrapped me in his arms and pressed what would be the first of so many kisses against the back of my neck, whispering, "Goodnight Ash," even though it was already morning.
I remember feeling so happy.
A couple of days later, after Sam was back in Boston, an envelope arrived in the post, addressed to me. Inside was a flyer for a show in Boston. A bunch of bands were playing at some theatre that night and one of them was my favourite, the one that had been playing on the radio when I first got in Sam’s car. I smiled, knowing who it was from. There was nothing else inside, but when I turned the flyer over, Sam’s address was written on the back.
I went to Boston that afternoon and never really came back.
∞
Saturday night. I’m home and doing nothing. After work, I thought about going to a movie, but the rain is back and in the end I come home and do what I normally do on a Saturday night. Drink, feel sorry for myself, listen to depressing music and generally try to put off falling asleep so I don’t have to face the same nightmare again.
In other words, a great night in.
But like yesterday, today something different happens. Tonight when I pointlessly check my email, this is there;
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Thanks
Ash – hey I just wanted to say thanks for yesterday.
Sorry, I know it made you uncomfortable, but well, thanks for your help.
Luke
To which I automatically and without thinking, reply.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE:Thanks
How did you get this email address?
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE:RE: Thanks
From work? We all have them. I took a chance you actually checked yours
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE:RE:RE:Thanks
But it uses my real name? I never told you my real name?
I hardly ever go by Asha. It’s not that I don’t like it; it’s just pretty much everyone shortens it. I’ve always just been Ash and it’s what everyone calls me at work. It kinda surprises me he would even know it’s short for Asha, most people don’t.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: RE:RE:RE:RE: Thanks