“So, tell me about yourself, Samantha Elizabeth Hasting.” It was a crappy opening line. What was with using her full name? But Sam could appreciate the sentiment, especially when it came from a good-looking man who so far didn’t seem boring.
“Well, I’m twenty-eight and I work as a marketing assistant. I—” She broke off as something brushed against her ankle. What the...? She shook her head slightly and continued. “I’ve been working for the same company for five years, and I love it.” Shit, that was definitely a foot rubbing up her calf. Sam drew her legs back, tucking them under her chair. “Excuse me, please.” She stood and made her way to the ladies’ room. What the hell was she going to do? He seemed like such a great guy, but a first date was way too soon to be playing footsie under the table.
She washed her hands and freshened her lipstick. She’d go back to the table, and if he tried it again, she’d be straight-up honest, tell him he’d crossed a line, and end the date.
Sam headed back to their table and settled into her seat. She tried a tentative smile. “Sorry about that. Um, you were saying before that you like golf... do you play often? I tried to learn once, and it was a disaster.”
He grinned. “A lot of people say that. When I first learned, it took me ages to even be able to hit the ball. One time, the club went flying out of my hands and nearly smacked someone in the head. The worst part was, it went further than the ball.”
They laughed, and Sam noted with relief that he was keeping his feet to himself. He launched into another golfing story, something that had the potential to be deadly boring, but he had a dry, self-deprecating sense of humor and kept her laughing.
It was over two hours later, after a great meal, dessert, a bottle of wine, and a lot of laughter that they left the restaurant. Sam was riding a wave of excitement. A good-looking, intelligent, funny, nice man, a great first date—this was what she’d been hoping for!
He walked her to her car and they stood talking for a few minutes. Finally, Sam smiled and said, “Well, I have to work tomorrow, so....”
He nodded and smiled back. “Sure. My place or yours?”
Sam blinked. What the...? “Um... what do you mean?” Surely he didn’t think....
“Are we going back to my place or yours?” He tipped his head to the side inquiringly, as if she should have gotten his meaning already.
“Well, I’m going to my place... I’d assume you’re going to yours.” She tried to laugh it off, starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
“It’ll be kind of hard for us to have sex if we’re in different places. Unless you wanna try phone sex, but I usually prefer the real thing the first time.”
Right. Sam’s stomach sank.
“We’re not having sex,” she said firmly. He laughed.
“Of course we are. That’s what we’re both here for.”
She shook her head. “No. I’m here for a first date, not for sex.”
His face contorted, and Sam felt a frisson of nervousness. “Listen, bitch, if you think this whole night has been about a first date, then you’re just stupid. You signed up for online dating, you knew what you were doing—”
Sam blocked out his words as she scrambled into her car and slammed the door, locking it immediately. Her now pissed-off date was still talking when she started the car and peeled out of the parking lot.
# # #
Wearing her pajamas and holding a tub of ice cream, Sam opened the door to Levi.
“Hi.”
“Hey. What’s wrong? You sounded really down on the phone.” He shut the door behind him and took the ice cream from her.
“Gimme that back.” She grabbed for the carton. “I just had the worst best date ever.”
“Oh.” Levi slung his arm around her and drew her down the hall to the bedroom. “Another boring guy?”
“No, this one seemed great. Interesting. Funny. Made me laugh a lot.” She scooped up some ice cream, and then offered him the spoon. He scraped up the last of it, then stuck the spoon in the carton and put it on her bedside table.
“So what was the problem?” He sat on the side of her bed and pulled her down beside him, cuddling her to him. She curled up and laid her head on his shoulder.
“He thought that online dating meant instant sex, and he got nasty when I said no.”
Levi straightened. “What? Did he touch you? Are you—”
“I’m fine. He didn’t touch me, just got mouthy. I’m more upset because it was such a great date up until then. Now I’m just depressed, because this is the second guy who turned out to be a dud, and there are only two left.”
Levi lay back on her bed, hauling her up to lie with him. “So, you’ve got a 50 percent fail rate. These next two guys are probably going to be great. You’ll have awesome first dates, then great second dates, and the problem will be choosing between them. In six months you’ll be moving in together, and in a year you’ll be announcing an engagement. I’ll need to go shopping for the perfect wedding gift. Maybe when I find it, I’ll finally find the right gift for my dad’s birthday. Now close your eyes and get some rest.” He tugged the quilt over them and flipped off the lamp, cuddling her close.