"So this is where you've been!" I hear someone say behind us. I don't pay much attention to it until I see Sam's face, in shock as if she'd seen a ghost.
I turn to the voice and see them walking towards us. A man was headed our way and Sam stands. "Don't do this here!" She tells the man as he stops in front of our table. "I've been trying to call you, can we just talk?" He pleads to her. "No, we are done Brandon."
At this point I stand up as well, now knowing who has been trying to call her. "Please let's just go." He grabs her and start to pull her to the door. "Let me go!" Sam screeches and that's when I intervene. I grab his hand and take it off her arm. "She said to let her go." He yanks his hand out of mine and spats "Who the hell you think you are?" Sam moves behind me and I state "She already said she doesn't want to be with you." He laughs at me saying "And who's gonna stop me? A weak ass punk like you?"
"We don't want trouble, just calm down." I try to tell him, hoping to defuse the tension in the air. At this point, all the other customers are looking at us. "Fuck you!" He hisses at me as he throws a punch, I dodge it by lowering my head and countering with my elbow to the side of his chest. He stumbles backward and falls on his ass. I turn to Sam to see if she's hurt. "You alright?" I ask as I look at her arm, wanting to see if she had a bruise.
"Watch out!" She screams. I see the chair coming at us from the mirror on the nearby wall and I move us to the side, quick enough to dodge the chair Brandon has thrown. I look at Sam and see that she's now crying, it makes me furious and turn back to the man who just tried to hurt us both.
4 HOURS AGO
"Where do you want this box, son?" My dad shouts at me holding the small box of books I owned.
"Just leave it near the table." I tell him as I move over another box I had.
If you haven't noticed, yeah, I'm moving into my new condominium. I finally got a job that pays well and actually saved quite a bit to get my own place near where I work.
"What are you having for dinner?" My mother asks as she rolls in my suitcase. She's a bit frail now, her knees aren't what they used to be but she can talk for hours on end if you let her.
I turn to her and say "I plan to look around later, check my options when I don't feel like cooking."
"It'll be quite different not having you around." My dad announces.
"You'll just miss me cause now you'll mostly have to do mom's bidding from now on." I chuckle and that earns me a slap on the arm from my mom.
We all laugh and head down. I walk my parents out to the parking lot near my building. My mom gives me a kiss and my dad gives me a tight hug.
They both get in the car and start to drive away, but not before my dad tells me "Visit us time to time." I nod at him, and my mother shouts "And find a girlfriend, I want grandkids sooner." I blush and wanted to shout back, but they were already out of earshot.
I laugh at myself and walk back to my building. Ha, find a girlfriend. Like I'd ever get lucky again.
I get back into my apartment and start to fix my stuff, it's not much, just simple enough for me. The main thing I like about it though is that I finally have my own kitchen to use.
My mother never let me use our kitchen, well, it felt more like 'her' kitchen since she wouldn't even let my dad cook some eggs and bacon, even if it was mother's day and wanted to do something special for her. She would always say "You both make messes, I don't want to have to clean the kitchen for mistakes you make while cooking."
She's not wrong though when I was living in the dorms while in college, thankfully the dorm allowed cooking and I finally got to try my hand at cooking, let's just say no one gets it right on their first try. But at least I got better at it and finally surprised my mom one time with my cooking, and I'm glad to say, we had another thing to talk about, food.
I hadn't noticed but it was getting late already. I got most of my things placed where I needed them to be. My stomach started to growl at me. Right, I didn't have lunch. I go and take a quick shower, change my clothes, then pick up my keys. I check my phone as I head out and wait by the elevator that was right in front of my unit, it was close to 8:00 PM.
I hear the sound of a phone ringing from behind and I turn and see my neighbor, who was locking up their apartment. The elevator arrives, I head in and shout back, "You want me to hold it?"
"Yes, please." She mutters nervously. She gets on and I can still hear her phone ringing. I hit the basement parking button and I press the lobby button for her, assuming that's where she's headed. She takes out her phone and checks it. She hits the drop button and puts her phone back in. A minute goes by and it rings again, she presses drop again. It rings for the third time and it's got me curious at this point. "Hiding from someone?" I turn and ask. "I'm sorry if it's bothering you, I'll just put it on silent." She tells me without looking up from her phone. She's writing a message now, probably to whoever is texting her.
"Crazy stalker?" I say in a joking manner to try and lighten the mood. She turns to me and gives me a faint smile. "Yeah, something like that." I couldn't help but notice how her lips looked. I swat the thought away and offer my hand. "I'm Jason, I just moved into the unit near yours." She looks at me for a second then shakes my hand. "Sam, sorry about my phone again, just been having a busy week." I offer her a smile and say "It didn't bother me really, just wondering how popular you are." She chuckles and it makes me smile wide.
The elevator dings and we stop at the lobby, she gets off and my chest sinks a little. I mentally smack myself 4 Hours Ago...
"Where do you want this box, son?" My dad shouts at me holding the small box of books I owned.
"Just leave it near the table." I tell him as I move over another box I had.
If you haven't noticed, yeah, I'm moving into my new condominium. I finally got a job that pays well and actually saved quite a bit to get my own place near where I work.
"What are you having for dinner?" My mother asks as she rolls in my suitcase. She's a bit frail now, her knees aren't what they used to be but she can talk for hours on end if you let her.
I turn to her and say "I plan to look around later, check my options when I don't feel like cooking."
"It'll be quite different not having you around." My dad announces.
"You'll just miss me cause now you'll mostly have to do mom's bidding from now on." I chuckle and that earns me a slap on the arm from my mom.
We all laugh and head down. I walk my parents out to the parking lot near my building. My mom gives me a kiss and my dad gives me a tight hug.
They both get in the car and start to drive away, but not before my dad tells me "Visit us time to time." I nod at him, and my mother shouts "And find a girlfriend, I want grandkids sooner." I blush and wanted to shout back, but they were already out of earshot.
I laugh at myself and walk back to my building. Ha, find a girlfriend. Like I'd ever get lucky again.
I get back into my apartment and start to fix my stuff, it's not much, just simple enough for me. The main thing I like about it though is that I finally have my own kitchen to use.
My mother never let me use our kitchen, well, it felt more like 'her' kitchen since she wouldn't even let my dad cook some eggs and bacon, even if it was mother's day and wanted to do something special for her. She would always say "You both make messes, I don't want to have to clean the kitchen for mistakes you make while cooking."
She's not wrong though when I was living in the dorms while in college, thankfully the dorm allowed cooking and I finally got to try my hand at cooking, let's just say no one gets it right on their first try. But at least I got better at it and finally surprised my mom one time with my cooking, and I'm glad to say, we had another thing to talk about, food.
I hadn't noticed but it was getting late already. I got most of my things placed where I needed them to be. My stomach started to growl at me. Right, I didn't have lunch. I go and take a quick shower, change my clothes, then pick up my keys. I check my phone as I head out and wait by the elevator that was right in front of my unit, it was close to 8:00 PM.
I hear the sound of a phone ringing from behind and I turn and see my neighbor, who was locking up their apartment. The elevator arrives, I head in and shout back, "You want me to hold it?"
"Yes, please." She mutters nervously. She gets on and I can still hear her phone ringing. I hit the basement parking button and I press the lobby button for her, assuming that's where she's headed. She takes out her phone and checks it. She hits the drop button and puts her phone back in. A minute goes by and it rings again, she presses drop again. It rings for the third time and it's got me curious at this point. "Hiding from someone?" I turn and ask. "I'm sorry if it's bothering you, I'll just put it on silent." She tells me without looking up from her phone. She's writing a message now, probably to whoever is texting her.
"Crazy stalker?" I say in a joking manner to try and lighten the mood. She turns to me and gives me a faint smile. "Yeah, something like that." I couldn't help but notice how her lips looked. I swat the thought away and offer my hand. "I'm Jason, I just moved into the unit near yours." She looks at me for a second then shakes my hand. "Sam, sorry about my phone again, just been having a busy week." I offer her a smile and say "It didn't bother me really, just wondering how popular you are." She chuckles and it makes me smile wide.
The elevator dings and we stop at the lobby, she gets off and my chest sinks a little. I mentally smack myself and say "What the hell are you thinking?" I get to my parking space and get on my bike. I consider myself to be a nerd and this is one of the things at leas and say "What the hell are you thinking?" I get to my parking space and get on my bike. I consider myself to be a nerd and this is one of the things at least that helps boost my confidence. I put on my helmet and start the engine and the hum of the bike peaks my adrenaline a little.
As I roll out of parking, I can't help wonder what happened to Sam. I drive a couple of blocks, looking for a place to eat when I notice a familiar silhouette walking down the sidewalk. I drive close and call out "Hey, Sam!" She turns to me and I see her face have a bit of sadness to it and somehow it makes my chest sink again. She straightens herself up and gives me another weak smile.
"Hey." She says to me. "Where you headed?" I ask her, hoping to lift her spirit up a little. "Just walking around, trying to clear my head." She replies, still having the sadness in her eyes. "I'm looking around for a place to eat, maybe you can help me out?" I ask, hoping to change the subject. Her eyes lift up a little at me. "I do know this Italian restaurant nearby. It's a couple more block down."
"Care to show me the way, perhaps join me even?" I ask, almost pleadingly. She crosses her arms and says "I don't know." I give her another smile and offer "My treat?" That at least earns me a chuckle from her. "Alright, I don't have anything else better to do." She finally says with a bright smile, and I internally congratulate myself.
"Great! Hop on." I tell her and take the helmet strapped at the back and hand it to her. She looks and hesitates for a moment for a few seconds, before taking it and putting it on. She hops on the bike and I ask "Ready?" She nods to me and I advise "Hold on tight." I throttle the bike and she suddenly wraps her arms around my waist. She gives me directions as we cruise through traffic. It's a Friday, so a lot of people are out and the city is really alive tonight.
We get to the Italian restaurant in no time and head in after parking in front. A couple of people look at us as we get off my bike, I get that a lot and don't really mind it. We are greeted by a hostess as we get to the door. "Table for two, please." She nods to me and we follow her to a table.
I help Sam into her seat and the hostess hands us the menu. "I hope you and your girlfriend will enjoy dinner with us, a server will be with you shortly." I notice Sam blush and I correct the hostess, "We're just..." I turn to Sam hoping to find an answer, but then say "Friends" without thinking. "I apologize, but do enjoy." The hostess says to us before leaving.
I turn to Sam and ask "What would you recommend?" She looks up from her menu and looks at me a bit distracted. "I'm sorry, I was thinking about something. What did you say?" I ask her again and she replies "Well, I've been here only a few times, but their food here is authentic from what I've heard so I don't think you can go wrong with anything."
I look back at the menu and settle on a picture of a grilled steak. My mouth waters and decide upon it. I don't mind the price that much, it's still reasonable and I feel like celebrating. A waiter comes near us and asks if we are ready to order. I tell them mine and so does Sam.
Sam takes out her phone and I notice she turns it off. "Stalker still trying to get to you?" I ask, hoping to know more. "You can say something like that, I'm really sorry if it's bothered you." She apologizes with a defeated look.
"Listen, you don't have to apologize, I just got curious, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry." I tell her, hoping she'd forgive me somehow for asking too much. She gives me a smile.
"So, what made you move here?" She asks as a waiter pours us our drinks. "Work mostly." I say simply and take a sip of my drink. "And what is it that you do?" She adds. "It's boring really." I think to myself, the add "You won't have to worry about me sneaking in to kill you though. I'm way too boring for that." Somehow that made her laugh.
"How about you, what do you do for a living?" I tip my glass to her as I ask. "You'll think it's boring." She drops her eyes to her plate. "Try me." I tell her and offer a smile.
"I work mostly as a photographer." She sheepishly tells me. That actually intrigued me and I ask "What to you mostly capture? Nature? Street photography?"
"A bit of this and that, how do you know about street photography?" She gives me a questioning look. "I used to do it as a hobby while I was in college, helped me make a bit of money at the time." I tell her proudly.
Our food arrive and we continue to talk about photography a bit more. I found out that she sometimes does paparazzi work for the local newspaper, and has a collection of some of the celebrities she's had the pleasure of taking pictures of.
I get the bill as soon as we're done with our meals. We get one more refill and talk a bit more about her photography jobs.
PRESENT
Brandon tries to take another swing at me, but this time, I catch his arm and give him a good upper cut. I then slam my hand into his chest and it knocks the wind out of him. He falls down to the floor and starts gasping for air.
I hold Sam's arm and lead her out of the restaurant. She's got a few tears trailing down her face and I wipe them away as I help her get the helmet on. Her hands are shaking a little. I hold them and she looks up at me. "You okay?" She gives me a weak nod, and we get on my motorcycle.
I just started moving us back onto the road when we saw Brandon trying to get past some waiters stopping him from getting out of the restaurant. Sam hugs my back tighter and that's my cue to get us away as soon as possible.